Innovations of the Beginning of the Sixth Millennium BC in the Northern Pontic Steppe

This study focuses on the pottery-bearing (Neolithic) sites of the northern Azov Sea region. The vessels ornamented with comb imprints appeared there in the sixth millennium BC. In the light of a recent re-dating of the Rakushechny Yar site sequence, the sites of the northern Azov region appeared to be the earliest evidence for this innovation. The innovation in the ceramic assemblage is accompanied by an innovative lithic tool set. The latter included macro-blades and fan-shaped end-scrapers, which were previously unknown in the studied region. Their reanalysis (including new field work at the single-layer site of Chapaevka) helped formulate a hypothesis of maritime transmission of comb-ornamented ceramics in the Black and Azov Sea. This hypothesis will stimulate further discussions regarding the ways of Neolithization in Eastern Europe. It underlines the connections between Balkan classic Neolithic and pottery-bearing sites of the Ukrainian Steppe. The impressed ware from Makri and other mainland Greek sites is treated as the closest analogy to the finds of the northern Azov Sea region.

Automated summary

This study focuses on pottery-bearing sites in the northern Azov Sea region, where vessels ornamented with comb imprints appeared in the sixth millennium BC, representing the earliest evidence for this innovation. The innovation in ceramics is accompanied by a new lithic tool set, including macro-blades and fan-shaped end-scrapers previously unknown in the region. The hypothesis of maritime transmission of comb-ornamented ceramics in the Black and Azov Sea region is proposed, stimulating further discussions on Neolithization in Eastern Europe.