Agriculture in the Perm Kama Region in the Early Iron Age and the Great Migration Period
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2026.2.147.173Keywords:
archaeology, agriculture, Early Iron Age, Great Migration Period, Ananyino culture, Glyadenovo culture, spelt, barley, wheatAbstract
This paper presents the first comprehensive archaeobotanical study of archaeological sites in the Perm Urals, primarily dating to the Early Iron and Middle Ages. The Perm region is located in the middle and southern taiga, which makes agricultural practices difficult. The results indicate the emergence of agriculture in the late Ananyino period of the Early Iron Age, no later than the IV century BC. At that time, 58° north latitude represented the northern limit of agriculture in the Vyatka-Kama region. The main types of cultivated grains were spelt and barley, and wheat, sorghum and hemp were added to them in the III–V centuries AD. Wild plants contributed to dietary diversity and indicate highly altered landscapes around the study sites. The prevalence of spelt in the Early Iron Age links the origins of agriculture in the Central Kama region with the Pontic Steppe and the Caucasus region. Overall, agriculture could have contributed to the population growth of Glyadenovo and the development of new areas in the north and south.
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