Paleoecological conditions in the steppe zone of the Eastern European plain at the post-catacomb time

The article is devoted to reconstruction of paleoecological conditions of the steppe zone of the Eastern European Plain in the late Middle Bronze Age. Theburiedsoils of the Kurgan of the Babinskaya culture in the Bogucharsky district of the Voronezh region were studied. It is shown that chemical properties of soil are determined by winter precipitation, whilethe stateofitsmicrobial communityreflectsthemoisture content in thewarmseason. Annual precipitation trend in the steppe zone in the post-Catacombperiod was reconstructed on the basis of findings ofa comparative analysis of the chemical and biological properties of soils. It has been established that soils at the end of the 3rd millennium BC showed obvious signs of aridization, which led to a change in soils properties and types causing Southern Chernozems (rich blacksoils) formation in areas where Ordinary Chernozemsis currently located. At the same time, microbial biomass in the buried soils significantlyexceeded the current values, and the structure ofsoil microbial communitywas dominated by microorganisms involved in plant litter decomposition, which indicates favorable summer conditions and intense summertime precipitation. The research data do not relate to the crisis narrative regarding the paleoecological conditions of the late Middle Bronze Age in the steppe zone of the Eastern European Plain. Furthermore, results obtained do not support the idea of crisis as some kind of comprehensive complex of negative natural and social phenomena. It is more correct to speak of an asynchronous change in the annual course of moisture supply with a decrease in winter and an increase in summer precipitation against the background ofgeneral climatic cooling. The article raises the question of the specifics ofglobal climate change manifestation and consequences in the steppe zone generallyreferred to the “4.2-ka BP aridification event”, which caused drought in the lower latitudes and an increase in precipitation in high latitudes while undergoning a general cooling trend. It is suggested that, under those conditions, climatic fluctuation scale in the steppe zone, located intermediatelybetween the boreal and tropical belts, was not so high. Thus, the steppe remained attractive for communities which managed toadjust their economic model to new conditions.