Chronology Issues of the Neolithic Cultures in the Volga-Kama Basin

In the article, the questions of the chronology of the Neolithic cultures in the Volga-Kama basin are discussed. This discussion is based on the significant series of radiocarbon dates obtained on the different organic materials in several last years. The dates were obtained as tradition scintillation technique, as well as AMS method. There was established the different age of cultural complexes on the same site and the time of transition from early to later Neolithic was determined in the Northern Cis-Caspian region. The beginning of the early Neolithic and the final of the later stage were clarified. The Neo-Eneolithic period in the Lower Volga region has been verified. The frameworks of the Early Neolithic and coexistence of Mesolithic and Neolithic societies in the forest-steppe zone of the Volga region were considered. The low border of the Neolithic period in the forest zone of the Middle Volga region was established. In the Cis-Kama region, the chronological frameworks of the Kamskaya culture were determined and the chronological ratio between complexes of unornamented, pricked and combed ornamented ceramics were explained.

Contemporary Chinese Philosophy and the Importance of Confucian Kinship Relations

Li Zehou belongs to the most influential Chinese philosophers of our time. This paper will present a critical introduction of his theory regarding the consolidation of the specific Confucian system of kinship relations, which for him forms a crucial foundation of traditional Chinese social order. In Confucianism, the inter-familial relations form a basis of the social system, in which interpersonal relations are of utmost importance and which Li therefore denotes as “relationalism”. According to him, this kinship-based Confucian model originates in shamanistic rituality performed by Neolithic humans living in the land occupied by modern-day China. These Neolithic cultures were rather advanced and based their societies on small-scale semi-agricultural production, in which communities were mainly constructed through kinship relationships. Shamanistic ceremonies were enhancing and strengthening the awareness of such social unities. These early collective rites, especially those that include music and dance, had a powerful effect on early humans, creating intense feelings of respect, love and loyalty, and thus forming a basis for the Confucian social order based upon kinship relations, and the Confucian ethics, rooted in interpersonal humanness. Li’s theory of the shamanist origins of Confucian relationalism will be critically illuminated through the lens of current historical and anthropological scholarship on shamanist rituality and their function within the corresponding cultural orders.

The Origin Of the Kultepe Culture

The different opinions have been put forward about the neolithization of the Azerbaijan. Some researchers note that the South Caucasus’ Neolithic culture is related to Mesopotamia by origin; some note that this culture developed based on local traditions. New researches conducted in the territory of Nakhchivan are essential for solving these problems. New excavations conducted in Kultepe I, located near the city of Nakhchivan, led to the discovery of new facts related to the peopling history of this site and the peculiarities of the Kultepe culture. Studies show that there were various centers of Neolithic cultures’ formation in the VII—VI millennia BC in Azerbaijan. Moreover, the Kultepe is the oldest ceramic Neolithic site in the South Caucasus. Outputs of these studies indicate that Azerbaijan’s Neolithic cultures have no sources in the Middle East’s monuments.

Holocene Environmental Archaeology of the Yangtze River Valley in China: A Review

The Yangtze River Valley is an important economic region and one of the cradles of human civilization. It is also the site of frequent floods, droughts, and other natural disasters. Conducting Holocene environmental archaeology research in this region is of great importance when studying the evolution of the relationship between humans and the environment and the interactive effects humans had on the environment from 10.0 to 3.0 ka BP, for which no written records exist. This review provides a comprehensive summary of materials that have been published over the past several decades concerning Holocene environmental archaeology in the Yangtze River Valley, to further understand large-scale regional Holocene environmental and cultural interaction within this area. The results show that: 1) in recent years, Holocene envi-ronmental archaeology research in the Yangtze River Valley has primarily taken paleoflood and sea-level change stratigraphical events to be the foundational threads for study. This began with research on the spatiotemporal distribution of archaeological sites, typical archaeological site stratigraphy, and research on background features concerning environmental evolution recorded by the regional natural sedimentary strata. 2) Significant progress has been made at the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, indicating that Holocene environmental ar-chaeology research along the Yangtze River Valley is deepening and broadening. 3) Dramatic changes to Neolithic cultures that occurred approximately 4.0 ka BP were influenced by climate change and associated consequences, although the impacts differed on the various Neolithic cultures in the Yangtze River Valley. Local topography, regional climate, and varying survival strategies may have contributed to these differences. 4) Newly-published research pays particular attention to the sedimentary records of the past with resolutions as high as one year to several months, the degree to which humans altered the quality of their natural environment, and human adjustments to settlement and subsistence practices during periods of Holocene climate change. The application of technologies such as remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and molecular biological analysis are also gradually being extended into the research field of Holocene environmental archaeology in the Yangtze River Valley.

The image of goddess on the throne in the Bosporan coroplast of the archaic and classical periods (VI – IV centuries BC): iconography and sacred meaning

This article explores the peculiarities of application of compositional pattern of the enthroned goddess in the coroplast of the European part of Bosporus. A number of figurines of the East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve of such iconography is published for the first time, including the discarded coroplast products dating back to the IV century BC. The article reviews the emergence of iconography, its origins in the Neolithic cultures of Anatolia, and proliferation. The following sections are dedicated to the analysis of Bosporan terracotta of the enthroned goddess of the archaic and classical periods. The research methodology employs iconographic and semantic analysis, which implies the interpretation of religious representations reflected in the image of deity. A peculiarity Bosporan coroplast lies in popularity of the composition of enthroned goddess from the archaic period, which indicates a special role of the high status goddesses with a variety of features, such as Demeter, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Hecate in the beliefs of Bosporans. Terracotta complexes of the classical period demonstrate diversity of this iconographic type, as well as mark the emergence of characteristic attributes that allow identifying the image of deity. Coroplast data testify to the growing popularity of the goddess of Phrygian origin Cybele in the IV century BC. A hypothesis is advanced on the existence of a prototype of the number of figurines – the local cult statue of Cybele.

Images of Animals in Neolithic Chinese Ceramic

The images of animals or their (more or less) stylised motifs once depicted in the form of painting and sculpture, and nowadays through various media, have many stories to tell. Their ancient images point to the undeniably great role that animals played in human life. The rich material culture, as well as the written sources we have today, enables us to examine – both in physical and spiritual terms – the coexistence and co-creation of the worlds of people and animals in the region that we now call China. General animal research, especially within Europe, usually concerns spatial and physical differences; animals from ancient, medieval and early modern times are researched in the context of their utilitarian role, as well as their exoticism, discovering new species and deepening knowledge about those already known to man. Creating a picture of the animal images in Chinese Neolithic art, I hope to present various social and political practices that have influenced the acquisition of knowledge about animals, and thus to discover their role in human life. Chinese animal studies to date in pre-dynastic and dynastic eras regularly focus on animals as spiritual beings and sources of nutrition. It is worth looking at the significance of animals from a different angle – from the perspective of art, which can inform us about animals and people in the context of religion, magic, symbols, aesthetics and the spiritual life of both. My article focuses particularly on the decorative motifs appearing in ceramics of three Neolithic cultures: Yangshao 4000–3000 BC, Hemudu 5500-3300 BC and Longshan 2500-1900 BC.

The Routes of Neolithisation: The Middle Struma Valley from a Regional Perspective

The frontier position of the Balkan Peninsula, next to Anatolia and the Aegean, emphasises its key importance for the study of the Neolithisation processes taking place in Europe during the seventh–sixth millennia BC. A look at the distribution of most Early Neolithic sites along the submeridional alluvial plains of its central mountainous part often leaves the impression that the valleys of the Vardar, Struma, Mesta and Maritsa rivers functioned as natural corridors, allowing for the rapid advance of the farming way of life towards the interior regions of Europe. However, comparative analysis of the distribution patterns of specific diagnostic components of Early Neolithic cultures, such as white painted pottery, anthropomorphic figurines and miniature “cult tables”, from the Early Neolithic settlements in the Middle Struma Valley, southwestern Bulgaria, namely Kovachevo, Ilindentsi, Brezhani, Drenkovo and Balgarchevo I shows a rather unexpected direction and dynamic of cultural/social contact during this crucial period.

NEW RESULTS OF DIRECT RADIOCARBON AMS DATING OF THE POTTERY FROM THE BUH-DNISTER SUB-NEOLITHIC СULTURE

Traditional ideas about the origin of the Buh-Dnister Culture (BDC) and its synchronisation with the Neolithic cultures of the Danube-Carpathian region were questioned by series of radiocarbon dates measured on bones at the Kyiv laboratory in the 1998—2004. To start addressing this problem, 11 AMS dates on organic inclusions in the ceramic paste and charred residues on the surface of vessels were obtained at the Tokyo University laboratory. The set of new dates has given a wide scatter of their values within the entire period outlined by the previous BDC dates. Moreover, the two results of the second quarter of the 7th millennium BC for the Hlynske 1 and Bazkiv Ostriv site are beyond it and may potentially be the oldest dates of the culture. However, analysis of the samples in terms of carbon content, their susceptibility to the influence of the freshwater reservoir effect, correspondence to the stratigraphy of the sites and typology of materials detected only six more credible dates. Their order on the timeline coincides with generally accepted ideas about the sequence of existence of the different BDC pottery types. The youngest is the vessel of the Savran type from Shumyliv-Cherniatka has yielded two dates falling into the range of 4723—4491 cal BC, when the Trypillia culture bearers already populat the region. Two vessels of the Samchyntsi type from Bazkiv Ostriv yield three dates within the range of 5288—4847 cal BC, which corresponds to their finding next to fragments of fine «music-note» bowls of the Linear Band Pottery Culture. The Skybyntsi type vessel from Bazkiv Ostriv yield the oldest plausible date of 5621—5514 cal BC, which corresponds to the age of the Criş monuments in Moldova. Unfortunately, the new dates did not shed light on the issues of the time and direction of the first pottery spreading in the region. Thus, this needs further research including reliably direct radiocarbon dating on pottery.