Ceramic assemblage of the Volga-Don babino culture: the issue of identification and cultural distinctive traits

The paper explores characteristics of ceramic assemblage from the Volga-Don Babino culture of the post-Catacomb period (2200-2000 cal. BC). It comprises three groups. The first group which is the most numerous is represented by ceramics of the Babino and the general post-Catacomb tradition; the second group includes ceramics with Volsk-Lbishche traits; the third group includes Voronezh vessels. Mapping shows that assemblages with the vessels from the first group are evenly distributed across the entire area occupied by this culture. Graves with ceramics from the second and the third groups are located in those zones where the Volga-Don Babino population maintained contacts with the population groups of the Voronezh and the Volsk-Lbishche traditions. Appearance of vessels typical for other cultures in the Volga-Don Babino graves is explained by intercultural links. The main component of the ceramic assemblage from the Volga-Don Babino culture are vessels from the first group which is an evidence that it belonged to the Babino cultural circle.