Historically, the development of the highlands is difficult to relate to the mode of life of the people and their culture of livelihood.
Research shows that in the difficult conditions of the highlands in the pre-industrial era, unique local environmental management systems were created that successfully ensured the livelihoods of local communities.
The difficult conditions of the highlands (rocky soil, danger of avalanches and rockfalls, unstable weather) determined the complexity of economic activity in such regions. Traditionally, cattle breeding was the main form of economy in such regions. However, small plots of land and gentle mountain slopes were actively used for farming.
Ethnological studies in the mountainous regions of the North Caucasus indicate that folk farming was very well developed. For example, Ossetians people cultivated barley and rye only on the sunlit side of the mountain slopes, while oats were cultivated in shaded areas. Traditionally, problems of protecting the soil, farmers created terraces, and irrigation systems were actual for peoples in highlands of the North Caucasus.
The multi-kilometer irrigation systems of the Karachays peoples and Balkars peoples had stone and wooden aqueducts.
Water was supplied to arable fields and hay meadows. The distribution of incoming water was strictly regulated by special rules. Taking care of soil fertility, farmers periodically left fields for fallow (without cultivation for 2-3 years), and regularly applied fertilizers. Livestock manure was most often used as fertilizer, the Ingush peoples also used wild pigeon droppings. After harvesting, Ossetian farmers set up sheep pens in the fields, fertilizing the land with manure.
Terrace farming in the North Caucasus is characterized by a high level of agriculture and has deep historical roots (barley, rye, and corn [wheat] were grown here).
Historically, highland agriculture in the North Caucasus has been characterized by a careful attitude to the accumulated experience of farming. In the eastern part of the North Caucasus (Dagestan area), terraced agriculture was developed. In conditions of low land, lack of fertile soils, terraced fields occupied more than 245,000 ha. Academician Nikolai Vavilov, who visited Dagestan in the 1930s, wrote that terraced farming makes rational use of every piece of land here. Terraced farming is located at an altitude of 500 to 2,600 m above sea level.
The harsh living conditions in mountain villages and the low efficiency of highlands agriculture contributed to the resettlement of residents of mountain villages to the plain in the middle of the 20th century.
Today, fruit trees (apricots, peaches), vegetables (cabbage, potatoes, carrots), and crops were grown on terraced fields.
Historically, terraces regularly cultivated by farmers have stabilized the soil cover of the mountains, prevented the development of erosion and mudflow.
Nikolai Vavilov noted the importance of studying highland agriculture. It is in the highlands that endemics have been preserved. The memories of local residents stored in local museums help clarify the role of endemics in the folk culture of life support and trace the history of highland agriculture.
Dr. Viacheslav Rudnev, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology
Photograph of Dr. Rudnev’s poster presented during the 2026 AIMA Congress, Lorsch, Germany. Photograph by Cozette Griffin Kremer.
Map: North Caucasus regions. By Peter Fitzgerald, 7 August, 2008. Available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northern_Caucasus_regions_map.svg (accessed 18 July 2026).
