In:
Documenta Praehistorica, University of Ljubljana, Vol. 44 ( 2017-12-27), p. 122-151
Abstract:
The onset of the Neolithic period in the Russian North is defined by the emergence of pottery vessels in the archaeological record. The ceramics produced by mobile hunter-gatherer-fisher groups in the north-eastern European forest zone are among the earliest in Europe, starting around 6000 cal BC. After the initial mosaic of local styles in the Early Neolithic, including sparsely decorated wares and early Comb Ware, the Middle Neolithic period, starting in the 5th millennium cal BC, saw the development and spread of larger, more homogenous typological entities between the Urals and the Baltic, the Comb-Pit and Pit-Comb wares. Absolute chronologies, however, are still subject to debate, due to a general lack of reliable contextual information. Direct 14C dating of carbonised surface residues (‘food crusts’) on pots can help to address this problem, as it dates the use of the pottery; but if aquatic foods were processed in the vessels, the respective radiocarbon ages can appear to be too old due to the freshwater reservoir effect. In this paper, we discuss the radiocarbon chronologies of four important stratified archaeological complexes in the region between Lake Onega and the Sukhona basin, Berezovaya Slobodka, Veksa, Karavaikha, and Tudozero. A growing series of dates, including AMS dates, sheds new light on the onset and further periodisation of the Early and Middle Neolithic in this important area between Eastern Fennoscandia, Central Russia and the Far North-East of Europe, although problems concerning the absolute chronology of the initial Neolithic remain.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1854-2492
,
1408-967X
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
University of Ljubljana
Publication Date:
2017
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2215069-9
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2215071-7
SSG:
6,12
SSG:
6,11
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