Смольянинов Р.В., Ранний неолит Верхнего Дона

__________________________ Summary __________________________ from ihe settlements: Karamyshevo 9 BP 7200+120 (6363-5843 BC) (Spb-2259); BP 6720+40 (5716-5607 BC) (Poz-42053); BP 6620+120 (5376-5339 BC) (Spb-5339); BP 6380±40 (5471-5303 BC) (Poz-42052); Karamyshevo 5 BP 6570+160 (5790-5230 BC) (Ki 11088), and BP 6363+110 (5529-5056 BC) (Spb-2258), which appears to reflect the first stage o f cultural development, the calen­ dar age o f which corresponds to the third - second quarters o f the VI millennium BC (with the possibility o f its aging before the be­ ginning o f the VI millennium BC). The second stage o f the accumulation o f new data may be di­ vided into two parts. I'he main distinguishing feature o f the begin­ ning o f the second stage, along with lacking or altogether absent ornamentation, is an ever-increasing percentage o f ceramics deco­ rated with prick oval taps and o f flat-bottomed vessels, along with sharp-bottomed ones. The appearance o f flat-bottomed ceramics is probably worth linking with the continued advancement o f the population from the Middle Volga region already the Srednevolzh- skaya culture. The most representative collections o f this time were obtained at the sites o f Stupino, Ivnitsa, Vasilievsky Cordon 5, Va­ silievsky Cordon 3, Vasilievsky Cordon 7, Yarlukovskaya Protoka (point 222), Rybnoye Ozero 2 (point 202), Dobroyc 4 (point 385), Chernavskaya, and most o f the collection site at Karamyshevo 9. Vessels o f Karamyshev culture are mainly o f small and me­ dium proportions, with diameters o f 14, 16, 18, 28, and - in isolat­ ed cases - up to 50 cm. On top, o f the pots are ornamented with one or more horizontal rows o f conical pits. Along the edge some ves­ sels are decorated with notches, and less often with oval punctures. The pricks are round, oval, or seldom triangular in shape, forming dimpled and punctate impressions, which on the surface o f the pots arc arranged in horizontal, diagonal-vertical rows, sometimes in the form o f a wave. In just one case, a pot is ornamented from the inside. The majority is made up o f vessels with a sharpened or rounded edge; much less often, the edge is flat. In shape, the pots are divided into straight-walled, slightly open, and slightly closed (approximately in equal proportions), with profiled forms being much less common. A distinctive feature o f the end o f the second stage o f Karamyshev culture is the appearance o f comb prints in the ornamentation o f ceramics. This is most clearly represented by the site lot o f Ivnitsa and the settlement o f Karamyshevo 9. At the latter, a combination in the ornamentation was indicated with a 185