New data about the early Neolithic of the steppe Volga Region

The issue of early Neolithic isolation in various territories is one of the most difficult to study. The early Neolithic steppe Volga Region was unknown for a long time. This is due to the small number of Neolithic monuments in the region of interest. The situation changed after the study of the Varfolomeevskaya site. The lower layer of this reference monument of the Orel culture belonged to the Middle Neolithic, layers 2B and 2A – to the late Neolithic. This version was based on a limited source base and a few radiocarbon dates, some of which were of a debatable nature. New field surveys in 2014–2017 on three excavations in Oroshaemoe Settlement and significant series of radiocarbon dates for various organic materials obtained in various laboratories (including AMS) allowed us to revise the periodization of both the Varfolomeevskaya site and the Oryol culture on the whole. This allows you to make a typological analysis of materials, as well as technical and technological analysis of ceramic implements. Thus, the earliest ceramics are made from silt with a natural admixture of shells of mollusks. The lower layer of the monument is now defined as Early Neolithic, layer 2B – the Middle Neolithic, layer 2A – late Neolithic.