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Abstract

The figurative activity is a characteristic feature of the prehistoric culture. Vessels and weapons were the most frequent objects that underwent “decoration”. However, the purpose of decorated items often remains unclear, which suggests their use for symbolic purposes. Numerous images of animals and birds dated back to the Mesolithic and Neolithic Age are repeatedly encountered in the vast expanses of Eastern European forests; they may indicate a common basis of the population spiritual life. The wetland site Zamostje 2, located in the northern part of the Volga-Oka river region, is the remains of lake settlements once inhabited by Late Mesolithic and Neolithic hunters and anglers. The site reveals the largest assemblage of late Stone Age artefacts in Central Russia with a rich collection of decorated items that can serve as a source for learning natives’ behavior and functioning of non-utilitarian objects. It is obvious that different forms of symbolic and fi gurative activities refl ect different concepts in the ancient people worldview or way of life, but we can estimate them only from the point of view of their use for objects of material culture. Therefore, the authors consider these items in terms of their context within the framework of artefacts assemblage.

Keywords

Mesolithic, Neolithic, Volga-Oka region, lake settlements, fi gurative activity, bone tools, engraved pebbles, wooden figurines, Zamostje 2.

Olga V. Lozovskaya

Institute for the History of Material Culture Russian Academy of Science,

Saint Petersburg, Russia

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Lozovskaya, O.V., Lozovski, V.M. 2015a: Periody sushchestvovaniya mezoliticheskikh i neoliticheskikh poseleniy i problemy formirovaniya kul’turnykh sloev na stoyanke Zamostje 2 [Periods of Mesolithic and Neolithic settlements functioning and questions of cultural layers formation on Zamostje 2 site]. In: G.A. Khlopachev (ed.), Drevnie kul’tury Vostochnoy Evropy: etalonnye pamyatniki i opornye kompleksy v kontekste sovremennykh arkheologicheskikh issledovaniy [Early Cultures of Eastern Europe: reference sites and supporting complexes in the context of modern archaeological research]. (Zamyatninskiy sbornik [Zamyatnin Collected Papers] 4). Saint Petersburg, 180–191.

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