Ceramic Firing Structures in Prehistoric and Ancient Societies of the Russian Far East

Archaeological records reveal the history of pottery and roof-tile firing devices in the southern part of the Russian Far East, the neighboring Korean Peninsula, and northeast China. Chronological parameters are from the first millennium b.c. through the thirteenth century a.d., including the Palaeometal period of the Prehistory epoch, Pre-State period, and Early States epoch. Different types of firing kilns varied in complexity of form and technology, including the tunneled sloping kiln, manthou kiln, and vertical up-draught kiln. These specific characteristics reflect the involvement of the ancient southern Russian Far East in the processes of cultural interaction within the larger East Asia region

O terminu ‘Jōmon’ in prispevku ruskih znanstvenikov k študijam kulture Jōmon

The article is devoted to the introduction of the term ‘Jōmon’ into Russian archaeological literature, its understanding, and the contribution of Russian scholars to Jōmon studies starting from the late 20th century. The recognition of the term and its use had some peculiarities which were caused not only by the language barrier and political events in the far eastern region, but mostly by the specifics of the archaeological investigations in the Russian Far East and the priority of research focused first on the Ainu origin, and then on the Palaeolithic rather on the nature of the Neolithic. The rise of the interest in Jōmon grew in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the discoveries of initial pottery with Final Pleistocene dates in Japan and Russia (Lower and Middle Amur Region). During the 1980s and 1990s this trend was realized in a series of publications, international conferences, and the first joint Russian-Japanese archaeological projects. The current stage is illustrated by the institualization of several research centres of Jōmon studies in Russia (Novosibirsk, Vladivostok), by a high level of international cooperation, and by a wide range of research topics, including chronological, technological, ritual and other aspects of the Jōmon period.Članek je posvečen vpeljavi in razumevanju termina ‘Jōmon’ v ruski arheološki literaturi ter prispevku ruskih znanstvenikov k študijam te kulture od konca 20. stoletja. Prepoznavanje tega strokovnega izraza in njegove uporabe je imelo nekaj posebnosti, ki so jih povzročile tako jezikovne pregrade kot politični dogodki na območju Daljnega vzhoda, predvsem pa posebnosti arheoloških raziskav na ruskem Daljnem vzhodu in prioritete raziskav, ki so se usmerile predvsem v izvor ljudstva Ainu ter v paleolitske študije in manj v naravo neolitika. Interes za Jōmon se je povečal šele ob koncu 60. in v zgodnjih 70. letih prejšnjega stoletja z odkritjem najstarejše lončenine iz obdobja finalnega pleistocena na Japonskem in v Rusiji (spodnja in srednja regija Amur). V 80. in 90. letih prejšnjega stoletja se je ta interes pokazal v seriji publikacij, mednarodnih srečanj in v prvih združenih rusko-japonskih arheoloških projektih. Sedanjo stopnjo razvoja pa ponazarja ve≠ raziskovalnih središč posvečenih študijam kulture Jōmon v Rusiji (Novosibirsk, Vladivostok), pa tudi višji nivo mednarodnih sodelovanj in širši razpon raziskovalnih tem, ki vključujejo kronologijo, tehnologijo, rituale in druge vidike obdobja kulture Jōmon

Provenance and distribution networks of the earliest bronze in the Maritime Territory (Primorye), Russian Far East

Metal artifacts from the Paleometal Epoch (ca. 1100 BC–400 AD) of the Primorye (Russian Far East) have shed new light on the introduction of the earliest bronzes into the Pacific coastal areas of prehistoric Eurasia. However, little is known about raw material circulation and the role of metal in the context of inter-regional exchange. This paper investigates 12 copper artifacts from major Paleometal settlements using alloy composition, trace elements, and lead isotopes to explore the metal sources and distribution networks. The results suggest that most objects are made of a copper-tin alloy, but some have arsenic as a significant minor element. Geologically, copper is unlikely to have come from local ore sources, but rather from the Liaoxi corridor and Liaodong Peninsula in Northeast China. This may indicate an inland route of metal trade across Northeast China or alternately, a coastal route via the northern Korean Peninsula. Archaeologically, the combined study of artifact typology and chemistry indicates two possible origins for the metal: the Upper Xiajiadian culture in Northeast China and Slab Grave culture in Mongolia/Transbaikal. Remarkably, the connection with Upper Xiajiadian communities parallels the transport route along which millet agriculture spread from Northeast China to the Primorye during the Neolithic

Ancient Ceramic Casting Molds from the Southern Russian Far East: Identification of Alloy Traces via Application of Nondestructive SEM-EDS and pXRF Methods

The investigation presented in this paper is a unique assemblage of ceramic casting molds discovered at one of the sites from the Bohai period (698–926) in the territory of the southern Russian Far East. The main research aim is to recognize probable traces of metal alloys cast in ceramic molds. Nondestructive pXRF and SEM-EDS methods were used as the research instruments for detecting the expected alloys’ chemical components. As a result, the elements Pb, Sn, Cu, and As were indicated at the surfaces of the molds’ cavities with evidence of carbonization caused by the casting process. Preliminarily, two groups of alloys were distinguished: lead-bearing alloys and lead-free alloys. Our new insights are in good accordance with the results of previous investigations on chemical compositions of bronzes from the Bohai period archaeological sites of the southern Russian Far East. In particular, data on the examination of ceramic molds confirm the conclusion that various kinds of copper alloys were known and used in the bronze casting craft of the Bohai period

Ancient Ceramic Casting Molds from the Southern Russian Far East: Identification of Alloy Traces via Application of Nondestructive SEM-EDS and pXRF Methods

The investigation presented in this paper is a unique assemblage of ceramic casting molds discovered at one of the sites from the Bohai period (698–926) in the territory of the southern Russian Far East. The main research aim is to recognize probable traces of metal alloys cast in ceramic molds. Nondestructive pXRF and SEM-EDS methods were used as the research instruments for detecting the expected alloys’ chemical components. As a result, the elements Pb, Sn, Cu, and As were indicated at the surfaces of the molds’ cavities with evidence of carbonization caused by the casting process. Preliminarily, two groups of alloys were distinguished: lead-bearing alloys and lead-free alloys. Our new insights are in good accordance with the results of previous investigations on chemical compositions of bronzes from the Bohai period archaeological sites of the southern Russian Far East. In particular, data on the examination of ceramic molds confirm the conclusion that various kinds of copper alloys were known and used in the bronze casting craft of the Bohai period

A “Red-and-Green Porcelain” Figurine from a Jin Period Archaeological Site in the Primor’ye Region, Southern Russian Far East

This paper considers the results of an examination of a polychrome glazed anthropomorphic ceramic figurine from the Prmor’ye region (southern Russian Far East) discovered at one of the Jin period (1115–1234 CE) archaeological sites. The study attests to the hypothesis about the attribution of this unique art object to the “red-and-green porcelain” produced in Northern China since the mid-Jin period. At present “the red-and-green porcelain” is the object of certain research interest as an important stage of Chinese ceramics history preceding the invention of famous porcelains with overglazed enamel decoration. The main technological features and material properties of the studied object were determined using analytical methods of optical and electron (SEM) microscopy with the use of X-ray elemental composition analysis (EDS, pXRF). The main result of the study presented in the paper includes evidence that the polychrome ceramic figurine found at the Anan’evka walled town in Primor’ey in the south of the Russian Far East belongs to the category of “red-and-green porcelain”, or “red-green ware”. As supposed, the figurine portrays Zen monk Budai—a person popular in Chinese arts and spiritual culture of the Song and Jin periods. Therefore, the polychrome ceramics figurine from the Primor’ye region may be considered today as the most northeastern case of “red-and-green porcelain” discovered in an archaeological context

Environment, Ecology, and Interaction in Japan, Korea, and the Russian Far East: the Millennial History of a Japan Sea Oikumene

Encircling the Sea of Japan, or East Sea in Korean terms, is a north-temperate landscape that includes thousands of miles of deeply indented seacoast, mountains, and plains, all covered by variously mixed woodlands. The Japanese archipelago comprises its eastern edge, fronting the Pacific Ocean, while the great Amur-Ussuri-Sungari riverine plain forms its far west. We perceive the region comprised by modern Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East as a "Japan Sea Oikumene," and review culture-historical and environmental evidence to show that—contrary to earlier historical and archaeological impressions—the region has a long-lived ecological and technological unity as a distinctive "cultural world" that can be traced continuously from late Pleistocene into recent times. To contextualize this "world" in comparative terms, we note that it is analogous in prominent ways to the Atlantic sides of both Europe and North America, feeling the cold of northern winters but also warmed by the currents of a southern ocean and having both coastal and deeply continental terrains. Like them also, it is a region of great biotic diversity and productivity where the species of northern and southern ranges overlap and hunting-fishing-gathering peoples developed prosperous, stable, and long-lived cultural traditions. All three of these north-temperate "cultural worlds" also saw their peoples relate increasingly over time to precocious southern lands "beyond," where husbandry, human numbers, and socioeconomic complexity grew on a steeper trajectory than they did farther north

Red and Black Paints on Prehistoric Pottery of the Southern Russian Far East: An Archaeometric Study

This paper considers the results of an examination of painted pottery from prehistoric sites of the Prmor’ye region (Southern Russian Far East) in the northwestern part of the Sea of Japan basin. Red-painted and black-painted ceramic wares occur here only in the remains of the Yankovskaya archaeological culture dated to the 1st mil. BCE. Red painting appears as a colored surface coating, and black painting is represented by very simple drawn patterns. Until recently painting decorations have not been intentionally studied. The objects of our investigation are a small series of red-painted and black-painted ceramic fragments originated from archaeological sites. The methods of optical microscopy, SEM-EDS, and Raman spectroscopy were applied to the study of research materials. As a result, the data on characteristics of texture and composition of red and black paints were obtained. Both were determined to be pre-firing paints. Red paint is a clayish substance mixed with natural ochre pigment containing the hematite coloring agent. Black paint is carbon-based. Black carbon and burnt bone are recognized as colorants. The presented materials are new evidence of pottery paint technologies in prehistoric Eurasia

Provenance and distribution networks of the earliest bronze in the Maritime Territory (Primorye), Russian Far East

Metal artifacts from the Paleometal Epoch (ca. 1100 BC–400 AD) of the Primorye (Russian Far East) have shed new light on the introduction of the earliest bronzes into the Pacific coastal areas of prehistoric Eurasia. However, little is known about raw material circulation and the role of metal in the context of inter-regional exchange. This paper investigates 12 copper artifacts from major Paleometal settlements using alloy composition, trace elements, and lead isotopes to explore the metal sources and distribution networks. The results suggest that most objects are made of a copper-tin alloy, but some have arsenic as a significant minor element . Geologically, copper is unlikely to have come from local ore sources, but rather from the Liaoxi corridor and Liaodong Peninsula in Northeast China. This may indicate an inland route of metal trade across Northeast China or alternately, a coastal route via the northern Korean Peninsula. Archaeologically, the combined study of artifact typology and chemistry indicates two possible origins for the metal: the Upper Xiajiadian culture in Northeast China and Slab Grave culture in Mongolia/Transbaikal. Remarkably, the connection with Upper Xiajiadian communities parallels the transport route along which millet agriculture spread from Northeast China to the Primorye during the Neolithic