New Data on the Storage Pits of the Baraba Culture of the Early Neolithic Era (Ob-Irtysh Forest-Steppe)

Abstract

Purpose. The Tartas-1 complex of burials, ritual places and settlement takes a special place. Due to the excavation method of full opening of the site area, today the followings are explored and fully studied: an area of more than 36,000 m2 , 802 burials and related structures in the form of ditches, 1745 pits of various orientations, ritual complexes of various eras and cultures, including an early Neolithic settlement. The settlement is represented by two household structures (dwellings) and a complex of storage pits for fish, dated to the 7th millennium BC and attributed to the Baraba culture of the early Neolithic. The purpose of this article is to present the characteristics and dating of the new fish pit studied in the 2021 field season in the context of the known data. Results. The fish pits excavation method, mainly based on the enclosing soil-fill study, is proposed. The stratigraphy characteristic and the parameters of the pit are presented. A feature of the absence of any animal skeleton (dog, hare, fox, wolverine, etc.) placed in the pit as a sacrificial offering is noted. The date of (MAMS 53633) BP 7714 ± 29 Cal BCE 1 σ (Intcal 20) 6588–6502 2σ (Intcal 20) 6636–6469, obtained from an animal horn tool (tur?) found in the pit at the depth of 2.36 m below bedrock, is presented. The analysis was carried out at the Curt-Engelhom-Centre for Archaeometry (Germany). Calibration of the date by 1σ and 2σ demonstrates a complete correlation with the already available dates from the pit samples. The period of the Baraba culture's existence – the 7th millennium BC – is confirmed. Conclusion. The manifestation of economic practice among the bearers of the early Neolithic Baraba culture is a demonstration of innovation. It consists of the improvements on the appropriating economy with the increasing role of water resources, and the transition to a less mobile way of life, found among the ancient Siberian population at the end of the 8th – 6 th millennium BC. Pit no. 1741 also existed in this time period.