2013 marks the 75th anniversary of a prominent scientist and teacher, Professor, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation Viktor Vladimirovich Zaikov. He is known for his works on geoarchaeological topics, in which he gave a detailed description of the ancient mines of the Urals, Kazakhstan and Southern Siberia, identified the raw material base of the ancient metallurgy of the region, and established mineralogical criteria for determining the sources of copper and gold ores based on the study of microinclusions in slags and metals.

Viktor Vladimirovich Zaikov was born on May 3, 1938 in Vladivostok. After graduating from high school in Ukraine, he entered the Donetsk Industrial Institute and received the qualification of "mining engineer-geologist". In the period 1960 - 1980 he worked in production and research organizations in Siberia. The main activity of V. V. Zaykov was geological mapping and search for mineral deposits in ore-bearing complexes, which are associated with ancient copper mines. They discovered deposits of rock salt and gold. On the area of work carried out under Viktor Vladimirovich's supervision, there were archaeological sites of Tuva - the tsar's Arzhan mound, the Kyzyk-Chadr mine, and ancient mine workings in the Chirgaki River basin-which attracted his attention as a geologist. Based on the materials obtained during this period, he defended his dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences in 1974 at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

The next stage of the hero's activity is connected with the Institute of Economics and Organization of Industrial Production of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1975, the Tuvan Economic Laboratory of this Institute was organized, supervised by academicians A. B. Aganbegyan and V. A. Kuznetsov. One of its tasks was metallogenic zoning of the territory of Tuva, which was carried out taking into account the conditions for placing ancient workings, including the Khovu-Aksynsky, Kyzyl-Torgsky, Balyktygsky, and Tardansky mines.

Since 1980, V. V. Zaikov has been working in the Urals, first at the Ilmen State Nature Reserve, and then at the Institute of Mineralogy of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Initially, he worked on sulfide structures in paleoceanic structures and proved their belonging to the ancient "black smokers", formed in places where mineralized solutions came out on the sea floor. This was a new word in the doctrine of minerals. The obtained materials became the basis for a dissertation defended in Leningrad at the All-Union Geological Institute (VSEGEI). In 1988, V. V. Zaikov was awarded the degree of Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences.

Since 1991, Viktor Vladimirovich's geological interests have included the study of archaeological sites. The first experience was connected with the study of the fortified settlement of Arkaim in the Southern Urals. Employees of the laboratory headed by V. V. Zaikov conducted geological mapping of the area, identified the mineral resource base of ancient societies. Analysis of the petrofund of the stone industry allowed us to identify the rocks used by the ancient inhabitants of Arkaim.

The expansion of geoarchaeological research has led to the identification of a series of ancient mines in the seemingly thoroughly studied territory of the Urals.

Among them are Dergamyshsky, Ivanovsky, Ishkininsky, Vorovskaya Yama, where audit work was carried out using earthmoving equipment. This made it possible to identify cultural layers with the remains of ceramic vessels of the Alakul culture.

The problem of determining the sources of copper ores for paleometallurgists in the region was solved by V. V. Zaikov by studying slags and metals using modern physical methods. The mineral and molten microinclusions found in them made it possible to create a methodology for determining the development sites of deposits. In recent years, he has identified in ancient gold products the smallest grains of platinoids that have fallen into gold from fossil placers. These materials are presented in the monographs "Fundamentals of Geoarchaeology" and "Precious metals in ores and ancient gold products of the Southern Urals".

The research of V. V. Zaykov and his colleagues attracted the attention of archaeologists: joint work was carried out with specialists from the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of History and Archeology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chelyabinsk, South Ural, Ural, Orenburg, and Ufa Universities. The result was the collective monographs "Natural methods of studying the Filippovka I burial ground", "The influence of the Achaemenid culture in the Southern Urals". This was followed by research of the gold hoards of Bulgaria together with scientists of the Institute of Archeology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, ancient mines of Kazakhstan by the Russian-Kazakh expedition.

Viktor Vladimirovich has long been involved in the study of archaeological sites of the Bronze Age in the Urals: Arkaima, Ishkinino, Kichigino, Perevolochana, Yakovlevka. Since 2006. he heads the work of the Institute of Mineralogy on the study of the mineral resource base in the area of the ancient settlements of Kamenny Ambar and Kuysak. Scientists of the Institute of Mining from Germany (Bochum) participated in these studies, and a joint monograph was prepared.

Together with scientists from Astana, Almaty, Kokshetau, and Kostanay, promising works on the study of slags and metal products of Kazakhstan have been started. Together with specialists of Kharkiv State University, a study of metal products and slags from the Velsky hillfort in Ukraine was conducted.

Viktor Vladimirovich's visit to foreign archaeological sites was of great importance for the approval and popularization of the geoarchaeological approach. Among them are Troy and Pamukkale (Turkey), Skouriotissa and Kokkinoua (Cyprus), Knossos, Mycenae and Akrotiri (Greece), Pompeii, Herculaneum and Lipari (Italy), Stonehenge and Avebury (Britain). Impressions of these trips are described in the popular science books "Youth of Geoarchaeology", "Arkaim and geoarchaeological wanderings".

V. V. Zaykov's teaching career began at Chelyabinsk State University and developed at South Ural State University. On his initiative, the course "Geoarchaeology" was prepared for students of the geochemical specialty. In 1994, Viktor Vladimirovich became a corresponding member of the International Academy of Mineral Resources, and in 2000 he was awarded the title of Professor. V. V. Zaikov was a long-time member of the Joint Scientific Council of Earth Sciences of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a member of the editorial board of the academic journal "Lithosphere". In 1995, he organized the Youth Scientific School "Metallogeny of Ancient and Modern Oceans", which annually conducts geological and mineralogical meetings and field trips. They are attended by geologist students and members of young geologists ' circles from Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Orsk, and Miass.

V. V. Zaikov is the author of more than 500 scientific papers, including 20 monographs. Under his supervision, 13 PhD theses were defended, among his students three doctors of geological and mineralogical sciences.

The role of Viktor Vladimirovich Zaikov in the development of geoarchaeology is determined not only by the use of geological, mineralogical and geochemical methods for the study of archaeological sites. Of great importance is the use of the obtained modern analytical data in the practice of archaeological research with access to a new level of understanding and interpretation of the overall results, which is convincingly shown by the example of several types of archaeological sites in the Urals: ancient mines, slags from settlements of the Bronze Age and gold products. Quantitative results of analyses for specific chemical impurities in artefacts made it possible to re-evaluate the types of mineral raw materials used, their sources and transportation possibilities, thereby revealing the ways of cultural interaction in ancient societies.

Students and colleagues of the hero of the day highly appreciate his contribution to the development of geoarchaeology, and wish Viktor Vladimirovich good health and the implementation of his plans.