Mesolithic, Neolithic and Eneolithic Populations of East Europe

Recent excavations (2006–2009) at the Mesolithic-Neolithic site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges region of
the north-central Balkans have focused on a reevaluation of previous conclusions about site formation
processes, stratigraphy, chronology, and the nature of occupation. Mostly Late Mesolithic remains had
been encountered in the preserved portion of the site, but, for the first time, in a restricted zone of the
excavated area, vertical stratification of burial and occupation features yielded evidence about the use of
the site in the period that is contemporaneous with Phase I–II at Lepenski Vir, the Mesolithic-Neolithic
transition phase in this region, ca. 6200–5900 CAL B.C. Various strands of archaeological evidence show
both continuities and discontinuities in Late Mesolithic forager life- and deathways at the start of the
Neolithic in the central Balkans.

Sennacherib years after Sumero - Akkadian Empire ruler Naram-Sin 2250 BC Naram-Sin 𒀭𒈾𒊏𒄠𒀭𒂗𒍪: two Kings studied in.Assyriology from Greek Ἀσσυρίᾱ, Assyriā; and -λογία, -logia) is the archaeological, historical, and linguistic study of Assyria and the rest of ancient Mesopotamia (a region that encompassed what is now modern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and northwestern and southwestern Iran) and of the related cultures that used cuneiform writing. The field covers Sumer, the early Sumero-Akkadian city-states, the Akkadian Empire, Ebla, the Akkadian and Imperial Aramaic speaking states of Assyria, Babylonia and the Sealand Dynasty, the migrant foreign dynasties of southern Mesopotamia, including the Gutians, Amorites, Kassites, Arameans, Suteans and Chaldeans, and to some degree post-imperial Achaemenid Assyria, Athura, Eber-Nari, Assyria (Roman province), and Assuristan, together with later Neo-Assyrian states such as Adiabene, Osroene, Hatra, Beth Nuhadra and Beth Garmai, until the Arab invasion and Islamic conquest of the mid-7th century AD. Some Assyriologists also write on the further Assyrian continuity of the Assyrian people as well as the Mandaeans to the present.

The large number of cuneiform clay tablets preserved by these Sumero-Akkadian and Assyro-Babylonian cultures provide an extremely large resource for the study of the period. The region's (and indeed the world's) first cities and city-states like Ur are archaeologically invaluable for studying the growth of urbanization.

Scholars of Assyriology develop proficiency in the two main languages of Mesopotamia: Akkadian (including its major dialects) and Sumerian. Further, familiarity with such neighbouring languages as Biblical Hebrew, Hittite, Elamite, Hurrian, Indo-Anatolian (also called Indo-Hittite), Imperial Aramaic, Eastern Aramaic dialects, Old Persian, and Canaanite are useful for comparative purposes, and the knowledge of writing systems that use several hundred core signs. There now exist many important grammatical studies and lexical aids. Although scholars can draw from a large corpus.

-a -eThe tables below show signs used for simple syllables of the form CV or VC. As used for the Sumerian language, the cuneiform script was in principle capable of distinguishing at least 16 consonants,[92][93] transliterated as

b, d, g, g̃, ḫ, k, l, m, n, p, r, ř, s, š, t, z
as well as four vowel qualities, a, e, i, u. The Akkadian language had no use for g̃ or ř but needed to distinguish its emphatic series, q, ṣ, ṭ, adopting various "superfluous" Sumerian signs for the purpose (e.g. qe=KIN, qu=KUM, qi=KIN, ṣa=ZA, ṣe=ZÍ, ṭur=DUR etc.)[clarification needed] Hittite, as it adopted the Akkadian cuneiform.

a 𒀀,
á 𒀉
e 𒂊,
é 𒂍
i 𒄿,
í=IÁ 𒐊
u 𒌋,
ú 𒌑,
ù 𒅇
b- ba 𒁀,
bá=PA 𒉺,
bà=EŠ 𒌍
be=BAD 𒁁,
bé=BI 𒁉,
bè=NI 𒉌
bi 𒁉,
bí=NE 𒉈,
bì=PI 𒉿
bu 𒁍,
bú=KASKAL 𒆜,
bù=PÙ 𒅤
d- da 𒁕,
dá=TA 𒋫
de=DI 𒁲,
dé ,
dè=NE 𒉈
di 𒁲,
dí=TÍ
du 𒁺,
dú=TU 𒌅,
dù=GAG 𒆕,
du4=TUM 𒌈
g- ga 𒂵,
gá 𒂷
ge=GI 𒄀,
gé=KID 𒆤,
gè=DIŠ 𒁹
gi 𒄀,
gí=KID 𒆤,
gì=DIŠ 𒁹,
gi4 𒄄,
gi5=KI 𒆠
gu 𒄖,
gú 𒄘,
gù=KA 𒅗,
gu4 𒄞,
gu5=KU 𒆪,
gu6=NAG 𒅘,
gu7 𒅥
ḫ- ḫa 𒄩,
ḫá=ḪI.A 𒄭𒀀,
ḫà=U 𒌋,
ḫa4=ḪI 𒄭
ḫe=ḪI 𒄭,
ḫé=GAN 𒃶
ḫi 𒄭,
ḫí=GAN 𒃶

ḫu 𒄷
k- ka 𒅗,
ká 𒆍,
kà=GA 𒂵
ke=KI 𒆠,
ké=GI 𒄀
ki 𒆠,
kí=GI 𒄀
ku 𒆪,
kú=GU7 𒅥,
kù 𒆬,
ku4 𒆭
l- la 𒆷,
lá=LAL 𒇲,
là=NU 𒉡
le=LI 𒇷,
lé=NI 𒉌
li 𒇷,
lí=NI 𒉌
lu 𒇻,
lú 𒇽
m- ma 𒈠,
má 𒈣
me 𒈨,
mé=MI 𒈪,
mè 𒀞/𒅠
mi 𒈪,
mí=MUNUS 𒊩,
mì=ME 𒈨
mu 𒈬,
mú=SAR 𒊬
n- na 𒈾,
ná 𒈿,
nà=AG 𒀝,
na4 ("NI.UD") 𒉌𒌓
ne 𒉈,
né=NI 𒉌
ni 𒉌,
ní=IM 𒉎
nu 𒉡,
nú=NÁ 𒈿
p- pa 𒉺,
pá=BA 𒁀,
pà=PAD₃ 𒅆𒊒
pe=PI 𒉿,
pé=BI 𒁉
pi 𒉿,
pí=BI 𒁉,
pì=BAD 𒁁
pu=BU 𒁍,
pú=TÚL 𒇥,
pù 𒅤
r- ra 𒊏,
rá=DU 𒁺
re=RI 𒊑,
ré=URU 𒌷
ri 𒊑,
rí=URU 𒌷
ru 𒊒,
rú=GAG 𒆕,
rù=AŠ 𒀸
s- sa 𒊓,
sá=DI 𒁲,
sà=ZA 𒍝,
sa4 ("ḪU.NÁ") 𒄷𒈾
se=SI 𒋛,
sé=ZI 𒍣
si 𒋛,
sí=ZI 𒍣
su 𒋢,
sú=ZU 𒍪,
sù=SUD 𒋤,
su4 𒋜
š- ša 𒊭,
šá=NÍG 𒐼,
šà 𒊮
še 𒊺,
šé,
šè 𒂠
ši=IGI 𒅆,
ší=SI 𒋛
šu 𒋗,
šú 𒋙,
šù=ŠÈ 𒂠,
šu4=U 𒌋
t- ta 𒋫,
tá=DA 𒁕
te 𒋼,
té=TÍ 𒊹
ti 𒋾,
tí 𒊹,
tì=DIM 𒁴,
ti4=DI 𒁲
tu 𒌅,
tú=UD 𒌓,
tù=DU 𒁺
z- za 𒍝,
zá=NA4 𒉌𒌓
ze=ZI 𒍣,
zé=ZÌ 𒍢
zi 𒍣,
zí 𒍢,
zì 𒍥
zu 𒍪,
zú=KA 𒅗
g̃- g̃á=GÁ 𒂷 g̃e26=GÁ 𒂷 g̃i6=MI 𒈪 g̃u10=MU 𒈬
ř- řá=DU 𒁺 ře6=DU 𒁺
a- e- i- u-
a 𒀀,
á 𒀉
e 𒂊,
é 𒂍
i 𒄿,
í=IÁ 𒐊
u 𒌋,
ú 𒌑,
ù 𒅇
-b ab 𒀊,
áb 𒀖
eb=IB 𒅁,
éb=TUM 𒌈
ib 𒅁,
íb=TUM 𒌈
ub 𒌒,
úb=ŠÈ 𒂠
-d ad 𒀜,
ád 𒄉
ed=Á 𒀉 id=Á 𒀉,
íd=A.ENGUR 𒀀𒇉
ud 𒌓,
úd=ÁŠ 𒀾
-g ag 𒀝,
ág 𒉘
eg=IG 𒅅,
ég=E 𒂊
ig 𒅅,
íg=E 𒂊
ug 𒊌
-ḫ aḫ 𒄴,
áḫ=ŠEŠ 𒋀
eḫ=AḪ 𒄴 iḫ=AḪ 𒄴 uḫ=AḪ 𒄴,
úḫ 𒌔
-k ak=AG 𒀝 ek=IG 𒅅 ik=IG 𒅅 uk=UG 𒊌
-l al 𒀠,
ál=ALAM 𒀩
el 𒂖,
él=IL 𒅋
il 𒅋,
íl 𒅍
ul 𒌌,
úl=NU 𒉡
-m am 𒄠/𒂔,
ám=ÁG 𒉘
em=IM 𒅎 im 𒅎,
ím=KAŠ4 𒁽
um 𒌝,
úm=UD 𒌓
-n an 𒀭 en 𒂗,
én,
èn=LI 𒇷
in 𒅔,
in4=EN 𒂗,
in5=NIN 𒊩𒌆
un 𒌦,
ún=U 𒌋
-p ap=AB 𒀊 ep=IB,
ép=TUM 𒌈
ip=IB 𒅁,
íp=TUM 𒌈
up=UB 𒌒,
úp=ŠÈ 𒂠
-r ar 𒅈,
ár=UB 𒌒
er=IR 𒅕 ir 𒅕,
ír=A.IGI 𒀀𒅆
ur 𒌨,
úr 𒌫
-s as=AZ 𒊍 es=GIŠ 𒄑,
és=EŠ 𒂠
is=GIŠ 𒄑,
ís=EŠ 𒂠
us=UZ,
ús=UŠ 𒍑
-š aš 𒀸,
áš 𒀾
eš 𒌍/𒐁,
éš=ŠÈ 𒂠
iš 𒅖,
íš=KASKAL 𒆜
uš 𒍑,
úš𒍗=BAD 𒁁
-t at=AD 𒀜,
át=GÍR gunû 𒄉
et=Á 𒀉 it=Á 𒀉 ut=UD 𒌓,
út=ÁŠ 𒀾
-z az 𒊍 ez=GIŠ 𒄑,
éz=EŠ 𒂠
iz= GIŠ 𒄑,
íz=IŠ 𒅖
uz=ŠE&HU 𒊺𒄷
úz=UŠ 𒍑,
ùz 𒍚
-g̃ ág̃=ÁG 𒉘 èg̃=ÁG 𒉘 ìg̃=ÁG 𒉘 ùg̃=UN

In the Mesolithic, the population of the Western European hunter-gatherer (WHG) genetic cluster spread throughout Western Eurasia. WHG displace the mixed Paleolithic population of Europe and participate in the formation of populations in the Middle East and North Africa, acting as the genetic basis of all genetic clusters in Western Eurasia. This process can be traced onarchaeological, anthropological, genetic and cultural material.

The area of Šumadija and Morava river valley system, already recognized as a Neolithic “highway” from the south to the north and west of Europe, was the geographical focus of this study. Throughout the analysis of palaeoclimate, plants and animals, and archaeological material record (especially the stone tools technology) in the context of
Early Neolithic sites in Central Serbia, an attempt was made to find hidden elements and traces of the existence of preceding, Mesolithic human groups. New studies of Early Neolithic vegetation at a dozen sites could imply an ecological variability between eastern parts of present-day Serbia, mostly heavily forested, and more open space (with marginal forests and undergrowth) in west-central Serbia, with the plant economy still showing a strong dependence on natural resources. Something similar can be proposed for the animal husbandry system, where the ratio of wild to domestic NISP (Number of Identified Specimens) varies considerably. Among the domestic animals, the overwhelming dominance of cattle and sheep and goat could designate a high mobility and short life-spans of settlements. Analysis of stone technology shows an emphasis on traditional raw materials (quartz and quartzite) with an impact of new (laminar, etc.) techniques and new materials (such as Balkan flint), produced using old techniques, as well. Ground stone and polished stone tools appear in rudimentary forms (made on pebbles), and the bone and antler industry partly shows dichotomy between a striking continuity with older, Mesolithic traditions,
and a novel chaîne opératoire. All this leads us to promote the micro-regional field studies of the Mesolithic in central Serbia, where one of such potential zones could be the West Morava and Lower Ibar confluence.

Ancient DNA studies have established that Neolithic European populations were descended from Anatolian migrants 1–8 who received a limited amount of admixture from resident hunter-gatherers 3–5,9. Many open questions remain, however, about the spatial and temporal dynamics of population interactions and admixture during the Neolithic period. Here we investigate the population dynamics of Neolithization across Europe using a high-resolution genome-wide ancient DNA dataset with a total of 180 samples, of which 130 are newly reported here, from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods of Hungary (6000–2900 bc, n = 100), Germany (5500–3000 bc, n = 42) and Spain (5500–2200 bc, n = 38). We find that genetic diversity was shaped predominantly by local processes, with varied sources and proportions of hunter-gatherer ancestry among the three regions and through time. Admixture between groups with different ancestry profiles was pervasive and resulted in observable population transformation across almost all cultural transitions. Our results shed new light on the ways in which gene flow reshaped European populations throughout the Neolithic period and demonstrate the potential of time-series-based sampling and modelling approaches to elucidate multiple dimensions of historical population interactions.

LASINJA CULTURE AT BREZJE NEAR VARAŽDIN
This paper briefly presents results of several years of protective probing and excavations of a spacious site Brezje, south of the city of Varaždin. Among other periods, numerous finds were found at the site that can be dated to the Copper Age and attributed to the Lasinja culture. Ceramic finds from several enclosed units, dated by radiocarbon analysis, are being processed together with a collection of stone finds collected at numerous locations in Brezje. The Varaždin – Brezje site is very important in the context of studying the Lasinja culture for several reasons. Given the absolute dates obtained from several analyzes of radioactive carbon it can be said the site Brezje was inhabited throughout existence of Lasinja culture, from the early classical to the late classical phase. Given that Brezje currently lacks the finds of the cultures that precede or succeed it; obviously this position was suitable exclusively for the way of life and economy peculiar to this culture. Judging by previous research, at Brezje there are several smaller settlements of the Lasinja culture, which were located on mutually separated hills – former river sandbars within the wetland area between the Plitvice and the Drava rivers. It is very likely that these settlements were not simultaneous. It is possible that the Lasinja tribes moved to the position of Brezje at a regular time intervals. They would leave a previous habitat that was depleted from resources or was for some reason unsuitable for further life and for the same reason abandoned Brezje at as later stage. It is also possible that the Lasinja tribes re-inhabited some of these sandbars without even knowing that their predecessors
lived here, especially having in mind centuries-long duration of this culture. In addition to the five AMS c14 dates measured from the samples found the closed stratigraphic units of the Lasinja
culture at Brezje, four dates from the geographically nearest sites of that culture are also shown for comparison. As for the absolute dating of the Lasinja culture settlements on Brezje, the AMS c14 dates of probes from excavations indicate the area was occupied from about 4200 BC, until about 3700 BC, with the possibility that occupation lasted until the beginning of 3rd millennium, if future research confirms the earliest date recorded in Brezje 1. The research has so far pointed out the layouts of buildings within the settlement and gave a fairly clear picture of the
material culture that has been preserved to this day: ceramic vessels and stone tools of the Lasinja culture. From the pits dated with AMS c 14, the most characteristic finds were selected and presented in the photographs and drawings. Shapes and decorations of ceramic vessels can be successfully compared with other Lasinja culture sites in Croatia,
and they correspond typologically to the stages of cultural development. It is unusual that several pits were dated rather late by measuring radioactive carbon, although the finds in them are typical of the Lasinja culture. No finds from cultures that appear after Lasinja culture are known at the mentioned sites, so the question of the duration and longevity of this cultural phenomenon arises. Relatively scarce lithic finds recovered from various sites in the Brezje region correspond to the standards of the Lasinja culture in northwestern Croatia known from the sites of Čanjevo, Blizna, Pustakovec or Gromače 2, mostly directed at producing small flakes and ad hoc stone knapping strategies. In most cases lithic finds are rare, only the Eneolithic layers of Fort Čanjevo yielded more lithic artifacts. Flakes and debris are dominant categories of finds at these sites, while blades are usually scarce, as at the sites in the Brezje region. Tools are poorly represented, endscrapers being the dominant category. Such structure of lithic assemblages is not typical of the Lasinja culture sites from the eastern Slavonia region where blades
are more common as well as the tools in general. In contrast to the eastern Slavonia region, these finds exhibit more similarities
to the lithic assemblages from the region of nearby Slovenia regarding chaîne opératoire and production strategies. Artifacts made of polished and abrasive stone recovered from the Lasinja sites in the Brezje region belong exclusively to the category of utilitarian objects, although numerical data suggest that the sample was too small to be reliable
for a number of positions. The sites of Brezje 1 and Brezje 4 yielded more finds, but the only adequate sample in terms of quantity was found at the site of Brezje 6. Axes are dominant among the polished artifacts. Mould-shaped and flat axes are evenly represented in this category, while hammer axes are far less numerous. In situ tool production is
attested, at least at certain sites, by the presence of raw material in unmodified form, examples of tools broken during manufacturing, fragments with traces of unfinished procedures and retouch, and plugs resulting from making shaft holes.Certainly the archaeological site Brezje has the potential for research of Copper age cultures, especially because the remaining position of Brezje 5 and parts of Brezje 4 and 3 are still unexplored.

Although one  can find many pages on "Neolithisation" in post-Soviet  literature on development of the Еarly - Мiddle Holocene cultures of southern part of Eastern Europe,  in our opinion, there is no conclusive evidence for the Neolithic transformation of the population in  this region. The article presents the arguments in favor of predominantly “sub-neolithic” nature of the development of the Northern Ponto-Caspian region in the early - first half of the middle Holocene and the need in this connection to abandon widespread in the scientific literature the use of the term "Neolithisation" as incorrect in this case.

В статье рассматриваются мате -
риалы эпохи мезолита ­- ранней бронзы степного при -
азовья, полученные в результате новых раскопок на
известном поселении Каменная Могила 1. они пред -
ставлены материалами Кукрекской мезолитической
культуры, сурской неолитической, Азово­Днепровс -
кой нео­энеолитической, Дереивской энеолитической
и Ямной культурой эпохи ранней бронзы.

In this contribution three Sub-Neolithic cultures – Donetsk, Platovskij Stav and Rakushechnyi Yar – are compared in terms of distinctivity of their economic strategy, adaptation to the landscape and cultural connections. Their borders met in the Lower Don region during the 7th–6th millennium cal BC. The hypotheses regarding the role of economic, social and ideological factors in the emergence of the specific pattern of these cultures, their prospects for development in the direction of the agrarian society are formulated. The results from this comparison can be described in the frame of an ethnological dichotomy of “simple” and “complex” foragers. Whereas the Donetsk- and Platovskij Stav cultures can rather be described as different variations of the “simple” societies, the Rakushechnyi Yar culture belongs to a parallel category with the “complex” structure of hunter-gatherer-fishers. A specialized exploitation of the river resources played a decisive role in the subsistence strategy of the latter culture. Presumably, the storage of surplus products was a common practice. The same place at the lower Don riverside was used as settlement grounds by the bearers of the same cultural and economic tradition in warm seasons continuously for hundreds of years. Such patterns of economic activity facilitated economic stability, favored a vast variety of tools with a wide spectrum of technological functions, a developed pottery production as well as a symbolic-ideological connotation of everyday utensils. Different paraphernalia and jewelry made of bone and stone, often with engravings, can be interpreted as signs of individuality and self-identification. Some analogies between the Rakushechnyi Yar culture and cemeteries of the Mariupil type probably indicate similar social and ideological traits of these societies. Very strong social regulations, ideological conservatism and the territoriality of the local sub-neolithic population could have delayed the process of the real Neolithisation until the Copper Age.

"Local reservoir ages are often estimated from the difference between the radiocarbon ages of aquatic material and associated terrestrial samples for which no reservoir effect is expected. Frequently, the selected aquatic material consists of bivalve shells that are typically well preserved in the archaeological record. For instance, large shell middens attest to the
importance of mussel consumption at both coastal and inland sites. However, different physiological mechanisms associated with tissue and shell growth may result in differences in reservoir effects between the surviving component (shell) and the component relevant to dietary reservoir effects in consumers (tissue). The current study examines bivalve tissue-shell age differences both from freshwater and marine contexts close to archaeological sites where human consumption of mollusks has been attested. Results exhibited significant 14C age differences between bivalve tissue and shell in a freshwater context. In a marine context, no significant bivalve tissue-shell age differences were observed. The results also showed that riverine and lacustrine shells show large and variable freshwater reservoir effects. The results have important implications for establishing local reservoir effects especially in a freshwater environment. For good a priori knowledge of expected 14C differences in organic and inorganic water, carbon is thus necessary. Furthermore, the high variability in freshwater shell 14C ages implies the need for representative sampling from the archaeological record."

Abstract
Stable isotope analyses of faunal remains provide valuable information about human–environment interactions in the past, including insights into past animal husbandry and land management strategies. Here, we report stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values of collagen and carbonate from archaeological fauna from Kałdus, a medieval settlement in North-Central Poland, to better understand human–environment interactions during a period of increasing urbanism and marketization. Wild and domestic animals can be separated on the basis of their isotopic values. The mean δ15N value for 12 domesticated animals is 7.6 ± 1.2‰ and for 5 wild animals is 4.3 ± 0.5‰ (p = 0.002). The mean collagen δ13C value for domesticated animals is −20.6 ± 1.1‰ and for wild animals is −22.0 ± 0.5‰ (p = 0.004). The mean carbonate δ13C value for domesticated animals is −13.14 ± 1.3‰ and for wild animals is −14.14 ± 0.9‰ (p = 0.034). The “canopy effect” and anthropogenic effects that alter stable isotope ratios of plants (manuring, swidden agriculture and ploughing) are discussed in relation to these differences. Fish are isotopically variable, which suggests broad-spectrum fishing strategies and/or trade, and increases our awareness of the difficulties in interpreting human paleodiet when freshwater fish were on the menu.