Open AccessNew Research on the Early Neolithic Enclosed Settlement Kayukovo-2 in the North of Western Siberia
Author(s) -
Кардаш Олег Викторович,
Чаиркина Наталия Михайловна,
E.N. Dubovtseva,
Пиецонка Хенни
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
vestnik novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. seriâ: istoriâ, filologiâ
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1818-7919
DOI - 10.25205/1818-7919-2020-19-7-109-124
Subject(s) - ditch , radiocarbon dating , archaeology , pottery , terrace (agriculture) , hearth , peat , geology , human settlement , period (music) , settlement (finance) , shore , geography , art , ecology , oceanography , world wide web , computer science , payment , biology , aesthetics
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.