To the question about two cultural-chronological groups of flint inventory of the Krasny Gorodok site

The Krasny Gorodok site, explored in the late 1980s, has long attracted the attention of specialists in the Neolithic. There archaeologists discovered a small but very interesting collection of ceramics. At the same time, the fl int complex of the site raised several questions even at the stage of primary comprehension of the material, and researchers made assumptions about the presence of two cultural-chronological groups of fl int materials in the complex of the site. In connection with the expansion of the source base on the Early Neolithic and Mesolithic of the forest-steppe Volga region, as well as the acquisition of a signifi cant array of natural science data, it became necessary to verify the conclusions drawn by more than a quarter of a century ago. In particular, the question of the homogeneity of the fl int collection of the site and the possibility of identifying an early admixture remains relevant. During the reanalysis of the fl int collection of the Krasny Gorodok site, about 600 units of stone artifacts were examined. This complex was divided into two groups depending on the color and quality characteristics of the fl int. The fi rst group is represented by artifacts made of high-quality fl int of gray color and its various shades. The second group includes artifacts made of low-grade colored fl int, mainly brown and of various shades of brown, without a stable shape. The fi rst group is characterized by a large orientation towards obtaining plates of a regular shape and their relatively high specifi c gravity (23%). In addition, this type of raw material was used to make all the angular cutters on the plates found at the site and, in general, most of the tools were made from plate blanks. The collection of tools made of colored fl int is less indicative, however, one can state a lesser orientation towards obtaining plates from this type of raw material and, predominantly, their irregular shape, while few tools were made on fl akes and chips. In our opinion, the marked differences between the fi rst and second groups of stone products from the site are of a cultural and chronological nature. The fi rst group of fl int, in terms of raw materials, shape and technique of making tools and applying retouching on them, can be attributed to the era of the late Mesolithic of the foreststeppe Volga region. The second group, in terms of the nature of the raw materials and the morphology of tools, belongs to the Early Neolithic