NATURAL AND CLIMATIC FACTORS AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE EXISTENCE OF THE MAKOP CULTURE IN THE CENTRAL CAUCASUS AT THE END OF THE EARLY BRONZE AGE


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Home Editorial board Publication ethics Information Current Archive Rules for authors Contacts	NATURAL AND CLIMATIC FACTORS AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE EXISTENCE OF THE MAKOP CULTURE IN THE CENTRAL CAUCASUS AT THE END OF THE EARLY BRONZE AGE Burkov, Sergey B. Kavkaz Forum. 2026. Issue 26. Abstract: The problem of the disappearance of the Maikop archaeological culture from the historical field was first identified in research conducted in the 1960-s. However, it has not been fully resolved until recently. Attempts to present the North Caucasian culture of the Middle Bronze Age as its direct successor have not been accepted by the scientific community. The reason for the end of the Maikop or Maikop- Novosvobodnensk cultural and historical community (MNK) is believed to be the abrupt change in natural and climatic conditions at the end of the Early Bronze Age. The disappearance of an archaeological culture, as a cultural community, is most often understood as the cessation of the use of funeral and memorial ceremonies, as well as the characteristic accompanying equipment, which was made within the technological standards of the era, by a group of people who belong to the studied group of monuments located in a specific territory. But did the change in biological conditions always lead to the disappearance of a culture, and what role did the change in the cultural and economic type play in this process? To answer these questions, it is necessary to determine the territories and climatic conditions in which the population lived, and the changes that affected their lives. This article explores these and related issues based on archaeological, climatic, palynological, and other research conducted in the Ossetian, Chechen, Kabardian, and adjacent territories in the Central Caucasus. As a result, it is concluded that some of the Late Maykop population living in the mountainous zone of the North-Eastern Caucasus may have continued to exist during the early stages of the Middle Bronze Age. The reason for this lies in the complex livestock and agricultural economy, which was adapted to the conditions of the vertical zoning of the sub-mountainous plains. The newly formed cultural groups included representatives of various ethnic communities. Their basis was the complex livestock and agricultural economy, which was adapted to the advantages of the region with vertical zoning, allowing for the rational use of the potential of different climatic zones. Keywords: Bronze Age, archaeology, burial traditions, climate change, Maikop culture. Language: Russian Download the full text For citation: Burkov, S.B. Natural and climatic factors and their impact on the existence of the makop culture in the central Caucasus at the end of the early bronze age. 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