192 Documenta Praehistorica XLIV (2017) Introduction Neolithic sites in the forest steppe Don River basin have been known since the first half of the 20 th cen- tury. The research conducted in this region, as in other areas of Eastern Europe, allowed the identifi- cation of both local cultures and cultural entities, connected to the Neolithisation process and the first appearance of pottery. Pottery appeared to be a mar- ker of transition to the Neolithic in this region, even when flint industry remained the same as during the Mesolithic, which is widely recognised for the Euro- pean part of Russia. The particularities of pottery types also became the leading feature for differenti- ating between archaeological cultures (Sinyuk 1986). Description of the region The forest-steppe of the Don River basin area (Maps 1, 2) encompasses the Upper and Middle Don River with its tributaries, including those with outflows lo- cated within the steppe zone. The Don flows from North to South, which was of crucial importance for contacts between the populations of the Don region Chronology of Neolithic sites in the forest-steppe area of the Don River Roman Smolyaninov 1 , Andrey Skorobogatov 2 and Aleksey Surkov 2 1 Lipetsk state pedagogical university Pyotr P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, Lipetsk, RU rws17@rambler.ru 2 P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky “Terra”, Voronezh, RU surkovarh@mail.ru a.m.skorobogatov@mail.ru ABSTRACT – The first ceramic complexes appeared in the forest-steppe and forest zones of Eastern Europe at the end of the 7 th –5 th millennium BC. They existed until the first half of the 5 th millennium BC in the Don River basin. All these first ceramic traditions had common features and also local particularities. Regional cultures, distinguished nowadays on the basis of these local particularities, include the Karamyshevskaya and Middle Don cultures, as well pottery of a new type found at sites on the Middle Don River (Cherkasskaya 3 and Cherkasskaya 5 sites). IZVLE∞EK – Prvi kerami≠ni kompleksi so se na obmo≠ju gozdne stepe in gozdov v vzhodni Evropi po- javili na koncu 7. do 5. tiso≠letja pr. n. ∏t. V dolini reke Don so se ti kompleksi obdr∫ali do prve polo- vice 5. tiso≠letja pr. n. ∏t. Vse te prvotne kerami≠ne tradicije imajo skupne zna≠ilnosti, pa tudi lokal- ne posebnosti. Med regionalne kulture, ki jih danes lo≠imo na podlagi teh lokalnih posebnosti, uvr- ∏≠amo kulturo Karamyshevskaya in kulture na obmo≠ju srednjega toka reke Don, kakor tudi lon≠e- nino novega tipa, ki je bila odkrita na najdi∏≠ih Cherkasskaya 3 in Cherkasskaya 5. KEY WORDS – Early Neolithic; Neolithisation; pottery technology; radiocarbon chronology KLJU∞NE BESEDE – zgodnji neolitik; neolitizacija; tehnologija lon≠enine; radiokarbonska kronologija Kronologija neolitskih najdi[; na obmo;ju gozdne stepe ob reki Don DOI> 10.4312\dp.44.12 Chronology of Neolithic sites in the forest-steppe area of the Don River 193 ronezh region) in the Central Don River area con- ducted from 2009 to 2015 (Voronezh region) yield- ed Early Neolithic pottery considerably different from all the known pottery complexes of the forest- steppe Don. It was found at the Cherkassk 5 site at the mouth of the Bityug River (the left tributary of the Don) (Gapochka, Skorobogatov and Surkov 2015). A small part of Cherkassk 5 was excavated in 2014– 2015. The cultural layer of this site was found under two-metre-thick alluvial sterile deposits. Pottery tem- pered by shell, with a polished surface was found at the bottom of the cultural layer (Gapochka, Skoro- bogatov and Surkov 2015). Later on similar pottery was found in the low layer of Cherkassk 3. Two da- tes were made on one sample at 7474±65 BP (6450– 6225 cal BC, Hela–3520) and 7610±45 BP (6570– 6398 cal BC, GrA–62165) (Fig. 2.1). Also, organic crust from pottery of this type from Cherkassk 5 was dated to 7115±130 BP (6236–5730 cal BC, SPb– and the ancient communities of the Azov Sea and Pre- Caucasian regions in the south, the North- ern Caspian Sea region (and be- yond with the Central Asian re- gion) in the south-east, and final- ly the Balkan area through the Upper and Middle Dnieper territo- ries – in the west and south-west. According to the modern admini- strative division, the forest-step- pe of the Don basin is located in Lipetsk and Voronezh regions of the Russian Federation. The forest-steppe area is a tempe- rate landscape transitional be- tween forest and steppe, characte- rised by the alternation of closed mostly deciduous trees growing on grey soils and grassland step- pe territories in the Black Earth region (Milkov 1961). The land- scape of the forest-steppe zone changes from north to south. Three sub-zones occur in the cen- tral region: northern, typical and southern forest-steppe. The topography of Neolithic sites is similar throughout the whole region: sites were situated on off- shore bars, the upper parts of the first terrace above the flood-plain and sometimes on bedrock shores. Most have been found near the high- water beds of such rivers as the Voronezh, Bityug, Savala, and Tikh- aya Sosna. Neolithic sites in the forest-steppe Don region are ar- ranged into groups in the middle and lower river zones. During spring floods, most of them are cover- ed with water. The earliest Neolithic cultures The modern understanding of the early Neolithic pe- riod of the region was formed after studies of Neoli- thic sites at the beginning of this century. An investi- gation near the village of Karamyshevo in the Upper Don River basin allowed us to distinguish a very par- ticular pottery type and thence a new archaeological culture called Karamyshevo (Smol’yaninov 2009) (Fig. 1). Excavations in the village of Cherkassk (Vo- Map 1. The territory of the forest-steppe in Don region. Roman Smolyaninov, AndreySkorobogatov and Aleksey Surkov 194 Map 2. Distribution map of early Neolithic cultures in the forest-steppe in Don region. Chronology of Neolithic sites in the forest-steppe area of the Don River 195 1465). It is possible to assume the old age of these materials can be explained by the specifics of the dated material (organic crust); however, typological- ly, this pottery appears to be among the most an- cient. However, from our point of view, pottery moulding skills were mastered as a result of direct contacts with the population of the Elshan culture, which had skills and arrived in the Don region at the close of 6 th century BC. The Don population adopted these skills very rapidly. Materials attributed to the Karamyshevo culture (Fig. 1) were found at 26 sites located only in the basin of the Voronezh River (the left tributary of the Don Ri- ver). It is supposed to be an Early Neolithic culture, based on stratigraphic data and radiocarbon dates (Tab. 1), and its chronological position coincides with Elshanskaya, Upper Volga and other early Neo- lithic cultures. Karamyshevo culture appeared to be one of the old- est within the group of Early Neolithic materials in this region based on radiocarbon dates that range from the beginning of the 6 th to the first half of the 5 th millennium BC. The oldest dates were acquired from organic crust on pottery from the lower layer of the Ivnitsa site; the latest dates are from pottery from Vasilyevsky Kordon 5 and 7 and Karamyshevo 9. The beginning of the development of Karamyshevo cul- ture might be dated to the same time or a later period of the Elshanskaya culture at Gorodok 1, a site locat- ed near the Upper Don (about 40km north of the Don basin): 6760±90 BP (5841–5515 cal BC, Ki-14075) and 6870±100 BP (5983–5621 cal BC, Ki-14114). Radiocarbon dates made on organic crust from pot- tery of this stage from Ivnitsa – 6940±40 BP (5471– 5303 cal BC, Poz-42054) – and Karamyshevo 5 – 6570±60 BP (5790–5230 cal BC, Ki-11088) – con- firm this hypothesis. One of the main indicators of Karamyshevo culture is pottery. The Neolithic/Eneolithic sites contain a few stone tools characteristic of the Upper Don re- gion. Karamyshevo pottery is distinguished by its tex- ture and decoration. In most cases, the pottery has similar production features; it was made with an ori- ginal type of raw material – a non-sanded high pla- sticity silty clay with natural inclusions (pottery from different sites varies in the composition of natural inclusions) such as sand, decomposed vegetation de- bris, undissolved pieces of clay (which were less than 1mm in size), small shell inclusions (in the form of slot-like square holes 2–3mm in size), and reddish brown chalybeate matter less than 1mm in size. The moulding composition contained plastic raw materi- al with organic liquid (holes with rusty friable sub- stance). Pots were formed with sculptural modelling techniques (patch modelling). Surfaces were smo- othed with a soft material. The vessels were low- fired, with a short-term exposure to heat at 650– 700°C (a 3-layer fracture). The pottery was light brown, with thin walls (no more than 0.7mm thick). Later, the Karamyshevo pottery was produced from sanded silty clay containing natural inclusions like the pottery of the Middle Don culture. As far as sur- face finishing is concerned, Karamyshevo pottery can be subdivided into two groups: one with thor- oughly smoothed surfaces and burnished exterior surfaces, and one with smoothed surfaces with scra- tches (sometimes the exterior was smoothed after being decorated with scratches), which also might be a chronological indicator. Most of the pottery fragments were not decorated. Thus, out of over 500 fragments of pottery from the Vinnitsa site, 62% of the pottery finds were not de- corated, about 25% were decorated with oval, trian- gle and doubled strokes, 11% were decorated with a short-toothed comb, only 21 pottery fragments had thin and shallow incised lines on the surface, and 10 fragments were decorated with a pit pattern. This indicates the relatively early nature of the site, whereas the sites evidencing later cultures such as Karamyshevo 9 or Vasilyevsky Kordon 7 contain more decorated pottery. Pottery from the late Karamyshevo sites is characte- rised by the distibution of pit and comb imprints in the decoration, the increase in the decorated sur- face, the appearance of false cord decoration made with oval impressions arranged in lines. This mate- rial was found at sites such as: Karamyshevo 9 where it is dated to 5790±100 BP (4850–4450 cal BC, Ki- 12160) and 5630±100 BP (4710–4325 calBC, Ki- 12161); VasilyevskyKordon 5, dated to 5870±80 BP (4940–4530 cal BC, Ki-15194) and 5910±90 BP (4940–4530 cal BC, Ki-15625); VasilyevskyKordon 7 where it is dated to 6010±80 BP (5080–4710 cal BC, Ki-15624), 5930±80 BP (5000–4590 cal BC, Ki- 15192), 5860±80 BP (4860–4520 cal BC, Ki-15193) and 5770±90 BP (4810–4440 cal BC, Ki-15199); Va- silyevskyKordon 3 where it is dated to 5868±120 BP (5036–4458 cal BC, SPb-1638). These sites existed in the Upper Don River basin until the second half of the 5 th millennium BC. Roman Smolyaninov, AndreySkorobogatov and Aleksey Surkov 196 Nowadays, Middle Don Culture (Fig. 3.1–3) is not regarded as chrono- logically older than other cultures in this region, especially regarding materials from the Cherkasskaya 5 site. Currently, more than 100 sites located in the forest-steppe Don are attributed to this culture. However, only a few sites have been excavat- ed and have a clear stratigraphy. The pottery from its early stage (6 th millennium BC) is contempora- neous with the pottery of the early stage of Karamyshevo culture. The first stage of Middle Don culture is characterised by archaeological la- yers with stroke-ornamented pot- tery (not comb pottery), which was revealed in material from the Mo- nastery site in Pobityuzhye, a lower layer of the Cherkassksite (A. T. Sin- yuk’s excavation in 1979–1981), and also at Inyasevskaya, Shapkin- skaya 6, and Plautinskaya 2 in the Khoper River basin. Similar materials in the Upper Don basin were found only at Yarlukov- skaya Protoka, Dobroye 1 and Uni- versitetskaya 3. There are several earlier radiocarbon dates for this stage: for Dobrovsky – 6912±120 BP (6019–5621 cal BC, SPb-1287); site Cherkassk 3, a low layer – 6715±64 BP (5730–5525 cal BC, Hela-3491); Yarlukovskaya Protoka (point 222) – 6774±120 BP (5903–5484 cal BC, SPb-1637) and a late one, which are transitional between the first and second stages, based on pottery from Universi- tetskaya 3: 6190±100 BP (5400–4800 cal BC, Ki- 15959), 6140±90 BP (5300–4840 cal BC, Ki-15432) and 6050±90 BP (5300–4700 cal BC, Ki-15441). It is also necessary to underline other cultural influ- ences of the Neolithic in this region. The southern periphery of the Upper Volga culture can be traced in the northern part of the Upper Don area. There are a few sites with poor cultural layers. Four sites of the Upper Volga culture are known. Beryozovka 4B, dated by Olga A. Chichagova to 6780±140 BP (5979–5480 cal BC, IGAN 2007), can be attributed to the early stage of Upper Volga culture (Naumo- va, Smol’yaninov 2009). The Upper Volga and Elshan cultures have similar dates in the 5 th century BC (Zhilin et al. 2002; Zaret- skaya, Kostylyova 2008.5–14). Having analysed ce- ramic and stone tools, most researchers define an early stage with plain and stroke-ornamented pot- tery and late stages with the appearance of pit and comb pottery. Some authors put the early stage of the Upper Volga culture as separate cultures – the Valday culture, according to publications by Nina N. Gurina and the Volga-Oka culture according to Yuri B. Tsetlin (Tsvetkova 2012). The earliest pottery pieces found in the western Up- per Volga region and attributed to the Kotchishche type are characterised by a smoothed and burnished surface, chamotte or sometimes organic matter, de- corations with isolated strokes, or prints made with a two- or three-pronged comb (Gurina 1996). Fig. 1. Pottery of Karamyshevskaya culture (1 Karamyshevo 5; 2 Karamyshevo 9; 3–5 Vasil’evskii Kordon 5; 6–8 Vasil’evskii Kordon 7; 9–11 Ivnica). Chronology of Neolithic sites in the forest-steppe area of the Don River 197 Pottery decorated by comb impressions and traced lines which is attributed to Dnepro-Donetsk culture can be also distinguished in the forest-steppe Don basin. This type of pottery appeared in the Middle Don River very early, almost at the same time as complexes of Middle Don culture. Organic crust from pottery found on the site Cherkassk 3 was dated to 6851±34 BP (5832–5662 cal BC, KIA-51099). There are two such sites in the Upper Don River basin: near Lipetsk waste treatment facilities and at Karamyshe- vo 9, but they are later. The appearance of this pot- tery at Neolithic sites of the region must have been related to intertribal communication networks con- necting the communities of the Dnepro-Donetsk cul- ture around the middle of the 5 th millennium BC. Two radiocarbon dates were obtained on the same vessel from Karamyshevo 9 in the Upper Don area: 5650±90 BP (4710–4330 cal BC, Ki-15191) and 5160±160 BP (4170–3760 cal BC, Ki-11088). Middle Don Culture (second and third stage): contacts with the Eneolithic world Small, thin comb impressions along with pin-pointed pattern in decoration of pottery (Gapochka 2001) are typical of the second stage. The second stage of Middle Don Neolithic culture must have been related to the expansion of early Eneolithic communities from the Lower Don culture into the Don forest-step- pe area (Skorobogatov 2011a.178–180). There is much more material from settlements of the second stage, dated to the end of the 6 th and the first half of the 5 th millennium BC. They are found both on the Voronezh and on the Don rivers: Universitet 3, Universitet 1, Karamyshevo 9, Ksizovo 6, Savitskoye, Kurino 1, Vasilyevsky Kordon 1, Lipetsk Lake, Cher- kassk, and Cherkassk 3. Only one date was obtained for the material from Yarlukovskaya Protoka site for this stage – 5770±200 BP (5207–4246 cal BC, SPb- 1288), and one from Cherkassk – 5997±33 BP (4985– 4795 cal BC, Hela-3771). Meanwhile, only one radio- carbon date was obtained on organic crust from pot- tery of the Cherkassk type from the Cherkassk site – 5763±32 BP (4710–4535 cal BC, Hela-3884). It is important to note that single 14 C dates for the early Eneolithic of the Don forest-steppe are contempora- neous with the second stage of Middle Don Neolithic culture (Skorobogatov 2013.273). The beginning of the third stage (the second half of the 5 th millennium BC) is marked by an expan- sion of the people of the Middle Don Culture and ac- tive contacts with newcomers from neighboring areas, namely Neolithic communities with comb-pit pottery, and continued contacts with Eneolithic com- munities of the Middle Don Culture. So far, we have no radiocarbon dates for this stage. The final stage of the Middle Don Culture (a ‘vestigial’ Neolithic stage) as well as the end of a vestigial/Neolithic stage in this region may be related to the latest Neolithic sites, where mixed ceramic Neolithic-Eneolith com- plexes have been found. These complexes have clear features of late Middle Don (Dereivsk) and Repinsk cultures, such as Yamnoye, Ksizovo 6, Vasilyevsky Kordon 17, Vasilyevsky Kordon 27 etc., and late stroke and pit-comb complexes, pottery of the Ksi- zovsky type and rhomb-pit pottery. These materials meanwhile can be roughly dated between the first half and the third quarter of the 4 th millennium BC. Four dates were obtained on pottery from the Yam- noye site: 4850±90 BP (3950–3350 cal BC, Ki-16634), 4960±90 BP (3970–3630 cal BC, Ki-16635), 4790± 80 BP (3710–3360 cal BC, Ki-16636), 4910± 80 BP (3950–3620 cal BC, Ki-16637), and also a date for rhomb-pit pottery from the Ksizovo 6 site – 4630+ 90 BP (3635–3100 cal BC, Ki-13309). It is necessary to point out that starting from the de- veloped Neolithic – the beginning of the second stage of Middle Don Culture (the end of 6 th and first half of the 5 th millennium BC) the appearance of va- rious Neo-Eneolithic cultures can be traced in the Don forest steppe area, which appears to be one of the particularities of this region. These cultures left Fig. 2. Cherkasskaya 3 site. Early Neolithic pottery of non-local origin (1–2) and pottery of the Dnepr- Donetskaya culture (3). Roman Smolyaninov, AndreySkorobogatov and Aleksey Surkov 198 a clear imprint on the material culture of the local ancient population. Along with pottery attributed to the southern Middle Don culture, there are pottery materials of the Dronikh culture (Fig. 3.5–6) which relate to influences from the south-east (Surkov 2007.113–114). Only two dates are currently available for Dronikh pottery; from Plautino 1 – 5830±80 BP (4850–4490 cal BC, Ki- 15436), and Dronikh – 5650±80 BP (4690–4340 cal BC, Ki-15437). The ap- pearance of Lyalovskaya culture mate- rial in this region is related to northern migration, This pottery type from the Ivnitsa site was dated to 5840±90 BP (4932–4494 cal BC, Ki-16638), and from the Ksizovo site 6 to 5820±130 BP (4995–4371 cal BC, Ki-13307) and 5400±120 BP (4458–3975 cal BC, Ki- 13308). Conclusions On the basis of the foregoing discus- sion, we can conclude that the first pot- tery complexes appeared in the forest- steppe and forest zones of Eastern Eu- rope at the end of the 7 th or beginning of the 6 th millennium BC, and they existed in the Don River basin until the first half of the 5 th millennium BC. All of these early ceramic complexes had a number of common features bearing certain specific features. These particularities are re- presented in the local cultures that are now identi- fied. Thus it was possible to distinguish between Ka- ramyshevo and Middle Don cultures, and also the new type of pottery found at the sites located in the Middle Don basin (Cherkassk 3 and Cherkassk 5). We can also suppose that the beginning of the sec- ond Neolithic stage in this region (the Neo-Eneolithic period, according to Dmitry Ya. Telegin (2004)) can be connected with the cultural influence of the Low- er Don culture. The third stage can be related to the appearance of the Lyalovsk culture (Fig. 3.4), which is represented by pottery decorated by pit and comb impressions. Fig. 3. Pottery of the Middle Don culture (1–3), Lyalovskaya (4) and Dronikhinskaya (5–6) cultures: 1 Dobroe 1; 2 Ivnica; 3 Universitetskaya III; 4 Ivnica; 5 Plautino 1; 6 Droniha. References ∴ ∴ Cvetkova N. A. 2012. Rannij neolit bassejna Verhnej Volgi (po rezul’tatam izuchenija kamennoj industrii). 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Stoyanka Ivnitsa na r. Voronezh: itogi issledova- niya 2010–2012 gg. Arkheologicheskie pamyatniki Vo- stochnoy Evropy 15: 167–186. (in Russian) Surkov A. V., Skorobogatov A. M. 2012. Mnogosloynaya stoyanka Yamnoe (materialy issledovaniy). Voronezh- skii gosudarstvennyi pedagogicheskii universitet. Voro- nezh. (in Russian) Telegin D. Ya. 2004. O khronologii i periodizatsii kul’tur neolita i mednogo veka Yugo-Zapada Vostochnoy Evropy. In Ponyatie o neo-eneoliticheskom vremeni. Problemy khronologii i etnokul’turnykh vzaimodeystviy v neolite Evrazii (khronologiya neolita, osobennosti kul’tur i neo- litizatsiya regionov, vzaimodeystviya neoliticheskikh kul’tur v Vostochnoy i Sredney Evrope). Sankt-Peterburg: 106–121. (in Russian) Vybornov A. A., Surkov A. V. 2009. Novye dannye po khro- nologii srednedonskogo neolita. Arkheologicheskie pam- yatniki Vostochnoy Evropy 13: 58–59. (in Russian) Zareckaja N. E., Kostyljova E. L. 2008. Radiouglerodnaja hronologija nachal’nogo jetapa verhnevolzhskoj ranne- neoliticheskoj kul’tury. Rossijskaja Arheologija 1: 5–14. (in Russian) Zhilin M. G., Kostyleva E. L., Utkin A. V. and Jengovatova A. V. 2002. Mezoliticheskie i neoliticheskie kul’tury Verh- nego Povolzh’ja. Po materialam stojanki Ivanovskoe VII: 248. (in Russian) Roman Smolyaninov, AndreySkorobogatov and Aleksey Surkov 200 Tab. 1. Radiocarbon dates of sites from the forest-steppe area of the Don River. No. 14 C (BP) (2σ σ) lab-index dated material 13 C site information about cultural context references (cal BC) dated material 1 7474±65 6450–6225 Hela-3520 organic crust (Fig. 2.1) –29,6 Cherkasskaya 3 Surface finds (No. 45) nonlocal early neolithic Skorobogatov 2012 2 7610±45 6570–6398 GrA-62165 organic crust (Fig. 2.1) Cherkasskaya 3 Surface finds (No. 45) nonlocal early neolithic Skorobogatov 2012 3 6530±120 5703–5231 SPb-1978 organic crust Cherkasskaya 3 Surface finds (No. 45) nonlocal early neolithic Skorobogatov 2012 4 6827±110 5978–5550 SPb-1463 organic crust Cherkasskaya 5 Surface finds nonlocal early neolithic Gapochka, Skorobogatov (No. :S-5-12, PM) and Surkov 2015.Fig. 1.1 5 6687±110 5837–5389 SPb-1466 organic crust Cherkasskaya 5 Excavation of 2014, nonlocal early neolithic Gapochka, Skorobogatov depth –253cm (No. 338) and Surkov 2015 6 7115±130 6236–5730 SPb-1465 organic crust Cherkasskaya 5 Excavation of 2014, nonlocal early neolithic Gapochka, Skorobogatov depth –260cm (No. 376) and Surkov 2015 7 6380±40 5471–5303 Poz-42052 organic crust Ivnitsa Excavation of 2010 (No. 1268), karamyshevskaya Surkov 2013 square M12, depth –35cm, layer 3 – gray-brown sandy loam 8 6720±40 5716–5607 Poz-42053 organic crust Ivnitsa Excavation of 2010. No. 1379, karamyshevskaya Surkov 2013 square I14, depth –33cm, layer 3 – gray-brown sandy loam 9 6940±40 5904–5731 Poz-42054 organic crust Ivnitsa Excavation of 2010. No. 1399, karamyshevskaya Surkov 2013 square I14, depth –34cm, layer 3 – gray-brown sandy loam 10 6570±60 5790–5230 Ki-11088 pottery (Fig. 1.1) Karamyshevo 5 Excavation of 2002, square 10, karamyshevskaya Smolyaninov, Surkov 2014 depth –72cm 11 5870±80 4940–4530 Ki-15194 pottery (Fig. 1.3) Vasilievsky Excavation of 2007, square 105, karamyshevskaya Smolyaninov, Surkov 2014 Kordon 5 depth –35cm 12 5910±90 4940–4530 Ki-15625 pottery (Fig. 1.4) Vasilievsky Excavation of 2007, square 104, karamyshevskaya Smolyaninov, Surkov 2014 Kordon 5 depth –31cm 13 6010±80 5080–4710 Ki-15624 pottery (Fig. 1.6) Vasilievsky Excavation of 2007, No. 3819, karamyshevskaya Surkov 2008< Kordon 7 square B2, depth –70cm Smolyaninov, Surkov 2014 14 5930±80 5000–4590 Ki-15192 pottery Vasilievsky Excavation of 2007, No. 4427, karamyshevskaya Smolyaninov, Surkov 2014 Kordon 7 square B2, depth –77cm 15 5860±80 4860–4520 Ki-15193 pottery (Fig. 1.7) Vasilievsky Excavation of 2007, No. 4135, karamyshevskaya Smolyaninov, Surkov 2014 Kordon 7 square B4, depth –72cm 16 5770±90 4810–4440 Ki-15199 pottery (Fig. 1.8) Vasilievsky Excavation of 2007, No. 5134, karamyshevskaya Surkov 2008< Kordon 7 square D16, depth –32cm Smolyaninov, Surkov 2014 Chronology of Neolithic sites in the forest-steppe area of the Don River 201 No. 14 C (BP) (2σ σ) lab-index dated material 13 C site information about cultural context references (cal BC) dated material 17 5790± 100 4850–4450 Ki-12160 pottery (Fig. 1.2) Karamyshevo 9 Excavation of 2002–2003, No. karamyshevskaya Smolyaninov, Surkov 2014 5134, square D16, depth –32cm 18 5630± 100 4710–4325 Ki-12161 pottery Karamyshevo 9 Excavation of 2002–2003, karamyshevskaya Smolyaninov, Surkov 2014 above base layer 19 5868± 120 5036–4458 SPb-1638 pottery Vasilievsky Excavation of 2012, karamyshevskaya Smolyaninov 2013< Kordon 3 construction 1, layer 2 Smolyaninov 2016 20 6780± 140 5979–5480 IGAN-2007 ground Berezovka 4B Excavation of 1999. Low layer Upper volga culture Smolyaninov, Naumova of the test-pit 4 sq.m., 2009 depth 120–125cm 21 6851± 34 5832–5662 KIA-51099 organic crust (Fig. 2.3) Cherkasskaya 3 Excavation of 2012. No. 4218. Dnepr-Donetsk culture Skorobogatov 2012 Low layer, depth –296cm 22 5160±160 4170–3760 Ki-11088 pottery Karamyshevo 9 Excavation of 2002–2003. Dnepr-Donetsk culture Smolyaninov 2009< Square 605, depth 30–40cm Smolyaninov, Klokov 2005 23 5650±90 4710–4330 Ki-15191 pottery Karamyshevo 9 Excavation of 2002–2003. Dnepr-Donetsk culture Smolyaninov 2009< Square 605, depth 30–40cm Smolyaninov, Klokov 2005 24 6910± 120 6019–5621 SPB-1287 pottery (Fig. 3.1) Dobroe 1 Excavation of 1985. Square 3, Middle Don culture Sinyuk 1986 depth –60cm 25 6715±64 5730–5525 Hela-3491 organic crust (Fig. 2.2) –29,5 Cherkasskaya 3 Excavation of 2012. No. 3330. Middle Don culture Skorobogatov 2012 Square ?3, low layer, with non-local depth –270cm infiltrations 26 5997±33 4985–4795 Hela-3771 organic crust –28,2 Cherkasskaya Excavation of 2010. No. 10492. Middle Don culture Skorobogatov 2011b Square A12, depth –213cm. 27 6190±100 5400–4800 Ki-15959 pottery Universitets- Excavations of A. T. Sinuk in Middle Don culture Vybornov, Surkov 2009< kaya 3 1968-1970 Sinyuk 1986 28 6140± 90 5300–4840 Ki-15432 pottery Universitets- Excavations of A. T. Sinuk in Middle Don culture Vybornov, Surkov 2009< kaya 3 1968-1970 Sinyuk 1986 29 6050± 90 5300–4700 Ki-15441 pottery Universitets- Excavations of A. T. Sinuk in Middle Don culture Vybornov, Surkov 2009< kaya 3 1968-1970 Sinyuk 1986 30 6774±120 5903–5484 SPB-1637 pottery Yarlukovskaya Excavations of V. P. Levenok, Middle Don culture Levenok 1973 protoka (site 222) layer 6 31 5770±200 5207–4246 SPB-1288 pottery Yarlukovskaya Excavations of V. P. Levenok, Middle Don culture Levenok 1973 protoka (site 222) layer 5 32 5840±90 4932–4494 Ki-16638 pottery (Fig. 3.4) Ivnitsa Prospections of A. N. Merkulov lyalovskaya Surkov 2013 in 2009. Test-pit Roman Smolyaninov, AndreySkorobogatov and Aleksey Surkov 202 No. 14 C (BP) (2σ σ) lab-index dated material 13 C site information about cultural context references (cal BC) dated material 33 5820±130 4995–4371 Ki-13307 pottery Ksizovo 6 Excavation of 2005. Excavation 2, lyalovskaya Lavrushin et al. 2009 square 29, depth –364cm. 34 5400±120 4458–3975 KI-13308 pottery Ksizovo 6 Excavation of 2005. Excavation 2, lyalovskaya Lavrushin et al. 2009 square 31, depth –315cm. 35 5225±90 4319–3802 KI-13313 pottery Kurino 1 Excavation of A. N. Bassudnov in lyalovskaya Bessudnov 1996 1991. Square 376, depth –40cm. 36 6000±50 5200–4800 Gin-13546 human bone Ksizovo 6 Excavation of 2005. Excavation 2, Lavrushin et al. 2009 burial 2 (a child 12 years old) 37 6000±50 5200–4800 Gin-13544 human bone Ksizovo 6 Excavation of 2005. Excavation 2, Lavrushin et al. 2009 burial 4 (a man 40-45 years old) 38 5830± 80 4850–4490 Ki-15436 pottery Plautino 1 Prospections of A. V. Surkov dronikhinskaya Surkov 2007< in 2002 Vybornov, Surkov 2009 39 5650±80 4690–4340 Ki-15437 pottery Dronikha Excavation of A. T. Sinuk dronikhinskaya Surkov 2007< in 1980 Vybornov, Surkov 2009 40 5763±32 4710–4535 Hela-3884 organic crust –30,3 Cherkasskaya Excavation of 2010. No. 10736. cherkasskyi type Skorobogatov 2011a< Square B15, depth –209cm. Skorobogatov 2011b 41 4850±90 3950–3350 Ki-16634 pottery Yamnoe Excavation of 2008. Square K8, lyalovskaya Surkov, Skorobogatov depth –70cm. 2012.Fig. 23 42 4960±90 3970–3630 Ki-16635 pottery Yamnoe Excavation of 2007. Square I7, pin-pointed pottery Surkov, Skorobogatov depth –78cm. 2012.Fig. 34.3 43 4790±80 3710–3360 Ki-16636 pottery Yamnoe Excavation of 2009. Square lyalovskaya Surkov, Skorobogatov B'25, depth –38cm. 2012.Fig. 38.2 44 4910±80 3950–3620 Ki-16637 pottery Yamnoe Excavation of 2009. Square pin-pointed pottery Surkov, Skorobogatov B19, depth –29cm. 2012.Fig. 22 45 4630±90 3635–3100 Ki-13309 pottery Ksizovo 6 Excavation of 2005. Square rhomb-pit pottery Lavrushin et al. 2009 B19, depth –29cm. 46 5080±125 4250–3600 Le-1013 wood Universitets- Excavations of A. T. Sinuk in lyalovskaya Arkheologiya. Neolit kaya 3 1968–1970 Severnoy Evrazii 1996.209 47 4770±60 3660–3370 Le-725 stick from a fish-trap Podzorovo Excavations of M. E. Foss in lyalovskaya Arkheologiya. Neolit 1959, and V. P. Levenok in 1969 Severnoy Evrazii 1996.209