5th Millennium Cal BC Research Articles

RELIABILITY OF AMS 14C DATES OF MOSS TEMPER PRESERVED IN NEOLITHIC POTTERY FROM THE SCHELDT RIVER VALLEY (BELGIUM)

ABSTRACTDirect dates of pottery obtained from food crusts or other organic residues on the vessel surfaces can be affected by a reservoir effect and/or an old wood effect and therefore be unreliable. Hence, there is a need for alternative ways to directly date pottery. Moss is used as temper by several cultural groups of the late 6th to early 4th millennium cal BC in northwestern Europe. After the pottery is fired, charred moss remains are often preserved in the clay, so that relatively short-lived plant material with a direct chronological link to the pottery and human occupation is available for radiocarbon (14C) dating. In this study, charred moss temper is extracted for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating from pottery of the Swifterbant Culture and Spiere group in the Scheldt river valley (Belgium). The moss dates are then compared to reference dates of organic macro-remains from the same sites and food crust dates with or without a reservoir effect of the same pottery. Eleven out of 13 moss dates are in line with the expected pottery age. The paired dates of moss temper and food crusts from the same potsherds confirm a freshwater reservoir effect (FRE) for the latter. We conclude that moss temper has great potential as a sample material for direct pottery dating. However, more research on the extraction and pretreatment of moss temper as well as on the reliability of moss dates is necessary in the future.

Transforming Traditions of Material Culture. Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Pottery Style, Production and Use During the Second Half of the 6th Millennium Cal BC in South-eastern Transdanubia and Beyond

Transforming Traditions of Material Culture. Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Pottery Style, Production and Use During the Second Half of the 6th Millennium Cal BC in South-eastern Transdanubia and Beyond

Новые исследования городища раннего неолита Каюково-2 на севере Западной Сибири

Purpose. The article presents results of new research at one of the most prominent Early Neolithic enclosed settlements in the North of Western Siberia – the stronghold of Kayukovo-2, which is characterized by a regular architectural plan with one central and five surrounding buildings, pottery of a specific shape and type, including flat as well as conical bases and complex ornamentation, and an original complex of stone artefacts. Results. In 2018, the investigation of building structure no. 4 was continued; for the reconstruction of the paleo-landscape, soil samples were investigated in the adjacent peatland, new radiocarbon dates were obtained, and analyses of the material complex represented by fragments of ceramics, products from clay-like raw materials and clay, stone artefacts, and clusters of small bone fragments was carried out. Building no. 4 was identified as a semi-sunken dwelling structure with a hearth in the centre, a small connecting corridor to building no. 7, and a link to the large central building no. 6. In 2019, new trenches confirmed the existence of a ditch circumscribing the settlement complex. Palaeoenvironmental research shows that during the period of use of the site, the closest water body was located c. 100 m from the terrace shore. The radiocarbon dates available up to now indicate a time of functioning of the ancient settlement in the first centuries of the 6th millennium cal BC. The ceramic material belongs to the complex of early flat-based hunter-gatherer pottery of Western Siberia, a tradition which probably spread from the Baraba forest-steppe and the Ishim region to the Northern Trans-Urals around 6000 cal BC. Conclusion. The reasons for the emergence of the northernmost fortified settlements in Eurasia among hunter-gatherer communities with complex architecture and specific ceramics, the role of internal socio-cultural mechanisms and external influences, and environmental factors in their formation continue to be under discussion and require further research.

Hearth plate from the pile-dwelling site of Palù di Livenza

The Palu di Livenza wetland lies at the foot of the Cansiglio plateau in the Pordenone area in north-east Italy. It preserves a Neolithic pile-dwelling settlement. Thanks to the richness of deposits, Palu di Livenza is inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO in the transnational serial property ‟Prehistoric pile-dwellings around the Alps” together with other 18 northern Italian localities. The latest investigations, carried out at the Sector 3 since 2013, have revealed a well-preserved stratigraphic sequence with three main phases of pile-dwellings ranging between the second half of the 5th and the first half of the 4th millennium cal BC. The paper presents the remains of a combustion feature, probably a hearth plaster plate, found during the last excavations campaigns in the abandonment levels attributed to the Late Neolithic phase.

Calling Time on Oronsay: Revising Settlement Models Around the Mesolithic–Neolithic Transition in Western Scotland, New Evidence from Port Lobh, Colonsay

For over 120 years, the shell middens of western Scotland and the series of open-air sites on Oronsay have been the focus of debate in European Mesolithic studies. This paper challenges the significance of Oronsay in light of results from the geophysical survey and test-excavation of a new limpet and periwinkle shell midden dated to the late 5th or start of the 4th millennium calbcat Port Lobh, Colonsay that offers fresh evidence to re-evaluate critically the role of Oronsay and coastal resources in island settlement models ahead of the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition. Test excavations recovered a marine molluscan assemblage dominated by limpet and periwinkle shells together with crab, sea urchin, a fishbone assemblage composed mainly of Gadidae, some identifiable bird and mammal bone, carbonised macroplant remains, and pumice as well as a bipolar lithic assemblage and coarse stone implements. Novel seasonality studies of saithe otolith thin-sections suggest wintertime tidal fishing practices. At least two activity events may be discerned, dating from the late 5th millennium calbc. The midden could represent a small number of rapidly deposited assemblages or maybe the result of stocastic events within a more extended timeframe. We argue that alternative research questions are needed to advance long-standing debates about seasonal inter-island mobility versus island sedentism that look beyond Oronsay to better understand later Mesolithic occupation patterns and the formation and date of Oronsay middens. We propose alternative methodological strategies to aid identification of contemporaneous sites using geophysical techniques and lithic technological signatures.

The Neolithic and ‘Pastoralism’ Along the Nile: A Dissenting View

A largely accepted paradigm in African recent prehistory considers pastoralism to be the main subsistence source of food-producing communities along the Sudanese Nile valley from the 6th millennium cal BC onwards. This paradigm is constraining the development of a wider theoretical perspective that assumes, instead, a regionally differentiated picture of the economic and social organisation of local communities in northeastern Africa. This paradigm is thus the strongest impediment to achieving reliable and convincing syntheses of the transition from food collection to food production in this area. New data from Upper Nubia and central Sudan open the way for different and more complex scenarios and a new understanding of the local transition from agro-pastoral to agricultural practices. A more systematic data-based approach helps to change radically our perception of different Neolithic trajectories. Moreover, it helps to place in a different perspective—based on various levels of identity formation processes—change and continuity along the chrono-cultural sequence, as well as the different meanings that each local group confers on apparently similar acts in the context of the funerary ideology.

Ecological patterns and use of natural resources during the neolithic of the south of the Iberian Peninsula: An update from the 6th to 4th millennia cal BC sequence of Dehesilla Cave

This paper presents the archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data of the 6th to 4th millennia cal BC sequence recently documented at Dehesilla Cave, and puts forward an interdisciplinary approach to the significant ecological patterns from this key archaeological site in the Southern Iberian Peninsula throughout the entire Neolithic period. Resultsindicate an ecological scenario characterised mainly by oak and wild olive forests, and human populations with agricultural practices and herds of mainly sheep and goats. However, this general panorama must have undergone several remarkable fluctuations.The first Neolithic populations of Dehesilla Cave, dated around the mid-6th millennium cal BC and linked to the Mediterranean impressa pottery complex, do not yet display evidences of agriculture, while all of the subsequent Early Neolithic levels indicate a model of small-scale populations with a mixed economy but still with a greater component of livestock.The second quarter of the 5th millennium cal BC shows a marked accentuation of the monoculture of naked wheats, which could have been related to the transition from an intensive to an extensive farming system. This may have entailed a selective pressure on the environment, leading to a large deforestation spanning the second half of the 5th millennium cal BC and the constitution of relatively open thermo-Mediterranean forests with a physiognomy similar to that of the dehesa.These ecological patterns are discussed within a review of the current state of the art of the use of plant and animal resources by the Neolithic human populations in the southern regions of the Iberian Peninsula.

Fruits, fish and the introduction of pottery in the Eastern European plain: Lipid residue analysis of ceramic vessels from Zamostje 2

The Neolithization of Northern Eurasia is marked by the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer societies. The driving forces behind the adoption of ceramic cooking vessels among non-agricultural societies remain unclear, although previous research, mainly in North East Asia (e.g. Japan, Korea and the Russian Far East), suggests that it was adopted as a specialist technology for processing aquatic resources, linked to the intensification of fishing activities and a move to sedentism. The stratified site of Zamostje 2 in the forest zone of the Volga-Oka region includes both aceramic Mesolithic and two early ceramic horizons dating to Early Neolithic (EN) and Middle Neolithic (MN). This provides a unique opportunity to look at the impacts of the adoption of pottery on the wider economy and determine whether pottery function changes over time. This was achieved through the analysis of lipids from 166 potsherds dating from the earliest phases (mid-6th millennium cal BC) to the MN (5th millennium cal BC). Contrary to our expectations, the pottery from the EN phase was used to process a broad range of foodstuffs including terrestrial resources, such as forest fruits, in addition to freshwater fish. In contrast, pottery from the MN phase was used exclusively for processing aquatic resources. The results show that in this case, pottery was adopted as a more general-purpose cooking container, at least in the earliest phases of use, and that a specialist function only emerged later.

Subsistence strategies and the origin of early Neolithic community in the lower Don River valley (Rakushechny Yar site, early/middle 6th millennium cal BC): First results

The multilayer settlement Rakushechny Yar situated in the lower Don River (Rostov region, Russia) is one of the oldest early Neolithic sites in this region, dated to the 7th and 6th millennia BC. Recent investigations have shown a particular importance of this site in the study of the spread of the Near Eastern “Neolithic package” and the neolithisation of Eastern Europe. Long-term study has provided unique evidence of lives of ancient communities. New 14C dates contribute to refining the chronology of the recently excavated to dating the development of cultural traditions more precisely. The excellent preservation state of organic materials led to uncovering a rich assemblage of faunal and fish remains, household constructions, hunting and fishing tools, as well as pottery. The subsistence strategies and the life cycle of these communities were reconstructed through multiple proxies, which describe a particular system of resource management determined by specific economic, environmental and cultural conditions. Rich fish remains, shell middens, site location, specific toolkit with restricted categories, and incomplete context of tool production testify all that it was a specialized site for aquatic resource procurement. Faunal remains indicated the use of resources from other ecological niches as well. Finds of bones of domesticated animals in the same Early Neolithic layers may suggest even a more complicated organization of this ancient community and may indicate the northern limit of the Neolithic package distribution.

Bulk Stable Isotope Analyses of 14C Dated Carbonized Crusts on the Earliest Potteries of Northeastern Europe

ABSTRACTThis paper presents bulk stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N, C/N ratio) measurements of14C dated carbonized crusts on 6th and 5th millennium cal BC pottery from Finland and northwestern Russia. Based on this data, it explores the differences in the origins of crusts attached on the inner and outer surfaces of vessels, and the changes in dietary practices and pottery use. It is argued that during the earliest phase of pottery use, mostly terrestrial ingredients were processed in the vessels, and aquatic resources became visible centuries later during the 5th millennium cal BC.

Novoilyinskaya culture sites of the Lower Kama region: current state of the research

The paper deals with the analysis of the Novoilyinskaya culture sites existed in the Lower Kama region between the Kama Neolithic culture collapse and the Copper Age cultures with porous (shell tempered) ceramics appearance. The analysis of the ceramic complex of the Novoilyinskaya culture shows its similarity with the comb ornamented pottery of the Kama Neolithic culture according to a number of indicators. A lack of clear data on stratigraphy and spatial distribution of finds as well as a small series of absolute dates do not give a clear idea of the formation time and the development of the Novoilyinskaya culture. Currently available data show that the Samara collar (Ivanovskaya) traditions disappeared until the last quarter of the 5th Millennium cal BC. Specific ceramics of the Neolithic-type shape is formed in the Lower Kama region. At the same time the Novoilyinskaya culture ceramics of the Ik and Belaya Rivers interfluve has some features which are the reminiscences of the Levshinskaya stage which are not characteristic for the Middle and Upper Kama region. These features are: thickening on the inner side of the rim; rows of pits and bulges (formed by pits imprinted from the inner side) under the rim; closed forms of the pots and an ornamentation - stepping comb impressions. The proximity of the ceramic complexes of the Novoilyinskaya culture sites to the Late Neolithic ceramics of the Kama culture as well as the radiocarbon dates and the absence of the metalworking evidences prove the functioning of the Novoilyinskaya culture sites of the Lower Kama region during the border of the Stone Age and the period of Early Metals. Another important question is - which southern components took part in the formation of the Novoilyinskaya type or influenced it. Researchers of the forest-steppe Copper Age cultures supposed that in the process of forest Copper Age cultures formation - the Garin and Bor cultures as well as the Middle Volga variant of the Volosovo culture - the Tok and even Altata elements took part. In our opinion, the influence of the Tok traditions is already clearly visible on the Novoilyinskaya culture ceramics. This conclusion is supported by the ⁴C dates which established the synchronicity of the Tok and Novoilyinskaya sites.

El ámbar de la Cueva de los Cuarenta (Priego de Córdoba, Córdoba)

La presencia de objetos exóticos en contextos arqueológicos y los intercambios a larga distancia que estos implican es uno de los temas que despierta más interés en la discusión arqueológica. En este artículo presentamos el estudio de una cuenta o colgante hallado en contextos neolíticos de la Cueva de los Cuarenta (Priego de Córdoba). Se trata del único elemento de adorno presente en la cueva, en la que se ha documentado un número mínimo de 41 inhumaciones datadas a lo largo del IV milenio cal ANE. Se presenta la información contextual del hallazgo así como su caracterización arqueométrica mediante Espectroscopía de Infrarrojos por Transformada de Fourier (FTIR). El análisis de la pieza muestra que se trata de una cuenta de ámbar realizada con material foráneo, similar al empleado en las producciones de ámbar posteriores como las de Valencina de la Concepción (Sevilla). Al igual que en estos casos, se propone la procedencia exógena de la materia prima empleada, siendo Sicilia el origen más plausible a día de hoy, lo cual contribuirá al debate sobre las implicaciones que estos materiales foráneos pudieron tener en las sociedades prehistóricas peninsulares.

TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEOLITHIC POTTERY AT GÖYTEPE (WEST AZERBAIJAN)

The Neolithic settlement of Göytepe (6th millennium cal BC) is of great importance for studying all stages of the Neolithic pottery not only of Azerbaijan, but also that of the Southern Caucasus. Here, we analyze pottery assemblage from the 4th building level at this site as an example of Neolithic ceramics of the Kura River valley, Southern Caucasus. We focused on the technological and morphological development of pottery from 14 building levels at Göytepe. This paper presents the results of the extensive study of pottery samples found in the 4th building level during archaeological excavations in 2017. Each pottery group was described and compared according to its technical features. The obtained results were compared with previous studies of other contemporaneous sites, to discuss the origin and technological development of Neolithic pottery in the Southern Caucasus. The conclusion was made about the independent development of the Shulaveri-Shomu culture at its early stage, and about the infl uence of the intercultural contacts at later stages.

Step by step – The neolithisation of Northern Central Europe in the light of stable isotope analyses

There is a long lasting debate on the nature of the neolithisation process in the northern European lowlands and in southern Scandinavia. Early evidence of domesticates and crop cultivation indicate a transition to farming in this area during the late 5th millennium cal BC. However, there is limited information how this process took place and to what extent the new economy was adopted during the subsequent centuries. Here we present new results of more than 50 stable isotope samples of human remains (13C/15N) from northern Central Europe covering the period from the Mesolithic to the early Bronze Age. They show a high relevance of aquatic resources during the early Mesolithic. Food from marine and fresh water environments was also of considerable relevance during the late Mesolithic (6th/5th millennium cal BC). Aquatic resources were still important for parts of farming societies during the 4th millennium cal BC, especially around 3000 cal BC. Farming economy was introduced in all parts of the lowlands during the early 4th millennium cal BC, but it was not before the 3rd millennium cal BC that it became fully established on a general scale. Our results correspond well with archaeobotanic evidence. They also contribute important information to the discussion of palaeogenetic data, which provide evidence for autochthonous individuals with signals of hunter-gatherer ancestry in farming societies until c. 3000 cal BC.

Clay objects as ‘tokens’? Evidence for early counting and administration at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad, Mesopotamia

Tell Sabi Abyad was a major Neolithic settlement in Upper Mesopotamia, occupied for 1800 years during the 7th to 6th millennium cal BC. Excavations have revealed hundreds of clay sealings, stamp-seal impressions and an even greater number of small, geometric-shaped clay objects or ‘tokens’. Drawing on previous unpublished data from decades of excavations, a detailed, contextual study of the form and distribution of Tell Sabi Abyad’s ‘tokens’ is presented. Though likely used as counting tools in certain specific occupational areas and levels, the evidence does not suggest a singular universal role of geometric clay objects as mnemonic accounting devices.

Early Animal Management Strategies during the Neolithic of the Konya Plain, Central Anatolia: Integrating Micromorphological and Microfossil Evidence

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the contribution of microscopic multi-proxy approaches to the study of early husbandry practices and animal diet by integrated micromorphological, phytolith, and calcitic dung spherulite analyses of midden deposits at the three neighbouring Neolithic sites of Boncuklu (9th–8th millennium cal BC), Pınarbaşı (7th millennium cal BC) and Çatalhöyük (8th–6th millennium cal BC) in the Konya Plain, Central Turkey.The results reveal considerable chronological and contextual variation in human-animal inter-relations in open areas between different communities and sites. At Boncuklu, middens display well-defined areas where phytoliths and substantial accumulations of omnivore faecal matter low in spherulite content have been identified. By contrast, open spaces at the Late Neolithic campsite of Pınarbaşı comprise large concentrations of herbivore dung material associated with neonatal ovicaprine remains from spring birthing. Here, the deposits represent repeated dung-burning events, and include high concentrations of dung spherulites and phytoliths from wild grasses, and leaves and culms of reeds that, we suggest here, derive from fodder and fuel sources. Late middens at Çatalhöyük are characterised by thick sequences derived from multiple fuel burning events and rich in ashes, charred plants, articulated phytoliths – mainly from the husk of cereals, as well as the leaves and stems of reeds and sedges – and omnivore/ruminant coprolites, the abundance of the latter declining markedly in the latest levels of occupation.The application of this integrated microscopic approach to open areas has contributed to unravelling the complexity of formation processes at these sites, providing new insights into herding practices, diet, and the ecological diversity of Neolithic communities in Central Anatolia.

The time is ripe for a change. The evolution of harvesting technologies in Central Dalmatia during the Neolithic period (6th millennium cal BC)

The Dalmatian coast has been occupied by Neolithic seafaring communities since the beginning of the 6th millennium BC. On the basis of pottery styles, a transition between the Impressed Ware and Danilo culture is defined, around 5300 cal BC. Nevertheless, bioarchaeological and archaeological data indicate general continuity between the two periods. In the current paper, we present an integrated technological and use-wear study of a large selection of lithics from several sites of both inland and insular Dalmatia. The results provide strong evidence for a change in harvesting techniques between the Impressed Ware and Danilo cultural phases. This change can be related to the pursuit of better performing inserts that could be used for longer periods and would be quicker to resharpen. Such a switch may have been associated with an initial increase in agricultural production during the Middle Neolithic.

Recent Investigations at Two Long Barrows and Reflections on their Context in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site and Environs

Recent geophysical surveys and excavations at Druid's Lodge Estate, in fields west of the Diamond Wood in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site (SWHS), have confirmed the existence of the Winterbourne Stoke 71 long barrow and discovered a new long barrow (Winterbourne Stoke 86) a short distance to the south. Survey and excavation show internal features at both barrows and, alongside aerial photography, suggest that both monuments were destroyed during later prehistory. These barrows are part of a cluster around the head of the Wilsford dry valley. We review long barrows in the SWHS and environs to contextualise these discoveries, demonstrating a diversity of internal features, barrow sizes and morphologies. Chronological modelling is used to place the SWHS barrows in their inter-regional timescape and to understand the timings of the first appearance of monument types of the 4th millennium cal BC. Local topography appears to be the key factor in determining the alignment of long barrows, but the eastern ends of barrows appear to be significant. Long barrows are also considered in relation to causewayed enclosures, and movement around the landscape. Long barrows are an important structuring monument in the later Neolithic and Bronze Age landscape, but their importance is mediated by their location relative to Stonehenge, and access to the monument from the south. There is a clear pattern of differential preservation of long barrows away from the vicinity of Stonehenge. Further field research is necessary to achieve a better understanding of long barrows in the SWHS, and it is hoped that this article stimulates interest in these highly significant monuments. This article also provides an interactive map of the SWHS, linking to simplified plans of long barrows in the study area, additional information and references for further reading for each barrow. Appendices are provided containing specialist methodologies and/or data from the geophysical surveys and the Historic England excavation, and primary excavation data from the Historic England excavation is downloadable via the Archaeology Data Service (Historic England 2018).

Your path led trough the sea … The emergence of Neolithic in Sardinia and Corsica

The emergence of Neolithic in Sardinia and Corsica has more and more the aspect of a sharp rupture that led to the first permanent occupation of the islands through a process of diffuse and rapid territorialization. To date, any evidence of contiguity is still lacking between first Neolithic implantations and last Mesolithic frequentations that stretch sporadically over more than two millennia, until the 8.2 kyear cold climatic event. Besides, Mesolithic-Neolithic discontinuity is proved not only archaeologically, on the grounds of stratigraphy, settlement strategies, and technological systems. Indeed, new mitochondrial DNA genome sequences from Mesolithic Sardinia provide evidence of a substantial diversity between the two populations. The earliest stages (scouting phase) of Neolithic colonization of the islands are scarcely documented thus far, even if some clues would place them consistently in the flow of the Neolithic expansion towards the western Mediterranean. Around the central centuries of the 6th millennium cal BC, the following step (consolidation phase) corresponds to the formation and spread of the Cardial impressed ware facies along the coastal belt of the central and north Tyrrhenian shore. Since then, both Sardinia-Corsica and the Tyrrhenian strands opposite to this region reveal an almost symmetrical and synchronous rhythm of evolution. In the last centuries of the 6th millennium cal BC, new influences coming from the North of the Italian mainland, possibly through the mediation of the Tyrrhenian Linear Carved ware facies, acted as a push factor towards the recombination of the shared traditional traits into new original cultures. In the two islands, at the end of this trajectory, the process of neolithization was almost accomplished and the evolution of Neolithic cultures, although interlinked, went on separately afterwards.

The Early and Middle Neolithic in NW Russia: radiocarbon chronologies from the Sukhona and Onega regions

The onset of the Neolithic period in the Russian North is defined by the emergence of pottery vessels in the archaeological record. The ceramics produced by mobile hunter-gatherer-fisher groups in the north-eastern European forest zone are among the earliest in Europe, starting around 6000 cal BC. After the initial mosaic of local styles in the Early Neolithic, including sparsely decorated wares and early Comb Ware, the Middle Neolithic period, starting in the 5th millennium cal BC, saw the development and spread of larger, more homogenous typological entities between the Urals and the Baltic, the Comb-Pit and Pit-Comb wares. Absolute chronologies, however, are still subject to debate, due to a general lack of reliable contextual information. Direct 14C dating of carbonised surface residues (‘food crusts’) on pots can help to address this problem, as it dates the use of the pottery; but if aquatic foods were processed in the vessels, the respective radiocarbon ages can appear to be too old due to the freshwater reservoir effect. In this pa­per, we discuss the radiocarbon chronologies of four important stratified archaeological complexes in the region between Lake Onega and the Sukhona basin, Berezovaya Slobodka, Veksa, Karavaikha, and Tudo­zero. A growing series of dates, including AMS dates, sheds new light on the onset and further periodisation of the Early and Middle Neolithic in this important area between Eastern Fennoscandia, Central Rus­sia and the Far North-East of Europe, although problems concerning the absolute chronology of the initial Neolithic remain.