Abstract:

From 1927 to 1980, 24 Neolithic burial grounds dating from the 7th to 5th millennia BC were discovered in the Middle and Lower Dnieper River basin. All cemeteries had similar cemetery structures and characteristics. Simultaneously, the cemeteries were separated from the settlements, and not all of them remained in direct connection with each other. Among them, the cemeteries of Lysa Hora, Yasynuvate, Mykilske, Dereivka, and Chaplynka have ceramics among the funeral goods.

This research had several goals. The first goal was to summarise and revise the history of excavations of Neolithic cemeteries from the 20th century on the Dnieper River. The second goal was to implement pottery collections from the Lysa Hora cemetery in the scientific context. The cemetery was opened in 1959 and had a rich pottery collection of 88 vessels belonging to the burial ritual itself. The research provided an extensive description of the collection, a reconstruction of the vessel’s profiles, and a summary of the statistical information. The third goal was to develop a typological model based on the Lysa Hora pottery collection that can be used in future research on Neolithic ceramics. By developing this model, we were allowed to compare a relatively homogenous pottery assemblage, establish specific types of vessels depending on the shape/form, the composition of mass, and the characteristic ornamentation, and produce a detailed typology and chronology.

Implementing our typological scheme, we compared the ceramic complexes from the cemetery and settlement sites to find migration and social contacts in the region along the Dnieper River and nearby regions.

Contents

Chapter 1. Research History of Mariupol-Type Cemeteries
1.1. Discovery and Fieldwork of Neolithic-Chalcolithic Cemeteries from the 1930s to the Second World War
1.1.1. The Sobachky Cemetery
1.1.2. The Vynohradnyi Ostriv Cemetery
1.1.3. The Mariupol Cemetery
1.2. Discovery and Fieldwork of Neolithic-Eneolithic Cemeteries after the Second World War
1.2.1. The Nenasytetskyi Rapids Cemetery
1.2.2. The Vovnyhy 1 Left-Bank Cemetery
1.2.3. The Maryivka Cemetery
1.2.4. The Vovnyhy 2 Right-Bank Cemetery
1.2.5. The Vasylivka 2 Cemetery
1.2.6. The Chapli Cemetery
1.2.7. The Vilnianka Cemetery
1.2.8. The Mykilske Cemetery
1.2.9. The Lysa Hora Cemetery
1.3. Discovery and Fieldwork of Neolithic-Eneolithic Cemeteries, 1960–1985
1.3.1. The Dereivka Cemetery
1.3.2. The Kapulivka Cemetery
1.3.3. The Dolynka Cemetery
1.3.4. The Vasylivka 5 Cemetery
1.3.5. The Osypivka (Iosypivka) Cemetery
1.3.6. The Yasynuvate Cemetery
1.3.7. The Hospitalnyi Kholm Cemetery

Chapter 2. Investigations into Neolithic Pottery in the Territory of Ukraine and the Methodological Concepts of the Study
2.1. Investigations into Neolithic Pottery in the Territory of Ukraine
2.1.1. The First Ceramic Classification by D.Ya. Telehin
2.1.2. The Typological Scheme of V.M. Danylenko
2.1.3. The Typological Scheme of N.S. Kotova
2.2. The Theoretical and Methodological Basis of the Research
2.2.1. The Neolithic and Chalcolithic Periods in Archaeological Periodisation
2.2.2. 14C Data from Cemeteries
2.2.3. The Concepts of “Culture” and “Style” as a New Approach in Archaeological Investigations
2.2.4. Approaches in Pottery Studies

Chapter 3. The Typology, Classification, and Technology of Neolithic Ceramics
3.1. Typology and Classification of Pottery: Morphological Characteristics
3.2. Typology of Neolithic Ceramics in the Territory of Ukraine
3.3. Ornamentation and Plot-Design Analysis
3.3.1. Types of Neolithic Ornamentation
3.3.2. Combinations of Ornaments and Pattern Ornamentation Schemes
3.3.3. The Absence of Ornamentation Is Still Ornamentation
3.4. Technology
3.4.1. Technical Characteristics
3.4.2. The Influence of Clay Composition on the Periodisation of Ceramics

Chapter 4. Ceramics of Neolithic Mariupol-Type Cemeteries
4.1. Comparative Analysis of Cemeteries with Ceramic Finds
4.2. Ceramics from the Lysa Hora Cemetery
4.3. Catalogue of Ceramics from the Lysa Hora Cemetery

Chapter 5. Local Variabilities, Migration Processes, and Cross-Influences between Different Neolithic Tribes in the Region
5.1. Developed Typology of Ceramics from the Lysa Hora Cemetery
5.2. Traces of Interactions between Different Neolithic Groups in the Region

References
List of Tables
Figures