Nadezhda Kotova | Institute of archaeology of NUAS (original) (raw)
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The Holocene vegetation dynamics of the Eurasian steppe are underinvestigated despite its vast ex... more The Holocene vegetation dynamics of the Eurasian steppe are underinvestigated despite its vast extension, chiefly because of the scarcity of suitable sites for palaeoecological research. Here, we present a palaeoecological reinvestigation from Kardashynskyi mire (southern Ukraine), approximately 4 km from a previously cored site. Using pollen, spores and microscopic charcoal, we have reconstructed vegetation dynamics, fire history and land use for the past c. 8300 years. Regionally, steppe vegetation with Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia was always dominant. However, pollen assemblages also reflect the presence of floodplain and upland tree stands. At the beginning of the sequence, c. 8300 years ago, Pinus stands were growing on the sandy terraces of the Dnipro dry upland sites. Later, at c. 7950 cal yr BP, diverse stands with Quercus, Ulmus, Fraxinus, Tilia and Alnus established along the riverbanks, where moisture availability was sufficient. Around 6100 cal yr BP, those deciduous broadleaved stands experienced a severe decline, likely in response to changing water table levels. Cultural indicators suggest land use activities after c. 7900 cal yr BP. During the Bronze Age, human impact intensified. Overall, both climate and humans drove vegetation dynamics in the Pontic steppe for millennia. Nowadays, this once extensive biome has almost completely been converted to cropland. Similarly, the wetland vegetation, the riparian forests and, above all, the pine forests growing on the sandy terraces were strongly reduced by millennial-long land use. Under the current conditions, even the last remnants of these special vegetation types are severely threatened.
This study of the Neolithic period in the Ukraine has been translated from Russian into English a... more This study of the Neolithic period in the Ukraine has been translated from Russian into English and includes chapters on Neolithic settlement, chronology and periodisation, agriculture, animal husbandry and the food-producing economy in general. Although the English is far from perfect, this report does bring a lot of information to an English-speaking audience who would otherwise be unable to tackle the source material which, judging by the bibliography, is published entirely in Russian.
Baltic-Pontic Studies
In the first half of the 3rd millennium BC in the steppe Ukraine, stone tombs with an entrance ap... more In the first half of the 3rd millennium BC in the steppe Ukraine, stone tombs with an entrance appeared which are similar in design to the burial structures of the Globular Amphora culture. Two were investigated in the Molochnaya River basin near the Kamyana Mohyla monumental site. These unique structures differ from the stone cists of the Yamnaya culture as well as the burial constructions of the preceding Eneolithic period. Probably, the distribution of stone tombs with an entrance in the North Pontic area is connected with the influence of the Globular Amphora culture.
Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age stone burial constructions of the North Black Sea region Stone bu... more Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age stone burial constructions of the North Black Sea region Stone burial constructions are appearing in North Black Sea region together with the carriers of Early Eneolithic cultures. Boxes and tombs made of different kind of stone and sometimes painted with ocher are followed with different funerary equipment. They belong to different cultural groups and are constructed during centuries. This issue has being studied previously numerous times, though systematic and complex interpretation of related cultural processes has not been created yet. Lack of radiocarbon dates, poor funerary equipment and frequently highly damaged anthropological remains postpone the creation of more or less distinct attribution of North Black Sea region stone burial constructions. They definitely belong to the different cultural formations and different directions of trends migration across this region-both from East and West. Though the problem is way too complex to be solved in one article, here we are trying to create an approach to the chronological and cultural attribution of stone burial constructions of this region. This attempt is caused by the newly discovered stone tomb near the Kamyana Mogyla. This object is reliably dated to the Early Bronze Age and connected to the Yamnaya archaeological culture.
In the first half of the 3rd millennium BC in the steppe Ukraine, stone tombs with an entrance ap... more In the first half of the 3rd millennium BC in the steppe Ukraine, stone tombs with an entrance appeared which are similar in design to the burial structures of the Globular Amphora culture. Two were investigated in the Molochnaya River basin near the Kamyana Mohyla monumental site. These unique structures differ from the stone cists of the Yamnaya culture as well as the burial constructions of the preceding Eneolithic period. Probably, the distribution of stone tombs with an entrance in the North Pontic area is connected with the influence of the Globular Amphora culture.
Nature
In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence ... more In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence (LP) is the most strongly selected monogenic trait to have evolved over the past 10,000 years1. Although the selection of LP and the consumption of prehistoric milk must be linked, considerable uncertainty remains concerning their spatiotemporal configuration and specific interactions2,3. Here we provide detailed distributions of milk exploitation across Europe over the past 9,000 years using around 7,000 pottery fat residues from more than 550 archaeological sites. European milk use was widespread from the Neolithic period onwards but varied spatially and temporally in intensity. Notably, LP selection varying with levels of prehistoric milk exploitation is no better at explaining LP allele frequency trajectories than uniform selection since the Neolithic period. In the UK Biobank4,5 cohort of 500,000contemporary Europeans, LP genotype was only weakly associated with milk consumption and did not show consistent associations with improved fitness or health indicators. This suggests that other reasons for the beneficial effects of LP should be considered for its rapid frequency increase. We propose that lactase non-persistent individuals consumed milk when it became available but, under conditions of famine and/or increased pathogen exposure, this was disadvantageous, driving LP selection in prehistoric Europe. Comparison of model likelihoods indicates that population fluctuations, settlement density and wild animal exploitation—proxies for these drivers—provide better explanations of LP selection than the extent of milk exploitation. These findings offer new perspectives on prehistoric milk exploitation and LP evolution (9) (PDF) Dairying, diseases and the evolution of lactase persistence in Europe. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362294487_Dairying_diseases_and_the_evolution_of_lactase_persistence_in_Europe [accessed Jul 31 2022].
book 7 Gene-culture coevolution’ and how culture extends through biology> introduction to the ... more book 7 Gene-culture coevolution’ and how culture extends through biology> introduction to the conference
The unique rock art site of Kamyana Mohyla in southeastern Ukraine contains numerous petroglyphs ... more The unique rock art site of Kamyana Mohyla in southeastern Ukraine contains numerous petroglyphs from different chronological periods. 3D-modelling and mesh-analysis of rock art were applied to Ukrainian rock art occurrences for the first time. They have permitted a revision of the interpretation of a particular decorated panel at this site. Previously considered to represent a mythological dragon originating from Indo-European texts, this palimpsest has a multilayered structure that was created and modified during millennia by rock artists from different cultural groups.
Open Archaeology
The layer B is one of the lower layers of the long stratigraphic sequence of the Kamyana Mohyla 1... more The layer B is one of the lower layers of the long stratigraphic sequence of the Kamyana Mohyla 1 site. The layer B received eight new AMS radiocarbon dates that clarified its chronology: 7950–7300 calibrated years BC. They are in a reasonable correspondence with the dates for lower and upper layers. The lithic assemblage belongs to Kukrek cultural aspect. It is characterized by pencil-like conical cores, Kukrek inserts, Kukrek burins and Dęby burins, nongeometric microliths (oblique points). The assemblage finds close parallels in the sites of Kukrek, Ihren VIII, Melnychna Krucha SU4 and Domchi-Kaia. They can be united into Kukrek sensu stricto cultural unit. The overlying layer C yielded somewhat different complex that finds parallels in the materials of the so-called “Kukrek cultural tradition.” Due to clear stratigraphic position of these units in the Kamyana Mohyla 1 sequence, we are able to differentiate Kukrek sensu stricto and “Kukrek cultural tradition” and suggest their re...
Archäologische Informationen , 2022
The Brunn 3 site in Austria and Schwanfeld in Germany belonged to the Early Linear Pottery cultur... more The Brunn 3 site in Austria and Schwanfeld in Germany belonged to the Early Linear Pottery culture. Their complexes with archaic ceramic types place them among the earliest sites, which followed exactly after the Formative phase. Both sites had rare common shapes of pottery and decorations as well as buildings with similar trapezoidal floor plans. House 16 of the settlement of Schwanfeld and house 38, site 3 of the settlement of Brunn am Gebirge can rightly be addressed as architectural twins due to their architectural similarities. The phenomenon of identical houses over long distances is presented for the first time in this study. A special feature of house 16 of Schwanfeld is certainly the so-called founder’s grave, which was a male individual, who is addressed by the excavators as a hunter or warrior due to his equipment (Lüning, 2011, 5). This is a special burial within a large pit with a very early date of 5484 calBC (Lüning, 2011, 5). Interestingly, there are also certain parallels to houses of the Formative phase of Brunn am Gebirge, which are located in the area of site 2b. One of these houses, house 11 of Brunn, dates to 5525-5453 calBC (Stadler & Minnich, 2021, Table 9.2) and shows clear parallels to the house neighbouring of house 16 of Schwanfeld, which is house 15. Besides comparable radiocarbon dates, which of course have to be treated with a certain caution, similarities in pottery decoration and shapes, and architectural design also play an important role, which makes a coincidence very unlikely. That is why we connect the origin of the Schwanfeld site with the migration of the Linear Pottery culture people from the Vienna Basin.
Die Fundstellen von Brunn 3 in Österreich und Schwanfeld in Deutschland lassen sich in die frühe Phase der linearbandkeramischen Kultur (LBK) einordnen. Komplexe mit archaischen Keramiktypen definieren ihre Stellung unter den frühesten Fundplätzen, die chronologisch gesehen auf die Formative Phase dieser Kultur folgten. Beide Fundorte weisen seltene gemeinsame Formen von Keramik und Verzierungen auf, sowie Gebäude mit ähnlichen trapezförmigen Grundrissen. Haus 16 der Schwanfelder Siedlung und Haus 38, Fundstelle 3 der Siedlung von Brunn am Gebirge können aufgrund ihrer Übereinstimmungen zu Recht als architektonische Zwillinge bezeichnet werden. Zum ersten Mal stellen wir das Phänomen baugleicher Häuser vor, die geographisch gesehen weit voneinander entfernt liegen. Eine Besonderheit von Haus 16 von Schwanfeld ist sicherlich das sogenannte Gründergrab, bei dem es sich um ein männliches Individuum handelt und von den Ausgräbern aufgrund der Beigaben als Jäger oder Krieger angesprochen wird (Lüning, 2011, 5). Es handelt sich hierbei um eine Sonderbestattung innerhalb einer großen Grube mit einer sehr frühen Datierung von 5484 v. Chr. (Lüning, 2011, 5). Interessanterweise gibt es auch gewisse Parallelen zu den ältesten Häusern der Formativen Phase von Brunn am Gebirge, die sich im Bereich der Fundstelle 2b befinden. Eines dieser Häuser, Haus 11, weist eine Datierung von 5525-5453 v. Chr. auf (Stadler & Minnich, 2021, Tab. 9.2) und zeigt deutliche Parallelen zum Nachbarhaus von Haus 16 aus Schwanfeld, bei dem es sich um Haus 15 handelt. Neben vergleichbaren Radiokarbondaten, die natürlich mit einer gewissen Vorsicht zu behandeln sind, Ähnlichkeiten in der Keramikdekoration und ihren Formen, spielen auch architektonische Übereinstimmungen eine wichtige Rolle, die gegen eine Zufälligkeit sprechen. Daher bringen wir die Entstehung des Schwanfelder Fundplatzes mit der Migration von Menschen aus dem Wiener Becken in Verbindung.
Kukrek is a taxonomic unit defined on the territory of modern day Ukraine and Moldova and unknown... more Kukrek is a taxonomic unit defined on the territory of modern day Ukraine and Moldova and unknown elsewhere in Europe. The definition of Kukrek aspect differs in fundamental way from any other definition of Mesolithic taxon in Ukraine. While the latter are grounded on microlithic projectile point’s typology, Kukrek specificity is sought in other functional tools: Kukrek inserts and Kukrek burins. Abundant Kukrek complexes of Kamyana Mohyla 1 site (excavations 2011-2019 by N.S. Kotova) provide the empirical basis for re-assessment of Kukrek technocomplex. Kukrek inserts are medial fragments of blades with marginal retouch and hard ventral trimming. They were identified exclusively by Soviet and post-Soviet researchers. G.A. Bonch-Osmolovsky was the first to define them. V.N. Danilenko interpreted some inserts as ”cutters” (prorezyvateli) for cutting grooves in bone, antler and wooden hafts. Current concept of ”Kukrek insert” was developed by D.Ja. Telegin. Function of these tools was...
Sprawozdania Archeologiczne
The Linear Pottery people in 5670-5000 BC at the Brunn sites in Austria produced birch and beech ... more The Linear Pottery people in 5670-5000 BC at the Brunn sites in Austria produced birch and beech bark pitches. Big globular vessels and closed high bowls could have been containers for the production and storage of this substance. Miniature vessels with a handle for hanging had contained small portions. Bark pitch as an adhesive for the repair of pottery and in the construction of big idols is also testified, as is the application of this material in decoration of vessels and idols, where bark pitch was a matrix for inlaying with grains or stones and creation of a contrasting black colour in linear ornamentation. Radiocarbon dating of bark pitch now is one of the most reliable materials for age determination of the Neolithic objects.
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
Observing natural vegetation dynamics over the entire Holocene is difficult in Central Europe, du... more Observing natural vegetation dynamics over the entire Holocene is difficult in Central Europe, due to pervasive and increasing human disturbance since the Neolithic. One strategy to minimize this limitation is to select a study site in an area that is marginal for agricultural activity. Here, we present a new sediment record from Lake Svityaz in northwestern Ukraine. We have reconstructed regional and local vegetation and fire dynamics since the Late Glacial using pollen, spores, macrofossils and charcoal. Boreal forest composed of Pinus sylvestris and Betula with continental Larix decidua and Pinus cembra established in the region around 13,450 cal bp, replacing an open, steppic landscape. The first temperate tree to expand was Ulmus at 11,800 cal bp, followed by Quercus, Fraxinus excelsior, Tilia and Corylus ca. 1,000 years later. Fire activity was highest during the Early Holocene, when summer solar insolation reached its maximum. Carpinus betulus and Fagus sylvatica established ...
Sprawozdania Archeologiczne
ABSTRACTArchaeogenetic research over the last decade has demonstrated that European Neolithic far... more ABSTRACTArchaeogenetic research over the last decade has demonstrated that European Neolithic farmers (ENFs) were descended primarily from Anatolian Neolithic farmers (ANFs). ENFs, including early Neolithic central European Linearbandkeramik (LBK) farming communities, also harbored ancestry from European Mesolithic hunter gatherers (WHGs) to varying extents, reflecting admixture between ENFs and WHGs. However, the timing and other details of this process are still imperfectly understood. In this report, we provide a bioarchaeological analysis of three individuals interred at the Brunn 2 site of the Brunn am Gebirge-Wolfholz archeological complex, one of the oldest LBK sites in central Europe. Two of the individuals had a mixture of WHG-related and ANF-related ancestry, one of them with approximately 50% of each, while the third individual had approximately all ANF-related ancestry. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios for all three individuals were within the range of variation...
Die Siedlungen Semenovka 1 und 2 bei Melitopol, Obl. Zaporoz'e wurden in den Jahren 1991-1992... more Die Siedlungen Semenovka 1 und 2 bei Melitopol, Obl. Zaporoz'e wurden in den Jahren 1991-1992 untersucht. Semenovka 1 liegt auf der rechten FluBterrasse der Molocna. Fundplatz 2 befindet sich unmittelbar oberhalb von 1. In den 2 m starken Ablagerungen von Semenovka 1 konnten in fruheren Sondagen Kulturschichten vom Spatmesolithikum bis ins Mittelalter festgestellt werden. Im Jahre 1991 waren nur noch die mesolithischen und neolithisch-eneolithischen Straten erhalten. Die Grabungsflache umfaBte 200 m2. Die mesolithschen Flintfunde waren Fragmente von prismatischen Kermen und Klingen, Abschlage, Mikrolithen und Schaber. Die Schichten der neolithischen Sursk-Kultur ergaben Kernsteine, Abschlage und Klingen sowie zahlreiche Schaber unterschiedlichen Typs, Stichel und trapezoide Mikrolithen. Die stark zerscherbte Keramik war meist unverziert. Der Ton war mit Muschelgrus, Sand, einer Mischung aus beidem oder einer Kombination aus Sand und Pflanzenresten gemagert. Typisch ist die polierte Oberflache bei einem Teil der Scherben. Stich- und Ritzverzierungen sind selten. Charakteristisch sind nach auBen gebogene GefaBrander. Das aneolithische Azov-Dnepr-Stratum enthielt neben Flintgeraten Keramik-scherben. Die oberste aneolithische Schicht war der Srednij Stog Kultur zuzuordnen. In Semenovka 2 wurde nur eine Schicht der Sursk-Kultur erfaBt. Die umfangreichen Funde der Sursk-Kultur in Semenovka 1 ermoglichten eine neue Unterteilung dieser Kultur in drei Zeitstufen, die in die Mitte bzw. das letzte Viertel des 5. Jts. v. Chr. datiert werden
Archaeology and Early History of Ukraine
Metal (copper and bronze) knives is one of the most striking categories of artefacts in the mater... more Metal (copper and bronze) knives is one of the most striking categories of artefacts in the materials of the Black Sea cultures of the Early, Middle and Late Bronze Age. In addition to introducing new archaeological evidences to scientific community, the paper aims to analyze the place of a representative series of knives (8 items) from the vicinity of Kamyana Mohyla (Zaporizhzhya region) in the cultural and chronological coordinate system of the southern part of Eastern Europe Bronze Age. Three knives came from the Yamna culture burials. The one with an oval blade of the Zarechnoe type (kurgan 1, burial 8) is similar to those used on the vast area from the North-Western Black Sea region to the North Caucasus. Knives from Novopilipovka (kurgan 6, burial 5) and Semenovka (kurgan 2, burial 1) introduce some local features and were probably produced by the local metalworking center. Four other knives are related to the Catacomb culture. The one with a sub-triangular blade and an accent...
The Holocene vegetation dynamics of the Eurasian steppe are underinvestigated despite its vast ex... more The Holocene vegetation dynamics of the Eurasian steppe are underinvestigated despite its vast extension, chiefly because of the scarcity of suitable sites for palaeoecological research. Here, we present a palaeoecological reinvestigation from Kardashynskyi mire (southern Ukraine), approximately 4 km from a previously cored site. Using pollen, spores and microscopic charcoal, we have reconstructed vegetation dynamics, fire history and land use for the past c. 8300 years. Regionally, steppe vegetation with Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia was always dominant. However, pollen assemblages also reflect the presence of floodplain and upland tree stands. At the beginning of the sequence, c. 8300 years ago, Pinus stands were growing on the sandy terraces of the Dnipro dry upland sites. Later, at c. 7950 cal yr BP, diverse stands with Quercus, Ulmus, Fraxinus, Tilia and Alnus established along the riverbanks, where moisture availability was sufficient. Around 6100 cal yr BP, those deciduous broadleaved stands experienced a severe decline, likely in response to changing water table levels. Cultural indicators suggest land use activities after c. 7900 cal yr BP. During the Bronze Age, human impact intensified. Overall, both climate and humans drove vegetation dynamics in the Pontic steppe for millennia. Nowadays, this once extensive biome has almost completely been converted to cropland. Similarly, the wetland vegetation, the riparian forests and, above all, the pine forests growing on the sandy terraces were strongly reduced by millennial-long land use. Under the current conditions, even the last remnants of these special vegetation types are severely threatened.
This study of the Neolithic period in the Ukraine has been translated from Russian into English a... more This study of the Neolithic period in the Ukraine has been translated from Russian into English and includes chapters on Neolithic settlement, chronology and periodisation, agriculture, animal husbandry and the food-producing economy in general. Although the English is far from perfect, this report does bring a lot of information to an English-speaking audience who would otherwise be unable to tackle the source material which, judging by the bibliography, is published entirely in Russian.
Baltic-Pontic Studies
In the first half of the 3rd millennium BC in the steppe Ukraine, stone tombs with an entrance ap... more In the first half of the 3rd millennium BC in the steppe Ukraine, stone tombs with an entrance appeared which are similar in design to the burial structures of the Globular Amphora culture. Two were investigated in the Molochnaya River basin near the Kamyana Mohyla monumental site. These unique structures differ from the stone cists of the Yamnaya culture as well as the burial constructions of the preceding Eneolithic period. Probably, the distribution of stone tombs with an entrance in the North Pontic area is connected with the influence of the Globular Amphora culture.
Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age stone burial constructions of the North Black Sea region Stone bu... more Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age stone burial constructions of the North Black Sea region Stone burial constructions are appearing in North Black Sea region together with the carriers of Early Eneolithic cultures. Boxes and tombs made of different kind of stone and sometimes painted with ocher are followed with different funerary equipment. They belong to different cultural groups and are constructed during centuries. This issue has being studied previously numerous times, though systematic and complex interpretation of related cultural processes has not been created yet. Lack of radiocarbon dates, poor funerary equipment and frequently highly damaged anthropological remains postpone the creation of more or less distinct attribution of North Black Sea region stone burial constructions. They definitely belong to the different cultural formations and different directions of trends migration across this region-both from East and West. Though the problem is way too complex to be solved in one article, here we are trying to create an approach to the chronological and cultural attribution of stone burial constructions of this region. This attempt is caused by the newly discovered stone tomb near the Kamyana Mogyla. This object is reliably dated to the Early Bronze Age and connected to the Yamnaya archaeological culture.
In the first half of the 3rd millennium BC in the steppe Ukraine, stone tombs with an entrance ap... more In the first half of the 3rd millennium BC in the steppe Ukraine, stone tombs with an entrance appeared which are similar in design to the burial structures of the Globular Amphora culture. Two were investigated in the Molochnaya River basin near the Kamyana Mohyla monumental site. These unique structures differ from the stone cists of the Yamnaya culture as well as the burial constructions of the preceding Eneolithic period. Probably, the distribution of stone tombs with an entrance in the North Pontic area is connected with the influence of the Globular Amphora culture.
Nature
In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence ... more In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence (LP) is the most strongly selected monogenic trait to have evolved over the past 10,000 years1. Although the selection of LP and the consumption of prehistoric milk must be linked, considerable uncertainty remains concerning their spatiotemporal configuration and specific interactions2,3. Here we provide detailed distributions of milk exploitation across Europe over the past 9,000 years using around 7,000 pottery fat residues from more than 550 archaeological sites. European milk use was widespread from the Neolithic period onwards but varied spatially and temporally in intensity. Notably, LP selection varying with levels of prehistoric milk exploitation is no better at explaining LP allele frequency trajectories than uniform selection since the Neolithic period. In the UK Biobank4,5 cohort of 500,000contemporary Europeans, LP genotype was only weakly associated with milk consumption and did not show consistent associations with improved fitness or health indicators. This suggests that other reasons for the beneficial effects of LP should be considered for its rapid frequency increase. We propose that lactase non-persistent individuals consumed milk when it became available but, under conditions of famine and/or increased pathogen exposure, this was disadvantageous, driving LP selection in prehistoric Europe. Comparison of model likelihoods indicates that population fluctuations, settlement density and wild animal exploitation—proxies for these drivers—provide better explanations of LP selection than the extent of milk exploitation. These findings offer new perspectives on prehistoric milk exploitation and LP evolution (9) (PDF) Dairying, diseases and the evolution of lactase persistence in Europe. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362294487_Dairying_diseases_and_the_evolution_of_lactase_persistence_in_Europe [accessed Jul 31 2022].
book 7 Gene-culture coevolution’ and how culture extends through biology> introduction to the ... more book 7 Gene-culture coevolution’ and how culture extends through biology> introduction to the conference
The unique rock art site of Kamyana Mohyla in southeastern Ukraine contains numerous petroglyphs ... more The unique rock art site of Kamyana Mohyla in southeastern Ukraine contains numerous petroglyphs from different chronological periods. 3D-modelling and mesh-analysis of rock art were applied to Ukrainian rock art occurrences for the first time. They have permitted a revision of the interpretation of a particular decorated panel at this site. Previously considered to represent a mythological dragon originating from Indo-European texts, this palimpsest has a multilayered structure that was created and modified during millennia by rock artists from different cultural groups.
Open Archaeology
The layer B is one of the lower layers of the long stratigraphic sequence of the Kamyana Mohyla 1... more The layer B is one of the lower layers of the long stratigraphic sequence of the Kamyana Mohyla 1 site. The layer B received eight new AMS radiocarbon dates that clarified its chronology: 7950–7300 calibrated years BC. They are in a reasonable correspondence with the dates for lower and upper layers. The lithic assemblage belongs to Kukrek cultural aspect. It is characterized by pencil-like conical cores, Kukrek inserts, Kukrek burins and Dęby burins, nongeometric microliths (oblique points). The assemblage finds close parallels in the sites of Kukrek, Ihren VIII, Melnychna Krucha SU4 and Domchi-Kaia. They can be united into Kukrek sensu stricto cultural unit. The overlying layer C yielded somewhat different complex that finds parallels in the materials of the so-called “Kukrek cultural tradition.” Due to clear stratigraphic position of these units in the Kamyana Mohyla 1 sequence, we are able to differentiate Kukrek sensu stricto and “Kukrek cultural tradition” and suggest their re...
Archäologische Informationen , 2022
The Brunn 3 site in Austria and Schwanfeld in Germany belonged to the Early Linear Pottery cultur... more The Brunn 3 site in Austria and Schwanfeld in Germany belonged to the Early Linear Pottery culture. Their complexes with archaic ceramic types place them among the earliest sites, which followed exactly after the Formative phase. Both sites had rare common shapes of pottery and decorations as well as buildings with similar trapezoidal floor plans. House 16 of the settlement of Schwanfeld and house 38, site 3 of the settlement of Brunn am Gebirge can rightly be addressed as architectural twins due to their architectural similarities. The phenomenon of identical houses over long distances is presented for the first time in this study. A special feature of house 16 of Schwanfeld is certainly the so-called founder’s grave, which was a male individual, who is addressed by the excavators as a hunter or warrior due to his equipment (Lüning, 2011, 5). This is a special burial within a large pit with a very early date of 5484 calBC (Lüning, 2011, 5). Interestingly, there are also certain parallels to houses of the Formative phase of Brunn am Gebirge, which are located in the area of site 2b. One of these houses, house 11 of Brunn, dates to 5525-5453 calBC (Stadler & Minnich, 2021, Table 9.2) and shows clear parallels to the house neighbouring of house 16 of Schwanfeld, which is house 15. Besides comparable radiocarbon dates, which of course have to be treated with a certain caution, similarities in pottery decoration and shapes, and architectural design also play an important role, which makes a coincidence very unlikely. That is why we connect the origin of the Schwanfeld site with the migration of the Linear Pottery culture people from the Vienna Basin.
Die Fundstellen von Brunn 3 in Österreich und Schwanfeld in Deutschland lassen sich in die frühe Phase der linearbandkeramischen Kultur (LBK) einordnen. Komplexe mit archaischen Keramiktypen definieren ihre Stellung unter den frühesten Fundplätzen, die chronologisch gesehen auf die Formative Phase dieser Kultur folgten. Beide Fundorte weisen seltene gemeinsame Formen von Keramik und Verzierungen auf, sowie Gebäude mit ähnlichen trapezförmigen Grundrissen. Haus 16 der Schwanfelder Siedlung und Haus 38, Fundstelle 3 der Siedlung von Brunn am Gebirge können aufgrund ihrer Übereinstimmungen zu Recht als architektonische Zwillinge bezeichnet werden. Zum ersten Mal stellen wir das Phänomen baugleicher Häuser vor, die geographisch gesehen weit voneinander entfernt liegen. Eine Besonderheit von Haus 16 von Schwanfeld ist sicherlich das sogenannte Gründergrab, bei dem es sich um ein männliches Individuum handelt und von den Ausgräbern aufgrund der Beigaben als Jäger oder Krieger angesprochen wird (Lüning, 2011, 5). Es handelt sich hierbei um eine Sonderbestattung innerhalb einer großen Grube mit einer sehr frühen Datierung von 5484 v. Chr. (Lüning, 2011, 5). Interessanterweise gibt es auch gewisse Parallelen zu den ältesten Häusern der Formativen Phase von Brunn am Gebirge, die sich im Bereich der Fundstelle 2b befinden. Eines dieser Häuser, Haus 11, weist eine Datierung von 5525-5453 v. Chr. auf (Stadler & Minnich, 2021, Tab. 9.2) und zeigt deutliche Parallelen zum Nachbarhaus von Haus 16 aus Schwanfeld, bei dem es sich um Haus 15 handelt. Neben vergleichbaren Radiokarbondaten, die natürlich mit einer gewissen Vorsicht zu behandeln sind, Ähnlichkeiten in der Keramikdekoration und ihren Formen, spielen auch architektonische Übereinstimmungen eine wichtige Rolle, die gegen eine Zufälligkeit sprechen. Daher bringen wir die Entstehung des Schwanfelder Fundplatzes mit der Migration von Menschen aus dem Wiener Becken in Verbindung.
Kukrek is a taxonomic unit defined on the territory of modern day Ukraine and Moldova and unknown... more Kukrek is a taxonomic unit defined on the territory of modern day Ukraine and Moldova and unknown elsewhere in Europe. The definition of Kukrek aspect differs in fundamental way from any other definition of Mesolithic taxon in Ukraine. While the latter are grounded on microlithic projectile point’s typology, Kukrek specificity is sought in other functional tools: Kukrek inserts and Kukrek burins. Abundant Kukrek complexes of Kamyana Mohyla 1 site (excavations 2011-2019 by N.S. Kotova) provide the empirical basis for re-assessment of Kukrek technocomplex. Kukrek inserts are medial fragments of blades with marginal retouch and hard ventral trimming. They were identified exclusively by Soviet and post-Soviet researchers. G.A. Bonch-Osmolovsky was the first to define them. V.N. Danilenko interpreted some inserts as ”cutters” (prorezyvateli) for cutting grooves in bone, antler and wooden hafts. Current concept of ”Kukrek insert” was developed by D.Ja. Telegin. Function of these tools was...
Sprawozdania Archeologiczne
The Linear Pottery people in 5670-5000 BC at the Brunn sites in Austria produced birch and beech ... more The Linear Pottery people in 5670-5000 BC at the Brunn sites in Austria produced birch and beech bark pitches. Big globular vessels and closed high bowls could have been containers for the production and storage of this substance. Miniature vessels with a handle for hanging had contained small portions. Bark pitch as an adhesive for the repair of pottery and in the construction of big idols is also testified, as is the application of this material in decoration of vessels and idols, where bark pitch was a matrix for inlaying with grains or stones and creation of a contrasting black colour in linear ornamentation. Radiocarbon dating of bark pitch now is one of the most reliable materials for age determination of the Neolithic objects.
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
Observing natural vegetation dynamics over the entire Holocene is difficult in Central Europe, du... more Observing natural vegetation dynamics over the entire Holocene is difficult in Central Europe, due to pervasive and increasing human disturbance since the Neolithic. One strategy to minimize this limitation is to select a study site in an area that is marginal for agricultural activity. Here, we present a new sediment record from Lake Svityaz in northwestern Ukraine. We have reconstructed regional and local vegetation and fire dynamics since the Late Glacial using pollen, spores, macrofossils and charcoal. Boreal forest composed of Pinus sylvestris and Betula with continental Larix decidua and Pinus cembra established in the region around 13,450 cal bp, replacing an open, steppic landscape. The first temperate tree to expand was Ulmus at 11,800 cal bp, followed by Quercus, Fraxinus excelsior, Tilia and Corylus ca. 1,000 years later. Fire activity was highest during the Early Holocene, when summer solar insolation reached its maximum. Carpinus betulus and Fagus sylvatica established ...
Sprawozdania Archeologiczne
ABSTRACTArchaeogenetic research over the last decade has demonstrated that European Neolithic far... more ABSTRACTArchaeogenetic research over the last decade has demonstrated that European Neolithic farmers (ENFs) were descended primarily from Anatolian Neolithic farmers (ANFs). ENFs, including early Neolithic central European Linearbandkeramik (LBK) farming communities, also harbored ancestry from European Mesolithic hunter gatherers (WHGs) to varying extents, reflecting admixture between ENFs and WHGs. However, the timing and other details of this process are still imperfectly understood. In this report, we provide a bioarchaeological analysis of three individuals interred at the Brunn 2 site of the Brunn am Gebirge-Wolfholz archeological complex, one of the oldest LBK sites in central Europe. Two of the individuals had a mixture of WHG-related and ANF-related ancestry, one of them with approximately 50% of each, while the third individual had approximately all ANF-related ancestry. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios for all three individuals were within the range of variation...
Die Siedlungen Semenovka 1 und 2 bei Melitopol, Obl. Zaporoz'e wurden in den Jahren 1991-1992... more Die Siedlungen Semenovka 1 und 2 bei Melitopol, Obl. Zaporoz'e wurden in den Jahren 1991-1992 untersucht. Semenovka 1 liegt auf der rechten FluBterrasse der Molocna. Fundplatz 2 befindet sich unmittelbar oberhalb von 1. In den 2 m starken Ablagerungen von Semenovka 1 konnten in fruheren Sondagen Kulturschichten vom Spatmesolithikum bis ins Mittelalter festgestellt werden. Im Jahre 1991 waren nur noch die mesolithischen und neolithisch-eneolithischen Straten erhalten. Die Grabungsflache umfaBte 200 m2. Die mesolithschen Flintfunde waren Fragmente von prismatischen Kermen und Klingen, Abschlage, Mikrolithen und Schaber. Die Schichten der neolithischen Sursk-Kultur ergaben Kernsteine, Abschlage und Klingen sowie zahlreiche Schaber unterschiedlichen Typs, Stichel und trapezoide Mikrolithen. Die stark zerscherbte Keramik war meist unverziert. Der Ton war mit Muschelgrus, Sand, einer Mischung aus beidem oder einer Kombination aus Sand und Pflanzenresten gemagert. Typisch ist die polierte Oberflache bei einem Teil der Scherben. Stich- und Ritzverzierungen sind selten. Charakteristisch sind nach auBen gebogene GefaBrander. Das aneolithische Azov-Dnepr-Stratum enthielt neben Flintgeraten Keramik-scherben. Die oberste aneolithische Schicht war der Srednij Stog Kultur zuzuordnen. In Semenovka 2 wurde nur eine Schicht der Sursk-Kultur erfaBt. Die umfangreichen Funde der Sursk-Kultur in Semenovka 1 ermoglichten eine neue Unterteilung dieser Kultur in drei Zeitstufen, die in die Mitte bzw. das letzte Viertel des 5. Jts. v. Chr. datiert werden
Archaeology and Early History of Ukraine
Metal (copper and bronze) knives is one of the most striking categories of artefacts in the mater... more Metal (copper and bronze) knives is one of the most striking categories of artefacts in the materials of the Black Sea cultures of the Early, Middle and Late Bronze Age. In addition to introducing new archaeological evidences to scientific community, the paper aims to analyze the place of a representative series of knives (8 items) from the vicinity of Kamyana Mohyla (Zaporizhzhya region) in the cultural and chronological coordinate system of the southern part of Eastern Europe Bronze Age. Three knives came from the Yamna culture burials. The one with an oval blade of the Zarechnoe type (kurgan 1, burial 8) is similar to those used on the vast area from the North-Western Black Sea region to the North Caucasus. Knives from Novopilipovka (kurgan 6, burial 5) and Semenovka (kurgan 2, burial 1) introduce some local features and were probably produced by the local metalworking center. Four other knives are related to the Catacomb culture. The one with a sub-triangular blade and an accent...
The Brunn 3 site of the Milanovce phase of the Linear Pottery culture
В монографии публикуются материалы многослойных поселений из бассейна Северского Дона на востоке ... more В монографии публикуются материалы многослойных поселений из бассейна Северского Дона на востоке Украины.
Beiträge zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte Mitteleuropas 96, 2021
Orders can currently be placed via email to verlagbeier@online.de. Bestellungen sind zurzeit übe... more Orders can currently be placed via email to verlagbeier@online.de.
Bestellungen sind zurzeit über E-Mail an verlagbeier@online.de möglich.
Chapter 20: Abstracts
Stadler Peter, Kotova Nadezhda
In Chapter 1 the new results of magnetic prospection are shown. Including all excavations and former prospection, we now have 125 – 135 houses constructed from about 5650 to 5050 BC. If we take all into account, there might be up to 150 houses, thus making Brunn am Gebirge Wolfholz by far the largest settlement of the LPC, beginning in the Formative phase.
Chapter 2 presents the triangulation map and aerial photos of site 3. Aerial photos were taken on a flight with a helicopter in the excavation year 1999.
In Chapter 3 Alexander Minnich presents statistics of all newly detected hearths and ovens, in which he interpreted the houses in the triangulation map with the exception of those already discussed in volume 1, mostly from site 2.
Chapter 4 investigates technological aspects and the shape of pottery from site 3.
In Chapter 5 the ornamentation of pottery from Brunn site 3 is shown and cast into a typology.
Chapter 6 shows the clay objects, which are amulets and bells, with their parallels in eastern Europe.
In Chapter 7 Beate Pomberger discusses further musical instruments from Brunn – vessel flutes and bells made from ceramics and their parallels in eastern Europe.
In Chapter 8 similarities between the features of the Formative phase of Brunn site 2 are compared with Brunn site 3.
Chapter 9 is the Bayesian approach to a house sequence, for about 27 houses. Only in these houses enough information – radiocarbon dates and ceramics – was available. The same radiocarbon data used in this way can be used for a sequencing of the phases.
In Chapter 10 is given the chronology of the Brunn Sites in the context of the Linear Pottery Culture.
In Chapter 11 Nadezhda Kotova tries to give a sequence of houses from site 3, by using different parameters, such as topography, orientation, climate, seriation, and radiocarbon data.
In Chapter 12 we give an overview of rock materials found at all sites of Brunn Wolfholz.
In Chapter 13 we present a typology of the macrolithic artefacts.
In Chapter 14 a complete dataset of macrolithic artefacts from Brunn Wolfholz is shown.
In Chapter 15 we present a stray find of a stone axe from a geological inspection.
Chapter 16 deals with the further investigation of petrographic and mineralogical analyses of additional selected pottery from the excavation Brunn am Gebirge (locality Wolfholz) from sites 1, 3 and 4 and a comparison with some reference samples.
Chapter 17 disproves our hope to identify Hungarian sites, from where we thought some imported ceramics of Brunn came from.
In Chapter 18 our student Yanik Hahnekamp investigates the topographical situation of LPC
Cemeteries and settlement burials in comparison with the distribution of Mesolithic and LPC settlements.
Nature Scientific Reports, 2019
Archaeogenetic research over the last decade has demonstrated that european neolithic farmers (EN... more Archaeogenetic research over the last decade has demonstrated that european neolithic farmers (ENFs) were descended primarily from Anatolian Neolithic farmers (ANFs). ENFs, including early neolithic central european Linearbandkeramik (LBK) farming communities, also harbored ancestry from European Mesolithic hunter gatherers (WHGs) to varying extents, reflecting admixture between ENFs and WHGs. However, the timing and other details of this process are still imperfectly understood. In this report, we provide a bioarchaeological analysis of three individuals interred at the Brunn 2 site of the Brunn am Gebirge-Wolfholz archeological complex, one of the oldest LBK sites in central Europe. Two of the individuals had a mixture of WHG-related and ANF-related ancestry, one of them with approximately 50% of each, while the third individual had approximately all ANF-related ancestry. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios for all three individuals were within the range of variation reflecting diets of other Neolithic agrarian populations. Strontium isotope analysis revealed that the ~50% WHG-ANF individual was non-local to the Brunn 2 area. Overall, our data indicate interbreeding between incoming farmers, whose ancestors ultimately came from western Anatolia, and local HGs, starting within the first few generations of the arrival of the former in central Europe, as well as highlighting the integrative nature and composition of the early LBK communities. The Linearbandkeramik or Linear Pottery culture (LBK) played a key role in the Neolithization of central Europe. Culturally, economically, and genetically, the LBK had its ultimate roots in western Anatolia, but it also displayed distinct features of autochthonous European Mesolithic hunter-gatherer societies. Several models for the origins of the LBK culture have been proposed over the years 1. The Indigenist model suggests the LBK was founded through the adaptation of elements of the West Asian Neolithic Package by indigenous Mesolithic populations exclusively through frontier contact and cultural diffusion. The Integrationist model views the formation of LBK as the integration of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers into an agro-pastoral lifeway through mechanisms such as leapfrog colonization, frontier mobility and contact. According to this model, small groups associated with the Starčevo-Körös-Criş (SKC) culture, the likely LBK predecessors in Europe, left their homelands in the Balkans (where most of their own ancestors had arrived earlier from Anatolia), and settled new areas to the northwest. Contacts with local Mesolithic groups and exchange of products would have resulted in the co-optation of hunter-gatherers into farming communities, where they
Early Neolithic Settlement Brunn am Gebirge, Wolfholz, Site 2 in Lower Austria and the Origin of the Western Linear Pottery Culture (LPC). Vol. 1a-b. (Beiträge zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte Mitteleuropas, 88), 2019
Rezension in Die Archäologischen Informationen von Early View: Quotable online version with prel... more Rezension in Die Archäologischen Informationen
von
Early View: Quotable online version with preliminary pagination. After the printed volume has appeared you can find this article with its final pagination as open access
publication there: http://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/arch-inf The printed volume will be available there: http://www.archaeologische-informationen.de.
by Peter Stadler, Nadezhda Kotova, Eva Lenneis, Alexander Minnich, Alexey G Nikitin, Friederike B . Novotny, Leopold Puchinger, Roman Sauer, Friedrich Sauter, Micheline Welte, and Andreas Weihs
Beiträge zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte Mitteleuropas 88, 2019
Книга посвящена изучению Среднестоговской раннеэнеолитической культуры (конец 5-4 тыс. до н.э.).
В книге рассмотрена древнейшая посуда на территории Украины, ее происхождение и основные этапы из... more В книге рассмотрена древнейшая посуда на территории Украины, ее происхождение и основные этапы изменения на протяжении эпохи неолита. Автор предлагает типологию керамики, учитывающую фрагментарность археологического материала, характерную для большинства поселенческих памятников. Керамика в рассматриваемом регионе появилась в конце VII тыс. до н.э. Ее распространение определялось культурными связями населения и в меньшей мере зависело от природного окружения.