Radiocarbon Chronology of the Neolithic sites from the Boreal Zone of

European Russia

Zaitseva G.I.& Dolukhanov P.M.

Database of the 14C determinations for the Neolithic sites

• The radiocarbon-based chronologies of the Neolithic for Southern, Central, Western Europe and Scandinavia were initially suggested in the 1960s and apparently confirmed the Gordon Childe’s view that the ‘Neolithic way of life penetrated Europe from the south-east spreading from Greece and the south Balkans…’.

• Later publications based on comprehensive radiocarbon data for Neolithic sites suggested more complex scenarios (Tringham (1971; Dolukhanov and Timofeev 1972).

About the History of the Eastern Europe Neolithic

• Until the mid 1990s the chronology of Eastern European Neolithic was developing rather independently from the those of Western and Central Europe.

• This was at least partly due to the special character of the Eastern European Neolithic, quite distinct from other parts of Europe and the Near East

Chronology of the Neolithic of Russia

• Chronology of the Neolithic of North-Western Russia is now based on the solid foundation of radiocarbon evidence.

• It should be remarked that the concept of Neolithic in Russia is quite different from that adopted in Western Europe.

• If in the West the beginning of Neolithic is viewed as the spread of farming, Russian archaeology traditionally correlates it with the beginning of pottery making.

• During the last 20 years the situation with the age of Forest Neolithic changed considerably. The beginning of the Forest Neolithic in 1950-70-s was placed to the period about beginning of 3rd millenium BC, and now it is considered as about 7300 – 7000 BP, follow the numerous Radiocarbon dates first of all for the sites of the Upper Volga Early Neolithic culture.

Map of the Neolithic sites dated by 14C

European part Asian part

Database of the 14C determinations of the Mesolithic-Neolithic sites

• The 14C Lab of the Institute for the History of material cultures started to develop the computerised database of the 14C determinations using both the dates obtained by our Lab and published in the literature.

• Now this database includes more than 7000 determinations

• Among them about 1500 14C dates are related to the Mesolithic and Neolithic of Russia

Structure of the Database

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Час

тота

AzerbAfganistGeorgiaKazakhstanLatviaMoldovaRussiaTurkmeniaUkraine

Azerb

Armenia

Afganist

Belorus

Georgia

Irak

Kazakhstan

Kirgisia

Latvia

Lithuania

Moldova

Mongolia

Russia

Tadzhikist

Turkmenia

Usbekistan

Ukraine

Estonia

Distribution of the 14C dates on the cultures

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Palaeolithic Mesolithic Neolithic Eneolithic Bronze Iron Age Mediavel

Ряд1

Regional distribution of the 14C dates in Russia

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

Europe Western Siberia Eastern Siberia Far East

Europe

Western Siberia

Eastern Siberia

Far East

14C dates for the Mesolithic and Neolithic

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

Sum Mesolithic Neolithic

Ряд1

Distribution of the 14C dates for the Mesolithic

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Azerb Georgia Kazakhst Kirgizia Latvia Lithuania Moldova Russia Tadzhik Usbek Ukraine Estonia

Ряд1

Regional distribution of the 14C dates of the Neolithic in Russia

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Eastern Siberia Far East Europe Baikal Western Siberia Sakhalin Ural

Distribution of the 14C dates for the Neolithic of the exUSSR

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Azerb Armenia Belorus Irak Kazakhs Latvia Lithuania Moldova Russia Tadzhik Ukraine Estonia

Ряд1

Histogram of the distribution of the 14C ages of the Mesolithic-Neolithic sites

Distribution of the 14C dates for the Mesolithic-Neolithic sites of Russia

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000

Radiocarbon age, BP

Fre

qu

en

ce o

f d

ate

s

Parts of the calibration curve

9000CalBC 8500CalBC 8000CalBC 7500CalBC 7000CalBC

Calibrated date

8000BP

8500BP

9000BP

9500BP

10000BP

Rad

ioca

rbon

det

erm

inat

ion

6500CalBC 6000CalBC 5500CalBC 5000CalBC 4500CalBC

Calibrated date

6000BP

6500BP

7000BP

7500BP

Rad

ioca

rbon

det

erm

inat

ion

4500CalBC 4000CalBC 3500CalBC 3000CalBC 2500CalBC

Calibrated date

4000BP

4500BP

5000BP

5500BP

6000BP

Rad

ioca

rbon

det

erm

inat

ion

Mesolithic-beginning of the Neolithic The beginning of Neolithic

The late Neolithic- beginning of the Bronze Age

The large-scale cyclical changes of the 14C concentration for the last 10.000 years

(arrows is pointed extremes)

Large-scale fluctuations of cosmogenic isotope concentrations

Comparison of: (a) cosmic ray variability (Q is smoothed 14C production rate from radiocarbon record of Stuiver et al. 1993); (b) combined ice-rafted debris in the North Atlantic (Bond et al. 2001); (c) estimated length variation of Swiss glaciers Maisch et al. 1999), cold intervals are indicated by the shaded areas; (d) lake-level fluctuations in the French Jura Mountains (Magny 1999). The arrows show the extrema of the long-term changes of processes considered.

The cyclic of the natural events

Holocene sea-level changes of the Caspian Sea based on chronological data alone (Rychagov, 1977, 1997)

14C dates for the Neolithic sites of the Forest Eastern Europe

Radiocarbon and the Neolithization of the Forest Zone

• The last years a number of Radiocarbon datings of importance for the understanding of the Neolithisation in the area have been obtained from the Forest- Steppe area of the Volga basin. These sites of the so-called Elshan-type (or of Elshan culture) are mainly excavated in the Samara and Orenburg regions and can be dated to 8000-8500 BP. The sites yield a flint industry with some Mesolithic traits (including tanged arrowpoints made on blades, of the so-called Epi-swiderian type) and archaic pointed- bottomed pottery with poor ornamentation. Some authors compare the shape of the Elshan vessels with the early vessels of the Central Asian Neolithic hunters and gatherers.

• The Sperrings culture sites in Karelia, Finland and the adjacent regions of the Forest zone of Russia is dated mainly to the period from 6500 BP ( but the older age of some more Southern assemblages cannot be excluded).

• The earliest datings of North-Western Russia Early Neolithic are also about 7300 BP ( the Serteya culture in the country between the Western Duna and the Lovat rivers, investigated by A.M.Miklayev and A.N.Mazurkiewicz). It is the earliest Neolithic evidence for the area in question. The similar data are known also for the assemblages related to the Narva Early Neolithic culture. The sites of comb-and-pit and pit-and-comb entities have dates from 6000 BP to 4000 BP.

Neolithization of the Forest Zone

• The settlement pattern of the ‘Forest” early Neolithic remained basically unchanged as compared to the Mesolithic: the sites located predominantly in wild-life rich areas along the lakes and rivers and inshore lagoons. It has been noted (Gurina 1973, 1991) that the importance of fishing in the subsistence strategy was much enhanced in the Neolithic. The role of hunting was more important in the Arctic (Khlobystin 1972). Large settlements of sedentary or semi-sedentary type with complex hunter-gathering economies appeared in several lake basins (Miklyaev 1994). New evidence suggests an early appearance of elements of swidden-type agriculture at several sites of ‘Forest’ Neolithic (Dolukhanov et al. 2004).

The Neolithisation of the Boreal Eastern Europe

• The Neolithisation of the Boreal Eastern Europe followed a different path. The environmental conditions in that area (cold climate, less fertile podzolic soils combined with the richness of aquatic and forest wild game resources) were more favourable for longer survival of food-gathering strategies.

• Differently to the Central Europe where the spread of early farming Linear Pottery culture resulted mainly from the immigration of population from outside, the ‘Forest” Neolithic in Eastern Europe developed mostly on the base of the local Mesolithic substratum.

Agricultural economy during the Neolithic

• According to the existing radiocarbon dates (Aurench et al. 1987; CANeW 2006) the elements of agriculture and stock-breeding initially emerged in the Near East at around 10000 calBC. Between that time and 6500-6700 calBC the farming settlements became widely spread in the Upper Mesopotamia and Anatolia.

• Early farming settlements appeared in Greece 6400-6000 calBC and by 5500 calBC covered the greater part of the Balkans.

• The expansion of farming communities into Central Europe occurred 5700-4800 calBC.

• The early farming communities emerged in the forest-steppe area of Eastern Europe at around 5700-5400 calBC.

Comparative chronology of the Neolithization of Western and Eastern

Europe (P. Breunig supplemented by V.I.Timofeev)

Forest Neolithic

• Several innovations are noted in the material culture of early ‘Forest’ Neolithic. They include the advanced technique of projectile points, the polishing of axe-like tools and other features. A general increase of woodwork related tools is also acknowledgeable, probably due to an increased sedentariness and house-building.

Discussion and conclusion

• An increased sedentariness and apparent population growth in that area followed an intensification of hunter-gathering without any obvious evidence of either agriculture or stock-breading.

• Similar age is now attested for early pottery-bearing sites in Central, North-Western Russia and eastern Peribaltic.

Discussion and conclusion

• The initial impulse of pottery marking may have come from the South, where the pottery-marking tradition was older by at last 1000 years (Rakushecheyi Yar on the Lower Don, Elshan on Lower Volga).

• The highest degree of adaptation to lacustrine environment was reached in the Late Atlantic with the construction of pile dwelling on the coastal area of the lakes.

• The settlements were occupied all year round.• The living structures were often refurbished,

rebuilt, moved to a higher elevation following a rise of lake-level.

• The ornamentation patterns on the ceramic vessels show certain similarities with the ornamentation on the Funnel Beaker and Globular Amphorae. This may be viewed as a evidence of a direct social and cultural interaction of local groups with the farming communities in the West.

• The population from the West brought the different cultural and technological innovations.

• In a very short time the newcomers were totally absorbed by the local groups adopting the local mode of life and cultural symbols.

Discussion and conclusion