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Documenta Praehistorica XXXVI (2009)

The Neolithization of Northern Black Sea area

in the context of climate changes

Kotova Nadezhda

Institute of Archaeology, Kiev, UA

kotova@i.com.ua

ABSTRACT – The neolithisation of the Pontic steppe was a long process, with four stages which were

associated with climate changes. It began c. 7500 calBC, with early animal husbandry in the west-

ern Azov Sea area. The beginning of the second stage was connected with an arid climate (7000–

6900 calBC) and the origin of the Rakushechny Yar culture in the Lower Don region. The third stage

(6500–6300 calBC) occurred during a humid period. Besides animal husbandry, the steppe popula-

tion borrowed the first pottery from the Rakushechny Yar culture. The fourth phase (6300–6000

calBC) was connected with extreme aridity and the neolithisation of the modern forest-steppe and

forest zones of Ukraine and Russia.

IZVLE EK – Neolitizacija Pontske stepe je bila dolgotrajen proces, ki ga sestavljajo tiri stopnje, pove-

zane s klimatskimi spremembami. Zaela se je z zgodnjo ivinorejo na podroju Azovskega morja

okoli 7500 calBC. Zaetek druge stopnje je bil povezan s sunim podnebjem (7000-6900 calBC) in za-

etkom kulture Rakushechny Yar na podroju spodnjega Dona. Tretja stopnja (6500-6300 calBC) se

je pojavila v vlanem obdobju. Stepsko prebivalstvo je poleg ivinoreje od omenjene kulture prevze-

lo tudi lonenino. etrta faza (6300-6000 calBC) je bila povezana s skrajno suhim podnebjem in neo-

litizacijo sodobne gozdne stepe in gozdnih predelov Ukrajine in Rusije.

KEY WORDS – Pontic steppe; climate changes; neolithisation; first pottery; early animal husbandry

Basic concepts of the Early Neolithic in Ukraine

At the end of the 60s, V. N. Danilenko assumed that

the beginning of the Neolithic in Ukraine was con-

nected with an eastern cultural impulse ( Danilenko

1969 ). He supposed that a progressive aridity in

East Europe had resulted in a crisis of hunting eco-

nomies, and in the VII millennium BC the ancient

population of this region shifted to cattle breeding,

and borrowed pottery. In search of new pasture, it

began to move west, up to the Dnieper and the

Southern Bug. Danilenko confirmed this migration

with the similarity of the ceramics, with point bottom,

drawn and pit ornamentation, which were found at

Early Neolithic sites in the south of Eastern Europe.

Apart from the first ceramics, the newcomers brought

early animal husbandry to Ukraine. Under their in-

fluence, the local Mesolithic population shifted to the

Neolithic, and the Azov, Surskaya and Bug-Dniestr

cultures appeared. Danilenko dated the first appear-

ance of ceramics in Ukraine to the end of the VII mil-

lennium BC, based on its similarity to the pottery of

the most ancient ceramic layer of Dzhebel in the Cas-

pian Sea area. In turn, he synchronized this Dzhebel

layer with the layers of Hacilar in Western Anatolia,

which contained monochrome ceramics similar to

the Dzhebel pottery ( Danilenko 1969.186 ).

Danilenko supposed that cattle were domesticated

in the Northern Caucasus and predominated in ani-

mal husbandry of Eastern Europe ( Danilenko 1969.

180 ). He connected the dissemination of agriculture

in Ukraine with the influence of the Cri s -Körös cultu-

res, owing to which it appeared among the popula-

tion of the Bug-Dniestr culture. The latter, in its turn,

had played the main role in the neolithisation of the

DOI: 10.4312/dp.36.10

159

Kotova Nadezhda

forest-steppe and the forest zones of

Ukraine. The Bug-Dniestr migration

into the southeast woodlands and

the Dnieper River basin caused the

formation of the Dnieper-Donets cul-

ture. At the end of the VII millenni-

um BC, the Mesolithic population of

these areas borrowed the first cera-

mics and early agriculture from the

newcomers.

Danilenko divided the sites of the

Bug-Dniestr culture into seven pha-

ses ( Danilenko 1969 ). The first

phase (Pre-Ceramics) was dated to

the second half of the 7 th millennium

BC. At the same time, according to

his opinion, the Sursko-Dnieper cul-

ture also appeared. The second pha-

se (Skibentsy) of the Bug-Dniestr cul-

ture was characterized by the appea-

rance of ceramics, analogies for

which he found in the Caspian Sea

area and in the East Mediterranean.

He synchronized the sites of this

phase with a lower layer of Nea Ni-

komedeia, the fifth layer of Dzhebel,

and the lower layers of Mersin. This

phase, together with the Kizlevskaya

phase of the Sursko-Dnieper culture,

was dated to the end of the 7 th – first

half of the 6 th millennium BC. Dani-

lenko supposed that, at that time un-

der the influence of the Bug-Dniestr culture, the ear-

liest monuments of the Dnieper-Donets culture were

also formed on the basis of the Mesolithic traditions

of the forest-steppe Dnieper zone.

Fig. 1. Pottery of the Rakushechny Yar culture from the Raku-

shechny Yar site: 1–3 layer 23; 4, 5 layer 22; 6–11 layer 21.

kan interactions. Danilenko connected the comple-

tion of the fourth phase with the end of the spread

of the Linear Pottery culture over the territory of Po-

land, Romania and Western Ukraine.

The third phase of the Bug-Dniestr culture (Sokoltsy),

according to the researcher’s opinion, kept the fea-

tures of the relationship with the cattle breeding

cultures of eastern regions. It was dated to the sec-

ond half of the 6 th , and the beginning of the 5 th mil-

lennium BC. Danilenko assumed that the fourth

phase (Pechera) was a result of the influence of the

Cri s -Körös cultures, with the distribution of painted

pottery and ceramics with ornamentation in the

form of finger prints, bowls on pallets as well as,

burnished vessels. However, painted pots have been

absent in all the Bug-Dniestr sites, whereas pottery

with finger prints, pallets and burnished surface is

known in the collections of the sites attributed by

the researcher to the previous phases, where their

appearance was explained by the Mediterranean-Bal-

Danilenko considered the fifth (Samchinsty) phase

to be short, and dated it to the last quarter of the 5 th

millennium BC. He connected the formation of its

traditions with the influence of the population of the

Dnieper-Donets culture. The sixth phase of the Bug-

Dniestr culture (Savran) was characterized by the re-

storation of Pre-Samchinkaya traditions. The final

phase of the Bug-Dniestr culture referred to the Pre-

Tripolye period.

The problem of the appearance of the first domestic

animals in Eastern Europe was considered by Tsal-

kin in detail ( Tsalkin 1970 ). He admitted the fact of

local domestication of horse, cattle and pig, suppo-

sing that further study of the most ancient Neolithic

sites would clarify this problem.

160

The Neolithization of Northern Black Sea area in the context of climate changesa

1968; 1977; 1990; etc. ). He assumed

that domestic pig and bull had ap-

peared in the South of the European

part of the former USSR in the Me-

solithic; domestic horse – in the Neo-

lithic; and their appearance was the

result of local domestication. Ovicap-

rids were disseminated in Ukraine

together with the Linear Pottery cul-

ture. He connected the distribution

of agriculture in Ukraine with the in-

fluence of this culture, as well as the

Tripolye culture.

Fig. 2. Materials of the Rakushechny Yar culture from the Rakushe-

chny Yar site: 1, 2 layer 19; 3 layer 20; 4, 5 layer 17; 6 layer 16; 7

layer 8; 8 layer 9; 10 layer 7; 11 layer 10; 7–10 stone; 11 bone.

Shnirelman considered the develop-

ment of the food-producing economy

in the Neolithic, including Ukraine

( Shnirelman 1980; 1986; 1989 ). In

his opinion, only the horse could

have been domesticated in the North-

ern Black Sea area ( Shnirelman

1986.293 ). According to his assump-

tion, the first domestic animals ap-

peared among the population of Mol-

dova and Ukraine as a result of bor-

rowing: pig from the bearers of the

Lepensky Vir culture, and cattle from

the Cri s population. Shnirelman sup-

posed that the absence of ovicaprids

at sites of the Dniestrovskiy variant

of the Bug-Dniestr culture and the

fact of finding their bones on sites of the Bugskiy va-

riant and at settlements of the Matveev Kurgan type

in the Azov Sea area proves that domestic goat and

sheep were borrowed from the East – from the po-

pulation of the Northern Azov Sea area and the

Northern Caucasus. In his opinion, the existence of

early animal husbandry is hardly possible given the

absence of agriculture ( Shnirelman 1980.216 ) and,

as a whole; the early food-producing economy had

most favorable conditions for the complex develop-

ment. In this connection, he considered that the exis-

tence of agriculture in the steppe Black Sea area is

possible, as through this region Triticum spelta and

Panicum miliaceum was distributed in the Dniestr

River basin and further to the west ( Shnirelman

1989.178 ).

Telegin suggested recently a renewed periodization

of the Neolithic in Ukraine based on the 14 C dates

( Telegin 1992; Telegin et al 2000 ). He dated the

Neolithic period to 6500–5500 calBC, and connected

it with the appearance of the Bug-Dniestr culture in

the north-west Black Sea area, and the Surskaya cul-

ture – in the lower Dnieper River basin, the oldest

Dnieper-Donets cemeteries (Vasilievsky 2 and Ma-

rievsky) – in the northern steppe of the Dnieper Ri-

ver basin. In his opinion, these cultures developed

on the local Mesolithic basis under the influence of

other cultures. He considered the Cri s -Star evo cul-

tures as having influenced the Bug-Dniestr culture;

and the Surskaya culture as being influenced by the

Neolithic of Asia Minor. The similarity of the Surs-

kaya vessels to stone and burnished vessels from

Asia Minor having an impurity of sand in the clay

testifies to this. He also marked the similarity of or-

namentation, consisting of smooth ‘walking’ prints

and drawn lines in combination with pits.

Shnirelman writes that in the Early Neolithic cultu-

res of the Northern Black Sea area and the Azov Sea

area, the food-producing economy had little impor-

tance. In the course of time, its role grew gradually,

and it penetrated to the North to the territory of the

Dnieper-Donets culture, where domestic animals ap-

Telegin considered the formation of agriculture and

animal husbandry in Ukraine repeatedly ( Telegin

161

Kotova Nadezhda

peared and barley cultivation began.

The researcher marked the signifi-

cant role of the Bug-Dniestr culture

in the distribution of the food-pro-

ducing economy in Ukraine, stress-

ing that its microcenter had devel-

oped in the area between the Dnie-

per and the Southern Bug rivers. It

was a unit of the secondary Balkan

centre of a food-producing economy.

In spite of the fact that the Bug-Dnie-

str culture and its agriculture was si-

milar to the Balkan cultures, this mi-

crocenter differed in its originality,

which was the result of the penetra-

tion of hexaploid wheat, millet and

ovicaprids through the steppe corri-

dor ( Shnirelman 1989.384 ).

Fig. 3. The map of the sites of the 6500–6300 BC. 1 Rakushechny

Yar; 2 Matveev Kurgan 1 and 2; 3 Gruntovsky 1 and 2; 4 Kamen-

nja Mogila 3; 5 Zankovtsy; 6 Soroki 2; 7 Girzhevo; 8 Vasilievsky 2

and Marievsky cemeteries.

lands resulted in the formation of the Dnieper-Do-

nets culture. In the steppe areas of Ukraine, a cattle

breeding was disseminated as a result of aridity in

the 4 millennium BC only among the population of

the Sredny Stog culture.

Krizhevskaya raised questions connected with the

formation of animal husbandry in the Azov Sea area

regarding materials of the Matveev Kurgan type,

where the bones of domestic pig, cattle, ovicaprids

and, probably, horses have been found in Early Neo-

lithic layers ( Krizhevskaya 1992.105 ). In her opin-

ion, the local domestication of bulls and pigs was

possible, owing to the specialized hunting of wild

boar, while ovicaprids were borrowed from inhabi-

tants of the Caspian Sea area. She considered the

steppe areas to the East from the Dnieper as a place

of horse domestication.

Environment and climate in the Northern Black

Sea area

The Northern Black Sea region is a vast steppe area

extending from the Danube in the west to the North-

ern Caucasus in the east, from the Black Sea and the

Sea of Azov in the south, to the forest-steppe zone

in the north. It includes four big rivers and the ba-

sins of some smaller rivers.

The neolithisation in Ukraine is discussed by Zaliz-

nyak ( 1998; 2006 ). He connects the dissemination

of the food-producing economy in the Balkan-Carpa-

thian region and in Ukraine with migration from

Greece. Zaliznyak assumes that the neolithisation of

the steppe Ukraine began with the migration of the

Grebeniki population about 7600 uncalBP. The flint

tools of this culture do not connect with local Paleo-

lithic and Mesolithic sites and are very similar to the

Pre-Pottery complexes of the Balkan region ( Zaliz-

nyak 2006.8–9 ). The late migration of the Cri s popu-

lation in the 6 millennium BC resulted in the forma-

tion of the Bug-Dniestr culture and its economy, with

cattle, ovicaprids and pig. Wechler has the same opi-

nion, according to which the spread of cattle-breed-

ing and agriculture in southern Ukraine was con-

nected with the influence of Cri s culture ( Wechler

2001 ).

The Ukrainian steppe is characterized by constantly

low humidity. The dryness in the southern areas of

the steppe is six times greater than that in northern

areas. The vegetative cover, being determined by cli-

matic conditions, is also varied. The stock of phyto-

mass increases from the northern limits of the step-

pe to the centre from 28 tons up to 48 tons per hec-

tare, falling to 9 tons at its southern limits. The cen-

tre of the steppe zone is optimal, with a combination

of heat and sufficient amount of precipitation ( Mord-

kovich 1982 ).

Summer drought connected with a fall in the basic

amount of precipitation in spring and autumn is a

feature of the steppes from the Dniestr to the Don.

Here, in comparison with more eastern areas, there

are many mesophytes, but fewer xerophytes having

a large underground phytomass. This makes the

Northern Black Sea steppe more vulnerable and sus-

ceptible to climatic change. The small amount of xe-

rophytes with advanced root systems cannot prevent

Following Danilenko, Zaliznyak considers that in the

middle of the 5 th millennium BC, the migration of

the Bug-Dniestr population north up to the wood-

162

The Neolithization of Northern Black Sea area in the context of climate changesa

rope developed by E. A. Spiridonova

( Spiridonova and Lavrushin 1997 ).

Fig. 4. The reconstruction of sites the Matveev Kurgan group (after

Krizhevskaja 1992 ).

According to this scheme, the Atlan-

tic period included several sub-peri-

ods of climatic fluctuation. During

the wet sub-periods, the forests

spread into the river valleys in the

southern area of the steppe, and the

amount of motley grass in the struc-

ture of the grassy vegetation increa-

sed. During the dry sub-periods, the

forests in the South of the steppe

zone disappeared, the role of motley

grass decreased, and the quantity of

wormwood in the structure of the

grassy vegetation increased.

the rooting of woody vegetation. With increasing of

humidity, this promotes easy access for trees to the

steppe territories and to the southward expansion

of the forest-steppe zone ( Mordkovich 1982.56 ).

However, all the wet sub-periods during the Atlantic

period were drier than the current climate, and the

northern border of the steppe was on the territory

of the modern forest-steppe zone. Such a situation

continued until the beginning of the Sub-Boreal pe-

riod, when the border became similar to the modern

one.

The steppes from the Don to the Urals are characte-

rized by greater dryness in comparison with the

Ukrainian steppe. During periods of aridity, the

landscapes of their southern areas become similar to

deserts. There are numerous xerophytes in this east-

ern steppe. During periods of humidity, they stop the

southward expansion of the forest-steppe zone. The

drier character of the eastern steppe region as com-

pared to the Black Sea area is very important for un-

derstanding cultural processes in the prehistory of

Eurasia.

Neolithisation in the Pontic steppe

The beginning of neolithisation in the Pontic steppe

was probably connected with the Pre-pottery Neoli-

thic layer of the multilayer settlement at Kamennaya

Mogila 1 in the Azov Sea area ( Danilenko 1986; Ko-

tova 2003 ). Kamennaya Mogila is a natural stone

accumulation with caves, near the village of Terpe-

nie in Melitopol District, Zaporozhye Region. Near

this stone hill, three multilayer settlements are lo-

cated. All of them include Neolithic layers, but a Pre-

Pottery Neolithic layer was discovered only at the

first site. It is dated from 7500 to 6900 calBC and

contains cattle, horse, sheep and goat bones. Unfor-

tunately, the bones of the oldest domestic animals

from Kamennaya Mogila 1 were studied by only one

archaeozoologist, and more than 70 years ago ( Pi-

The ancient climate and landscapes of the Pontic

steppe have been reconstructed on the basis of the

palynological analyses of samples from bogs and

Neolithic settlements: Matveev Kurgan, Chapaevka,

Kamennaja Mogila 1, and Razdolnoe ( Levkovskaja

1992; Bezus’ko et al. 2000 ). These materials have

added to the detailed scheme of the climate and

landscape changes for the Holocene of Eastern Eu-

Site and context

Material

Index

calBC (2 ) * Reference

Rakushechny Yar, layer 20 th

pots-snuff

Ki–6476

7930±140

7246–6472

Telegin et al. 2000

Rakushechny Yar, layer 20 th

pots-snuff

Ki–6477

7860±130

7062–6466

Telegin et al. 2000

Rakushechny Yar, layer 20 th

pots-snuff

Ki–6476a

7690±110

6901–6260

Telegin et al. 2000

Rakushechny Yar, layers 14–15 th

pots-snuff

Ki–6480

7040±100

6085–5720

Telegin et al. 2000

Rakushechny Yar, layers 14–15 th

pots-snuff

Ki–6478

6930±100

5999–5646

Telegin et al. 2000

Rakushechny Yar, layers 14–15 th

pots-snuff

Ki–6479

6825±100

5974–5558

Telegin et al. 2000

Tab. 1. Radiocarbon dates of the Rakushechny Yar culture (* calibrated by OxCal v.4., after Bronk Ramsey

2009 ).

163

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