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The article deals with the latest overview of the Early Neolithic site Cherkasskaya-5, located in the Middle Don, southern part of the forest-steppe zone, Voronezh Oblast. The site is characterized by particular preservation of organic remains and a range of materials available for dating, which is rare for sites of the Don forest-steppe area. The first radiocarbon dates, along with particular early Neolithic flint assemblage, allowed attributing the complex to the early Neolithic. First archaeozoological analysis suggested the presence of bones of domesticated species. However recent re-examination of the faunal collection did not allow identifying any domesticated species. New AMS-radiocarbon dates made on organic crust and animal bones confirmed the Early Neolithic age of the site. Direct dating of the organic wrapping of a Cretaceous sinker allowed refining the age of the early Neolithic period to the first quarter of the 6th mill BC. Excavations conducted in 2014–2015 allowed obtaining a ceramic collection, which does not have any analogies within the surrounding Neolithic sites of the Middle and Upper Don region, and finds more similarities with Lower Volga ceramic tradition. It allows us to put a new glance at the process of Neolithisation of the region.

The most ancient pottery in the Eastern Europe appeared at the end of the 7th – first half of the 6th millennium BC and spread across a greater part of the Eastern Europe, including the Dnieper-Dvina basin by the middle of the 6th millennium BC. At the end of the 6th millennium BC new ceramic traditions appeared here, attributed to the Rudnya archaeological culture. The authors present an overview of the ceramic complex, bone industry, constructions, and chronology of the Rudnya culture. Similarities with ceramic complex of the Rudnya culture were found within various groups of the Narva culture. It could testify the change of vectors of cultural contacts at the end of 6th millennium BC manifesting destruction of the established network of cultural contacts that existed before in the 6th millennium BC. The Narva culture traditions probably spread eastwards from Eastern Baltic at the end of 6th millennium BC. Such a radical change of material culture might be regarded as a result not only of the cultural impulse, but probably arrival of new population from the western territories to the Upper Western Dvina area.

Copyright of Documenta Praehistorica is the property of Documenta Praehistorica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Documenta Praehistorica is the property of Documenta Praehistorica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper presents the results of a palaeoecological study of Neolithic archaeological layers from a wetland, multilayer site, Serteya II (Western Russia). It contains, domestic structures, rich organic artefacts, skeletons, and ecofacts preserved within lacustrine deposits that are extremely important on a European scale. We employed a set of specialised palaeoecological analyses and accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating to identify the principal environmental conditions which attracted Neolithic hunter‐fisher‐gatherer communities from 4300 to 1600 cal. BC. The distinct impact of communities using a nonproductive economy on the ecology of the palaeolake shore zone was recorded. Also, palaeolake water level changes influenced the palaeoeconomic activity of local Neolithic societies, such as gathering of plants (for the medicinal use or serving as dietary components), fishing activities, and possible funeral practices. In addition, the identified phases of high‐water level changes, which were responses to climatic oscillations, were correlated with supraregional climatic events, especially ca. 6.2, 5.9, and 4.2 ka cal. BP. Thus, our results allowed for the reconstruction of environment transformations and conditions of Neolithic communities' activity, as well as for a better understanding of the relationships between local Neolithic communities' way of life and neolithisation processes in Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rakushechny Yar site is a floodplain multi-layer archaeological site encompassing strata dated from the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age. It is characterised by a complex stratigraphy, with the presence of different deposits, buried soils and archaeological layers. Fluvial deposits interlay different settlement strata, which provides an opportunity to elaborate a precise chronological scheme and to study the successive changes in hydrological regime, climate and vegetation, along with the phases of human occupation. A study of the pastes used in ceramic manufacture was conducted to investigate changes in the procuring of raw materials, whose procurement would have depended heavily on their availability and sedimentation process. The fluvial deposits, which have safely preserved the Neolithic-Bronze Age archaeological layers, reach thicknesses of more than 6 m, which makes this site interesting both for the reconstruction of the human-environmental interaction and for the palaeoenvironmental history of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of a study on sediment deposition processes in the palaeolake shore zone, at the multilayered Serteya II archaeological site in Western Russia. In recent years, geomorphological, palaeopedological and palaeoecological research was undertaken in strict cooperation with archaeological fieldwork. The Serteya II site occupies a substantial area of a kame terrace and biogenic plain within a palaeolake basin. From an archaeological point of view, the site is represented by few Mesolithic artefacts, but mostly by remnants of hunter-gatherer-fisher communities attributed in the Russian scientific tradition to the Neolithic period and dated from 6300 BC to 2000 BC. Later, the area was used by people in the Bronze Age, Early Iron Age and Early Middle Ages. The integration of archaeological and multidisciplinary palaeoenvironmental research allowed the natural and human induced deposition of mineral-organic and minerogenic sediments to be reconstructed, as well as the development of structures in the lake shore zone. The changes from lacustrine to fluvial system were documented and the human impact is recorded mostly in the acceleration of slope processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of a study on archaeological structures and horizons developed in the palaeolake shore-zone of the Serteya II site that was occupied intermittently and to a greater or lesser intensity from the Mesolithic up to the Middle Ages. The Serteya II site is a multilayer complex used by hunter-fisher-gatherer communities in the 9th-8th mill. BC, and from the end of the 7th till the end of the 3rd mill. BC. The article is focused on the particularities of the formation of archaeological layers and the reconstruction of the ancient environment in different periods of time. The study of the sets of artefacts, their state of preservation, as well as the traits of archaeological features, may indicate the peculiarities of the formation of different sedimentological units. Based on the results of complex natural-scientific research it was possible to reconstruct the palaeo-ecology of changing water regimes as well as changes in environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]