Preliminary Observations of Potsherds Rounding in the Estuary of the Morye River – an Analog of Paleo-Okhta

One of the arguments proposed for interpreting the Neolithic site of Okhta as a settlement is the fact that potsherds found upon the site show no signs of rounding. Interpretation of the site as a settlement correlates poorly with the geological data, which suggests that, in the Neolithic period, th...

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Main Author: Alexander Akulov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: EXARC 2022-02-01
Series:EXARC Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10618
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author Alexander Akulov
author_facet Alexander Akulov
author_sort Alexander Akulov
collection DOAJ
description One of the arguments proposed for interpreting the Neolithic site of Okhta as a settlement is the fact that potsherds found upon the site show no signs of rounding. Interpretation of the site as a settlement correlates poorly with the geological data, which suggests that, in the Neolithic period, the site was the bottom of a shallow bay of the Littorina Sea into which Paleo-Okhta and Paleo-Tosna flowed. The territory of the site was used as a fishing place by the Neolithic people. To test whether potsherds are rounded by water movement in the estuary zone, a potsherd was placed in the bottom of the estuary of the Morye river – that can be considered as an analog to the of Paleo-Okhta river. After seven days, the potsherd demonstrated no signs of rounding, while a potsherd placed in a rocky bottom exposed to breaking waves demonstrated noticeable signs of rounding after only four days. Thus, the absence of signs of rounding cannot be used as an argument that unrounded potsherds from the Neolithic site of Okhta originate from a settlement but not from an ancient fishing place.
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spelling doaj.art-c6afa2800313417dae510484d6ac8dc72024-02-26T15:06:29ZengEXARCEXARC Journal2212-89562022-02-012022/1ark:/88735/10618Preliminary Observations of Potsherds Rounding in the Estuary of the Morye River – an Analog of Paleo-OkhtaAlexander AkulovOne of the arguments proposed for interpreting the Neolithic site of Okhta as a settlement is the fact that potsherds found upon the site show no signs of rounding. Interpretation of the site as a settlement correlates poorly with the geological data, which suggests that, in the Neolithic period, the site was the bottom of a shallow bay of the Littorina Sea into which Paleo-Okhta and Paleo-Tosna flowed. The territory of the site was used as a fishing place by the Neolithic people. To test whether potsherds are rounded by water movement in the estuary zone, a potsherd was placed in the bottom of the estuary of the Morye river – that can be considered as an analog to the of Paleo-Okhta river. After seven days, the potsherd demonstrated no signs of rounding, while a potsherd placed in a rocky bottom exposed to breaking waves demonstrated noticeable signs of rounding after only four days. Thus, the absence of signs of rounding cannot be used as an argument that unrounded potsherds from the Neolithic site of Okhta originate from a settlement but not from an ancient fishing place.https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10618neolithicrussiaceramicswater
spellingShingle Alexander Akulov
Preliminary Observations of Potsherds Rounding in the Estuary of the Morye River – an Analog of Paleo-Okhta
EXARC Journal
neolithic
russia
ceramics
water
title Preliminary Observations of Potsherds Rounding in the Estuary of the Morye River – an Analog of Paleo-Okhta
title_full Preliminary Observations of Potsherds Rounding in the Estuary of the Morye River – an Analog of Paleo-Okhta
title_fullStr Preliminary Observations of Potsherds Rounding in the Estuary of the Morye River – an Analog of Paleo-Okhta
title_full_unstemmed Preliminary Observations of Potsherds Rounding in the Estuary of the Morye River – an Analog of Paleo-Okhta
title_short Preliminary Observations of Potsherds Rounding in the Estuary of the Morye River – an Analog of Paleo-Okhta
title_sort preliminary observations of potsherds rounding in the estuary of the morye river an analog of paleo okhta
topic neolithic
russia
ceramics
water
url https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10618
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