Neolithic farmers or Neolithic foragers? Organic residue analysis of early pottery from Rakushechny Yar on the Lower Don (Russia)

Abstract

The emergence of pottery in Europe is associated with two distinct traditions: hunter-gatherers in the east of the continent during the early 6th millennium BC and early agricultural communities in the south-west in the late 7th millennium BC. Here we investigate the function of pottery from the site of Rakushechny Yar, located at the Southern fringe of Eastern Europe, in this putative contact zone between these two economic ‘worlds’. To investigate, organic residue analysis was conducted on 120 samples from the Early Neolithic phase (ca. mid-6th millennium BC) along with microscopic and SEM analysis of associated foodcrusts. The results showed that the earliest phase of pottery use was predominantly used to process riverine resources. Many of the vessels have molecular and isotopic characteristics consistent with migratory fish, such as sturgeon, confirmed by the identification of sturgeon bony structures embedded in the charred surface deposits. There was no evidence of dairy products in any of the vessels, despite the fact these have been routinely identified in coeval sites to the south. Further analysis of some of the mammalian bones using ZooMS failed to demonstrate that domesticated animals were present in the Early Neolithic. Nevertheless, we argue that intensive exploitation of seasonally migratory fish, accompanied by large-scale pottery production, created storable surpluses that led to similar socio-economic outcomes as documented in early agricultural societies.

Detection of dairy products from multiple taxa in Late Neolithic pottery from Poland: an integrated biomolecular approach

“…In addition to degraded animal fats, diterpenoids (e.g. abietic acid) and their oxidation by-products were identified in SLA_10, indicating the presence of Pinaceae resin, potentially used as an adhesive or as a waterproofing agent for the vessel [60][61][62]. A distribution of long odd nchain alkanes with a dominance of n-alkane C 27 and C 29 (δ 13 C −30.0‰ and −34.3‰, respectively) was also identified in SLA_10, indicative of the presence of leafy plants mixed with animal fats and pine products (electronic supplementary material, table S6) [63].…”

The transmission of pottery technology among prehistoric European hunter-gatherers

“…3d ). As previously suggested 11 , it is likely that such sub-regional ‘cuisines’ arose due to local customs of food preparation and consumption, and that certain sites were highly specialized 28 .…”

“…27 Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology, Schleswig, Germany. 28 Present address: Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland. 29 Prague, Czech Republic.…”

Shell platforms and dwelling structures: spatial structure of the archaeological layer of the early Neolithic Rakushechnii Yar site

“…Однако глиняная посуда изготавливалась, по всей видимости, на месте из прибрежных доступных отложений [Мазуркевич и др., 2013] и, судя по анализу содержимого сосудов, использовалась для переработки добытых водных продуктов, в т.ч. для получения такого специфического продукта, как осетровый клей [Bondetti et al, 2021]. О местоположении оставленных in situ глиняных сосудов могут свидетельствовать результаты ремонтажа и концентрации плоских днищ, маркирующие изначальные места расположения сосудов (Рис.…”