New research on the early Neolithic enclosed settlement Kayukovo-2 in the north of Western Siberia

Purpose. The article presents results of new research at one of the most prominent Early Neolithic enclosed settlements in the North of Western Siberia - the stronghold of Kayukovo-2, which is characterized by a regular architectural plan with one central and five surrounding buildings, pottery of a specific shape and type, including flat as well as conical bases and complex ornamentation, and an original complex of stone artefacts. Results. In 2018, the investigation of building structure no. 4 was continued; for the reconstruction of the paleolandscape, soil samples were investigated in the adjacent peatland, new radiocarbon dates were obtained, and analyses of the material complex represented by fragments of ceramics, products from clay-like raw materials and clay, stone artefacts, and clusters of small bone fragments was carried out. Building no. 4 was identified as a semisunken dwelling structure with a hearth in the centre, a small connecting corridor to building no. 7, and a link to the large central building no. 6. In 2019, new trenches confirmed the existence of a ditch circumscribing the settlement complex. Palaeoenvironmental research shows that during the period of use of the site, the closest water body was located c. 100 m from the terrace shore. The radiocarbon dates available up to now indicate a time of functioning of the ancient settlement in the first centuries of the 6th millennium cal BC. The ceramic material belongs to the complex of early flat-based hunter-gatherer pottery of Western Siberia, a tradition which probably spread from the Baraba forest-steppe and the Ishim region to the Northern Trans-Urals around 6000 cal BC. Conclusion. The reasons for the emergence of the northernmost fortified settlements in Eurasia among hunter-gatherer communities with complex architecture and specific ceramics, the role of internal socio-cultural mechanisms and external influences, and environmental factors in their formation continue to be under discussion and require further research.