The question of pottery tradition of the Neolithic population Don region

The article contains the results of the study of the pottery technology of the Neolithic population of Don region which are published for the first time. This study represents an integral part of the long-term study of the ancient pottery technology of the population of the Eastern European territory of the Russian Federation, which is conducted within the framework of the historical and cultural approach of the methodic by A. A. Bobrinsky. It is based on binocular microscopy, traceology, and experiment in the form of physical modeling. Technical and technological analysis was undertaken to 283 samples of ceramics (hypothetically of separate vessels). These samples were found in the cultural layers of the 17 sites of the Don region; they belong to the Srednedonskaya, Nizhnedonskaya, Dneprodonetskaya, Srednestogovskaya cultures, and also to the Cherkassky and Dronikhinsky types. The samples of ceramics from Cherkasskaya V site were also analyzed selectively. The article contains the general characteristics of the Neolithic pottery of the Don region which is based on the obtained results. It is devoted to the questions of formation and distribution of Neolithic pottery traditions, as well as their mixing.