Pottery production among the carriers of the Surgut variant of the Kulaika cultural and historical community (evidence from the settlement of Barsov gorodok I/20)

This article presents the technical and technological analysis of pottery from the settlement of Barsov gorodok I/20 (29 vessels), belonging to the Surgut variant of the Kulaika cultural-historical community and from a burial found at this site (two vessels). One type of basic raw material (iron clay matrix), five subtypes of clays differing in the degree of sand content and composition of natural impurities, and seven clay fabrics were identified, including three unmixed and four mixed compounds. Unmixed compound of clay and sand stands out, which is not typical for the pottery of the Surgut variant of the Kulaika cultural-historical community. Vessels were mainly produced by patching together pieces of clay; two vessels showed signs of coil molding. Surfaces of dishes were processed using mechanical smoothing; 13 combinations of different tools have been identified. Vessels could have been fired in a reducing or semi-reducing environment. Vessels from the burial could have been made by a single potter. Pottery traditions of the population from the settlement Bg I/20 demonstrate the similarity of substrate and adaptive skills, and correspond to common traditions of pottery production among the carriers of the Surgut variant of the Kulaika cultural and historical community of Barsova Gora. The technique of adding sand may be associated with more eastern Kulaika groups or might have resulted from mixture with an earlier pottery tradition. Pottery production at the settlement Bg I/20 finds the greatest similarity with settlement Bg I/5. Pottery at both settlements is distinguished by a variety of compounds of clay fabric, use of sand as artificial admixture, and coil molding. It is possible that vessels at both settlements reflect the processes of interaction and mixing among the populations with different pottery traditions associated with other local variants of the Kulaika cultural and historical community, or indicates the influence of the earlier pottery traditions of previous cultures in Barsova Gora.