On Early Pottery-Making in the Russian Far East

Abstract

Until recently, the Japanese archipelago has been the only known area oflate Pleistocene- early Holocene pottery-making sites in both the Japan Sea basin and eastern Asia as a whole. During the 1990s, however, a series of sites containing ceramics similar to early pottery from Japan (i.e., Jomon) was discovered in the Russian Far East, including the Lower Amur River basin. Basic traits of the ceramics at the sites include untempered or plant tempered paste, simplicity of forming technique and shape, undeveloped surface treatment technology, and low-temperature firing. The ages of these Russian Far Eastern early ceramic assemblages range from 13,000 to 7000 B.P., corresponding to the transition from late Pleistocene to early Holocene. The oldest Russian Far East ceramics are accompanied by stone artifacts made in the blade technique. This association is common at sites from the Japan Sea basin containing early pottery. KEYWORDS: Russian Far East, late Pleistocene, early Holocene, early ceramics, pottery-making technology.