Mesolithic Research Articles

Phylogenetic processes in dog domestication and breeding

Aim. The significance of the problem of origin and selection of animals for practice is that by studying the main stages of formation of modern domestic animals in the past, scientists and breeders develop even more effective methods of improving existing breeds by targeted changes in their hereditary properties in purebred breeding, using hybridization and modern biotechnological technologies. Methods. Using archaeological, morphological, biochemical and genetic research methods, scientists managed to establish the karyotype and genome of the wild European wolf and domestic dog. Results. Domestication is the process of turning wild animals into domesticated ones. Over many generations, people have gradually accumulated experience in keeping animals, learned the laws of animal heredity, which helped to accelerate the domestication process and the formation of the original breed populations. The dog is the first domesticated animal, and the history of its domestication dates back to the Mesolithic period (12-15 thousand years BC). The wild European wolf is considered to be the wild ancestor of the dog, since wolves and dogs have 78 chromosomes in their karyotype, and when they mate, they produce fertile offspring. In the process of dog domestication, both morphological and physiological changes occurred compared to the wild European wolf. Since the domestication of dogs involved adaptation to new conditions in captivity, important genetic mechanisms such as mutations, recombination, a hidden reserve of heredity, and the direct effect of selection and selection were important. Conclusions. The representatives of two families of carnivores were domesticated – Canidae and Felidae. Dogs, as already mentioned, were the first domesticated animals tamed and domesticated by humans. The taming and domestication of the wild ancestor of dogs, the wolf, took place in the Mesolithic period, as is known from bone remains discovered by scientists. In different centres of domestication, different forms of wolves have been found that could be domesticated and gave rise to many varieties of dogs since ancient times. Further selection by humans has led to an even greater diversity of domestic dog breeds that serve a variety of purposes (guarding, hunting, sledding, service, and decorative breeds).

Phylogenetic Analysis by Molecular Sequence of Various Human Interleukins

Due to the importance of interleukins in the immune response, cell differentiation, and their potential use to treat autoimmune diseases and tumors, we decided to perform in this article a phylogenetic classification through the molecular sequence of several interleukins.
 Aims: To make a general description of the most probable evolutionary history of the interleukins’ lineage by building a phylogenetic tree using statistical models.
 Methodology: The molecular sequences of 16 human interleukins were downloaded from the UNIPROT website in FASTA format. With the free software MEGA11, using a maximum likelihood statistical model, the phylogenetic tree was built; subsequently, the constants were incorporated in the model to calibrate the time tree marker.
 Results: Our results show that the first interleukins of Homo sapiens sapiens were outlined in the Upper Paleolithic. The evolutionary history of 8 interleukins probably occurred in the Mesolithic period. In the Neolithic, already with the discovery of agriculture, 6 Interleukins were developed.
 Conclusions: Our results show that the appearance of different IL’s throughout the history of humanity, from the Paleolithic to the Mesolithic, coincides with climatic changes, variations in diet and / or lifestyle of humankind. In addition, some archaeological findings could be relevant to understanding how human evolution influenced the development of IL's, such as the genetic exchange between Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis.

From Coastal Sites to Elevated Hinterland Locations in the Mesolithic – Discussing Human–Woodland Interaction in the Oslo Fjord Region, Southeast Norway

Abstract The coastal areas of Southeast Norway underwent dramatic environmental changes throughout the Mesolithic period. Continuous postglacial land uplift/isostatic rebound lead to retreating shorelines turning former seabed into coastal hinterland. While archaeological research lately has focused on the coastal and marine orientation of Mesolithic groups in the region, their interaction with the wooded coastal hinterland is little researched. This article explores shifting human–environment relations connected to these long-term changes. The starting points are nine archaeological sites in the Oslo fjord region, from which the artefact material shows that they were coast based in the earlier Mesolithic. They all have yielded radiocarbon dates from structures, mostly hearths, with later Mesolithic datings. At these later times, the sites had turned into elevated hinterland locations. First, the archaeological context and sample material of these later dates are discussed; on this basis, it is suggested that these later dates, earlier interpreted as impaction of forest fires, indicate the use of elevated hinterland locations in the Mesolithic. Second, this article explores the relevance of the wooded hinterland for the Mesolithic groups of the region, including animated beings, wayfinding practices and the possible function of these hinterland locations as potential practical and cosmological anchor points and strategic points in a communication system. It is argued that the study of the use of the hunter-fisher-gatherers’ interaction with the wooded and rocky coastal hinterland is needed to achieve a holistic understanding of their involvement and socializing with their world.

Г.М. Буров - первооткрыватель и основоположник исследований мезолита Европейского Северо-Востока

Grigory M. Burov (22.09.1933 - 24.02.2013), a graduate of the Kiev University, arrived in Syktyvkar in 1957. He worked in the Komi Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR until 1968. Subsequently, he worked in Ulyanovsk and Simferopol.
 However, the period of his work in the Komi Region turned out to be the most productive .G.M. Burov is a discoverer of numerous sites of the Mesolithic, Early Metal and Early Iron Age of the previously unexplored Vychegda territory. G.M. Burov analyzed and published materials from Komi all the subsequent years of his life. 
 The Vis 1 (Mesolithic) and Vis 2 (mid I millennium A.D.) peatbogs discovered by G.M. Burov in the vicinities of the Sindor village have gained worldwide fame. The exemplary paleogeographic studies were carried out in the Sindor microregion. The leading geobotanist and peat specialist S.N. Tyuremnov and other scientists compiled pollen diagrams, described profiles of peatlands, restored the historical courses of the Vis and Simva Rivers. They also obtained a series of direct radiocarbon datings of wooden artifacts.
 A unique collection of items made of wood, bark, and grass was obtained at the Vis 1 peatbog. It included fishing tools - fragments of nets and a fishing spear; hunting tools - bows, arrows, a spear; means of transportation - skis, sledge runners, a paddle; household items including a box of birch bark, mats of wood shakes. Many items are decorated with carved geometric ornaments. The sculptural head of an elk on one of the skis is particularly noteworthy. 
 G.M. Burov was the first of the researchers who justified the cultural differentiation of the Mesolithic sites of the European North-East. He identified two cultural types: the Kama-Pechora type dating back to the VIII-VII millennium B.C., and the Vis type (the second half of the VII-VI millennium B.C.). The Middle Vychegda Mesolithic culture identified by him belongs to the Kama-Pechora type.

Plant exploitation and subsistence patterns of the Mesolithic in arid China: New evidence of plant macro-remains from the Pigeon Mountain site

The nature of the Mesolithic in China has not been studied much due to the few well-context sites discovered and excavated during this period. The situation also restricts the understanding of human subsistence in the Mesolithic period in China, especially in the arid region. The present paper reports the flotation results at Locality 10 of the Pigeon Mountain site in Northwest China. Ten species of plants belonging to six families were identified, dominated by Agriophyllum squarrosum and Artemisia sieversiana. No firm evidence proves the domestication. Combined with the lithic artefacts in QG10, ancient people could utilize plant resources by constructing or expanding the food spectrum. It is the first systematic archaeobotany work in the Paleolithic site of Northwest China. The result reminds us that the enhanced utilization of wild plant resources is a vital subsistence for Mesolithic people in arid regions.

Kosinsky Mesolithic sites in the context of the history of the natural environment of the upper Kama region in the Late Glacial and early Holocene

The article presents the results of interdisciplinary (archaeological and palaeoecological) studies conducted in 20182021 in the northern part of the Perm Territory at the confluence of the Kosa and Lolog rivers. The main objects of research were the sites of the Mesolithic period and the natural environment of the Late Glacial and Early Holocene. To identify the confinement of archaeological sites to certain landforms within the river valley, the paleochannel method was used. As a result, 2 terraces and a Holocene floodplain were identified. For paleoenvironmental reconstruction palynological and paleocarpological methods were used. The radiocarbon method was used to create a chronological basis for the area of work. The study of the economic activities of Mesolithic groups was based on osteological analysis. In the Late Glacial period the study area was not yet inhabited by ancient people due to unfavorable natural environments. The settlement started only in the second half of the Boreal period of the Holocene, after the formation of the second terrace and the spread of taiga pine and birch forests with the participation of spruce. By this time, the sites of Kosa I and II, located on the banks of the Lolog river were inhabited. The population was mostly engaged in hunting and partly fishing. The natural environments at the beginning of the Atlantic period of the Holocene were still favorable for the existence of human groups here. Formation of the first terrace in the Lolog valley contributed to the colonization of this territory too. The Kosa III site dates back to this time, which population was still mainly engaged in hunting, and probably also fishing. Later, due to the continued lateral migration of the Kosa and Lolog river beds to the east and the emergence of waterlogged floodplains, people left this area and began to inhabit it again only in the Late Holocene.

Neolithic wood use at the Scheldt river banks in Bouchain (France)

Archaeological sites in wetlands or under waterlogged conditions provide excellent preservation conditions for organic material, particularly wood, and therefore constitute one of the most important prehistoric sources for dendroarchaeological studies available.The site of Bouchain in the North of France, is located on the bank of a palaeochannel close to the Scheldt River, a North Sea tributaty. Regular floods of varying intensity led to formation of peat and waterlogged site conditions, providing vast amounts of wooden artefacts sampled for dendroarchaeological analyses within an interdisciplinary research effort, further involving palynological, malacological and anthracological studies. Here we present a study on a total of 1858 individual wood objects, including architectural elements (posts, stakes and planks), tools and hunting weapons (axe handles, arrow shafts and bows, throwing sticks, slingshot balls), tableware, production waste from woodworking (chips) and finally two log boats. In addition, natural wood residues from peat and alluvial layers have been collected and analysed to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the Neolithic forest vegetation on-site. After an early occupation of the site during the Mesolithic period, the archaeological sequence is placed between the Middle Neolithic and the end of the Late Neolithic (∼4200–2700 BCE). However, the main occupation is in the Late Neolithic, broadly between 3400 BCE and 2950 BCE.The interdisciplinary approach allows to specify the nature of the forest stands on the periphery of the site as riparian forest of alder type, associated with a mixed forest and heliophilous vegetation.The dendroarchaeological investigations enabled precise tree-ring dating and provides important insights into the selection and processing of wood in Neolithic times in the context of weaponry production, shipbuilding and food consumption.

Can the distribution patterns of plants used by humans as food give clues as to whether they are native or introduced?

The discovery that Arbutus unedo (Strawberry Tree) was probably introduced to Ireland and Wales by pre-Bronze Age copper miners about 2,400 BC (Sheehy Skeffington & Scott, 2021) has led me to consider whether the distributions of other British and Irish plants might have been extended by the activities of early humans, including hunter-gatherers. Three species have been chosen for study, Blitum bonus-henricus (L.) Rchb. (Good-King-Henry), Bistorta officinalis Delarbre (Common Bistort) and Lathyrus sylvestris L. (Narrow-leaved Everlasting-pea). These have contrasting distributions. The tetrad distributions of the three species were examined for areas where the distribution is coherent, suggesting native status, or broadly random, suggesting introductions. Individual localities were studied for a sample of vice-counties. Natural dispersal methods were also studied as were the likely uses by humans. It was concluded that the Blitum is an archaeophyte that had been introduced as a vegetable by early farmers in the Neolithic or Bronze Age. The Bistorta is a native species that survived the woodland invasion following the Ice Age in refugia in the north of England and, when woodland cover was reduced by man in the Neolithic and Bronze Age, recolonised only limited areas where it came to be used as a vegetable. It was later widely introduced elsewhere as a medicinal plant. The Lathyrus is a native species that had probably been harvested as a vegetable by man in the Mesolithic Age, and cultivated from the Neolithic or Bronze Age. Introductions from other sources were also probable.

Age of the Valle del Bove formation and chronology of the post-collapse flank eruptions, Etna volcano (Italy)

The Valle del Bove is a profound and wide scar on the east Etna flank witnessing the Holocene main volcano-tectonic event of the volcano, frequently invaded by lava flows during the last centuries. The Valle del Bove slope failure produced the Milo debris avalanche deposit on the lower east flank that is partially covered by the Mongibello lavas and a pyroclastic succession. In this paper, we constrain for the first time the age of the Milo debris avalanche deposit and the overlying lava succession exposed at three quarries recently caved at the valley mouth through a multidisciplinary approach integrating stratigraphic and petrographic analyses, 14C, and paleomagnetic dating. In particular, 14C age determinations of the Milo debris avalanche deposit indicate that the initial stage of the catastrophic flank collapse of the Valle del Bove occurred at 7478–7134 BCE during the Mesolithic age. Conversely, the main portion of the lava succession filling the valley floor emplaced after the sub-Plinian picritic eruption occurred at 2579–2278 BCE (FS tephra layer) consistently with the increasing occurrence frequency of flank eruptions documented in the geological record of Etna during the past 4000 yrs. Paleomagnetic dating highlighted that in the study area the sub-Plinian eruption was followed by two quasi-contemporaneous flank eruptions during the Late Copper age (2600–2400 BCE), whereas other two flank eruptions occurred during Greek-Roman and Medieval ages. These results have relevant implications on the stratigraphy and evolution of Etna, particularly on the Valle del Bove initial collapse and the relative emplacement of the Chiancone detritic-alluvial sequence.

An elusive ghost: Searching for the Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) in the past of Britain

AbstractThe Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) is currently absent as a regular breeder in Britain and its status as a native species has been debated. Its occurrence in the Pleistocene of Britain is sparse but uncontroversial, whereas its Holocene presence rests on very few ambiguous findings. Of these, a specimen from Demen's Dale (Derbyshire) originally attributed to the Mesolithic period is the most important. A re‐evaluation of this bone (tarsometatarsus) is presented in this paper. Although its identification as an Eagle Owl is confirmed, radiocarbon dating suggests that the bird rather lived in the Late Pleistocene. On the basis of the current evidence, there are no Holocene remains of the Eagle Owl in the archaeological and fossil record of Britain and the native status of this species remains unconfirmed.

Eve or “Evolution”? : The Question of the Creation of Adam and Eve as the First Humans versus the Theory that Humankind “Evolved” (Self-Changed) Over Millions of Years

Inherent in the Creation (“Intelligent Design”) versus the Theory of Evolution (“natural selection”) War, is the scientific belief in the millennia-long “evolution” of humankind, versus the Christian belief in the creation of the Biblical Adam and Eve circa 7,700 B.C. This paper proposes that there is no such thing as an “evolution” of Earth’s life forms, with “evolution” being defined as self-adaptations over time to specific environments with physical modifications. Over the course of millions of years, God created then, re-designed all Earth’s life forms in successive stages, which accounts for the non-linear progression of said forms and particularly of humanoids. Integrating Mitochondria DNA and archaeological evidence with Judeo-Christian, Muslim and extra-Biblical texts, shows that after God created then re-designed pre-Adamic humans, He created the Biblical Adam and Eve circa 9,700 years ago during the Mesolithic Period as prototypes for present-day man. Moreover, archaeological evidence, plus Judeo-Christian and extra-Biblical texts, suggest that Eve and Adam co-existed with Homo sapiens during the Mesolithic/ Neolithic Periods.

ОРНАМЕНТОВАНІ ЗНАРЯДДЯ З ОРГАНІЧНИХ МАТЕРІАЛІВ МЕЗОЛІТУ–НЕОЛІТУ БАСЕЙНУ ДЕСНИ

The most earliest cases of using the long bones of ungulates as tools are known from the Middle Paleolithic. In the Upper Paleolithic time, the manufacture of tools from the long bones of ungulates, as well as the ornamentation of some of them, is often represented in the sites of Europe. The territory of the Desna basin, during the time of the Final Paleolithic – Neolithic, was involved in the same cultural and historical processes that took place in the northern part of Europe. But, for today, unlike many northern regions of Europe, in the territory of the Desna basin, items made of bone or horn are known only from Neolithic points. Ornamented tools are represented only by single samples. The purpose of this work is to соnsider ornamented tools made of organic materials found in the Desna basin and to publish a previously unknown sample of such tools found on the outskirts of Chernihiv, on Telyachiy island. The find from Telyachiy island is a fragment of a tool made from a long bone of a deer (Cervidae gen. etsp.). The the lack of a radiocarbon date makes it impossible to clarify its accurate dating. Based on the spread of columns of parallel strokes of ornament in the Mesolithic period and its continued existence in the Neolithic period, as well as the presence of finds of fragments of Neolithic ceramics on Telyachyi island, the found fragment of the tool, today, should be dated to the Mesolithic – Neolithic period. Thus, for the Early Holocene periods of the territory of the Desna basin, items made of organic materials are represented only by the Neolithic period. Among them, ornamented tools are rare specimens. Only for a fragment of a tool made of a long bone of a deer found on Telyachyi island, it can be assumed that it dates back to the Mesolithic. Given the meager amount of ornamented items made from organic materials from the territory of the Desna basin, this find is certainly an important source for understanding the ornamental traditions of decorating tools and the aesthetic preferences of the ancient population of the Desna basin.

Metaarhitektura Predraga Ristića - između ne-filozofije i hipermetafizike

This paper aims to research, critically interpret and synthesize the metaarchitectural work of Dr. Predrag Ristić, a Serbian and Yugoslav architect and artist (1931-2019). The focus is on Ristić's production of meta-architecture, exploring his role as an engaged individual who intervenes in an intellectually dissident manner beyond official academic institutions, while contributing to the cultural liberalization within the social context of the Yugoslav paradigm during the second half of the twentieth century. Metaarchitecture, in this sense, can be seen as a broader semiological construct encompasing the ability and will to create ontological signs, epistemological events or methodological objects that extend beyond the architectural domain into the realms of art and culture, shaping forms of social history and criticism. The analysis of Ristić's work will be carried out in two distinct directions, reflecting two phases of his creative activity, each associated with specific theoretical paradigms. Ristić's earlier phase during the 1960s and 1970s, marked by a techno-pessimistic and techno-critical observation of the world (from the Kajmakčalan church to several Thanatopolis projects), is analytically linked to non-philosophy as an anti-dogmatic phenomenological concept. On the other hand, his later creative aspirations from the 1980s are interpreted through his semioanthropological approach to the Mesolithic culture of Lepenski Vir, a subject of his PhD thesis, which connects to hypermetaphysics as a comparative conceptual formation.

ПРО ЕФЕМЕРНУ ЕПІПАЛЕОЛІТИЧНУ СТОЯНКУ В КРИМСЬКОМУ ПЕРЕДГІР'Ї: З ІСТОРІЇ ПОЛЬОВИХ ДОСЛІДЖЕНЬ У КРИМУ 1990 РОКУ

This paper presents materials from one of the Palaeolithic sites discovered by the author in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Crimea. The Hamak-Koba sediment pack was once tested, and some archaeological materials were recovered. These are few but rather informative and have been published for the first time now. Judging by the available data, Hamak-Koba is a short-term site of a mobile group of hunters. The remains of shells of the land snail Helix vulgaris, which were probably consumed as food, may indicate the Epipalaeolithic or Mesolithic age of the site and probably exclude the winter season of its visitation. The technical and typological features of the stone artefacts found, including blades with indications of intensive use and burnt endscrapers, are consistent with the assumption of the site's age therefore positioned somewhere between the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene. An undisturbed horizon with artefacts and hearth remains was discovered during the test pitting. It also turned out that a significant part of the shelter is practically devoid of culture-bearing deposits. The locality suggests one of the points visited by early hunters while travelling through the exploited territory in search of resources. This version is supported by the features of the stone artefacts, which show signs of special selection and therefore belong to a part of a mobile toolkit, traces of intensive wear on them, and the location of the site in a rock shelter near convenient access to a plateau providing dominating heights and good observation points, although far from water sources.

TRYPILLIAN SETTLEMENT MAKARIVKA IN BUKOVYNA

The information about archaeological sites located near the village of Makarivka, Dnistrovskyi district, Chernivtsi region is collected and generalized in the article. Special attention is paid to the materials of the Trypillia culture. The results of the archaeological research conducted by the Dnister expedition of Lviv department of the Institute of Social Sciences of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR led by O. Chernysh near this village are considered. Namely, it is a small collection of finds from different periods, consisting mainly of flint products and preserved in the storage of the Department of Archeology. Based on the researcher's report, two locations were identified where archaeological material was found. The first – Pomirky tract, where ceramic sherds from the Slavic period were collected. The second – Schovb tract. Trypllian, Scythian, Slavic, and Paleolithic finds came from this place. An overview of information about the site from the scientific literature was made. The results of the archaeological research conducted by the author near the Makarivka village on a large cape, formed by the Dnister river, are presented. Special attention is paid to the surveys of the plateau in the central part of the cape. Probably, it is the place where Trypllian materials were found in 1950. Among the locals, the name of this tract has not been preserved, so we do not know its exact location. Most of the finds were discovered on the slopes, on the plateau sherds of modern ceramics, natural stones, and flint without traces of knapping were mainly found. According to the results of the archaeological surveys conducted near the Makarivka village in 2022, it was established that there are three locations of different times on the territory of the cape: the location of the Mesolithic Age (core and three flint flakes) and the Chernyakhiv culture (two pottery sherds), located on the northern slope of the plateau. It is noted that flint products and a fragment of the wall of a ceramic vessel with a handle are quite typical for various stages of Trypillia culture, starting from Trypillia BI, so a more detailed definition of the relative chronology of the site based on them is impossible. The materials collected during archaeological surveys have been processed and published. It was found that in scientific literature the name «Makarivka» was also related to another Trypillian site – Luka-Vrublivetska II. It was revealed that T. Passek used the new name, and then N. Vynogradova. The latter also attributed the settlement to the Zalischyky group of Trypillia culture. From the description of the ceramic complex of the site, and also taking into account the fragments published by N. Vynogradova, conclusions were drawn that agree with the definition of the relative chronology of Luka-Vrublivetska II, which was proposed by S. Bibikov, and it was assigned not to the Zalischyky group of the stage Trypillia BI– BII, but to the sites of the final of Trypillia BI. It was noted that the Luka-Vrublivetska II site is located on the high plateau of the left bank of the Dnister river 3–3.5 km northwest of the Luka-Vrublivetska village almost opposite the right-bank Makarivka khutir. It has been suggested that this very circumstance probably contributed to the fact that T. Passek, and later N. Vynogradova, renamed this site from Luka-Vrublivetska II to Makarivka. This change of the primary name of Luka-Vrublivetska II to Makarivka is uncaused and has created confusion in the literature. It is proposed to use the name assigned to the site by its discoverer S. Bibikov – Luka-Vrublivetsika II. Since Makarivka Trypillian settlement exists, located near the village of the same name, discovered by M. Rudynskyi i S. Bibikov O. Chernysh in 1950 and examined in 2022. In addition, the sites are situated not only on opposite banks of the Dnister river, but also in different regions of the country: Makarivka in Chernivtsi, and Luka-Vrublivetska II – in Khmelnytskyi. Keywords: Eneolithic Age, ceramics, painted ornament, Makarivka, Luka-Vrublivetska II, relative chronology

Elk-boat Depictions in the Ethnoarchaeological Context

Numerous depictions of elk-shaped ships are discovered in rock art of the Northern Europe and Siberia, dating from the Mesolithic time to the Bronze age. Usually they are interpreted as Boats of the Deads, connecting the Worlds. The water is the symbol of a border between Worlds in traditional societies. Northern Europe archaeological findings prove that images of the Cervid as a mediator between Worlds and the Boat of the Deads became connected in the Stone Age. Red deer (Cervus Elaphus) remnants were found in burials from the Mesolithic period to the Iron Age. Cemeteries of humans in boats with deer antlers or elk-headed stuffs were discovered at the Mesolithic sites of Denmark (Vedbaeck, Mollegabet) and in Northern Russia (Bolshoy Oleniy Ostrov). Being of a great significance in the mytho-ritual complex of the Stone Age population in Europe, Elk-Boat as the transport between Worlds is preserved in folklore of South-East European people. Mythological motif of the Cervid, sailing on the Sea or the River, with the sleeping maiden on his antlers, is widespread in South and Eastern Europe.

KULUNIGIY 5 SETTLEMENT: THE HISTORY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND NEW DISCOVERIES

Kulunigiy 5 settlement is a multi-layered monument located in the Middle Ob region, near the village of Ugut in the Surgut district of KhMAO-Yugra. The uniqueness of the monument is due to the large number and high concentration of archaeological structures on a relatively small area. Archaeological structures within the boundaries of the territory of the settlement differ in shape, size and cultural and chronological belonging. The earliest cultural layers of the monument can be attributed to the Mesolithic era, and the latest - the Middle Ages. Objective: systematization of data on the history of the archaeological study of the settlement Kulunigiy 5 and introduction to a wide scientific circulation of the main results of the discoveries of 1996-2021. Research materials: Reporting and project documentation from the branch archive of the scientific and production association «Northern Archeology-1» of Nefteyuganskand the latest scientific publications on the research topic. Results and novelty of the research: The data on the history of the archaeological study of the Kulunigy 5 settlement and their main results for the period 1996-2021 are systematized and introduced into wide scientific circulation, prospects and main directions of archaeological research are outlined on the basis of data obtained during field work.

Prehistoric settlements and rivers in the Lithuanian coastal area in the Early Holocene

The search for sites inhabited by humans of the Late Palaeolithic to Mesolithic period on the coasts of Lithuania is closely related to the coastal and underwater relicts of the Early Holocene and palaeo-watercourses. This article presents the results of coastal, underwater and seismic seabed surveys. The estuaries of the rivers of the Late Mesolithic period could have been at the present seabed level at a depth of 30 m or even deeper. The watercourse sites of the Littorina Sea stage are in shallow coastal waters. At the latitude of Šventoji, Palanga, Klaipėda, Juodkrantė and the area of the Nemunas palaeo-estuary, the seabed was explored with side-scan sonar and by diving. An artefact from the Early Neolithic period has been found in the coastal area next to Klaipėda, and underwater, at a depth of 14.5 m, a relict tree stump has been detected. Two sites at a depth of 10–12 m can be associated with the relict Danė watercourse containing the preserved fragments of relict landscapes. During marine seismic survey, the probable Smeltalė River palaeo-watercourse was detected, and three sites of the former watercourses found to the south of Klaipėda could be the traces of the Dreverna palaeo-river estuary. This area has good prospects as regards the search for Early Mesolithic period settlements. The underwater survey showed no traces of human activity. A further search for the Stone Age sites would be more promising in locations where palaeo-landscapes have survived adjacent to the palaeo-watercourses.

About Caucasian Migration and Ukrainain Neolithization

In recent years, Ukrainian archaeologist V. O. Manko has been boldly revising key positions in traditional ideas about the Mesolithic and Neolithic of South-Eastern Europe, to which his latest article in the journal Arheologia, written in co-authorship with the Georgian researcher G. L. Chhatarashvili, is devoted. The article begins with a call to abandon the traditional definition of the Neolithic, proposed by the classic scholar of prehistory V. Gordon Childe (the Neolithic is the era of the invention and spread of the reproductive economy) and replace it with an innovative one: the Neolithic is an information system. Since everything in the world is a system, the question arises: What is the meaning and benefit of such an innovative definition of the Neolithic? The co-authors of the article resolutely reject the Balkan-Danube version of the neolithization of Central-Eastern Europe, particularly Ukraine, founded by the already mentioned G. Child, as the brainchild of “improper research methodology”. Of course, the classics are also wrong, but a discussion with serious scientists requires serious argumentation, which, unfortunately, is catastrophically lacking in V. O. Manko’s constructions. The researcher proposes to replace the classical version of the neolithization of Europe from the Balkans through the Danube to the Caucasian route of the movement of Neolithic colonists to the Northern Black Sea; however, the arguments for his alternative are clearly insufficient. V. O. Manko boldly solves the complex problems of the genesis of a number of Mesolithic cultures of Ukraine and the Caucasus: Hrebenyky, Kukrek, Shpan-Koba, Swider, Mariupol and others. Loud revolutionary statements not supported by proper arguments and facts look like unconvincing declarations, which give rise to doubts and a skeptical attitude of the reader towards them. I will not claim that all the cultural communities highlighted in the article are illusory, and the migration routes from the Middle East through the Caucasus to the Black Sea region are ephemeral. However, the scant information on the typology of the flint inventory of cultural communities provided by its authors and clearly insufficient illustrative material in most cases does not allow imagining what it is actually about. Therefore, the topic chosen by the authors of the article of systematization of the cultural communities of the Mesolithic of the Caucasus and their cultural connections with the Black Sea region is definitely relevant, but its solution is complicated by the significant defects of the source base of the region and poor argumentation of the proposed hypotheses. Perhaps if the authors did not try to solve all the problems of the Mesolithic of the Caucasus and its neighboring regions in one article, then their conclusions would be more thorough, convincing and understandable for the readers.

Tardenoisian concept in Polish Mesolithic studies

The evolution of the concept of the Tardenoisian in Polish Mesolithic studies visibly falls into three phases, dating approximately to 1900-1970, 1971-1990, 1991-2016. In the first half of the twentieth century the geographical range of the Tardenoisian, known originally from French sites, was extended to areas in Central Europe, Poland included. Although criticised by Polish researchers of the Mesolithic already in the 1960s, this concept continued to appear in the literature until 1970. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s the local cultural taxonomy of the Polish Mesolithic was developed, based on meticulous analyses of the archaeological record. Using these sources, some researchers have recognized influences in southwestern Poland of the Western complex of Mesolithic cultures which includes e.g., the Tardenoisian and Beuronian. New material discovered after 1990 confirmed the presence ofBeuronian sites in the Polish zone of the Sudeten. The upland and mountainous zone of Central Europe with its great diversity of lithic resources was heavily exploited bycommunities of this cultural tradition.