Kargopol ceramics: a separate type or a variety of pit-comb ceramics (on the example of materials from the settlements of Karelia)?

The purpose of this study is to consider the phenomenon of Kargopol ceramics in Karelia, which is manifested in its bright originality, sharp difference from other types of Neolithic ware and the vastness of the area-from Lake Onega in the west to the Pechora River in the east and from the Southern White Sea in the north to the southern limits of the Vologda Region in the south. There are 20 known settlements in Karelia, the complexes of which contain Kargopol ceramics with a total number of 275 vessels. The center of this layer of antiquities is Lake Vodlozero, located near the border of Karelia with the Arkhangelsk Region. Most Kargopol vessels have a straight flat-cut corolla with short and shallow notches applied from the outer and inner edges, below there is a horizontal belt of pits or punctures. There are six variants of ornamentation, three of which include elements of pit-comb and comb dishes. The authors think that the concentration of Kargopol vessels on the monuments of eastern Karelia, mainly in the complexes with pit-comb ceramics of the middle stage of development in the lake basin Vodlozera, and its almost complete absence in other areas of Karelia indicates the penetration of a similar ceramic tradition from the Eastern Prionezh Region, where it was first isolated. Based on the available modern data, it is still difficult to talk about the independent existence of Kargopol ceramics in the Neolithic of Karelia.