Rakushechny Yar Research Articles

An Early Neolithic Bone and Antler Industry of Rakushechny Yar on the Lower Don: Technological Strategies and Functional Context

The Early Neolithic site of Rakushechny Yar on the Lower Don evidences successive peopling of the coastal zone in the 6th millennium BC. Analysis of faunal remains, toolkit, and limited technological contexts suggest seasonal orientation of the site shown at least at the early stages. We present the results of the analysis of the Early Neolithic bone tools from Rakushechny Yar layers 23–11 of excavation I, and assess their place in the context of bone industries of the contemporaneous archaeological cultures. The collection is dominated by points. Despite the variable morphology, their preforms and manufacturing techniques are rather standard. Apart from points, two spatula-like tools and two specimens with beveled edges, made from red-deer antler, were found. A limited typological and functional set reveals a peculiar subsistence activity. The traceological analysis has highlighted a stable series of tools for working skins and processing coarse vegetable materials (possibly for basket weaving). Spatula-shaped tools were likely destined for processing mineral materials such as ceramics. Certain typological and technological parallels are found in the Northern Caspian and the Lower Volga regions, but especially in the Southern Caucasian Neolithic (Aratashen-Shulaveri-Shomutepe) traditions possibly originating from those of the Levant and Zagros.

Shell platforms and dwelling structures: spatial structure of the archaeological layer of the early Neolithic Rakushechnii Yar site

The Rakushechny Yar site is one of the key Early Neolithic sites of southern Eastern Europe. The lithological strata, which preserved the cultural layers of Neolithic- Eneolithic, reach a thickness of more than 6 m. Remains of various structures attributed to Early Neolithic were identified – platforms with Unio shells surrounded by stake pits, shell piles with numerous kitchen remains and artefacts, pits with Unio shells deposited within several horizons. Another type includes the remains of structures marked by rows of post and stake pits, some of which may relate to fishing gear. Dwelling structures are represented by the remains of buildings with clay floors. Analysis of the distribution of artifacts and ecofacts and plans of individual layers on the basis of analysis of archival materials made it possible to identify different types of household and residential structures, outline the boundaries of artifact accumulations, describe the location of objects in the cultural layer, reconstruct functional zones, identify stable complexes of different categories and material groups. Spatial analysis of the archival material, taking into account the results of recent years of field research, shows a change in the development pattern of the coastal zone from small-scale household areas, sometimes paved with shells, with pits to residential complexes.

Новые данные по хронологии и стратиграфии памятника Ракушечный Яр

Rakushechny Yar site, located in the Lower Don basin, is a multilayered floodplain settlement with a series of buried soils, where Neolithic-Eneolithic and Bronze Age cultural layers have been investigated. Dates with a wide calibration interval for materials from excavation # 1 obtained from total organic content of ceramics, food crust, and charcoal previously demonstrated the length of the Early Neolithic period ranging from the mid 7th millennium BC to the end of the 6th millennium cal BC. The new data allowed us to significantly adjust chronology of the site. A new series of dating based on animal bones from the Early Neolithic layers concentrate within a narrow chronological interval of a few decades around 5600 cal BC. This suggests that burying of archaeological remains was very rapid, and sand interlayers which separated them do not form significant temporal hiatuses. The archaeological layers are distributed within restricted surfaces and correspond to different episodes of coastal zone inhabitation. The variation in the number, thickness and character of the archaeological layers points to repeated episodes of inhabitation during Early Neolithic. The time when the Early Neolithic strata might have been closed differs at various parts – from the 5th mill to the 4th millennium cal BC (based on OSL and AMS dates). The contradictions that existed between the individual dates can be explained either by the reservoir effect (for food crust dating) or by the correlation of the dating from different sections, where layers were not deposited at the same time. It is complicated to determine the rate of deposition of Early Neolithic cultural strata, which may have occurred in a single season or possibly over a longer period of time. The series of dates obtained indicate successive occupation of the site. The change in the pattern of coastal inhabitation from small-scale households’ areas with shell paved platforms and pits to dwelling complexes with clay pavement floors and clay-covered walls/roofs occurred over a very short time. This may explain the homogenous nature of the Early Neolithic material culture and the production of a certain set of clay vessels, stone, bone industry, and shell tools.

Innovations of the Beginning of the Sixth Millennium BC in the Northern Pontic Steppe

Abstract This study focuses on the pottery-bearing (“Neolithic”) sites of the northern Azov Sea region. The vessels ornamented with comb imprints appeared there in the sixth millennium BC. In the light of a recent re-dating of the Rakushechny Yar site sequence, the sites of the northern Azov region appeared to be the earliest evidence for this innovation. The innovation in the ceramic assemblage is accompanied by an innovative lithic tool set. The latter included macro-blades and fan-shaped end-scrapers, which were previously unknown in the studied region. Their reanalysis (including new field work at the single-layer site of Chapaevka) helped formulate a hypothesis of maritime transmission of comb-ornamented ceramics in the Black and Azov Sea. This hypothesis will stimulate further discussions regarding the ways of Neolithization in Eastern Europe. It underlines the connections between Balkan “classic” Neolithic and pottery-bearing sites of the Ukrainian Steppe. The impressed ware from Makri and other mainland Greek sites is treated as the closest analogy to the finds of the northern Azov Sea region.

Neolithic farmers or Neolithic foragers? Organic residue analysis of early pottery from Rakushechny Yar on the Lower Don (Russia)

The emergence of pottery in Europe is associated with two distinct traditions: hunter-gatherers in the east of the continent during the early 6th millennium BC and early agricultural communities in the south-west in the late 7th millennium BC. Here we investigate the function of pottery from the site of Rakushechny Yar, located at the Southern fringe of Eastern Europe, in this putative contact zone between these two economic ‘worlds’. To investigate, organic residue analysis was conducted on 120 samples from the Early Neolithic phase (ca. mid-6th millennium BC) along with microscopic and SEM analysis of associated foodcrusts. The results showed that the earliest phase of pottery use was predominantly used to process riverine resources. Many of the vessels have molecular and isotopic characteristics consistent with migratory fish, such as sturgeon, confirmed by the identification of sturgeon bony structures embedded in the charred surface deposits. There was no evidence of dairy products in any of the vessels, despite the fact these have been routinely identified in coeval sites to the south. Further analysis of some of the mammalian bones using ZooMS failed to demonstrate that domesticated animals were present in the Early Neolithic. Nevertheless, we argue that intensive exploitation of seasonally migratory fish, accompanied by large-scale pottery production, created storable surpluses that led to similar socio-economic outcomes as documented in early agricultural societies.

: Rakushechny Yar site: lacustrine and fluvial deposits, buried soils and shell platforms from 6th mill. BC

The Rakushechny Yar site is a floodplain multi-layer archaeological site encompassing strata dated from the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age. It is characterised by a complex stratigraphy, with the presence of different deposits, buried soils and archaeological layers. Fluvial deposits interlay different settlement strata, which provides an opportunity to elaborate a precise chronological scheme and to study the successive changes in hydrological regime, climate and vegetation, along with the phases of human occupation. A study of the pastes used in ceramic manufacture was conducted to investigate changes in the procuring of raw materials, whose procurement would have depended heavily on their availability and sedimentation process. The fluvial deposits, which have safely preserved the Neolithic–Bronze Age archaeological layers, reach thicknesses of more than 6 m, which makes this site interesting both for the reconstruction of the human–environmental interaction and for the palaeoenvironmental history of the region.

Thermal analysis and multi-analytical comparison of samples of Neolithic ceramics from Dnepr–Dvina and Low Don regions

Two kinds of samples of Early and Late Neolithic ceramic sherds of pots from excavations of sites located in Dnepr–Dvina and Low Don region (Serteya II and Rakushechny Yar) were investigated for multi-analytical comparison. The methods include thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and method of standard contact porosimetry. The pottery manufactured in Serteya II and Rakushechny Yar has different clay sources, but close mineral composition. Inner sides of sherds are less thermally durable as a result of the contact with cooking meal or boiling water in ancient times: They lose more mass during thermogravimetric measurements. At the same time, the minerals in outer sides of the samples are partly destroyed because of contact with fire in the past. According to differential scanning calorimetry curves, there are thermal effects above 1000 °C in all sherds due to mullite formation. There are organic C–F bonds and sharp endothermic peaks at 600–750 °C in samples from Serteya II site. In addition to elevated level of nitrogen and phosphorus and carbon black layer on the inner side, it allows to propose that the pot from Serteya II was used for cooking. The sherds from both sites have close overall porosity, but in case of Serteya II size of mesopore is more isotropic.

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.

Ceramics making technology from the Eneolithic layers of Rakushechny Yar settlement

The paper contains the results of the technical and technological analysis of ceramics from the Eneolithic layers of the Rakushechny Yar settlement. It is located on the Porechny Island (the Don River, Rostov Region, Russian Federation). The methodological basis of the conducted research is a historical and cultural approach to the study of ancient ceramics, developed in Russian archeology by A.A. Bobrinsky. The methods of the research are binocular microscopy, trasology and experiment (physical modeling). 141 samples of ceramics (conditionally separate vessels) from layers 5-2 of Rakushechny Yar were subjected to a microscopic examination. The obtained technological information allowed us to reconstruct techniques and methods of Eneolithic utensils manufacturing at all stages of production - preparatory, creative and fortifying stages of pottery technology. Based on these data, the paper presents a general description of the Eneolithic pottery. A comparative analysis was made of the pottery technology of the Neolithic and Eneolithic population that inhabited the Rakushechny Yar site. According to its results, the similarities and differences of the Eneolithic and Neolithic pottery traditions are highlighted. Particular attention is paid to the question of the possible origins of new traditions, which became widespread during the Eneolithic. These include silty clays selection traditions, the introduction of artificial additives into the molding composition: crushed shell, bird fluff and sand.

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.

Some review on the results of technical and technological analysis of ceramics (on the example of the Rakushechny Yar settlement)

The article gives the results on the problem of pottery technology usage in the population which left a multilayered stratified settlement of the neo-Eneolithic Age of Rakushechny Yar. It is located on the island of Porechny in the riverbed of the Don river, which is near Razdorskaya village of Rostov Region in Russian Federation. This research is a long-term study concerning the problem of ancient pottery technology usage in Eastern European territory of Russia. The author found it is important to use both the historical and cultural approach and the method of A.A. Bobrinskiy. This method includes binocular microscopy, tracology and physical modeling experiment. The authors studied 294 samples of ceramics (separate vessels approximately) in Rakushechny Yar. Thus, the article describes the techniques and methods for selecting plastic raw materials, composing molding masses, making vessels, giving a general description of the Lower Don region Early Neolithic pottery. Moreover the author uses the comparative analysis to describe the new knowledge and give more information on the problem concerning the pottery technology usage in these regions. The author gives similar and different specific features of the neolithization process in the Don and the Volga regions as well as the questions concerning the origin and the development of early Neolithic pottery traditions in south steppe zone of the Eastern Europe.

Some similarity features in the Neolithic Lower and Middle Don

The paper considers the influence of Rakushechny Yar settlement research on ideas about the Middle Don Neolithic. Traditionally, the Lower Don Region was considered as one of the centers of the Middle Don Neolithic culture. The paper contains a comparison of the stone and ceramic inventory of the Rakushechny Yar with the materials of the Middle Don Culture sites. There are common features: stone inventory lamellar with a small number of geometric forms, acute vascularity, the use of pointed ornamentation, technological methods of vessel surface processing. At the same time, a large number of differences in the comparison of Early Neolithic materials of the Lower and Middle Don allow one to conclude that there is no genetic connection between the Middle Don and Rakushechny Yar cultures. In addition, the paper presents the study of the Cherkasskaya 5 site, its materials precede the Srednodonsk in chronological order and have many similarities with the finds from the lower layers of Rakushechny Yar settlement. Thus, the stone inventory of Cherkasskaya 5 is plate, geometric microliths are not found.

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.

Some words about Tatiana Dmitrievna Belanovskaya

September 10, 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Tatyana Dmitrievna Belanovskaya (19182010) who was one of the first graduates of Archaeology Department of Leningrad State University. She graduated from the University in 1941 and completed postgraduate studies at Archaeology Department in 1948. From 1948 until 1988 T.D. Belanovskaya taught at the same Department. The most important courses made by her were Prehistory and the basics of ethnography, The Basics of Archeology, as well as special courses on Neolithic, Eneolithic and numerous regional courses in archeology of Western, Central and Eastern Europe. 52 master theses were written under the guidance of T.D. Belanovskaya; many of the graduates defended doctoral dissertations. Thanks to her educational activity, recent studying of Neolithic was formed in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Tatiana Dmitrievna conducted long-term field studies of the settlement of Rakushechny Yar the unique multilayer site which includes Neolithic and Eneolithic materials. The stratigraphy of the site is a kind of reference standard for the territory of the South of Eastern Europe while the studying of the oldest pottery from the lower layers allows ones to solve the problem of neolithization of the region. The paper includes excerpts from the interview with Tatyana Dmitrievna Belanovskaya and memoirs of her students graduated from Archaeology Department of Leningrad State University in the 1960s and now working at the Department.

Complex experimental-trasologic and ethnographic researches of ceramics: technology of manufacturing and burning

Complex experimental-trasological and ethnographic studies of ceramics are shown on the example of their application to the study of technological methods for the manufacture of ancient ceramics. The paper considers the use of different research methods using the materials of Rakushechny Yar settlement on the Lower Don and Maikop culture in the North Caucasus and ethnographic data. Experimental modeling of flat-bottomed vessels of the Neolithic and round-bottomed vessels of Maikop culture is given as an example. It is shown that ceramics in different archaeological epochs were made using several techniques. The technique of making vessels was modeled by experiments. The study of ethnographic data on the technique of making round-bottomed vessels shows that the methods of modeling different vessels are much larger. The work presents archaeological, experimental, tracological and ethnographic data on the production of both flat-bottomed and round-bottomed vessels using the knockout technique. Recently, with the help of this technique, a series of experiments on the modeling of vessels and the subsequent tracological study of the technology of their manufacture with the help of a knockout was performed. For the first time the author shows the use of a combination of various methods of modeling in the manufacture of Neolithic vessels. The data of petrography and experiments on the burning of vessels are given.

Radiocarbon chronology of Neolithic in the Lower Don and North-eastern Azov Sea

So far, four different cultural-chronological groups of sites have been identified in the North-eastern Azov Sea and Lower Don River areas, including sites of the Rakushechny Yar culture, Matveev Kurgan culture, Donets culture, and sites of the Caspian-Ciscaucasian region. An analysis of all known dates, as well as the contexts and stratigraphies of the sites, allowed us to form a new perspective of the chronology of southern Russia, to revise the chronology of this region, and change the concept of unreliability of dates for this area.

Radiocarbon chronology of Neolithic in the Lower Don and North-eastern Azov Sea

So far, four different cultural-chronological groups of sites have been identified in the North-eastern Azov Sea and Lower Don River areas, including sites of the Rakushechny Yar culture, Matveev Kurgan culture, Donets culture, and sites of the Caspian-Ciscaucasian region. An analysis of all known dates, as well as the contexts and stratigraphies of the sites, allowed us to form a new perspective of the chronology of southern Russia, to revise the chronology of this region, and change the concept of unreliability of dates for this area.

Pottery technology of the Early Neolithic population Podon'ya

The paper publishes the long-term study results of the Early Neolithic population pottery technology in the Lower, Middle and Upper Don Region. This research was carried out within the framework of the historical and cultural approach by the method of A.A. Bobrinsky. It was based on binocular microscopy, traceology and experiment in the form of physical modeling. 483 samples of ceramics (conditionally separate vessels) were subjected to techno-technological analysis. They originate from the cultural layers of the Rakushechny Yar camp (294) and I Razdorskaya site (4), located in the Lower Don region, as well as 14 sites of the Middle and Upper Don Region containing Karamyshev type ceramics (185). The authors give a general description of the Early Neolithic pottery of the Don region and a comparative analysis of the data on pottery technology of the Lower, Middle and Upper Don Region population. The problems of the origin and distribution of early Neolithic pottery traditions are considered, the similarities and differences in the neolithization process in the Don region and the Volga region are distinguished.