CATTLE-FARMING STAGE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF LANDSCAPES OF PENZA REGION 

Ikonnikov Dmitriy Sergeevich, Candidate of historical sciences, head of the Anthropological laboratory, sub-department of human anatomy, Penza State University (40 Krasnaya street, Penza, Russia), E-mail: ikonnikof-ds@mail.ru
Artemova Serafima Nikolaevna, Candidate of geographical sciences, associate professor, sub-department of geography, Penza State University (40 Krasnaya street, Penza, Russia), E-mail: art-serafima@yandex.ru 

03.23.25+911.52 

DOI

10.21685/2072-3024-2018-4-9 

Background. The results of human interaction with nature in certain historical periods overlap and form a kind of cultural landscapes. Tracking the centuries-old processes of economic development of the territory of the regions, explaining changes in land-use types allows us to evaluate the experience of ethnic groups in the creation of adaptive environmental management and the preservation of cultural heritage. The purpose of this work is to reveal the peculiarities of the formation of cultural landscapes of the Penza region in the period from the 2nd millennium BC. in the first half of the second millennium AD, which is characterized as a pastoralagricultural stage of economic development.
Materials and methods. The work is based on the method of spatial-temporal analysis of the process of economic development, based on a comparison of paleogeographic, archaeological and historical data with modern landscapes.
Results. The considered period of economic development of the territory of Penza region is characterized by climate change towards cooling, which contributed to the spread of forests. The lush meadows served as pastures, and the landscapes of floodplains and floodplain terraces were favorable for farming. Climate change affected population migration and close contact with different ethnic groups. There was an increase in population, the development of agriculture, crafts, construction. 
Conclusions. At the initial stage of the producing economy in the region, an increase in the population occurred and the first negative natural processes appeared at the local level. The most significant transformation of landscapes occurred in the valleys of the rivers Sura and Moksha, and in different ways in the floodplains (hoe agriculture) and on the slopes in the valleys of small rivers (slash-and-burn agriculture). However, the culture of the peoples who initiated the radical transformation of zonal landscapes reflects knowledge of nature and elements of adaptive nature management. 

Key words

historical and geographical analysis, cultural landscapes, Penza region, Upper Posurye and Primokshanye, cattle-farming stage, agriculture 

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