The Late Chalcolithic Ceramics of the Volga Forest-Steppe

PALEOENVIRONMENT. THE STONE AGE DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2018.46.1.027-033 A.A. Shalapinin Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education, Maksima Gorkogo 65/67, Samara, 443099, Russia E-mail: [email protected] The Late Chalcolithic Ceramics of the Volga Forest-Steppe Chalcolithic pottery from the eastern Volga area was subjected to a technological and typological analysis. Three types are described: Chekalino, Gundorovka, and vessels “with an inner rib”. Chekal ino vessels have gently curved profi les, are tempered with crushed shells, and are decorated with short and moderately long comb imprints and pits. Gundorovka vessels are either pot-like or have gently curved profi les, are tempered with crushed shells and feathers, and are decorated with moderately long comb imprints and those of a cord. Vessels “with an inner rib” are pots and jars tempered with crushed shells and feathers, and decorated with imprints of a fi ne-tooth comb or a plain stamp, hatching, and pits. The Chekalino-type ceramics are paralleled by the Chalcolithic pottery of the forest and forest- steppe Volga and Kama. The Gundorovka vessels reveal similarities to the collared Chalcolithic vessels of the forest- steppe, and to the Volosovo ceramics of the Middle Volga forests. Vessels “with an inner rib” show some resemblance to those of the Sredni Stog, Altata, and Turganik forest-steppe. The Late Chalcolithic ceramics date to 4250–3500 BC. Chekalino is related to Late Neolithic combed ceramics of the Middle Volga. Gundorovka originates from the collared Chalcolithic pottery of the Lebyazhinka III type. Ceramics “with an inner rib” derive from those of the forest-steppe Middle Chalcolithic. Keywords: Late Chalcolithic, chronology, ceramics, forest-steppe, Volga basin, radiocarbon date, ornamentation. Introduction and Novoilyinskoye cultures of the forest Volga and Kama regions. Also, ceramics of Repin and Alekseyevka steppe It became possible to speak of the Chalcolithic of the cultural types were recorded at these forest-steppe sites. Volga forest-steppe region after studying the Syezzheye Notably, many characteristics of the Tok and Turganik and Khvalynsk burial grounds, and also the Alekseyevka types were similar. Descriptions of specifi c complexes and Staro-Elshanskaya sites in the 1970s. On the basis of were inconsistent with characteristics of the pottery of these complexes, two stages, Mariupol (the earlier) and the main culture area. Owing to the lack of radiocarbon Ancient Pit Grave (the later), have been distinguished dates, the chronological attribution of the majority of (Vasiliev, 1978). The later stage is represented by the complexes was determined by comparison with materials fi nds from sites with mixed cultural layers. These are from adjacent territories. The Late Chalcolithic of the paralleled by artifacts belonging to the forest cultures Middle Volga forest-steppe zone was considered a period of the Volga and Kama regions. Somewhat later, on the of rather prolonged co-existence between cultures of basis of collections from the sites in the Tok River basin, various origin (Vasiliev, 1990; Vasiliev, Ovchinnikova, N.L. Morgunova identifi ed the Tok and Turganik types 2000; Ovchinnikova, 2006). In recent years, a special (1995). Some L ate Chalcolithic materials discovered in type of Late Chalcolithic ware, ceramics “with an inner the Sok River basin were associated with the Volosovo rib”, was distinguished (Korolev, Ovchinnikova, 2009). Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 46/1 (2018) 27–33 E-mail: [email protected] © 2018 Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences © 2018 Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences © 2018 A.A. Shalapinin 27 28 A.A. Shalapinin / Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 46/1 (2018) 27–33 Characteristics of complexes the Gundorovka settlement. Certain vessels of this type are available in the collections of Bolshaya Rakovka II There are 14 sites that contain Late Chalcolithic materials and Lebyazhinka IV. The po ttery is of brown, gray or in the Volga forest-steppe region. These are located in dark gray color. It is tempered with crushed shells and the basins of the Sok and Samara rivers, and also near feathers. The vessels have ovoid, cauldron-like, and pot- the Tok River, the Samara’s tributary (Fig. 1). All the like shapes. The last-named predominates. The rims are sites contain not only Late Chalcolithic artifacts, but straight, thickened on the outer side, open, variously also materials belonging to other epochs. This makes folded outwards, and L- or T-shaped. Weakly everted it diffi cult to identify stone tools pertaining to the Late rims are most abundant. The bottoms are rounded Chalcolithic, and forces us to place particular emphasis or flattened. Ornamentation is dominated by comb on the ceramic inventories. Most representative series imprints. Grid stamp design, cord imprints, and pits of the Late Chalcolithic pottery are available in the are also encountered. Horizontal rows of oblique and collections from the Gundorovka, Ivanovo, Bolshaya straight stamp imprints, horizontal rows of pits, non- Rakovka II, and Chekalino IV sites. The Ivanovo Late contoured rhomboids, and stepping comb are the most Chalcolithic complexes of the Tok and Turganik types popular designs (Fig. 3). have been addressed comprehensively in a number The th ird pottery complex (vessels “with an of studies by N.L. Morgunova (1989, 1995, 2011). inner rim”) is richly represented in the collections of Therefore, it is reasonable to focus on the materials from Chekalino IV and Gundorovka. Certain vessels of the Gundorovka, Chekalino IV, and Bolshaya Rakovka II this type occur in collections from Lebyazhinka IV, sites, which fall into three groups in terms of their Chesnokovka II, Bolshaya Rakovka II, and Vilovatoye. technological and typological characteristics. The ce ramics are gray or brown. Paste contains crushed The fi rst pottery complex is represented by materials shells and feathers. Traces of combing are observed on the from Chekalino IV and Bolshaya Rakovka II. Small outer and inner sides. The vessels have pot-like or jar-like amounts of this pottery have also been found at shapes. The rims are straight, or folded outward. At the Chesnokovka II, Popovo Ozero, and Lebyazhinka IV. place of folding, there is often an inner rib. The ce ramics The ware has a gray-brown color. The paste was are decorated with imprints of fi ne-tooth comb, plain tempered with crushed shells. The inner surfaces often stamp, hatching, or small pits of various shapes. There show traces of comb imprints. The vessels have closed, are also unornamented vessels. Designs include horizontal straight, or cauldron-like profi les. The rims are thickened rows of oblique and straight comb imprints, oblique and on their inner and outer sides, straight, or weakly - or straight rows of stamp imprints, horizontal zigzags formed moderately-folded outward. There is a single T-shaped by comb stamp imprints, horizontal lines of plain stamp rim. The bottoms are rounded or fl attened. The pa tterns imprints, horizontal bandlets of comb imprints, “lattice”, are formed by comb, honeycomb, cresce ntic, or plain cross-hatched triangles, etc. These combinations of motifs imprints, or pits of various shapes. Orname ntal motifs are often present on the same vessel (Fig. 4). include the following types: horizontal zigzag and oblique and straight rows of stamp imprints; combination of horizontal rows of oblique short, moderately long, or Cultural and chronological attribution long comb imprints; rows of pits and horizontal rows of oblique stamp imprints; horizontal bands and horizontal Vessels of the fi rst complex from the sites of Chekalino IV rows of oblique or straight stamp imprints, etc. (Fig. 2). and Bolshaya Rakovka II show the greatest resemblance The most abundant, second pottery complex is related to in their shape, texture, paste admixtures, elements, and ornamental motifs to the pottery from Elshanka XI on the Sviyaga River (Viskalin, 2008), Barskiye Kuzhery III on the Ilet River (Nikitin, 1991), Dubovaya Griva II and Igimskaya in the Ik-Belaya interfl uve (Shipilov, 2012), Mullino (Matyushin, 1982: 196–215), Fig. 1. Late Chalcolithic sites of the Volga forest- steppe. 1 – Chekalino IV; 2 – Chesnokovka II; 3 – Popovo Ozero; 4 – Lebyazhinka IV, VI; 5 – Bolshaya Rakovka II; 6 – Maksimovka site; 7 – Staro-Elshanskaya II site, Staro- Elshanskaya coastal site; 8 – Vilovatoye; 9 – Ivanovo 80 km 0 settlement; 10 – Turganik site; 11 – Gundorovka. A.A. Shalapinin / Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 46/1 (2018) 27–33 29 3 2 4 1 7 6 5 8 0 5 cm 12 910 11 Fig. 2. Late Chalcolithic ceramics of the Volga forest-steppe. 1–6 – Chekalino IV (Korolev, 2011: Fig. 3–5); 7–11 – Bolshaya Rakovka II; 12 – Chesnokovka II. Srednyaya Oka (Morozov, 1982) in Cis-Urals, and Ceramics of the third complex (vessels “with an Ivanovo on the Tok River. This puts materials from inner rim”) are similar to the Sredni Stog pottery Chekalino on a par with those from the said sites. from Moksha region (Korolev, Stavitsky, 2006: 9–25), The vessels of the second (Gundorovka) complex and partly to the Pshenichnoye ceramics collection have common features with the Middle Chalcolithic attributed to the Altata culture (Yudin, 1989: 152–154), forest-steppe Volga pottery from the Lebyazhinka III in the following traits: pot-like shapes of vessels, neck site (Ovchinnikova, 1995), but also with the Volosovo type, traces of combing on surface, use of short or materials of the Middle Volga forest zone (Tokareva moderately long narrow comb ornamenting tools, plain (Khalikov, 1960: 50), Rutka, and Akhmylovo settlements stamp, and decoration with small pits. Ceramics “with (Nikitin, 1991)). The Gundorovka vessels reveal an inner rib” are close to the Turganik vessels in their similarities to the Lebyazhinka III collared pottery in shapes and ornamentation including horizontal lines, admixture of feathers and shells in paste, the shapes of zigzags, rows of oblique and straight imprints, cross- items, dominance of comb ornamentation, steppi ng- hatched triangles, and rows of oval and rounded pits.

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