К ВОПРОСУ О ДВУХ КУЛЬТУРНО-ХРОНОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ ГРУППАХ КРЕМНЕВОГО ИНВЕНТАРЯ СТОЯНКИ КРАСНЫЙ ГОРОДОК

Abstract

The Krasny Gorodok site, explored in the late 1980s, has long attracted the attention of specialists in the Neolithic. There archaeologists discovered a small but very interesting collection of ceramics. At the same time, the flint complex of the site raised several questions even at the stage of primary comprehension of the material, and researchers made assumptions about the presence of two cultural-chronological groups of flint materials in the complex of the site. In connection with the expansion of the source base on the Early Neolithic and Mesolithic of the forest-steppe Volga region, as well as the acquisition of a significant array of natural science data, it became necessary to verify the conclusions drawn by more than a quarter of a century ago. In particular, the question of the homogeneity of the flint collection of the site and the possibility of identifying an early admixture remains relevant. During the reanalysis of the flint collection of the Krasny Gorodok site, about 600 units of stone artifacts were examined. This complex was divided into two groups depending on the color and quality characteristics of the flint. The first group is represented by artifacts made of high-quality flint of gray color and its various shades. The second group includes artifacts made of low-grade colored flint, mainly brown and of various shades of brown, without a stable shape. The first group is characterized by a large orientation towards obtaining plates of a regular shape and their relatively high specific gravity (23%). In addition, this type of raw material was used to make all the angular cutters on the plates found at the site and, in general, most of the tools were made from plate blanks. The collection of tools made of colored flint is less indicative, however, one can state a lesser orientation towards obtaining plates from this type of raw material and, predominantly, their irregular shape, while few tools were made on flakes and chips. In our opinion, the marked differences between the first and second groups of stone products from the site are of a cultural and chronological nature. The first group of flint, in terms of raw materials, shape and technique of making tools and applying retouching on them, can be attributed to the era of the late Mesolithic of the forest-steppe Volga region. The second group, in terms of the nature of the raw materials and the morphology of tools, belongs to the Early Neolithic.