Features of the pottery production of the Meshoko shelter

Abstract

The article describes the findings of a petrographic research of the Meshoko shelter’s ceramics. A total of 32 fragments were studied, 22 fragments – from the 5th (Chalcolithic) layer, 10 fragments – from the upper part of the 6th layer (layer 6a). Based on the analysis, 4 groups of ceramics were identified. Group 1 consists of fragments with admixture of limestone, group 2 – with admixture of limestone and intrusive rocks, group 3 – with admixture of limestone and metamorphic rocks, group 4 – with admixture of intrusive rocks. The types of clays were also determined, among which lean clays of smectite and smectite-chlorite composition predominate. Based on the types of clays, firing options and admixture within the groups, subgroups were identified. Ceramics of all the selected groups are found in both the 5th and 6th layers, but their subgroups completely distinguish. This ceramics also differ in the duration of firing and the nature of surface treatment. The results of the ceramics study of the Meshoko shelter’s 5th and 6th strata were also compared with the results of the Meshoko settlement’s ceramics analysis. The ceramics of its lower layer turned out to differ completely from the ceramics of the shelter. But the upper part of the settlement deposits with a shelter is united by the presence of ceramics with an admixture of limestone. However, there are also differences in the temperature and duration of firing, the nature of surface treatment. The data obtained indicate a significant diversity of ceramic traditions in the Chalcolithic of the Belaya River basin, which may also indicate a complex composition of the population.