Сhronology of early Neolithic materials of the site Sakhtysh IIa (Central Russia)

Abstract

The Upper Volga culture (UVC) in the Volga and Oka basin is one of the earliest pottery cultures in Eastern Europe. The Sakhtysh IIa site is attributed to the core area of the UVC, with pottery encompassing all stages of this culture. A detailed analysis of artefact deposition in different lay­ers allows the creation of chronological models of early pottery development in this region. A series of new radiocarbon dates of food crust on pottery sherds which typologically belong to different stages of UVC at Sakhtysh IIa, as well as an overview of the oldest pottery are presented in this article.

Keywords

• early Neolithic
• pottery
• hunter-gatherers
• Upper Volga culture
• chronological modelling