Early Neolithic Pottery of the Multilayered Site Ust-Khaita (Southern Angara Region)
This article presents the largest collection of Early Neolithic pottery in the Southern Angara region, which was found at the Ust-Khaita site. The problem of the correlation between burials and settlements of the Neolithic in the South of Central Siberia has not been resolved yet. Therefore, there are two periodization schemes, which are based on the materials of burials and settlements. The second scheme is based on pottery, which is the main source for the study of historical and cultural processes in the Neolithic. That is why, it is important to study large collections of ceramics. One of the largest was found at the Ust-Khaita site. It is located in the Belaya river's middle flow. The excavations were carried out in 2000 and the results have not been fully published. In this article we described the pottery of the Early Neolithic and carried out a technical and technological analysis. The Early Neolithic vessels are found in layers 5a and 5 and are divided into two groups. The first group is ceramics with cord impressions. It is called the Khaita type (38 vessels). The second group is ceramics with net impressions (32 vessels). We have identified three types of ornamentation for Khaita pottery. The bottom of the vessel was made on base forms, the role of which was played by other pots. The authors obtained new confirmation of the use of ornamented fragments or small vessels as anvils for knocking out the walls of Khaita pots. In particular, we found that the knolls on the inner surface are traces of the use of fragments decorated with pricks like anvils. Net-impressed ceramics show a variety of mesh weaving and mesh printing methods. The facts of use as an anvil for knocking out fragments of Net and Khaita ceramics have been diagnosed. For the first time, a net decor was found at the junction, as well as nail impressions as an element of the ornament. Also there are the vessels in the collection that show a mixture of cord and net pottery features. This fact and the closeness in the morphology and technology of the two groups of ceramics testify to the close interaction of the carriers of these two pottery traditions and their cultural affinity. The location of the Early Neolithic ceramics under conditions of clear stratigraphy made it possible to date these complexes by the 14C method. As a result, their age is determined in the range of ~8400-6900 cal BP and it puts Ust-Khaita in a number of objects with the earliest dates for these ceramics in the Southern Angara region and the Cis-Baikal.