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Hunter-Gatherer Pottery and Charred Residue Dating: New Results on Early Ceramics in the North Eurasian Forest Zone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Sönke Hartz*
Affiliation:
Archaeological State Museum, Foundation Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesmuseen, Gottorf Palace, 24837 Schleswig, Germany
Elena Kostyleva
Affiliation:
Historical Faculty, State University Ivanovo, 5 Timiryazev st., 153025 Ivanovo, Russian Federation
Henny Piezonka
Affiliation:
Historical Institute, Department of Pre- and Protohistory, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University Greifswald, Hans-Fallada-Strasse 1, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
Thomas Terberger
Affiliation:
Historical Institute, Department of Pre- and Protohistory, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University Greifswald, Hans-Fallada-Strasse 1, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
Natalya Tsydenova
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Archaeology, Institute of Mongolian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 6 Sakhyanovoi st., 670047 Ulan-Ude, Republic of Buryatia, Russian Federation
Mikhail G Zhilin
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 19 Dmitri Ulyanov st., 117036 Moscow, Russian Federation
*
Corresponding author. Email: hartz@schloss-gottorf.de
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Abstract

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This article discusses 18 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates from the peat bog sites Sakhtysh 2a, Ozerki 5, and Ozerki 17 in the Upper Volga region. The aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the emergence and dispersal of early ceramic traditions in northern Eurasia and their connection to the Baltic. With 1 exception, all dates were obtained from charred residue adhering to the sherd. A possible reservoir effect was tested on 1 piece of pottery from Sakhtysh 2a by taking 1 sample from charred residue, and another sample from plant fiber remains. Although a reservoir effect was able to be ruled out in this particular case, 4 other dates from Sakhtysh 2a and Ozerki 5 seem too old on typological grounds and might have been affected by freshwater reservoir effects. Considering all other reliable dates, the Early Neolithic Upper Volga culture, and with it the adoption of ceramics, in the forest zone of European Russia started around 6000 cal BC.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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