Early Neolithic Pit no. 1791 at Tartas-1 Site, Baraba Forest-Steppe: Multidisciplinary Research

Abstract

Purpose. The study results of the storage pit no. 1791 for fish supplies from the Tartas-1 site are presented. This site is the basis for studying the Early Neolithic Barabinskaya culture. The aim is to reconstruct the peculiarities of functioning and chronology of pit no. 1791 investigated at the site Tartas-1.
Results. During the investigation of the pit, it was discovered that upper layers were a later pit no. 1791 that was built on top of an older storage pit when it had ceased to function. In the bottom of this later pit, a horn of a large animal (probably a bison), a large fragment of a ceramic vessel, and a large accumulation of fish scales and gill coverings were found; in the older pit numerous almost rotted fish bones and an animal (probably dog) bone were found. Radiocarbon dating has been used to determine the chronological position of the pit no. 1791. Samples of bison horn fragments and dog bones, stratigraphically located at different depths, were used.
Conclusions. The analysis confirmed the stratigraphic observations made earlier: the dates obtained chronologically place the pit in the Early Neolithic period, and they correlate with the dates obtained previously in laboratories in Germany and Russia, within the VII millennium BC, with a partial overlap to the VIII century BC. Radiocarbon dating confirmed the stratigraphic observations. We studied two Early Neolithic objects: an early fish storage pit and a late pit that sealed it. Few remains of fish bones and a dog bone were found in the fill and at the bottom of the early pit. The late pit contained a hoard of buffalo horns, ceramics, stone and clay tools, and fish scales.