Settlements of the Amnya Cultural Type in the Context of the Early Neolithic of North-Western Siberia

Purpose. The Stone Age settlement of Amnya I in North-Western Siberia represents the northernmost hunter-gatherer-fisher fort in Eurasia. Dating back to the beginning of the 6th millennium BC, this unique site enables the study of key innovations of the Neolithization process in the taiga zone, such as defensive structures, early pottery, and an increase in polished tools including arrowheads. Results. The Amnya cultural type also includes the nearby Kirip-Vis-Yugan-2 settlement, which shows close similarities with Amnya I in material culture however lacks fortifications. To follow up open questions, work on Amnya type sites was resumed in 2019. Plans of the sites, their layout and stratigraphy were clarified, and first palaeoenvironmental data was received. Radiocarbon dating of stratified contexts at Amnya I confirmed its Early Neolithic age. The settlement of Amnya II located just 50 m east of the fortifications was also dated. Originally attributed to later, Eneolithic times, the two new AMS dates date back to the beginning of the 6th millennium BC, indicating that Amnya I and II existed broadly contemporaneously. Palaeoenvironmental studies based on drillings in the adjacent peat bog show that at the time of settlement at Amnya I and II open water existed on the south of the hill fort, and the Amnya River was flowing on the north side. Thus, this place was comfortable for living and provided good conditions for fishing. Botanical macro-remains from cultural layers at Amnya I show that during the existence of the settlement, along with pine, deciduous trees - birch and alder, have grown in the area of the site, indicating a warmer climate, compared to current conditions. Conclusion. The studied archaeological settlements show the case of Neolithic innovations which testify to formation of special social structures and, most likely, appearance of the new population in the taiga zone of Western Siberia at the turn of 7th - 6th millennium BC.

Lower Ob region, taiga zone, Neolithic, hunter-gatherer fortified settlement, Amnya cultural type, ceramics, radiocarbon dating

1. Васильев Е. А. Энеолит и ранний бронзовый век средне- и северотаежного Приобья: Автореф. дис. … канд. ист. наук. М., 1989. 21 с.

2. Дубовцева Е. Н., Косинская Л. Л., Пиецонка Х. Анализ вещевого комплекса и новые радиоуглеродные датировки ранненеолитического городища Амня I // Самарский научный вестник. 2019. Т. 8, № 2 (27). С. 149-159. DOI 10.24411/2309-4370-2019-12210

3. Ивасько Л. В. О каюковской археологической культуре // Барсова Гора: древности таежного Приобья. Екатеринбург; Сургут: Урал. изд-во, 2008. С. 112-122.

4. Молодин В. И., Рaйнхольд С., Мыльникова Л. Н., Ненахов Д. А., Хансен С. Радиоуглеродные даты неолитического комплекса памятника Тартас-1 (ранний неолит в Барабе) // Вестник НГУ. Серия: История, филология. 2018. Т. 17, № 3: Археология и этнография. С. 39-56. DOI 10.25205/1818-7919-2018-17-3-39-56

5. Морозов В. М., Стефанов В. И. Амня I - древнейшее городище Северной Евразии? // Вопросы археологии Урала. 1993. Вып. 21. С. 143-170.

6. Панина С. Н. Археологические исследования на Усть-Вагильском холме (2005-2006 гг.) // Вопросы археологии Урала. 2008. Вып. 25. С. 137-146.

7. Стефанов В. И. Новые материалы по энеолиту Приказымья // Материалы по археологии Обь-Иртышья: Сб. науч. тр. Сургут: Изд-во СурГПИ, 2001. С. 35-42.

8. Стефанов В. И., Борзунов В. А. Неолитическое городище Амня-1 (по материалам раскопок 1993 и 2000 годов) // Барсова Гора: древности таежного Приобья. Екатеринбург, Сургут: Урал. изд-во, 2008. С. 105-107.

9. Стефанов В. И., Морозов В. М., Погодин А. А. Кирип-Вис-Юган-2 - памятник амнинского типа (к вопросу о неолите Приказымья) // Источники по археологии Западной Сибири: Сб. науч. тр. Сургут: Изд-во СурГПУ, 2005. С. 19-33.

10. Piezonka H., Kosinskaya L., Dubovtseva E., Chemyakin Yu., Enshin D., Hartz S., Kovaleva V., Panina S., Savchenko S., Skochina S., Terberger T., Zakh V., Zhilin M., Zykov A. The emergence of hunter-gatherer pottery in the Urals and West Siberia: New dating and stable isotope evidence. Journal of Archaeological Science, 2020, vol. 116, no. 105100. DOI 10.1016/j.jas.2020.105100