Uvod k absolutni kronologiji neolitskih kultur na območju Vzhodne Evrope

This paper is an introduction to the discussion of radiocarbon chronology of Neolithic cul­­tures in Eastern Europe. It relates to a number of papers published in this volume.Članek je uvod v diskusijo o radiokarbonski kronologiji neolitskih kultur v vzhodni Ev­ro­­­pi. Nanaša se na tekste, objavljene v tej publikaciji

The 8200 calBP climate event and the spread of the Neolithic in Eastern Europe

At 8200 calBP, the beginning of the Atlantic period, there was a drastic change from warm and humid climatic conditions to cold conditions. The abrupt cooling at 8200 calBP has been documented in different parts of Europe. In western, and some parts of southern, Europe, this event was a trigger for new forms of economy and migrations of groups of Neolithic farmers. This paper considers the different ways in which ceramic traditions developed in eastern Europe in the steppe,steppe-forest and forest zones as a result of the rapid climate changes at about 8200 calBP.V času okoli 8200 calBP, to je na začetku obdobja atlantika, je prišlo do korenite spremembe klime, od toplih in vlažnih pogojev do ohladitev. Nenadna ohladitev v času 8200 calBP je dokumentirana v različnih delih Evrope. V zahodni in v delu južne Evrope je dogodek sprožil nove oblike gospodarstev in preseljevanje skupin neolitskih poljedelcev. V članku razpravljamo o različnih oblikah razvoja keramičnih tradicij na stepskih, gozdno-stepskih in gozdnih območjih v vzhodni Evropi kot posledico te hitre klimatske spremembe v času 8200 calBP

The End of the Earliest Ceramic Traditions

The Dnieper-Dvina area is one of the regions in Eastern Europe which was part of a wider network of the earliest ceramic traditions, spread in the first half to the middle of the 6th millennium BC. After the collapse of this network new ceramic complexes appeared here, called the Rudnya culture, and at the end of the 6th millennium BC this manifested in changes in the directions of cultural connections. This region became part of the cultural space of the Circum-Baltic area. Several complexes within the Rudnya culture originated in different groups of Narva pottery, and are dated to c. 5400–4400 cal BC

Human and birds

The paper presents the study of avifauna from the hunter-gatherer sites at the Dnieper-Dvina basin spanning time period from the 6th to 3rd millennia BC. A total of 669 bird bones were identified and attributed to 46 different bird taxa, representing resident and migrant birds. They belong to four habitat groups: waterfowl, forest, woodside and meadow-steppe. The dominance of waterfowl birds follows the common strategy of aquatic resources exploitation. Changes in the procurement strategies, use and symbolic meanings of birds can be envisaged. Reconstructed regional mean temperature fluctuations suggest a particular influence on breeding biology and migration patterns of different species

Avifauna at the Neolithic Sites of the Dnieper-Dvina Basin: the role of birds in the culture of ancient hunter-gatherers of the VI–III Millennium BC

The article presents a study of avifauna at the Neolithic sites of the Dnieper-Dvina basin (Serteya I and II sites). Changes of paleo-environmental conditions and biotopes, archaeological cultures and types of campsites might have determined changes in the cultural and economic model of the ancient population, having an influence on avifauna particularity in different time periods. Four biotopic groups of birds: near-water birds, woodside birds, forest and meadow-steppe birds are singled out. Birds from the near-water group dominate. It can be assumed, that birds played an important role in food ration in spring and autumn. Paleo-ecological studies allow us to reconstruct a change of water body types. That may have caused a change in bird species. Changes in bird nesting and migration areas may also be evidence of paleo-ecological changes in the V–III millennium BC. Despite the widespread practice of making tools and ornaments from bones and animals teeth at the Neolithic sites in Dnieper-Dvina basin, bird bones were used rather seldom. Almost the entire collection dates back to the end of IV–III millennium BC and is represented mainly by tube beads and blanks

Neolithic farmers or Neolithic foragers? Organic residue analysis of early pottery from Rakushechny Yar on the Lower Don (Russia)

The emergence of pottery in Europe is associated with two distinct traditions: hunter-gatherers in the east of the continent during the early 6th millennium BC and early agricultural communities in the south-west in the late 7th millennium BC. Here we investigate the function of pottery from the site of Rakushechny Yar, located at the Southern fringe of Eastern Europe, in this putative contact zone between these two economic ‘worlds’. To investigate, organic residue analysis was conducted on 120 samples from the Early Neolithic phase (ca. mid-6th millennium BC) along with microscopic and SEM analysis of associated foodcrusts. The results showed that the earliest phase of pottery use was predominantly used to process riverine resources. Many of the vessels have molecular and isotopic characteristics consistent with migratory fsh, such as sturgeon, confrmed by the identifcation of sturgeon bony structures embedded in the charred surface deposits. There was no evidence of dairy products in any of the vessels, despite the fact these have been routinely identifed in coeval sites to the south. Further analysis of some of the mammalian bones using ZooMS failed to demonstrate that domesticated animals were present in the Early Neolithic. Nevertheless, we argue that intensive exploitation of seasonally migratory fsh, accompanied by large-scale pottery production, created storable surpluses that led to similar socio-economic outcomes as documented in early agricultural societies

The transmission of pottery technology among prehistoric European hunter-gatherers

Human history has been shaped by global dispersals of technologies, although understanding of what enabled these processes is limited. Here, we explore the behavioural mechanisms that led to the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer communities in Europe during the mid-Holocene. Through radiocarbon dating, we propose this dispersal occurred at a far faster rate than previously thought. Chemical characterization of organic residues shows that European hunter-gatherer pottery had a function structured around regional culinary practices rather than environmental factors. Analysis of the forms, decoration and technological choices suggests that knowledge of pottery spread through a process of cultural transmission. We demonstrate a correlation between the physical properties of pots and how they were used, reflecting social traditions inherited by successive generations of hunter-gatherers. Taken together the evidence supports kinship-driven, super-regional communication networks that existed long before other major innovations such as agriculture, writing, urbanism or metallurgy

Introduction: Neolithic and Bronze Age pile dwellings in Europe. An outstanding archaeological resource with a long research tradition and broad perspectives

Research on prehistoric lakeside settlements began more than 150 years ago in Switzerland. Today, comparable settlements all over Europe belong to the best-known archaeological sites of the continent. The special conditions of the lake dwelling sites under water or waterlogged conditions in lakes and bogs led to an excellent preservation of organic materials, and settlement structures from long ago are discovered in an extraordinarily good state of preservation. Substantially preserved wooden architecture, overwhelming amounts of pottery, numerous organic implements made of wood, bark, antler and bone, textile as well as extensive plant and faunal remains made the pile dwellings welcome archaeological sources. From the 1980s onwards, high-precision dating of wooden structures by dendrochronology or a combination of dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating allowed reconstructing the architectural evolution of buildings and settlements in many cases. Precisely-dated archaeological layers help to follow the stylistic evolution of pottery and tools. The investigation of botanical and animal remains from these layers provides detailed insights into the economic conditions and long-distance relations of ancient societies. Prehistoric lakeside settlements show an extraordinarily vivid picture of the past, a glimpse into everyday life as well as reactions to and coping with climate-induced years of crisis

Radiokarbonska kronologija neolitika na območju spodnjega toka reke Don in v severovzhodnem delu Azovskega morja

So far, four different cultural-chronological groups of sites have been identified in the North-eastern Azov Sea and Lower Don River areas, including sites of the Rakushechny Yar culture, Matveev Kurgan culture, Donets culture, and sites of the Caspian-Ciscaucasian region. An analysis of all known dates, as well as the contexts and stratigraphies of the sites, allowed us to form a new perspective of the chronology of southern Russia, to revise the chronology of this region, and change the concept of unreliability of dates for this area.Na območjih severovzhodnega dela Azovskega morja in spodnjega toka reke Don so bile do danes prepoznane štiri različne kulturno-kronološke skupine najdišč, ki vključujejo najdišča kul­ture Rakushechny Yar, kulture Matveev Kurgan, kulture Donets in druga najdišča v kaspijsko – cis­kavkaški regiji. Z analizo vseh znanih radiokarbonskih datumov, njihovih kontekstov in stratigra­fij na najdiščih, smo lahko oblikovali nove poglede na kronologijo južne Rusije, revidirali staro krono­logijo in spreme­nili odnos do datumov, ki so veljali za nezanesljive