Neolithic Layers Research Articles

The Neolithic layer of the Nakhchivan Tepe settlement

The Neolithic layer of the Nakhchivan Tepe settlement

Microbotanical evidence for the spread of cereal use during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Southeastern Europe (Danube Gorges): Data from dental calculus analysis

Research increasingly suggests that natural and social environments shaped the Neolithic expansion of the farming niche into Europe. The Danube Gorges, on account of its position between the Mediterranean and more temperate regions and the presence of archaeological sites with continuous Mesolithic and Neolithic layers of occupation associated with vast burial grounds is ideal for studying the modality of Neolithization. Previous dietary stable isotope (carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur) studies in the Central Balkan area indicate that many Neolithic humans remained reliant on foraged aquatic resources in the Gorges. Until now, there is no unambiguous evidence of cereal consumption in this region. The possibility that the rich aquatic resources of the Danube river habitats within Central Balkans influenced diet and thus delayed uptake of Neolithic cultigens is unanswered. The extensive skeletal record from sites in the Danube Gorges (Central Balkans) with its long temporal sequence, provides the opportunity to reconstruct plant use during Mesolithic and the Neolithic. To assess when cereals and possibly cultivated plants spread to the region, we analysed the microbotanical remains (starch grains and phytoliths) entrapped in the dental calculus of 81 individuals dating from 9100 to 5500 cal BC, recovered from five sites in the Danube Gorges. This study marks the largest study of dental calculus from this period so far conducted. Added to this, we present new radiocarbon dates (n = 17), bone collagen stable isotope data (δ13C and δ15N; n = 5) and data on caries frequency. This dietary study identifies that the growing of crops commenced in the Early Neolithic circa 6000 cal BC and was brought by farming migrants of north-western Anatolian ancestry into the Danube Gorges. Despite bringing a Neolithic agro-pastoral subsistence practices and cultural novelties in the Gorges, these migrants and their descendants adopted some of the local dietary and cultural traditions, suggesting a mosaic pattern of Neolithization. The resulting data provides a better understanding of the tempo and spread of cereal agriculture practices and the role of cereals in the diet of Danube Gorges inhabitants.

Early farmers in northwest Turkey: First dietary isotopes study of human diet at Neolithic Barcın Höyük

Barcın Höyük is one of the oldest Neolithic settlement sites in northwest Anatolia, with early layers of occupation radiocarbon dated to ca. 6600 cal BC. The Neolithic phase at the site (ca. 6600–6200 cal BC) has seven layers of occupation, and shows a number of affinities, in terms of structure and zooarchaeological remains, with contemporary sites in the coastal area near Istanbul (Özdoğan, 2015). The available zooarchaeological evidence suggests a diet of terrestrial fauna, with some inclusion from freshwater aquatic species. This study investigates the nature of human diet at Barcın Höyük through carbon and nitrogen analysis of human and animal bone collagen, and examines whether there is any isotopic evidence for a shift in diet after the re-organisation of the site at ca. 6200 cal BC. Here we present 75 human and faunal analyses from the Neolithic layers at Barcın Höyük. Two new radiocarbon dates on human skeletons are also included in the study.

The results of the study of the Algay site (2019) in the lower Volga Region

The processes of Neolithization and Eneolithization are two of the most important in the study of the human prehistory. The territory of the Lower Volga is of particular importance. In the Neolithic period, one of the oldest ceramic traditions in Eastern Europe appears. In the Eneolithic, cultures with signs of a productive economy are recorded rather early here. A further study of these issues depends on a quality source base. Monuments of the Neolithic and Eneolithic in the Volga steppe are rare. Therefore, the study of the new site Algay is very relevant. Its importance increases due to the discovery of stratigraphic data in 2019: the Eneolithic and Neolithic layers are separated by relatively sterile layers. This allows us to establish reliable periodization. Features of the lower cultural layer allowed us to trace the process of its formation. The work was interdisciplinary. The results of the technical and technological analysis of ceramics revealed the characteristic features of the Neolithic and Eneolithic. Archaeozoological definitions established the species composition of animals in the Neolithic and Eneolithic. New radiocarbon dates provide a basis for determining the exact chronological framework of the Orlovskaya and Caspian cultures in this region. Among archaeological materials, rare artifacts have been discovered that testify to social stratification already in the Neolithic period.

Nuevas intervenciones en la Cova Gran y la Cova Freda de Montserrat (Collbató, Barcelona) casi 100 años después

En este trabajo se presentan los primeros datos estratigráficos, radiocarbónicos y de cultura material de las recientes excavaciones en las Coves de Montserrat (Cova Gran y Cova Freda). Estos emblemáticos yacimientos fueron excavados el año 1922 y proporcionaron uno de los primeros conjuntos cardiales de la península ibérica. Desde entonces, no volvieron a ser intervenidos de forma oficial y quedaron abandonados. En el año 2018 se han reiniciado los trabajos con sondeos en ambas cuevas, determinando la preservación de depósitos arqueológicos estratificados en algunos de ellos. En la Cova Freda se ha reconocido la existencia de un tramo de la cavidad probablemente usado como redil durante el Neolítico Antiguo Cardial y, en la Cova Gran, se han documentado un nivel y una estructura negativa de esa misma cronología, así como un potente nivel finipaleolítico.

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.

Freshwater fishing at the Neolithic site of Rakushechny Yar

AbstractThe multilayer settlement site of Rakushechny Yar is located at the northwestern end of an island on the Lower Don River, Rostow region, Russia. It is one of the earliest Neolithic sites in the region, dating from the 7th to the 6th millennia cal BC. During the excavation of the settlement, numerous fish remains were found. To gain an impression of the fish species caught, the largest assemblages, recovered during recent excavations, from the Early Neolithic layers and one pit dated to the middle of the 6th millennia cal BC were analysed.The fish remains were quantified and total fish lengths were estimated. This revealed the relative importance of particular species, with wels catfish (Silurus glanis) being especially well‐represented, and additionally provided insight into the possible fishing methods employed and season of capture. The data demonstrate that the assemblage was dominated by the remains of freshwater species that could have been fished in the Lower Don River nearby. The spring and summer seasons were probably the most favourable time for capture, although fishing could also have been conducted throughout the year.

Archeological analysis of osteological material of Rakushechniy Yar settlement while studying the economy of the early Neolytic population

The paper contains the study results of the settlement Rakushechny Yar fauna from the excavations of 20132017. It is a reference site for this region, because it has a unique stratigraphy. It was possible to determine 201 bones of mammals, birds and turtles at the early Neolithic layers of Rakushechny Yar. The fish remains at the settlement are numerous, but have not been investigated. The large ungulates were of the greatest importance here for the hunting. The largest number of the bones belongs to the red deer. Cutting the carcasses of this animal occurred at the settlement. It should be noted that the horse is represented by a wild form here. An important event was the appearance of domestic cows, sheep and pigs in this region. As a result of the analysis of the available osteological material we can confidently state that the process of domestication of these species passed long before the arrival of the settlers on the Don River. The Early Neolithic population in the Northern Black Sea Region, from our point of view, was heterogeneous in terms of material culture and, probably, the origins of the formation. It is possible that this is the reason for the difference in economic activity of people in that territory.

New investigations of early Neolithic layers (on the example of Rakushechny Yar)

R
 Rakushechny Yar has attracted interest for a long period of time. New questions arose around its materials and the site itself, which led to renewal of excavations and investigations of this site nowadays. New investigations of the place allowed the authors to distinguish early Neolithic layers, which were inaccessible before due to a high water level of the Don River. Particularities of Unio and Viviparus shells distribution show that these were different shell middens within several horizons. Also variety of spots full of bone debris and pits were uncovered here. New paleogeographical studies allowed reconstruction ancient landscape in the surroundings of this place. Shell tools, stone industry and ceramic assemblage, bone and antler tools are early Neolithic finds. The first time wooden artefacts and coprolites were found in a low watered layer. Finds of bones of domestic animals suggest even more complicated organization of this early Neolithic society.

Stone implement from the early Neolithic layers in Rakushechny Yar (on the example of the researches of 2016-2017)

The article shows the analysis of the collection of the stone artifacts obtained as a result of excavations of the early Neolithic layers of the site Rakushechny Yar. The collection of the stone tools makes it possible to get an idea about the flaking technology, oriented to obtaining blades. However, the absence of the products of debitage on the site indicates that flaking and tool production were realized outside the site. For secondary modification inhabitants of the site used such techniques as retouching and polishing. The tools assemblage was represented mainly by points that were used as drills, end-scrapers and polished axes, which indicates the specific economic activities of the inhabitants of the site, associated with the woodworking. The stone implement of the site has analogies not only in the Neolithic sites of the region, but also in the Neolithic stone implements of the sites of the Lower Volga and Northern Caspian Regions. Taking into account that the investigated part of the site was a coastal zone at one time, as well as the presence of a large number of fish bones in the lower layers, it can be assumed that the use of the above categories of tools was somehow connected with fishing. This assumption can be confirmed by microwear analysis of the stone tools.

L’abri du Pas de l’Échelle (Rovon, Isère) : évolution du couvert végétal d’après les analyses polliniques et anthracologiques

The Pas de l’Échelle (980 m a. s. l.) is a natural passage from the Isère valley to the Hauts-Plateaux of the Vercors massif. At this place a rock shelter has yielded an important Mesolithic and Neolithic sequence, well dated by artefacts and by a series of 14C datings. Pollen analysis was mainly performed on this sequence, and on the gravels at the base of the excavation (Dryas III), as well as on Neolithic layers. As for charcoal analysis it covers a larger chronological range, from Mesolithic to Early Middle Ages. It enables to describe the dynamics of the vegetation through several thousands of years under human influence. Therefore, these two botanical approaches are chronologically complementary. The vegetation dynamics is divided in three steps characterized for the first by pine and broadleaved oak forest, then by yew during the Neolithic, next by ash tree and by the fir-beech forest from Bronze Age onwards.

About specifics of rock art of Gobustan and some innovative approaches to its interpretation (“Firuz 2” shelter)

The petroglyphs of Gobustan are an important historical source that allows us to get an idea about the material and spiritual culture of the population inhabiting the region in various historical periods. The analysis of the specific features of the creative process let us imagine how the ancient artists of Gobustan conveyed some aspects of their creative perception and specifics of their world view.In this respect, the “Firuz 2” shelter on Kichikdash Mountain in Gobustan is of special interest. “Firuz 2” lies at the foot of a vertically standing boulder oriented N-S. (stone №19). The archaeological site is located at the western side of this stone covered with petroglyphs. On this surface numerous female figures, images of hunters, animals and boats are fixed. Visual domination of images of female figures and boats make a uniform semantic plot. It should be noted that from Mesolithic and Neolithic occupation layers of Gobustan separate stones on which female figures near boats are also represented are found. It is quite possible that this composition is characteristic to this period.Images of female figures on stone №19 stylistically differ from each other and some of them are executed in profile with prominent bellies. Besides these, images of animals (aurochs, wild boars, onagers, gazelles, bezoar goats) were depicted on stone №19.Under the stone and on the north side, there is a strip of rocky blocks lying deep in the soil. On one of these rocks (stone 19-a), split in two parts, images of boats were recorded. The stone was found in the Neolithic layer. Images of boats of this kind are also registered on stone №19. On three of them the symbol of the sun is represented on the bow. In the Caucasian region, images of boats are only met in Gobustan rock art. Considering attentively these images of boats, can be supposed that they belong to the Neolithic period of Gobustan culture and existed throughout millennia.In order to get some chronological control, various methods were combined: analogies with stones found in cultural layers and bearing similar images, study of the stylistic features and the stratigraphic method. AMS dating of the cultural layers of the “Firuz 2” site allowed to understand the variability in the form and meaning of the petroglyphs of various periods. Previously, artifacts from the cultural layer of “Firuz 2” site had been dated to the end of Mesolithic and beginning of Neolithic period. The last AMS dating provided the result: 7850 ± 30 BP, which led to suppose that Gobustan was the earliest center in which navigation emerged in the Caucasian region.

State of the (t)art. Analytical approaches in the investigation of components and production traits of archaeological bread-like objects, applied to two finds from the Neolithic lakeshore settlement Parkhaus Opéra (Zürich, Switzerland).

The site of Parkhaus Opéra is located on the north-eastern shore of Lake Zürich (Switzerland) and was documented during a rescue excavation in 2010 and 2011 by the Office for Urbanism, City of Zürich. Two charred bread-like objects were found in late Neolithic Layer 13 of the pile-dwelling, and are investigated using a novel set of analyses for cereal-based foodstuffs. Tissue remains of barley and wheat were identified, as well as a schizocarp of celery (cf. Apium graveolens), providing the first evidence for the use of bread condiments in the Neolithic. Cereal particle sizes were recorded and used to draw conclusions regarding milling and sieving of the raw material. Gas bubbles in the charred objects were measured in order to evaluate possible leavening of the dough. The outcomes of this research significantly advance the understanding of the production traits of cereal-based food during the Neolithic. The analytical techniques proposed by this study open up new possibilities for systematic and consistent investigations of cereal-based archaeological foodstuffs.

Sealings before cities: new evidence on the beginnings of administration in the ancient Near East

The sealing of receptacles and storage facilities is one of the most conspicuous features related to early administration in the protohistoric Near East. It has been known and discussed for decades in the context of the northern Levant and Mesopotamia. Until recently, this phenomenon had not been attested in the southern Levant. However, in this paper the authors present an assemblage of sealings discovered in the excavations of Pre-Pottery Neolithic layers at Munhata, Pottery Neolithic deposits at Sha‘ar Hagolan and Middle Chalcolithic remains at Tel Tsaf, all located in the Beth-Shean Valley. We propose here, definitions of protohistoric sealings and their typology and function, and discuss the significance of this phenomenon for early administrative activity in the ancient Near East.

Неолитический и энеолитический комплексы стоянки Кедровый мыс-1 в Южном Зауралье

The article presents the results of the study of the site Kedrovy Mys-1 on Lake Maloe Miassovo in the Southern Trans-Urals. The site, which was a place of not long-term inhabitation of the ancient population, was fully investigated. The site was inhabited in the Neo-Eneolithic and Early Iron Age; below in the work are published materials of the Stone Age, significantly prevailing in the collection. Despite the poor preservation of ceramics, it was possible to identify and reconstruct more than 100 vessels of the kozlovskaya, poludenskaya and boborykinskaya Neolithic traditions, as well as of the lipchinskaya and Ssurtandinskaya cultures of the Eneolithic epoch, replenishing the source database with new data. Also some methodological aspects of field research are considered, which are associated with an attempt to stratigraphic and planographic isolation of the undestroyed Neolithic layer and the isolation of stone implements of this era. This is due to the specific geomorphological conditions of the region, traditionally one of the most difficult tasks of archaeological research in the mountain forest zone of the Southern Trans-Urals.

First record of serotine bat Eptesicus serotinus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Early-Mid Holocene in Southern Europe (Beotia – Greece)

This article reports the first record of the Eptesicus serotinus (Schreber, 1774) in the Early and Mid Holocene in Southern Europe. Fragments of mandibles, maxilla, rostrum, humerii and radii from this species were collected in Mesolithic and Neolithic layers of the cave of Sarakenos (Boeotia, Greece). This provides evidence of the presence of the serotine bat in Greece during the Holocene. The relevance of this new record increases the areal distribution of serotine bat in the postglacial Europe.

Revisión radiocarbónica y cronocultural del Neolítico antiguo de la Balma Margineda (Aixovall, Andorra)

This work discusses the radiocarbon evidence from the Neolithic layers of the Balma Margineda (Andorra). Since the last excavation campaigns during the ‘90s, a total of ten 14C dates has been obtained. We discuss their stratigraphic provenance and suggest that only three of the ten 14C dates should be considered reliable. The new dates assign the Neolithic occupations to a more recent chronology. Moreover, we also present a brief revision of the ceramic and lithic materials from the in situ Neolithic layers, in order reinterpret the site using the most recent data on the Early Neolithic of Pyrenean region.

Flint complex of the Mariupol burial ground

The Mariupol burial ground is one of the largest Neolithic sites of Eastern Europe. The funeral complex consists of 124 burials many of which include rich grave goods. Flint artifacts, usually single plate-like flint knives, have been found in 40 graves. In burials there also were end and oval scrapers, microlithics, axes, triangular arrowheads with bilateral treatment. The industry has been based on squeezing plates of average size. Flint tools were selected specially for burial. Flint artifacts have only been found in graves with other grave goods. In some graves there were rather numerous congestions of flint tools from 10 to 25 tools and their workpieces. In these backpack sets plates and tools made of them also prevail. Backpack sets of the Mariupol burial ground are divided into two types. The first type includes mainly unspecialized stone tools. Backpack sets of the second type consist of stone tools and household objects, i.e. jewelry made of bone, shells and stone, ochre. The trapezes and plates were used as arrowheads and their parts. Two flint axes with polished edges are found in one of the burials. The flint industry of the Mariupol burial ground is comparable to the industry of a Neolithic layer of the Kalmius settlement in Mariupol on the opposite right river bank. Probably, the burial ground has been made by residents of the settlement. Flint products are found both in male and in female burials.

Neolithic complex of Kedroviy mys-1 site

The paper contains the preliminary study results of multilayer site Kedroviy mys-1 on Lake Small Miassovo in the Southern Trans-Urals. The site which is a non-durable habitat of ancient population is fully investigated. No construction is revealed, but approximate contours of dwellings, probably of easy construction type of tepee with no trace were found by a planigraphy method. In the complex of finds which represents the era of stone and metal a group of artifacts of the Neolithic period in the history was found, the cultural identity and the relative chronology of the complex were established. Vessels of kozlovskaya, poludenskaya and boborykinskaya traditions were reconstructed, hence new data have been added to the complex of sources of the accumulated materials of Trans-Ural Neolithic, as it remains an urgent task for the Southern Trans-Urals, more sparsely represented by ceramics, and especially archaeologically intact vessels, compared with adjacent territories. The authors consider some methodological aspects of field research related to an attempt to highlight the stratigraphic and planigraphic intact of Neolithic layer that because of specific geomorphological conditions of the region is traditionally among the most difficult tasks of archaeological research in the mountain-forest zone of South Ural.

Neoliticheskij sloj poseleniya Kal'mius v Mariupole. Kamennye izdeliya

Neoliticheskij sloj poseleniya Kal'mius v Mariupole. Kamennye izdeliya