Kurgans of the 11th-13th cc. In the archaeological map of the Moskva river basin: some approaches of revealing local structures and centres of settling system

The paper analyses maps of medieval Russian kurgans in the Moskva River basin compiled with application of various methods, including GIS technologies. Analysis of the maps has revealed the advantages of the latter for accomplishing different investigational tasks. Maps showing number of the mounds in local groups prove to be most informative for revealing local centres of settling system and foci of initial settling of the territory. Maps of kurgans clusters' density with mounds number not shown appear to be promising, when establishing centres of population concentration within the macroregion, in given case the area 15 to 37 km large in the Moskva and Pakhra rivers interfluve. Diagrams of distances separating the sites and establishing the areas of Thiessen polygon tessellation let make an assessment of the degree of the territory structuring and determine the area of resource base for given dwelling sites.