Mesolithic Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

The monograph presents the results of archaeological excavations and surveys of sites, located on the northeastern outskirts of the village of Ratniv (Volyn region, Ukraine).
At the multi-layered settlement Ratniv-II, the research that began in 2014 (being prepared for publication) was continued. The approximate size of the settlement from west to east is about 520 m, and from north to south 240 m. On an area of 124 m2, 21 features were surveyed: the Early
Bronze Age (# 59 and 67), Early Iron Age (# 4, 41, 53, 55, 56, 57, 58, 61, 62, 63), Old Rus (#52, 64, 66, 69), the third quarter of the XXth century. (# 51, 54). The cultural and chronological affiliation has not been established for features #60, 65, 68. In the north-eastern part of the
settlement there is a test pit in which the Old Rus object was discovered, and the lifting material collected on the plowed surface testifies that the
settlement has existed since the Neolithic times (Linear Pottery Culture).
In the northern part of the village Ratniv a triple burial of the Mierzhanowice culture of the Early Bronze Age, destroyed by a local resident was inspected. The results of the anthropological
analyzes are presented in Appendix 2. As a result of the surveys, the following settlements and sites were located: Bakai-I (Mesolithic, Neolithic, Copper Age, Bronze Age, Late Roman period); Bakai-II (Mesolithic, Neolithic, Copper Age, Bronze Age, Late Roman
period; first half of the XXth century), Didovychi-I (Mesolithic, Neolithic, Early Bronze Age), Didovychi-II (Mesolithic, Copper Age, Bronze
Age, the first half of the XXth century), Didovychi-III (Mesolithic, Neolithic, Copper Age, Early Bronze Age, Late Roman period, Old Rus),
Didovychi-IV (Mesolithic, Neolithic, Copper Age, Late Bronze Age, XVII-XVIII centuries), Didovychi-V (Mesolithic, Copper Age, Early Iron Age).
On the south-eastern outskirts of the village Baiv (to the north-east from Ratniv) two multilayered settlements were localized – Baiv-Vysochyna with artifacts of Neolithic, Copper Age, Early Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, and Old Rus and Baiv-II (Neolithic, Copper Age, Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, Late Roman period and Old Rus).
On the island of Victoriany to the north-west of Ratniv a multilayered settlement with artifacts in chronological boundaries from the Neolithic
to the XIV-XV-XVIII centuries was found as a result of excavation of test pits. Two test pits were excavated on the island of Kolyadka, in which features of the Mezhanovytsia culture of the Early Bronze Age were found. During surveys on the island, artifacts were found, which have been divided into the following chronological periods: Neolithic, Copper Age, Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, Late Roman period, and Old Rus.
Near the village Ozdiv (to the north-east of Ratniv) surveys were conducted, as a result of which two settlements were located. In the
settlement of Ozdiv-I, which is located in the northern part of the village, materials of Old Rus origin, as well as the end of the XIX-first half of
the XX centuries are present. Artifacts of the Bronze and Early Iron Age were found in the settlement of Ozdiv-II, which is located in the
north-eastern part of this village.
Appendix 1. Ye. Yanish (Research Associate at the Institute of Zoology of the NAS of Ukraine named after I.I. Schmalhausen), an analysis of the
faunal complex obtained as a result of excavations of the multi-layered settlement Ratniv-II and exploration in the vicinity of the village of Ratniv.
Appendix 2. Senior Researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the NAS of Ukraine O. Kozak conducted a detailed anthropological analysis of the bones from a destroyed triple burial found in the northern part of the village of Ratniv.
Appendix 3. A publication devoted to the definition of the Ratnivska Meso-Neolithic archeological culture, the bearers of which played
a significant role in compiling the Linear Pottery Culture in Western Ukraine.
Appendix 4. The publication of the radiocarbon dates of the paleobotanical samples taken from the bottom of features #59 became
possible with the help of a Senior Researcher at the Bioarchaeology Research Centre of Vilnius University, PhD Giedre Motuzaite-
Matuzeviciute. The samples of carbonized grains and nutshells are dated to the second half of the III-first half of the IV centuries AD. The obtained dates characterize the late stage of the development of the Chernyakhiv or Velbar cultures and raise questions about the correctness of the conclusions about the age of the paleobotanical materials made without radiocarbon analysis.
Translated by Sean Mark Miller, MA.