New Neolithic settlement in Mariupol and its place in the system of synchronous monuments

The settlement of Kalmius in the Northeastern Azov Sea region is situated on the left bank of the the Kalmius river in the historical center of the town of Mariupol. This is a mailtilayered site with cultural layers ranging from the Neolithic to Modern Аge. The Neolithic layer underwent considerable postdepositional deformations. Cultural remains of the Neolithic period are associated with a buried soil occurring at a considerable depth. The layer has yielded numerous flint artifacts, animal bone fragments, and pottery fragments most of which are represented by small shards. The paper describes the ceramic assemblage, demonstrates the connection between the Kalmius settlement and Mariupol cemetery, and compares the materials of Kalmius with those from the coeval assemblages from the Northern Azov and Lower Don regions. In addition, a special attention is paid to the comparative analysis of flint inventories of the Kalmius settlement and Mariupol cemetery. The flint industry of both sites is based on small and middle-sized blades obtained by pressure-flaking. Similar or identical are also microlithic tools, bifacial points, etc. The period of existence of the Mariupol cemetery seems to have been longer than that of the Neolithic settlement at Kalmius. The difference in clay paste makes it possible to reconstruct two technologies of pottery making. The majority of ceramic fragments are decorated with tooth-stamp impressions, but some bear compositions of scratched lines. Most vessels are flat-based. The rims are collar-shaped, bent, sharpened. The assemblage of Kalmius finds close analogies among the Neolithic and Early Eneolithic sites of the South Russian Plain.