Re-identification of plant impressions on prehistoric pottery from Ukraine

Endo, Eiko and Nasu, Hiroo and Haskevych, Dmytro and Yakiv, Gershkovich and Videiko, Mykhailo and Yanevich, Alexander (2022) Re-identification of plant impressions on prehistoric pottery from Ukraine Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 42. pp. 1-26. ISSN 2352-409X

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Abstract

In this paper, we report newly obtained data on cereals from the Neolithic to Bronze Age from the northern side of the Black Sea. One part of the North Pontic area, located within present-day Ukraine, is one of the focal points of discussions on the agricultural dispersal between west and east Eurasia; however, existing reliable cereal data are scarce. In this study, we employed an improved silicone casting method to obtain impressions from pottery artifacts and conducted a survey of more than 30,000 pottery samples from different times. Observations of seed surface texture using scanning electron microscopy further improved the identification accuracy. The results showed no reliable cereal impressions in Ukrainian sub-Neolithic pottery, despite the predicted exceptionally early start of agriculture prior to the 6th millennium BC. In contrast, in Linear Band and Eneolithic pottery, cereals originating from West Asia were identified, although Chinese millet was absent. Meanwhile, abundant Panicum miliaceum impressions appeared abruptly with incidental barley and wheat in Late Bronze Age pottery. The Chinese millet species Setaria italica, which is clearly distinguishable from P. miliaceum using our method, was also not identified.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103364
Uncontrolled Keywords:	archaeobotany; Ukraine; Agriculture; Pottery impression; Panicum miliaceum
Subjects:	Статті у наукометричних базах > Scopus Статті у наукометричних базах > Web of Science
Divisions:	Факультет суспільно-гуманітарних наук > Кафедра археології та давньої історії
Depositing User:	д.і.н. Михайло Юрієвич Відейко
Date Deposited:	17 Nov 2022 18:21
Last Modified:	17 Nov 2022 18:21
URI:	https://elibrary.kubg.edu.ua/id/eprint/42600

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