Excavations of a Neolithic Dwelling at Pod Lipami, Primorye, in 1976

Abstract

Long-term archaeological excavations have been carried out at a large group of Late Neolithic (Zaisanovka culture) settlements on the left bank of the lower Partizanskaya River in southern Primorye, mostly dating to early 2nd millennium BC and somewhat earlier. Remains of half-dugout dwellings were unearthed. Many sites, including Sopka Bulochka, Sopka Bolshaya, and Pereval, have been previously published. The only exception is Pod Lipami, a site consisting of a single dwelling, on which this study focuses. Its sub-rectangular foundation, ~46 m2 in area, had been dug into the slope of the hill, forming a terrace-like platform. The wattle dwelling had a hearth in the center. Numerous stone agricultural tools were found—hoes, querns, grinders, pestles, etc. Other lithics are adzes, scraping, cutting, and grinding tools, including those made of obsidian. Ceramics are represented by shards and larger fragments of crushed handmade flatbottomed and potand vase-like vessels, mostly decorated with carved vertical zigzags, curvilinear figures, and spirals, which are more common in the Neolithic of the Lower Amur. Small as it is, the site with its radiocarbon dates extends our knowledge of the Zaisanovka culture and of its creators, sedentary farmers.