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Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M, The emergence of pottery in Europe is associated with two distinct traditions: hunter-gatherers in the east of the continent during the early 6th millennium BC and early agricultural communities in the south-west in the late 7th millennium BC. Here we investigate the function of pottery from the site of Rakushechny Yar, located at the Southern fringe of Eastern Europe, in this putative contact zone between these two economic 'worlds'. To investigate, organic residue analysis was conducted on 120 samples from the Early Neolithic phase (ca. mid-6th millennium BC) along with microscopic and SEM analysis of associated foodcrusts. The results showed that the earliest phase of pottery use was predominantly used to process riverine resources. Many of the vessels have molecular and isotopic characteristics consistent with migratory fish, such as sturgeon, confirmed by the identification of sturgeon bony structures embedded in the charred surface deposits. There was no evidence of dairy products in any of the vessels, despite the fact these have been routinely identified in coeval sites to the south. Further analysis of some of the mammalian bones using ZooMS failed to demonstrate that domesticated animals were present in the Early Neolithic. Nevertheless, we argue that intensive exploitation of seasonally migratory fish, accompanied by large-scale pottery production, created storable surpluses that led to similar socio-economic outcomes as documented in early agricultural societies.

In 2009–2015, a team of European and Russian scientists conducted complex researches and excavations of the site Zamostje 2 related to the reconstruction of the ishing activity of the Late Mesolithic — Early Neolithic population in the Upper Volga Lowland. he studies included analysis of inventory related to ishing, wooden ishing structures, faunal remains, settlement structure and paleolandscape.

Fish traps and nets documented ethnographically on the Russian European Plain and in Siberia are described and compared with similar archaeological finds from the north and north-west of Russia and the Baltic States of Latvia and Lithuania. We analyse the features they have in common in arder to interpret the fishing structures from Zamostje 2. The site has yielded occupation levels covering the transition from the Mesolithic to the Early and Middle Neolithic. A comparative study of the fish remains from Zamostje 2 and modern species in the Valga and Oka river basins suggests that the greatest diversity of species (11) is found in the earliest Mesolithic level, with only six species recorded far the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic. The number of individuals caught also varíes over time, with a steady increase in the capture of cyprinids, which is particularly striking in the last phases of the occupation. Wooden artefacts connected with fishing demonstrate a high level of technological expertise while the finds of several possible paddle fragments and one wlwle paddle confirm the use of boats.