“Koloboks” of the “forest” Neolithic: Ceramic Handicrafts of Northeast Europe Foragers (Republic of Komi, Russian Federation)

Abstract

The results of a comprehensive study of a rattle from the Vis II settlement and a sculpture of a human head from the Vad I/1 dwelling are published. The artefacts were created with mental design and using complex technical solutions if we compare them with other ceramic figurines of the regional Neolithic. The research is based on data from the visual examination, the spatial analysis of the contexts of the finds, the technical-typological analysis of the ceramics, the X-ray computer tomography, the instrumental measurement of the sound volume and the method of analogies. It is established that these unique artefacts were the parts of assemblages of the 6th and 1st half of the 5th m. BC They are associated with contexts whose sacral significance is undefined now. Uncertainty is an inherent part of archaeological record study and does not allow one to conclude reliably about the function and status of the described artefacts in prehistoric culture. The rattle was made for personal use, probably a child’s toy. The miniature sculpture of a human head was part of a child’s, a ritual or a magical doll. But whatever they were for Neolithic man, today they are illustrations of the early history of our toys.