Kandinov Mikhail Nikolaevich

 Introduction. The Nubian expedition of the Lomonosov MSU carried out survey in the Onib Depression in December 2022. The survey revealed several surface scatters and two stone age sites Onib-1 and Onib-Outcrop.

Materials and methods. The materials for the article were artifacts (stone tools and debitage, fragments of ceramics) discovered at the surface scatters and sites as well as samples for OSL dating, loss-on-ignition and pollen analysis taken from sites. For comparison, we used stone tools discovered by the Nubian expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1961-1963. The artifacts found at the sites were documented (marked on a map, photographed and described). Several samples for OSL dating were taken at both sites. Sample preparation and gamma spectrometry, as well as OSL measurements, were conducted by standard methods. Analysis of the decoration of ceramic fragments found at the Onib-1 site was carried out. Also, based on the prepared thin sections, a technological and petroglyphic analyses of the obtained fragments were carried out. Samples were taken from different layers of the sites Onib-1 and Onib-Outcrop to determine the content of organic residues and spore-pollen analysis. Sample preparation and analysis were carried out following the standard procedures.

Results and Discussion. Analysis of the finds made at the sites indicates that the entire Wadi al-Allaqi region from the Red Sea Mountains to the Nile Valley was inhabited during the Neolithic period. OSL dating for Onib-1 and Onib-Outcrop sites indicates that the sedimentary deposits were formed during the Neolithic Subpluvial. These data are also confirmed by the results of ceramic analysis. The layers in which the ceramic fragments were found can be dated back to the 3^rd millennium BC. Petrographic analysis of thin sections of ceramics from Onib-1 site indicates the use of local material for the manufacturing of ceramics. The results of loss on ignition analysis did not reveal a sufficient content of organic residues for a comprehensive paleoecological study that overall indicates unfavorable conditions for the accumulation of organic matter in the studied deposits.

Conclusion. The results obtained indicate high prospects of continuing field research in the Onib Depression aimed at discovering and excavating Neolithic sites. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. In 2023, Russian science celebrated the 140th anniversary of the birth of D.N. Anuchin, a scientist-encyclopedist and prominent specialist in the fields of anthropology, ethnology, geography, archaeology, and a promoter and popularizer of science.

Materials and methods. Literary sources were used. Analytical and chronological research methods were applied in the study.

Results and discussion. The section "Childhood and Youth" provides information about the scientist's life, his parents, wife, and children. D.N. received a good home education and entered the second grade of a gymnasium. In 1860, he enrolled in the Faculty of History and Philology at St. Petersburg University. Due to illness in 1861, he had to interrupt his studies and travel abroad for treatment. In 1863, Anuchin entered the Natural Sciences Department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Moscow University, specializing in zoology. The section "Young Specialist" is dedicated to Anuchin's life in the first years after graduating from university. It was only in 1871 that Anuchin was elected to the position of scientific secretary of the Society for the Acclimatization of Animals and Plants. This period marks the first scientific publications by Anuchin in the collections "Nature." In 1876, his first major anthropological monograph on the Ainu people was published. In late 1876, D.N. was sent abroad by the university to prepare for the establishment of a new chair in anthropology. The section "Formation of Scientific Interests" shows how Anuchin's scientific interests were shaped, as the author of about 600 works on ethnic anthropology, anthropogenesis, paleontology, ethnography, primitive archaeology, physical geography, country studies, and the history of science. In the next article, the authors plan to examine D.N. Anuchin's scientific and organizational activities. © 2024. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license