Chronology and Dynamics of Ancient Pottery Traditions’ Dissemination in Steppes of the Lower Volga Region

The territory of the Lower Volga plays an important role in the study of the Neolithic of Eastern Europe. The leading indicator of this epoch is pottery. Determining the chronology of pottery making is one of the most complex issues. Over the past ten years, a large number of radiocarbon dates (43) have been obtained on various materials: coal, bones, organic materials in pottery, crusts, humus. They allowed accurate determining of the initial time of appearance of the most ancient crockery in the Lower Volga region – the middle of the 7th millennium BC. The authors determine the chronological frameworks of the Neolithic development in steppes of the Lower Volga region: 6600 – 5300 BC. The Orlovskaya culture had being developed evolutionarily. The special attention is also paid to identifying the specific features of pottery traditions in the area of interest. The technical and technological analysis made it possible to clarify the genesis, the features of the dynamics and the further destiny of pottery in the region. The combination of the latest data allows referring the Neolithic monuments of steppe territory of the Lower Volga to the area of the ancient pottery in Eastern Europe. A.A. Vybornov has carried out the analysis of archaeological data, the entire base of radiocarbon dates on the Neolithic of steppes of the Lower Volga region, and determined the chronological frames of the Orlovskaya culture. I.N. Vasilyeva has carried out the technical and technological analysis of the Orlovskaya culture pottery, identified its peculiarities, and analyzed the materials from adjacent territories from the comparative viewpoint. M.A. Kulkova has obtained and compared the radiocarbon dates for different layers of the Varfolomeyevskaya site, Orlovka, Algay and Oroshaemoe sites. B. Philippsen has obtained radiocarbon dates on coal and bones with AMS for the Neolithic site Algay in the Lower Volga region. Key words: Low Volga region, Neolithic, Orlovskaya culture, chronology, radiocarbon dating, historical and cultural approach, technical and technological analysis of pottery, pottery tradition