Periodization and chronology of Caspian culture

For a long time the issues of periodization and chronology of the Caspian culture remained controversial. Some researchers attributed the culture to the Neolithic period, while others - to the Eneolithic. The paper presents all the available views on the periodization of the Caspian culture. Its brief characteristic is given. The paper also considers criteria for the allocation of the Eneolithic era and provides arguments in favor of the Eneolithic nature of the Caspian culture. The author substantiates the fact that the producing economy of the Neolithic population was absent in the region while it was present in the Caspian culture. The following factors say that the culture belonged to the era of the Eneolithic: changes in the technique of processing stone tools, ornamentation of dishes; the presence of pets. The author considers the concept of the neo-Eneolithic period existence in the Lower Volga region and the possibility of attributing the Caspian culture to it. The author analyzes researchers’ point of view on the chronological relationship of the Caspian and the Khvalyn cultures; the conclusion is made about the chronological priority of the Caspian culture over the Khvalyn culture. All available radiocarbon values on materials of culture are presented and the author concludes that the Caspian culture represents an early stage of the Eneolithic of the Lower Volga region.