Subsistence strategies on the late Mesolithic and early Neolithic lake settlement Zamostje 2 in Volga-Oka region: Evidence of fishing

Abstract

Materials of the multilayer wetland site Zamostje 2 are key to study the human cultural history of the Volga-Oka interfluve in Central Russia due to the diversity and completeness of the material culture, on the one hand, and encompass large information potential of fragile organic remains preserved in the waterlogged conditions, on the other hand. The existence of the lake settlement in the broad framework of ca. 7000–4300 cal BC includes the period of distribution of the first ceramics and development of ceramic production among hunter-fisher-gatherers. The purpose of this paper to synthesize the data obtained by natural scientific methods on the reconstruction of the paleolandscape and animal and plant resources, as well as compare them with archaeological evidence of hunting and, in particular, fishing practices. New data from the fishing zone and geological structure of the microregion have been brought. This analysis creates a context for adaptation of various multidisciplinary studies and fuels discussions of paleoecological and cultural events characteristic for the Upper Volga region in the period under consideration.