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Archaeological culture From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Usatove culture (Usatove in Ukrainian, Usatovo in Russian) is an Eneolithic group of the northwest and west Pontic region (ca. 3650-2740 BCE),[1] with influences from the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture as well as the Eneolithic steppe cultures of the North Pontic. Usatove culture flourished west and northwest of the Black Sea in more than 50 sites.[2] The culture got its name from the village of Usatove in the Odesa Oblast of Ukraine.[3]
| |
| Geographical range | Northwest Black Sea |
|---|---|
| Period | Copper Age |
| Dates | ca. 3650–2740 BCE |
| Preceded by | Mikhaylovka culture, Kemi-Oba culture, Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, Cernavodă culture |
| Followed by | Yamnaya culture, Ezero culture, Coţofeni culture, Baden culture, possibly Troad, Aegean civilisation (?) |
The Usatove culture appears to be a mixture of the Eneolithic agrarian cultures of Southeast Europe, with influences from the steppe cultures from the Pontic steppe. The Eneolithic farming culture influences on Usatove include clay figurines and painted ceramics, while it shares tumulus (kurgan) burials and shell-tempered coarse wares with steppe cultures. It also displays items made of metal, such as arsenical bronze and silver, which suggests contacts with the North Caucasus as well as Anatolia.
In Ukraine, Usatove culture sites are predominantly located in the Dniester-Danube interfluve. The two largest Usatove archaeological sites in Ukraine, Usatove-Velykyj Kuyalnik and Mayaky,[4] contain kurgan and ground cemeteries (necropoli).
Within the Kurgan hypothesis, the Usatove culture represents the domination of native Cucuteni–Trypillia agriculturalists by Indo-European peoples from the steppe. According to Anthony, the roots of the pre-Germanic languages lay in the Usatove culture.[5]
While the generally accepted chronological placement of Usatove is in the second half of the 4th millennium BCE, radiocarbon dates on human remains identified as Usatove are consistently older. Most of these dates cluster around the last quarter of the 5th - first quarter of the 4th millennium BCE.[6][7] It is likely that the dates on human remains are influenced by aquatic reservoir effect, the precise quantification of which is not possible at the moment due the lack of radiocarbon and stable isotope data from contextual faunal remains.
Radiocarbon dates on pottery are between 3400 and 2900 BCE, around 600 years later than analyses in human bones, which indicate Usatove culture would have lasted (c. 4000-3500 BCE).[8]
According to genetic studies, the Usatovo culture had male haplogroups such as E1b, J1, R1a. Of the female haplogroups, the following were present: U4b1b2, U5a1a1, T2h2, W1, X2d, U4d3.[10]
One representative of the Usatovo culture was of mostly Neolithic origin, genetic studies suggest that the Usatovo culture arose as a result of the merger of the incoming representatives of the CVL (PBgroup) wedge with local representatives of the Trypillian culture, while another representative was almost genetically indistinguishable from the Yamnaya culture.[10]
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