Pages: 127-153

The slotted weaponry has been widely used in the Upper Volga region since the Early Holocene time. Arrowheads, spearheads, harpoons and daggers were the main groups of tools equipped with flint inserts. The slotted weaponry tradition persisted in the region till the Early Neolithic and disappeared after 6500—6400 uncal. BP. It is thought that the decline of this tradition was caused by the decline of blade production which took place in the Early Neolithic, when flakes became the main and the only type of stone blanks. The review and analysis of the published evidence available for the Mesolithic (Butovo culture) and the Early Neolithic of the region does not support this hypothesis. Bone tools equipped with stone inserts were produced during 3500 years. They went out of use in the Early Neolithic due to the change of the population in the region. This event took place ca. 6500/6400 uncal BP. It is reflected in the change of both stone working technology and pottery decoration.

Keywords: Upper Volga region, Mesolithic, Neolithic, slotted weaponry, slotted bone tools, microblades, inserts

Information about author:

Nataliya Tsvetkova (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Russian Museum of Ethnography. Inzhenernaya St., 4/1, Saint Petersburg, 191011, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]