Technological characteristics of the ceramics of the Botai culture in relation to the Eneolithic cultures of northern Kazakhstan

Despite the great interest in the Botai culture spread across the north Kazakhstan steppe and considered by some to be the first horse-herders, the ceramic vessels associated with the culture have been poorly studied. Ceramic complexes of the early civilizations contain valuable information on technology and production as well as traditions and culture. In this paper, we present the results of the technological and ornamentation analyses of ceramic vessels from the Eneolithic contexts of the Botai archaeological site. This analysis is based on the study of 1234 fragments from 102 ceramic vessels collected during the excavation seasons of 2011-2014. Our study demonstrates that clay with the addition of iron was preferred by the Botai pottery makers as a source of raw material. Based on the diversity of natural inclusions in clay, we suggest that around 20 sources of raw material were used. A petrographic study shows that the Botai pottery makers exploited sources located within a 1 km radius from the site. A variety of organic additions, such as wool, dung, chamotte (calcined and crushed clay), and organic solution were used during the preparation of the molding mass. The use of local resources for raw materials and repetitive elements of ornamentation suggests that the majority of the Botai ceramic masters used the same technologies. A significant number of molding mass recipes were used at Botai, however, some of these point to existing contacts with other Eneolithic groups, such as Tersek culture of Turgai deflection. We believe that the broad territory of the north Kazakhstan steppe was populated by a unified cultural community made up of individual groups that exchanged ideas and technologies.