Verifying the chronology of Ukrainian Neolithic

Abstract This paper addresses the earliest Neolithic phases in Ukraine: aspects relating to the chronology, methods and time of Neolithisation. In general, the earliest Neolithisation relates to the times of the Linear Pottery culture. Nevertheless, Ukraine has numerous eco-zones so the process could have been different in other zones. The authors emphasize that the key to getting closer to solving this problem is the chronology-re-dating and validation program. Hitherto dates of one culture or period of culture have been treated against each other. This article presents a small series of AMS from well-defined contexts of four sites, previously dated by the Kyiv radiocarbon facility. The results are compared with existing dates in order to establish the validity of existing chronologies for the Neolithic of Ukraine. Obtained results allowed the authors to conclude that the Kyiv dates should not be obligatorily treated as wrong. Furthermore, the authors reopened the discussion to establish what was the role of LBK and Azov-Dnieper culture communities in spreading farming and herding in Ukraine during the second half of the VIth millennium BC.