The article describes Bronze Age ceramics decorated with "pearls" in combination with indentations and stamps, which is the main indicator sign of monuments of the Namiulakhan-Segelennyakh culture, which spread over the territory of Southern, Southwestern and Western Yakutia, up to its central regions, in the II millennium BC. It differs from Ust'milskaya in a number of parameters (manufacturing technology, vessel shape, ornament, etc.) and has the features of ceramics of both the mother Ymyyakhtakh culture and the alien population. The distribution of the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture in Yakutia, apparently, was not comprehensive, but covered a significant taiga area of the Aldan, Olekma, Vilyuya and Middle Lena basins. The basis of the alien component was probably formed by the Glazkov tribes, who penetrated here through the upper reaches of these rivers.

Keywords: Yakutia, Bronze Age, Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture, ceramics, vessel, ornament, "pearls", stamps, indentations.

Introduction

In contrast to the Neolithic, the Bronze Age appears to be an insufficiently studied page of the ancient history of Yakutia today, although it is covered by relevant sections and chapters in generalizing monographs covering the archaeological cultures discovered here [Okladnikov, 1949, 1955; Fedoseeva, 1968; Arkhipov, 1989; Alekseev, Gogolev, Zykov, 1991; Alekseev, 1996]. Since the 1960s, only one culture entirely related to the Bronze Age was known in this vast territory - the Ust-Milskaya culture, which was identified by S. A. Fedoseeva and Yu. A. Mochanov, first in Aldan, and then in other regions [Fedoseeva, 1970a, b, 1974; Mochanov and Fedoseeva, 1976, p. 524]. It is the subject of a monograph by V. I. Ertyukov [1990], who combined all the material accumulated up to and including the 1980s on the Bronze Age of Yakutia.

Until recently, it was assumed that the Ymyyakhtakh culture of the late Neolithic period was replaced almost everywhere in the region by the Ust-Milskaya culture, although the attribution of the former to a certain historical period remains debatable. The Ymyyakhtakh culture originated in the late Neolithic period, and its bearers borrowed bronze objects from their neighbors at a late stage of cultural development (Fedoseeva, 1980, p. 215; Mochanov et al., 1983, p. 18). Later, the descendants of the Ymyyakhtakhs themselves mastered the metallurgy of bronze [Khlobystin, 1998, p. 175; Everstov, 1999a, p. 53; Kiryak, 2005, p.11]. Researchers have attributed the Ymyyakhtakh culture to both the Late Neolithic (Fedoseeva, 1980, p. 215; Alekseev, 1996, p. 55) and the Bronze Age (Khlobystin, 1987).

At various times, archaeologists have tried to distinguish early and late stages in the Bronze Age of Yakutia (Okladnikov, 1955; Ertyukov, 1990), as well as a special Eneolithic stage (Zykov, 1978, pp. 37-38). The main researcher of the Ymyyakhtakh culture, S. A. Fedoseeva, recently characterized it as a transitional stage from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age [1999, p.58-59; Mochanov and Fedoseeva, 2001, p. 32; 2002, p. 28]. By our-

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According to our opinion, it was originally essentially Late Neolithic, but then, as a result of migration processes, it began to transform into a number of Bronze Age cultures [Diakonov, 2007, 2008, 2009; Alekseev and Diakonov, 2009]. The works of S. I. Everstov on the lower Indigirka and the radiocarbon dates obtained during them convincingly show that the descendants of the Ymyyakhtakh people in the Arctic co-existed with the carriers of the Bronze and Iron Age cultures, without changing their traditional material and spiritual culture, although they already had a developed bronze foundry [1998, 1999a, b, 2006]. Ust-Milsky monuments in the north are isolated. In the polar regions of Yakutia and in the adjacent territories, apparently, during the first millennium BC-first millennium AD, the Sughunnakh survival - Ymyakhtakh culture of the Bronze Age that we have identified existed (Alekseev and Dyakonov, 2009; Dyakonov, 2009).

The marking element and the main material for distinguishing the Ust-Mil culture of the Bronze Age was a kind of ceramics, sharply different from the ceramics of previous and later cultures, represented mainly by smooth-walled vessels with riveted rollers [Ertyukov, 1990, p. 85, 111]. Stone and bone implements on the Ust-Milsky monuments are few and featureless [Alekseev, 1996, p.70]. It should also be emphasized that attribution to specific cultures of the Bronze Age of scribbles, as well as individual bronze products found on the territory of Yakutia, is problematic and cannot be clearly solved at the current level of knowledge. Individual burials, which are dated by some researchers to the Bronze Age and even attributed specifically to the Ust-Mil culture, are often poorly documented or chronologized with insufficient arguments [Ibid., p. 72; Diakonov, 2010]. In addition to the reference roller ceramics for the Ust-Milsky complex, the researchers included them as a separate type (XIV according to the typological table of V. I. Kolesnikov). Ertyukov) dishes decorated with "pearls", indentations and stamp impressions, although in general terms it differs sharply from the characteristic Ust-Milskaya (Ertyukov, 1980,1990,1992; Alekseev, 1996). At the same time, V. I. Ertyukov pointed out that "ceramics with "pearls" have not yet been recorded in the pure layers of the Bronze Age, and therefore its attribution to the Ust-Mil culture is still conditional" [1980, p.94]. According to S. A. Fedoseeva, dishes decorated with "pearls" could have penetrated to the ymyyakhtakhs together with Seimin-Turbinsky bronze products [1980, p.205]. She also pointed out the possibility that in some areas to the west of the Lena River, the Ymyyakhtakh culture may have been replaced by the Ust-Mil culture (or along with it), which is characterized by ceramics with jagged imprints [Ibid., p. 211].

According to V. I. Ertyukov, the bearers of the tradition of decorating ceramics with comb-shaped stamp impressions and "pearls" penetrated the territory of Yakutia from the regions of the Baikal region, most likely through the upper reaches of the Lena and Vilyui rivers in the mid - late II millennium BC [1990, p.112]. It was also assumed that their migrations were not numerous, and the degree of influence on the formation of the Ust-Mil culture is uncertain. At the same time, V. I. Ertyukov associated the appearance of some bronze products, such as the Murya celt, Khatyngnakh and Syuldyukar knives, with the carriers of these ceramic traditions [Ibid.], although this was not postulated as a manifestation of a separate cultural complex or even a variant of culture.

Thus, until recently, it was believed that the Bronze Age in Yakutia was represented by a single Ust'mil culture, which was spread throughout its territory and even in adjacent areas [Ibid., p. 111]. According to our current understanding, at least three cultures existed in the region in the Bronze Age: the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh, Ust'mil, and Sugunnakh cultures (Alekseev and Diakonov, 2009; Diakonov, 2009, p.19). The most striking feature of the first of them is a kind of ceramics with "pearls", indentations and stamp impressions. Our report at the II International Scientific Conference "Ancient Cultures of Mongolia and Baikal Siberia", held in Irkutsk on May 3-7, 2011, was devoted to a separate review of such ceramics found in Yakutia. [Diakonov, 2011]. The purpose of this article is to continue the development of this scientific problem. Monuments and complexes with such ceramics belong to the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture that we distinguish. Other components of this culture (stone and bone implements, economic and ritual activities of its bearers, etc. and their specifics have yet to be defined, analyzed and understood, so this article does not address issues related to them. Along the way, only the chronology and area of culture - the territory where such ceramics were distributed-are analyzed.

Description of ceramics of the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture

In Yakutia, ceramics decorated with "pearls" in combination with stamp impressions and indentations were found on the Srednyaya Lena, Olekma, Aldan, and Vilyui rivers (Fig. 1). It is attributed to the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture, which was named after the MNO-

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1. Location of monuments of the Ulakhan-Segelenyakh culture (a) and presumably related to it (b). 1 - Ust-Chirkuo I; 2 - Ulakhan-Edyek I, II; 3 - Syangda; 4 - Khotu-Tuulaakh; 5-Ust-Chuga II; 6-Sumnagin II; 7 - Ugino I; 8 - Tangha I; 9-Ulakhan - Segelenyakh; 10 - Khongsuor; 11 - Nemyuguntsy; 12 - Aldakai I; 13-Ust-Chikaltuy - 1; 14-Ust-Minya - 1; 15-Ust-Karenga-12, -14, -16. The arrows show the direction of the route. estimated migrations of the population that participated in the formation of the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture.

the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh multi-layer monument* (Olekma basin, Tokko River), where it was first recorded in clear stratigraphic conditions in cultural layer VII, dated to the Bronze Age (Kirillin, 1996; Alekseev, 1996). In addition to ceramics, stone and bone tools, as well as animal and fish bones, 20 fragments of llachka were found here, which indicates the possible presence of a bronze foundry [Alekseev, 1996, p. 71]. Radiocarbon dates of 3,570 ± 140 (IM-1011) and 3,120 ± 120 (IM-1009) BP were obtained from organic residues from layer VII [Ibid., p. 69]. In our work on the radiocarbon chronology of the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of Yakutia, the calibrated interval of the first date (±2 σ) 2600-1750 BC was erroneously indicated [Alekseev and Diakonov, 2009, pp. 31, 35, 38], as a result of which the lower boundary is aged and the approximate framework of the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh region is stretched cultures - 2 175 ± 425... 1 350 ± 350 years BC (duration approx. 830 (?) years). The actual calibrated IM date interval is 1011 (±2 σ) 2300-1500 BC and, accordingly, the estimated period of the culture's existence 1 900 ± 400... 1 350 ± ± 350 years b.c.E., which is at least 550 years old.

Fragments of six ceramic vessels were found in cultural layer VII of the Ulakhan-Segelenni site (Figs. 1, 9). The shape of five of them was completely restored*. All reconstructed ceramics are round-bottomed, open-type, with a dedicated neck (Fig. 2, 14, 18, 22, 23). No traces of band-and-ring encrustation have been traced on the broken shards. The dishes are most likely made by hand by squeezing the container out of a lump of clay and then knocking out the walls with a shock-pressing tool, while simultaneously applying a smooth stone-anvil from the inside. This technology, according to S. A. Vorobyov (1999, pp. 69-71), who was specially engaged in experimental vessel modeling (including in the field at the Ulakhan-Segelennye site), could have been used in Yakutia from the Early Neolithic to the Middle Ages. In general, the entire technological process, in his opinion [Ibid., p. 71], was reduced to creating a cavity from a lump of clay using hands and a spatula-beater with an anvil, installing a talnik ring at the mouth of the future vessel, increasing the volume of the container by forming and compacting the walls, modeling with hands and knocking out with a spatula, cutting the ring from the mouth, surface treatment and application of ornaments. This means that the molding process was based on sculptural modeling by knocking out. The version of making dishes based on the template was rejected by us

* The etymology of a toponym is quite interesting in itself. The site is located on the right estuary promontory of the left tributary of the Tokko River, called Ulakhan Segelenneh in Yakut. According to G. V. Ksenofontov, an outstanding Yakut scholar and encyclopedist of the first half of the XX century, the ancient word "segeleen" means coniferous larch branches twisted for sleeping, on which they were laid and covered with the same branches (Ksenofontov, 1992, p. 233). "Neeh" / "neeh" is an affix of possession [Leontiev and Novikova, 1989, p. 46; Bagdaryin Syulbe, 2004, p. 8]. The adjective "ulakhan" is translated from Yakut as " big, large, main, etc.". Thus, the hydronym Ulakhan Segelenneh (a Russified form of Ulakhan-Segelenneh) translates approximately as "a large river with larch lapnik for overnight accommodation". At the same time, the author of the fundamental "Dictionary of the Yakut Language" E. K. Pekarsky, in addition to the first one, gives a second interpretation of the word "segelen" - "luck in hunting or fishing" [1959, stb. 2299]. In this sense, Ulakhan Segelenneh is a good place for hunting and fur-bearing animals.

* Restoration of ceramics and description of its morphological characteristics were performed by A. S. Kirillin.

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2. Ceramics of the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture. 1-Nemyuguntsy; 2-4, 13-Ust-Chuga II; 5-Ulakhan-Edyek II; 6-Tangkha I; 7-Ugino I; 8, 11, 16, 19 - 21 - Ust-Chirkuo I; 9-Khotu-Tuulaakh; 10-Syangda; 12-Ulakhan- Edyek I; 14,18, 22, 23-Ulakhan-Segelennakh; 15-Khongsuor; 17-Sumnagin II. 1 - unpublished material by N. P. Prokopiev; 2-4, 13- [Vorob'ev, 2007, tab. 28, 7, 10, 11; 29, 1]; 5, 12 - [Antipina, 1980, Tables I, 15, 20]; b - [Kozlov, 1980, Table II, 16]; 7, 17- [Ertyukov, 1980, Table II, 28, 29]; 8 - 11, 16, 20, 21 - [Mochanov et al., 1991, tab. 1, 9; 1, 5; 25, 3, 12, 15; 84, 2; 92, 6]; 14, 18, 22, 23 - [Alekseev, 1996, Tables 40-42]; 15 - [Ertyukov, 1990, Tables 14, 3]; 19 - [Fedoseeva, 1968, Figures 14, 6].

due to the fact that this technology has extremely limited opportunities for morphological variation [Zhushchikhovskaya and Ponkratova, 2000, p.131], while Ulakhan-Segelennyakh ceramics are distinguished by their complicated profiling.

Spatulas-beaters with waffle relief were used to make dishes. Five vessels are marked with rhombic cell impressions, while one has square cell impressions. The mesh sizes vary from 0.5 x 0.5 to 1.0 x 1.0 cm. All ceramics are double-layered, apparently, due to layer-by-layer molding, when additional layers (flaps) of clay dough were glued to the almost finished vessel, which were also carefully knocked out with a spatula. The height of the vessels is approximately 20-30 cm. The wall thickness is 0.2-0.8 cm, on average 0.3 - 0.5 cm. The body walls are thinner than the corolla and bottom. In the clay test, inclusions of sand, grass, and wool are visually detected.

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It should be noted that the admixture of wool and plant components is more typical for Ymyakhtakh ceramics, but it is also found in Ust'mil ceramics, although much less frequently, as a result of the influence of the Ymyakhtakh pottery tradition (Diakonov, 2001; Diakonov and Ertyukov, 2001).

Four vessels have ancient signs of repair. On the walls there are remnants of a black substance, most likely birch var. Fragments of ceramics connected by steam were found in the layer. Thus, it was possible to recreate the method of repairing ceramic vessels in the Bronze Age: the resulting crack was sealed with hot boiled resin, then strips of var 1.5 cm wide were applied outside and inside and additionally reinforced with screed, for which holes were drilled on both sides of the crack.

The ornament on ceramics is very expressive and complex [Alekseev, 1996, p. 4]. 69 - 70, 72, 77, 79, 139 - 140, tables 40-42]. The sides (upper surfaces of the corollas) of vessels are decorated with oblique (tilt to the right) smooth indentations, imprints of a two-pronged semicircular stamp. The corollas were decorated with "pearls" squeezed out from the inside, which form continuous horizontal belts. Immediately below them on the neck are rows of round indentations, impressions of a toothed (two-toothed and curly-toothed) stamp. Ornamental compositions consisting of several elements are distinguished. The first is a belt of "pearls", it is present in all compositions. The second element consists of one or two rows of circular indentations. On one vessel, the indentations in the belt are doubled. The third element is two parallel horizontal stripes made of impressions of toothed stamps, interrupted or solid. The fourth is stylized anthropomorphic phallic figures made with a curly-toothed stamp (Fig. 3).

We have already noted earlier that anthropomorphic images on ceramics appear on the territory of Yakutia precisely in the second millennium BC [Dyakonov, 2002] with the arrival of a population familiar with metal and skilled in the manufacture of copper and bronze products. The trend of spreading symbolic anthropomorphic images is typical for the art of the Bronze Age of the Baikal region. Apparently, it was also from there that the tribes penetrated into Yakutia, which gave an impetus to the formation of a new Bronze Age culture here. In terms of technical and stylistic execution, as well as the manner of representation (for example, the presence of hands in the form of two horizontal lines, horned heads, imitation of a circular round dance), anthropomorphic figures on ceramics from layer VII of the Ulakhan-Segelenni site show some similarity with images on individual vessels of the Bronze Age of the Baikal region [Alekseev, 1996, pp. 72-73 Goryunova and Novikov, 2009].

In the Aldan basin, dishes decorated with "pearls" were found at the sites of Ust-Chuga II, Sumnagin II, Ugino I, and Tangkha I (Amga River). In clear stratigraphic conditions, the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh ceramics were found in cultural layer II of the Ust-Chuga II site [Vorob'ev, 2007] (see Figs. 1, 5). Fragments of at least seven vessels were found here. Three of them are decorated with "pearls"squeezed out from the inside. The first one is represented by eight fragments of the corolla and privenchikov part (see Figs. 2, 3, 4). This is a thin-walled vessel decorated with at least three horizontal belts of vertical impressions of a six-tube stamp, two lines pressed on top of the first belt (trace of a technological winding?) and one row of "pearls" under it. Vertical impressions of the same stamp are also applied to the inner surface of the corollas [Ibid., pp. 23-24, 107, 109, tab. 28, 7, 10; 30, 2, 4]. The second vessel is isolated by a fragment of the corolla (see Figs. 2, 2). It is decorated with at least two belts of vertical impressions of a seven-toothed stamp, connected by a "bridge" of six rectangular indentations of a toothed stamp (three in width, two in height), and one row of "pearls" in the upper belt zone [Ibid., pp. 24-25, 107, 109, Tables 28, 11; 30, 3]. The third vessel was identified from 35 fragments of wafer ceramics (see Figs. 2, 13). It is decorated with three belts of vertical impressions of a seven-toothed stamp, a line carelessly pressed (similar to the first vessel) on top of the first one, and one row of" pearls " in the center.

3. A vessel from the cultural horizon VII of the Ulakhan-Segelenni site, decorated with stylized anthropomorphic figures.
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in the zone of this belt [Ibid., pp. 26, 108-109, Tables 29, 1; 30, b]. Sand and quartz grains were found in the clay dough of vessels [Ibid., pp. 24, 27, 29].

S. A. Vorobyov, considering the cultural affiliation of ceramics from layer II of the Ust-Chuga II site, writes: "... at the same time, the totality of the listed features (thin-walled vessels, horizontal belt decoration, the presence of" pearls " and impressions of a notched stamp, waffle technical ornaments on the walls. - V. D.) brings the ceramic complex closer together... not with the" pure " complex of the Ust-Mil culture, but with the south-western zone of its distribution. The ceramics of the Aldakai I site on the Amedici River (a left tributary of the Upper Aldan) and Ulakhan-Segelenni on the Tokko River (a left tributary of the Chara River) are most similar in this respect. The area of distribution of ceramics with a combination of the above-mentioned ornamental and morphological features extends further to the west - to the upper Vitim, Transbaikalia and the Baikal region" [Ibid., pp. 30-31]. This shows that the researcher apparently identified a local variant of the Bronze Age culture here, making it difficult to attribute the site complex to the Ust-Mil culture. Coal from the source in layer II of the Ust-Chuga II site was used to determine the date 3,145 ± 75 BP (SOAN-6687), the calibrated interval of which is for ±2 o 1610-1210. B.C. [Alekseev and Diakonov, 2009, p. 36]. It is consistent with radiocarbon dates obtained for cultural layer VII of the Ulakhan-Segelenni monument.

At the Sumnagin II Aldan site (see Fig. 1, b), a fragment of a vessel corolla (see Fig. 2, 17) with one row of "pearls" was found (Ertyukov, 1980, p. 92, Table II, 28; 1990, p. 39, 130; Table 17,1). A fragment of the corolla of a smooth-walled vessel (see Figs. 2, 7), decorated with a row of "pearls", below which (in the privenchikovaya zone) is located in cultural layer I dating from the Early Iron Age (Mochanov et al., 1983, p. 38). there was at least one belt of five oblique (right-leaning) impressions of a three-pronged stamp grouped together. The rim is ornamented with oblique (left-leaning) depressions of the smooth scapula (Ertyukov, 1980, p. 92, Table II, 29; 1990, p. 40, 127, Table 14, 2; Mochanov et al., 1983, p.205, Table 103, 8). Researchers note that cultural layers I (Early Iron Age) and II (Ust-Milskaya culture of the Bronze Age) of this monument are disturbed by plowing and modern buildings (Mochanov et al., 1983, p. 38; Ertyukov, 1990, p. 40), so it is possible to mix cultural remains here.

At the Amga site of Tangkha I (see Figs. 1, 8), a fragment of the whisk of a wafer vessel was recorded (see Fig. 2, 6), ornamented with a row of "pearls" (Kozlov, 1980, p. 57, Table II, 16; Mochanov et al., 1983, p. 367, Table 262, 20). Judging by the illustrations, the rim was decorated with semi-oval indentations of the type of horizontally elongated oval with a cut-off left part. It is noteworthy that a similar design of the rim is found here on typical ymyyakhtakh wafer vessels [Kozlov, 1980, p. 57, Tables II, 10, 25, 31; Mochanov et al., 1983, p. 367, Table. 262, 25, 30, 31]. This fact, in our opinion, also confirms the early origin of the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh complex and its formation on the Ymyyakhtakh basis.

In the Sredelensk basin, ceramics with "pearls" were found at the sites of Khongsuor and Nemyuguntsy (see Figures 1, 10, 11). On the first one (the Buotoma River, a right tributary of the Lena River), a fragment of the corolla of a vessel was found (see Figs. 2, 15), decorated with two rows of closely spaced "pearls". The rim is decorated with oblique (slope to the right) depressions [Ertyukov, 1990, p. 70, 127, Tables 14, 3]. In the unpublished materials of N. P. Prokopiev from the Nemyuguntsy site, discovered in the Lena valley of Erkeeni (approximately 50 km south of Yakutsk) on arable land near a rural hospital, there is a small fragment of the corolla of a vessel (see Figs. 2, 1), ornamented with at least one row of "pearls", below which indistinct impressions have been preserved a toothed stamp.

Ceramics with "pearls" are found at a number of Vilyuisk sites: Ulakhan-Edyek I, II, Ust-Chirkuo I, Syangda (Tyung), Khotu-Tuulaakh. On the Ulakhan-Edyek I monument (see Figs. 1, 2), a fragment of a corolla with a thickened, outward-sloping rim was found (see Fig. 2, 12), which is decorated with impressions of a two-pronged stamp (judging by the drawings, there are oval indentations in the middle of the rim, and dots at the inner edge). Immediately below the rim is a row of" pearls " (Antipina, 1980, p. 41-42, Table 1, 15; Ertyukov, 1990, p. 57, 127, Table 14, 8; Mochanov et al., 1991, p.104, Table 29, 1). At the Ulakhan-Edyek II parking lot (see Figs. 1, 2), a fragment of a corolla (see Figs. 2, 5) was found, decorated with two horizontal rows of "pearls", along the rim - straight parallel impressions of a three-pronged stamp [Antipina, 1980, p. 42, Table I, 20; Ertyukov, 1990, p. 57, 127, Table 14, 6; Mochanov et al., 1991, p. 104, Table 29, 3].

A complex of ceramics with "pearls", consisting of six vessels, is marked at the site of Ust-Chirkuo I (see Figs. 1, 1). Fragments of three vessels, apparently decorated with a ribbed spatula, were recorded in the collection from the lifting fees carried out on the towpath of the Vilyu River near the monument. The first one is represented by a fragment of a corolla (see Figs. 2, 11) with a side bent inwards, decorated with two horizontal rows of "pearls" (Mochanov et al., 1991, p. 100, Tables 25, 3). The second one is determined by a fragment of a corolla (see Figs. 2, 20), decorated along the side of the base of the corolla.a stucco (?) roller, dissected by oblique (left-leaning) notches grouped in two. Below about-

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a horizontal row of "pearls" is tracked [Ibid., p. 100, Tables 25, 12]. The third vessel is distinguished by a fragment of a corolla (see Figs. 2, 16), decorated with a nadein (?) roller running from the rim down to the body, and two horizontal rows of "pearls" [Ibid., Tables 25, 15]. During excavations conducted at the Ust-Chirkuo I site in 1962-1963 by S. A. Fedoseeva, a fragment of a corolla was found in the lower layer (see Figs. 2, 19), ornamented, judging by the drawing, by three horizontal rows of closely located "pearls", along the outer edge of the rim - by straight depressions of the scapula [Fedoseeva, 14, b]. The researcher attributed this layer to the developed Neolithic [Ibid., p. 137]. During subsequent work on the site, its stratigraphy was refined and corrected. A small fragment of a corolla with a straight rim and a "pearl" was found in the first cultural layer dating back to the Paleometallic epoch (see Figures 2, 8) [Mochanov et al., 1991, p. 76, Tables 1, 9], and in the second (Ymyyakhtakh culture of the late Neolithic) - a fragment of a smooth-walled corolla (?) 2, 21) with a rounded rim and one horizontal row of" pearls " immediately below it [Ibid., p. 82, Tables 7, 5].

Nine shards of smooth-walled pottery, including a small fragment of the corolla of a vessel (see Figs. 2, 10) decorated with at least two horizontal rows of "pearls", were found in a pit at the site of Syangda (Tyung River, left tributary of Vilyu). Its rim is decorated with oblique (left-leaning) impressions of a three-pronged almond-shaped stamp [Ibid., pp. 49, 158, Tables 84, 2]. This monument is the northernmost in Yakutia (see Fig. 1,3), on which ceramics with such ornamentation are recorded.

At the Khotu-Tuulaah lake site (see Figs. 1, 4), a small fragment of the corolla of a vessel (see Figs. 2, 9) was found, decorated with at least two horizontal rows of "pearls". The rim is ornamented with oblique (left-leaning) indentations [Ibid., p. 166, Tables 92, 6].

These findings exhaust the data published to date in the archeology of Yakutia on ceramics with a specific element of ornament - "pearls", although this may not yet be a complete list.

Circle of closest analogies

Ceramic dishes decorated with "pearls" were widely distributed in the late Neolithic and Bronze Age in Transbaikalia, the Baikal Region, the Angara Region, and Western Siberia. The closest analogies to the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh ceramics can be traced in the Baikal region. In particular, it is indicated that rows of" pearls " and lines made by stretching a stick with periodic presses are considered the most characteristic elements of the ornament on Glazkov vessels [Khlobystin, 1987, p.332]. According to V. V. Krasnoshchekov and A.V. Tetenkin, ribbed and smooth-walled ceramics decorated with "pearls" were found at the sites of Ust-Chikalyui-1 (cultural layer I) in the upper reaches of the Lena River south of the village of Zhigalov and Ust-Minya-1 (cultural layer I) in the basin of the Kirenga River (right tributary of the Lena River). north of the Irkutsk region (see Figures 1, 13, and 14). The Vitim sites Ust-Karenga-12, -14, -16 (everywhere cultural layer I) (see Figs. 1, 15), which contain wafer ceramics with a corolla bent outwards, decorated with dimpled ornaments, "pearls" and stamps, are also geographically close, and possibly also included in the area of the Ulakhan-Segelenyakh culture (oral communications by A. V. Tetenkina and V. M. Vetrova). Radiocarbon dates of 3,250 ± 40 (LE-2649) and 3,670 ± 40 (LE-2650) BP obtained at these localities (Vetrov and Samuilova, 1990, p. 123) are generally similar to the dates of the South Yakut monuments of the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture. A. N. Alekseev noted that "the vessels from Olekma and Vitim are identical in basic parameters", and "Vitim, the joint zone of the Amur region, Transbaikalia and Yakutia, was, presumably, one of the ways in which the tradition of applying "pearls" to the walls of vessels penetrated Yakutia " [1996, p. 77].

1, 12), located on the Amedichi River in the Upper Aldan basin, ceramics were found that combine the features of the Ymyyakhtakh culture (round-bottomed, waffle decoration) and synchronous cultures of Transbaikalia and the Baikal Region (riveted rollers cut with a multi-toothed stamp, depressions-flutes, etc.) [Vorobyev, 2003, pp. 62-63]. This ceramic complex is probably not a "pure" Ulakhan-Segelennyakh complex, since the "pearls" squeezed out from the inside of the vessel, as a bright defining feature of the ceramics of this culture, are not identified here, although one fragment of the corolla near the rim shows a rounded nal imitating a "pearl" [Ibid., pp. 58, 62, 9, 13]. In addition, the Aldakai collection contains vessels decorated with rollers, which is not typical for Ulakhan-Segelennyakh ware. S. A. Vorobyov refers this monument to the Bronze Age, based mainly on the radiocarbon date obtained for the bottom of the dwelling 3,185 ± 65 BP (SOAN-4730) [Ibid., pp. 46, 62]. At the same time, the author points out that, although the main component of the complex has autochthonous features, it is premature to include it in the list of "pure" Ust-Milian ones [Ibid., p. 64]. In the materials of the monument to Aldakai I, in addition to local roots and a noticeable influence of Late Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of the Baikal and Trans-Baikal regions, there is clearly a trace of ancient history.-

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There is a connection with the Voznesenovskaya Late Neolithic culture of the Amur region. A good example is arrowheads with a four-sided sting, decorated with a kind of imitation chips of the incisor type [Ibid., pp. 48-50]. A similar method of design of arrowheads was observed in the Lower Amur settlements of the Late Neolithic Kabachi, Kolchem-3, Malaya Gavan, and Goncharka-1 (Shevkomud, 2004, pp. 54, 85-86, 113, Tables 36, 7; 64-I, 6, 7). At the same time, the archaeological materials of the Voznesenovo culture (Medvedev, 2005, p.253-259) differ significantly from those of the Aldakai culture.

Complexes with ceramics decorated with "pearls", combined into an independent Bolynebukhtin culture, were found on a number of sites in the North-Eastern Amur Region and Sakhalin, and some finds were recorded on the mainland coast of the Tatar Strait (Deryugin and Lozan, 2009, pp. 52, 66, Table 10). Radiocarbon dates obtained mainly from food deposits on vessels from the settlements of Goly Mys-1 and Bolshaya Bukhta-1 show that this culture existed in the mid-second half of the 1st millennium BC (Shevkomud, 2008, p. 168), and most likely in the 7th-4th centuries BC.E. [Deryugin and Lozan, 2009, p. 52]. Bolynebukhta pottery is represented by round-bottomed thin-walled vessels decorated with rows of "pearls" and compositions in the technique of a receding spatula. Ceramics are accompanied by neolithoid stone tools [Shevkomud, 2008, p. 164, 168, Tables 5, 3, 4]. The origin of the Bolynebukhta culture is associated by researchers with the influence of East Siberian cultures and even the Neolithic and Bronze Age of Yakutia [Ibid., p. 169; Deryugin and Lozan, 2009, p. 52].

Conclusions

Characteristic features of ceramics of the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture are the following::

1. Forming of vessels was carried out by squeezing the container out of a lump of clay with hands and knocking out the walls with a shock-pressing tool, while simultaneously applying a smooth anvil stone from the inside (in some cases with a layer-by-layer build-up of thin clay layers). Single-layer and double-layer ceramics were found. A similar manufacturing technology can be traced in the materials of archaeological sites of Yakutia from the early Neolithic to the Middle Ages.

2. Vessels have mainly complicated profiling - with a neck or a pronounced mouth and a rounded bottom. Pots of this shape are only rarely found in Late Neolithic complexes of Yakutia (Fedoseeva, 1980, pl. 2; Vorobyov, 1999, p. 75, fig. 2], as well as on the monuments of the Ust-Mil culture, in which they are not predominant [Ertyukov, 1990, tab. 24; 1992, fig. 2].

3. The composition of the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh ceramics test has been studied only from the materials of some monuments, so there are no grounds for broad conclusions, especially since petrographic analysis was not carried out. Sand, gravel (quartz grains), wool, and plant remains were visually identified in the shards of individual vessels. This composition is most typical for Ymyakhtakh ceramics, so the presence of organic impurities in the test indicates a genetic link between the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture and the Ymyakhtakh culture, which, however, is also noted for other Bronze Age cultures of Yakutia (Ust-Milsky and Sugunnakh).

4. Vessels were found both with technical decoration (wafer and, to a lesser extent, ribbed), and without it (smooth-walled). The presence of wafer-like, ribbed, and smooth-walled vessels is typical of the Ymyyakhtakh monuments (Fedoseeva, 1980), as well as Early Iron Age complexes in Yakutia (Konstantinov, 1978). This is also noted for the Glazkov culture [Khlobystin, 1987, p. 331]. The classic Ust-Milsky ceramics are smooth-walled.

5. In the decoration of Ulakhan-Segelennyakh vessels, in addition to simple ones, there are complex compositions of horizontal rows of rounded indentations, ornamental stripes made with jagged and figured stamps, including anthropomorphic images imitating a circular round dance. Be sure to have in the corolla area from one to three horizontal rows of "pearls", squeezed out from the inside. The sides are almost always decorated with indentations and stamp impressions. It is characterized by the almost complete absence of taped ornaments, which are the main distinguishing feature of Ust-Milsky ceramics, as well as drawn patterns, which make up the vast majority of compositions on Ymyyakhtakh dishes.

Summarizing the conclusions, it can be stated that in the II millennium BC, the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture spread in Southern, Southwestern and Western Yakutia, up to its central regions. Its main indicator feature is ceramics decorated with "pearls", indentations and stamp impressions. It has the characteristics of ceramics of both the mother Ymyyakhtakh culture and the alien population (Diakonov, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011; Alekseev and Diakonov, 2009). Ulakhan-Segelennyakh vessels were made by the technique of knocking out, they are round-bottomed, have a complicated profiling, and the walls are of medium thickness. Waffle ceramics are typical, but there are also ribbed and smooth-walled ones. Ulakhan-segelennyakhsky ware on a number of signs.

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it differs from Ust-Milskaya and ymyyakhtakh. The basis of the alien component among the Ulakhan-Segelennyakhs was probably formed by the Glazkov tribes, which penetrated the territory of Yakutia through the upper reaches of the Lena, Vilyuya, Olekma and Aldan rivers. Based on the available radiocarbon dates, the calendar framework for the existence of the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture is preliminarily determined - 1 900 ± 400... 1 350 ± 350 years BC, that's at least 550 years old. Its distribution, apparently, was not continuous and comprehensive, but covered a vast taiga territory of Southern, Southwestern and Western Yakutia.

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The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 21.12.11, in the final version-on 04.05.12.

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