Dolerites and diabases of the Middle Dnipro area as raw material for ancient stone products

Abstract

Purpose. To characterize mafic rocks of the dike complex of the Middle Dnipro Area, which consti-tuted the raw material base for the production of stone goods over various historical epochs, according to the data of petroarchaeological studies. To find out the relationship between the petrographic features of rocks and the ways of their application. Methods. The main research method was a comparative petrographic analysis of the raw materials of stone products made from dolerites and diabases with the rocks that form natural outcrops in the Middle Dnipro Area. For this, materials from geological survey reports, literature data, as well as rock samples taken from outcrops were used. Findings. It was established that the use of dolerites and diabases in the Middle Dnipro Area began more than 30 thousand years ago. Their specialized mining was carried out in the Eneolithic-Bronze Age in the zone of distribution of rocks of the Middle Dnipro megablock of the Ukrainian Shield and the Kryvyi Rih-Kremenchuk suture zone. Ancient people used dolerites and diabases mined at the oc-currences along the rivers of Dnipro, Mokra Sura, Bazavluk, Saksahan and Inhulets, but rocks from other dikes could also be used. The main way of mafic dike rocks use in ancient times was the manu-facture of polished tools and weapons. The main petrographic features that contributed to the active use of dolerites and diabases were the relative softness of their main rock-forming minerals, massive struc-ture, fine-grained texture, and the strength due to the prismatic-granular microstructure. In the Early Iron Age, the use of these rocks had practically ceased and resumed only with the development of industrial production, probably with the beginning of active construction on the territory of the former lands of the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks at the end of the 18th century – early 19th century. Today, dolerites and diabases are mined in the Middle Dnipro Area along with granites for rubble and crushed stone. The originality. For the first time, the characteristics of the use of dolerites and diabases of the Middle Dnipro Area during previous historical epochs were given. The distribution zones of dike rocks, which served as the main raw material base for the ancient production of stone tools, were determined. Practical implementation. The results obtained can be used to write scientific and educational works on the history and archaeology of the Middle Dnipro Area.