The International Symposium "Modern Approaches to the Study of Ancient Ceramics in Archeology"was held on October 29 - 31 in Moscow at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It was organized and conducted with the financial support of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian State Science Foundation (project No. 13-01-14006).

Throughout the history of archaeological science, ceramics from ancient monuments have always attracted the attention of both domestic and foreign researchers. This is due to the fact that pottery, the first experiments on the manufacture of which date back to the Upper Paleolithic, has become one of the most popular products of human labor since the Neolithic era. Therefore, it turned out to be most closely connected with all aspects of the life of ancient collectives - from food storage and cooking to the ritual sphere. Accordingly, the changes that occurred in human life led to natural changes in pottery, affecting both the technology of its manufacture, and the shape, and ornamentation.

In the course of studying ancient ceramics, researchers ' attention is primarily focused on solving two questions: what specific information about the past is contained in numerous fragments of clay vessels and how, by what methods, it can be made available. The long-term practice of archaeological research shows that the study of ancient ceramics is mainly aimed, firstly, at clarifying the relative (and in recent decades, absolute) chronology of historical phenomena, secondly, at analyzing historical and cultural relations between different groups of the population, and thirdly, at reconstructing various ethno-cultural processes that led to the final settlement of the problem. an approach to the formation of a modern ethnic picture of the world. The solution of these and many other problems is carried out in archaeological science from the standpoint of three main research approaches: emotional-descriptive, formal-classification, and historical-cultural. Within the framework of each of them, an extensive arsenal of specific methodological tools is used, including techniques for studying pottery technology, forms and ornamentation of vessels. Various natural-scientific and experimental methods of analysis, as well as ethnographic data on the pottery of different peoples, play an extremely important role in this process.

The participants of the symposium focused on discussing traditional and new methods of studying ancient ceramics and clarifying its role in studying the history and culture of human society. In accordance with these fundamental scientific problems, the forum program was also formed, which included two sections: approaches and methods for studying ancient ceramics (section 1) and their application to solving specific historical and cultural problems (section 2). In the first one, 22 reports were presented, and in the second one, 17 were presented.

The symposium was attended by Russian researchers from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Samara, Irkutsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Vladivostok, Petrozavodsk, Orenburg, Azov, Ufa, Barnaul, Omsk, Tyumen, as well as foreign experts from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Great Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and others. Of the Republic of South Africa. Unfortunately, due to objective reasons, a number of researchers who submitted applications and abstracts could not participate directly in the work of the symposium: O. Stilborg (Sweden) "Study of Late Mesolithic and early Neolithic ceramics of the Baltic region", M. G. Kosmenko (Petrozavodsk) " Theoretical foundations and practical methods for studying stucco ceramics of the Bronze and Iron Ages Karelia", E. V. Dolbunova, M. A. Kulkova, A. N. Mazurkevich (St. Petersburg) "Ceramic traditions and the role of pottery in the culture of the early Neolithic of Eastern Europe", O. D. Mochalov (Samara) "Local components in the ceramic traditions of the Bronze Age population of the northern part of the Volga-Ural interfluve", V. G. Loman (Kazakhstan) " On the composition of the population of the Sargara-Alekseevskaya culture (according to the data of the technical and technological analysis of ceramics)", N. V. Voitseshchuk (Ukraine) " Technology of making ceramic tiles

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At the opening of the International Symposium "Modern approaches to the study of ancient ceramics in Archeology". In the Presidium (from left to right): Deputy Director of the IA RAS cor. RAS P. G. Gaidukov, Deputy Director of IAET SB RAS Academician V. I. Molodil, Director of IA RAS Academician N. A. Makarov.

vessels of the VIII-XII centuries on the territory of the Western Pobuzhye", A. L. and E. V. Shcherban (Ukraine)" On the functions of Ukrainian clay vessels", A. I. Mikheeva (Yoshkar-Ola)"Pottery of the population of the Mari Volga region in the XIII-XV centuries".

The Forum opened with a welcoming speech by the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, cor. P. G. Gaidukova, then Director of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician N. A. Makarov, and Deputy Director of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician V. I. Molodin, congratulated the participants of the symposium and wished them success in their work. The working sessions began with a short report by V. I. Molodin "Unknown Siberia-the latest archaeological discoveries", which presented the latest achievements of Siberian archaeologists.

Section 1. Methods of studying ceramics. In the report of G. N. Poplevko (St. Petersburg) "Methodical approach to the complex study of ancient ceramics", it is suggested that modern research of ceramics should be based on the application of typological, morphological, tracological, technological, petrographic, geochemical, experimental and statistical analyses. I. N. Vasilyeva (Samara), who presented a report "On the selection of types of initial plastic raw materials of ancient ceramics and their areas in the Neolithic period (based on materials from the Volga region and neighboring regions)", described three areas of Early Neolithic pottery traditions of the Volga region: the Lower Volga culture, where the use of traditional pottery was used in the Early Neolithic period. silty raw materials; Elshanskaya, where ceramics were made from silty clays with an admixture of chamotte, and Kamskaya, whose carriers used crushed clay with a large admixture of chamotte and organic solution. I. V. Kalinina's presentation "Anthropology of Movement and technological tradition" (St. Petersburg) was devoted to substantiating the opinion that technological traditions are supra-ethnic in comparison with archaeological cultures. This is manifested in the existence of different traditions within the same culture and similar ones in different ones (even those that are far away). The report of V. I. Molodin (Novosibirsk) "Ceramics as an ethno-cultural indicator in West Siberian communities of the Late Middle Ages and Modern times" aroused great interest. On the example of the ceramic complexes of the Baraba, Chat and Tar Tatars, as well as the southern Khanty and Selkups, the undoubted specificity of the shape and ornamentation of dishes is shown, and in some cases it was possible to trace the evolution of ornamental traditions for several centuries in depth, which makes it possible to reconstruct the ethnogenesis of the aboriginal population based on ceramics.

The report of J. R. R. Tolkien Meadows and X. Pitsonki (Germany) " Chronology of ceramics and radiocarbon dating-

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carbon dating - how to determine which dates are reliable and which are old?" It was devoted to the important problem of elucidating the degree of influence of the "reservoir" effect on dates obtained from food deposits on ceramics, when ancient people used diets based on freshwater, marine or terrestrial resources. The report of A. A. Vybornov and M. A. Kulkova (Samara, St. Petersburg) "Radiocarbon dating of Neolithic ceramics of Eastern Europe" summed up the results of a large work on determining the age of ceramics by the method of conventional dating (approx.250 dates), developed in the radiocarbon laboratory of the Institute of Environmental Geochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The relatively high reliability of most dates is confirmed by the analysis of the same samples in different laboratories in Western Europe. In the report of E. N. Dubovtseva (Yekaterinburg) "Pure and syncretic traditions of ceramic production in the Neolithic of the Urals and Western Siberia" a comparative analysis of unmixed and mixed pottery traditions within specific housing complexes was carried out, the reasons for their addition were shown, and data on the distribution of early ceramics in the taiga zone of Western Siberia were presented.

N. P. Salugina's presentation (Samara) "Socio-cultural interpretation of the pottery technology of the population of the log cabin culture of the late Bronze Age of the Volga-Urals" convincingly showed that in the social composition of the male population of the late Bronze Age there was a professional group-miners-miners. This is evidenced by the presence of special ceramics with artificial admixture of crushed slag and burnt bone on the settlement and burial monuments of the log culture located near ancient copper mines. E. V. Volkova (Moscow) in the report " What can ceramics tell about the social structure and social hierarchy of ancient societies?" on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of ceramics and funerary rites of Fatyanovo culture bearers, she proved the dual-generic structure of their society, the presence of families with both patrilineal and matrilineal kinship ties, as well as the allocation of socially significant and ordinary members of society of different sexes. These presentations clearly demonstrated the practical inexhaustibility of ancient ceramics as the most important source of historical information.

The report by A. Gibson (Great Britain) "The relationship between typology and chronology: British ceramics 3000 - 2000 BC" was devoted to the complex problem of explaining the similarity between the Middle Neolithic ceramics of Peterborough (or stamped) and funerary ceramics of the Early Bronze Age, which developed under the influence of the bell-shaped goblet culture. The author offers his own solution to this controversial issue, filling in the existing chronological gap by tracing indirect connections between the cultures under consideration through other ceramic complexes.

The presentation of A. Lindahl (Sweden) "Ancient ceramics of the Iron Age of South Africa and historical modernity: some controversial issues"aroused great interest. Based on the available ethnographic and archaeological data from Zimbabwe and South Africa, the author substantiates the conclusion that ceramics provide valuable information on a wide range of social and technological issues, the most important of which are the development of pottery technology over time and the analysis of non-functional (social) aspects of pottery.

Report by A. N. Mazurkevich and E. V. Dolbunova (St. Petersburg) "Masters and technology of making pottery of the Zhizhitsa culture of builders of lake pile settlements" is based on the analysis of the technology, morphology and ornamentation of ceramics from the settlement of Serteya II (Velizhsky district, Smolensk region), which allowed us to identify the features of different buildings, due, according to the authors, both to the appearance of new masters and to the copying of new techniques by old potters manufacturing and ornamentation of vessels. A very interesting presentation by I. V. Shevnina (Kazakhstan) on "Experiments with the addition of wool to molding materials in the context of studying the Neolithic ceramics of Torgai", which presented the results of an experimental study, caused a lively discussion.-

Professor A. Lindahl, Head of the Ceramics Laboratory at Lund University (Sweden).

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The purpose of the study is to determine the signs of using wool of different animals in the composition of the molding mass and analyze the effect of this admixture on the properties of ceramics during drying, molding and firing.

O. A. Lopatina's report "Textile prints on Dyakov ceramics (experimental study)", devoted to the prints that appear on the surface of clay vessels when they are knocked out or rolled with relief mallets or wide stamps, received positive responses. The author was able to detect signs indicating a different position of the vessel in relation to the master during such surface treatment. The presentation of L. N. Mylnikova (Novosibirsk) "Methods of natural sciences in the study of the ceramic complex of the transitional settlement from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age Linevo-1" was devoted to the application of binocular microscopy, petrographic, X-ray phase, thermal, microprobe and derivatogravimetric analyses for studying ceramics and the characteristics of the results obtained. In the collective report of G. Mommsen, W. Schlotzhauer (Germany) and D. V. Zhuravleva (Moscow) "Ancient ceramics of the Asian Bosporus: new results of neutron activation (NAA) research" describes a method for statistical analysis of data on the elemental composition of ceramics, which allowed us to identify several local production centers on the coast of Asia Minor and trace the distribution of ceramic tableware in the Sea of Azov basin.

A number of presentations were devoted to specific methodological issues of studying medieval ceramics. For example, A. N. Maslovsky (Azov) in his report "Experience in processing mass ceramic material from the excavations of the Golden Horde Azak" outlined his methodology for visual description of the morphology and technology of ceramics (about 50 thousand fragments) from so-called closed complexes, which, in his opinion, allowed "to trace in detail the evolution of ceramic production and import". The presentation of N. V. Lopatin (Moscow) "Ceramic scale of Izborsk and problems of its periodization" was devoted to the author's hypothesis that the absence of ceramics with a bell-shaped throat on the ancient settlement is associated with the temporary attenuation of urban life and the relocation of citizens to nearby villages. It is used to explain the status and development of Izborsk in the XI-XII centuries. S. G. Bocharov (Ukraine), V. Y. Koval (Moscow), A. N. Maslovsky (Azov) and Ya. V. Frenkel (St. Petersburg) presented the results of petrographic and X-ray fluorescence analysis of molding masses and glazes in the Southeastern Crimea of the 13th-15th centuries. 500 vessels from the South-Eastern Crimea, the Golden Horde Volga region, Volga Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Armenia and neighboring regions. Thus, a unique data bank has been obtained that can be used to solve a wide range of issues. L. V. Tataurova (Omsk) in her report "On the typology of Russian tableware of the XVII-XVIII centuries" presented her view on the typology of tableware in accordance with the cultural norms of the studied period. For the late Middle Ages - Modern period, a purely archaeological systematization of the material with the allocation of types is not enough. The typology should be constructed taking into account the terminology accepted in the culture, the purpose and use of dishes identified from archival, ethnographic and other sources. The report of N. N. Gribov (Nizhny Novgorod) "Molding technology as a basis for systematization of corollas of Russian medieval ceramics" aroused exceptional interest. It is based on long-term experimental studies of the author. N. N. Gribov emphasized the insufficiency of a purely formal classification of corollas and the need to reconstruct the technological traditions of their design in order to create a "natural" classification. According to the characteristic technological techniques, seven typological groups of corollas are distinguished, each of which, in the author's opinion, represents a certain stage in the implementation of general trends in the evolutionary complication of the upper parts of blood vessels. K. I. Panchenko's report "Statistical processing of ceramics and reliability of the obtained data: some problems"was devoted to an important methodological issue. Estimating the ratio of the number of fragments and the number of vessels, the author comes to the conclusion that it ranges from approximately 5: 1 to 4:1. Therefore, the vast majority of closed complexes contain obviously insufficient samples for statistical analysis and provide only simple information about the presence or absence, partly about the dominance of a certain type of pottery. Only the generalization of several aggregates of ceramic material increases the reliability of conclusions. In the report of E. V. Mayorova (Moscow) " Irrigation ceramics of the XVII-XIX centuries. Processing methods and material capabilities" analyzed the informative capabilities of irrigation ceramics of Central Russia, presented its detailed classification (43 conventional types), on the basis of which, according to the author, it is possible to narrow the dating of archaeological sites to 50 years. Both regional and general features of the development of this tableware in the region are revealed.

Thus, various methodological issues of studying ke were sharply discussed at the symposium-

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It covers almost all historical epochs from the early Neolithic to the late Middle Ages. The possibilities and prospects of the historical and cultural approach developed by A. A. Bobrinsky in the 70s of the last century were clearly demonstrated.

Section 2. Ceramics and history. A number of reports related to the origin and ancient history of Southeast Asian pottery. In particular, the presentation of I. S. Zhushchikhovskaya (Vladivostok) "Traditions of pottery of the Jomon culture: coordinates of space and time" was devoted to the study of ceramics of the lower and upper ento styles of the Japanese archipelago's Jomon culture. A comparative analysis of these styles allowed us to establish that the most static component of pottery was a set of technological techniques. In the morphology of dishes, there is a gradual expansion of the variety of forms and some features. The joint report of Yu. B. Tsetlin (Moscow) and M. E. Medvedev (Novosibirsk) "Pottery of the Osipov culture of the Amur region (13-10 thousand years ago)" presents the results of technological and morphological studies of the oldest ceramics of the Russian Far East from the standpoint of a historical and cultural approach. It is established that the level of development of local pottery corresponded to proto-pottery production, which is characterized by the use of plain or mountain silt as the main raw material in combination with low-temperature or short high-temperature processing of vessels. Yanshina (St. Petersburg) presented the results of a comparative study of the oldest ceramic complexes in East Asia in her report "On the problem of the origin of pottery (based on materials from East Asia)". According to the author, the pottery of different districts within this territory had a stable ethno-cultural specificity. In the collective report of P. Hommel, P. Day (Great Britain), P. Jordan (Netherlands) and V. M. Vetrov (Irkutsk) "Beyond dating. Ceramics, technology and its development in the Neolithic period in the Upper Vitim basin " presents some results of the study of the role of special analysis of ceramics in understanding the living conditions of hunter-gatherer communities and the importance of pottery in these societies. The data obtained are considered in the context of modern archaeological and geological data, as well as existing socio-economic models.

M. Le Mier (France) 'The beginning of ceramics in the Middle East: the contribution of archaeometric research' dealt with another region of the formation of the oldest pottery. Archaeometric studies of ancient ceramics of the Middle East have provided important information about the pottery technology used here, the types of clays and impurities used, the modes and temperatures of firing dishes. They also help to clarify the distribution of these ceramics and solve the key question of the origin of pottery production in the region. The report by M. Spataro (Great Britain)" Cultural and technological changes in ceramics during the transition from the Early to Middle Neolithic in South-Eastern Europe " summarizes extensive data on the style and technology of ceramics in the Eastern Adriatic and Central Balkans. The author's mineralogical-petrographic and geochemical analyses confirmed that the type of impurities used did not depend on the functional purpose of the vessels, but was determined by a long-standing technological tradition that reflected the cultural characteristics and boundaries of the population groups that existed here. T. N.'s report Khoroshun (Petrozavodsk) "On the manufacture of pottery in the Late Neolithic - Early Eneolithic on the territory of Karelia" was devoted to determining the chemical and mineral composition of raw materials from which comb - and rhombus-pit ceramics are made. The author used complete silicate and spectral analysis, petrographic and X-ray phase analysis, and electron probe microscopy. Common morpho-and technical-ornamental features allowed us to conclude that both types originated from Neolithic pit-comb ceramics.

The report of N. F. Stepanova (Barnaul)" The role of ceramics in the study of the Afanasyev culture " was devoted to the debatable problem of the origin of this culture and its subsequent development. The results of the analysis of raw materials and molding masses of ceramics indicate the addition of some skills in making pottery not in mountainous areas and may indicate the alien nature of this population. A comparative study of ornamental traditions based on the materials of the Afanasiev monuments of Gorny Altai and Yenisei suggests that these objects functioned in one chronological period, measured in several centuries. In the report of V. V. Ilyushina (Tyumen) "Features of pottery production among the population of the Koptyakov culture of the Lower part of the Volga region" from the standpoint of a historical and cultural approach, a comprehensive description of technological and ornamental ceramic traditions is given, indicating that the pottery production of the Koptyakov culture of the Lower part of the Volga region was formed without the direct participation of Speech by V. I. Mukhametdinova (Ufa) "Pottery traditions of the population of the Southern Urals in the Late Bronze Age (on the issue of log-Alakul contacts)" was devoted to a detailed analysis of adaptive technological and ornamental traditions in clay production-

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kitchen utensils. The author shows that if at the early stage it is still difficult to judge the contacts of the population groups under consideration, then at the late stage they are recorded according to the mixed recipes "chamotte + shell" in the Pre-Urals and "chamotte + talc" in the Trans-Urals, as well as according to similar ornamental traditions.

V. E. Maslova (Moscow) in her report "Ceramics of the Central Ciscaucasia in the Early Scythian period" tried to find out the reasons for the formation of a new ceramic complex of black-flattened dining and container dishes with an emphasized geometrization of shape. The unification of vessel shapes in a large area of the main area of Scythian monuments shows that new samples of tableware have become iconic attributes that are also found in the burials of Scythian military nobility. The author suggests a relationship between the appearance of an amorphous early state formation and the rapid formation of a new set of things that reflected the spread of Scythian "aristocratic" fashion. L. A. Kraeva (Orenburg) in her summary report "Sarmatian ceramics as a historical source" revealed the role of ceramics in the reconstruction of historical and cultural processes that took place in the Southern Urals in the VI-I centuries BC. She noted the diversity of ceramic traditions of early nomads, justified the continuity of the pottery production of "Sauromats" (VI-V centuries BC). and the early Sarmatians (IV-I centuries BC). The author came to the conclusion that several population groups from different regions, including the Trans-Urals and Central Asia, took part in the kulyurogeny of the early nomads of the Southern Urals.

The report of S. A. Belyaeva (Ukraine) "The role of ceramics in studying the interaction of Ukrainian and Turkish cultures of the XV-XVIII centuries" aroused great interest. It was shown that Turkish and Ukrainian pottery had different genetic bases, and each went through its own path of evolution of typological and decorative features. At the same time, common features are noted: the use of a developed foot wheel, special attention to the quality of raw materials, a significant share of tableware and its assortment, extensive production of irrigation ceramics, etc. Several ways of spreading prestigious Ottoman ceramics on the territory of Ukraine, forms and features of intercultural contacts, the relationship of Eastern and Western European artistic traditions in the development of The report of O. L. Sharganova (Moscow) "The potter's wheel in the Smolensk Dnieper region in the Early Middle Ages" was devoted, on the one hand, to the identification (according to the method of AA. Bobrinsky) designs of pottery wheels on the traces on the bottoms of clay vessels, and on the other - to find out the relationship between the design of the circle and the shape of the vessels that were made on it. As a result, it was found that local potters used various pottery wheels (mushroom-shaped, with a movable and fixed axis, a foot wheel with spokes), while a stable relationship between the design of the circle and the shape of the vessels was not recorded. The report of M. A. Klyuchnikov (Moscow) "A rare case of pottery technology" describes a very interesting fact of manufacturing four clay vessels discovered during the excavations of the Gnezdovsky settlement, from structural elements (bundles) of different degrees of iron content and composition of the molding mass, which consistently alternated with each other during the construction of the walls. Such cases are extremely rare and it is still difficult to give them a reasonable explanation. I. M. Potasheva's presentation (Petrozavodsk)" Pottery of ancient Karelians in the Middle Ages: stucco and circular ware of the population of the north-western Ladoga region " was devoted to the typology of stucco and circular ceramics and its synchronization with the typochronological columns of the centers of Ancient Russia (Novgorod, Pskov and Staraya Ladoga). The analysis of vessel shapes helped to identify traditions and innovations in local pottery, as well as identify internal and external factors that influenced the dynamics of innovation processes. In the report of L. V. Chmil (Ukraine)" Experience of applying statistical methods in the study of ceramics of the Middle Dnieper region of the XVI-XVIII centuries", the results of statistical analysis of ceramics were presented, which allowed us to identify the features that are considered by the author as chronologically the most informative. Based on the correlation of these data with numismatic material and other dating sources, an absolute chronology of ceramic complexes, types of pots and plates, as well as other types of ceramic dishes is obtained.

Thus, the sessions of the symposium clearly demonstrated the close connection between theoretical, methodological and applied research of ancient ceramics as one of the most important historical sources that provide information on a wide range of issues in both the ancient and recent history of human society.

During the symposium, the participants were shown a documentary film about the work of two potters: Vitaly Ivanovich Sereda (hut of Sereda, Minsk region, Byelorussian SSR) and Adolf Gabriilovich Koira (village of Losi, Shvenchensky district, Lithuanian SSR), made in 1969 by employees of the integrated group for the study of pottery under the leadership of A. A. Bobrinsky.

Academician V. I. Molodin, Doctor of Historical Sciences V. E. Medvedev (Russia) and S. A. Belyaeva (Ukraine), Deputy Chairman of the organizing committee, Doctor of Historical Sciences Yu. B. Tsetlin made speeches at the closing session. All

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speakers noted the exceptionally high scientific level of the reports presented, the clear and well-coordinated work of the organizing committee and the symposium as a whole, and the fruitful and friendly discussion of the reports. According to the general opinion, the International Symposium aroused great interest of specialists and will have a significant impact on the deepening, promotion and further development of research on ancient ceramics as the most important source of historical information about the past of human society, as well as will contribute to the expansion of creative contacts between Russian and foreign scientists.

On November 1, 2013, the participants of the symposium had an excursion to the Kolomenskoye Museum-estate, after which they visited the laboratory" History of Ceramics " of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where they got acquainted with the main areas of its work, as well as with extensive experimental, ethnographic and reference archaeological collections.

The materials presented at the symposium were published by the beginning of the sessions in a special collection: Modern approaches to the study of ancient ceramics in archeology: tez. dokl. Mezhdunar. simp. (October 29-31, 2013) / ed. by Yu. B. Tsetlin. Moscow, IA RAS Publ., 2013, 84 p. (in Russian)

Yu. B. Tsetlin

Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

19 Dmitry Ulyanov St., Moscow, 117036, Russia

E-mail: yu.tsetlin@mail.ru

The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 20.11.13.

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