Ceramics of the Mariinskoye Culture from the Lower Amur1

The present study was mostly aimed at reconstructing the traditions of ceramic manufacturing that were practiced by the people of the recently identified Mariinskoye culture of the Early Neolithic (the 8th-7th millennia BC) in the Lower Amur. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive analysis of ceramics via a historical-cultural approach to the studies of ancient pottery production. General pottery traditions have been established, indicating a cultural homogeneity for the population of the Mariinskoye culture. The work represents a methodological study that suggests various perspectives of this approach.