Karalar Coast of the Azov Sea Crimean Area in the Bronze Age: An Interdisciplinary Research

Satellite images, magnetic surveys and targeted excavations in the Azov Sea Crimean Area discovered four new settlements from the Bronze Age. Three of the sites, Bolshoi Shiban, Sagun Dyk Kaia, and Dzhargan Kaia, consist of clusters of pit-houses dating from the Late Bronze Age. At the settlement of Tashlarka Severnaia, the main structure is a double stone cattle pen, with pit-houses around. This settlement dates from the Middle Bronze Age. All the identified settlements occupy similar landscape position, protected by nearby dominant heights from the north-eastern winds. The archaeozoological analysis undertaken indicates the predominance of cattle bones with a significant proportion of sheep and goat bones. Horse bones are present in much smaller quantities and only at two Late-Bronze-Age settlements. The discovery of these settlements, located at the distance of 1.5–2 km from each other, shows that the Azov Sea Crimean Area was densely populated in the Bronze Age. Cattle breeding played a major role in their economy.