Early asbestos ware in North-Western Russia

Early Asbestos Ware was spreading in the second half of the 5th – early 4th mil. BC in southeastern Finland. Complexes with similar pottery are also known in Russia: on the Karelian Isthmus, in Karelia, and on the Kola Peninsula. In this study, 23 sites were identified that contain the Early Asbestos Ware (at least 49 vessels). The considered materials generally correspond to the typological division of Kaunissaari and Ka I:2asb Ware, but they have originality in decoration. There are traits in ornamentation similar with the Sperrings 2 Ware, common in Finland, but not with the Karelian version of Sperrings as well as with Pit-Comb Ware. XRD analysis showed the presence of anthophyllite in six fragments of Early Asbestos Ware analyzed during the study, so it could be interpreted as the evidence of an impulse from the Lake Saimaa area.