Editing Comb Ceramic culture

{{Short description|Ancient northeast European culture}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Pitted Ware culture]] in Scandinavia}}
{{More footnotes|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox archaeological culture
|name        = Comb Ceramic culture
|map         = Comb Ceramic Culture.jpg
|mapalt      =
|altnames    =
|horizon     =
|region      = North-Eastern Europe
|period      = [[Mesolithic Europe]], [[Neolithic Europe]]
|dates       = {{abbr|c.|circa}} 4200 &ndash; 2000 BCE
|typesite    =
|majorsites  = 
|extra       =
|precededby  = [[Narva culture]]
|followedby  = [[Volosovo culture]], [[Corded Ware culture]], [[Kiukainen culture]]
}}
The '''Comb Ceramic culture''' or '''Pit-Comb Ware culture''', often abbreviated as '''CCC''' or '''PCW''', was a northeast European culture characterised by its [[Pit–Comb Ware]]. It existed from around 4200 BCE to around 2000 BCE.{{sfn|Saag|2017}} The bearers of the Comb Ceramic culture are thought to have still mostly followed the [[Mesolithic]] [[hunter-gatherer]] ([[Eastern Hunter-Gatherer]]) lifestyle, with traces of [[Neolithic Revolution|early agriculture]].

==Distribution==
The distribution of the artifacts found includes [[Finnmark]] ([[Norway]]) in the north, the [[Kalix River]] ([[Sweden]]) and the [[Gulf of Bothnia]] ([[Finland]]) in the west and the [[Vistula|Vistula River]] ([[Poland]]) in the south. It would include the [[Narva culture]] of [[Estonia]] and the [[Sperrings culture]] in [[Finland]], among others. They are thought to have been essentially hunter-gatherers, though e.g. the Narva culture in Estonia shows some evidence of agriculture. Some of this region was absorbed by the later [[Corded Ware culture|Corded Ware horizon]].

==Ceramics==

[[File:Comb ceramic pottery from Taipalsaari, Finland.jpg|thumb|Comb Ceramic pottery from Finland|229x229px]]

The Pit–Comb Ware culture is one of the few exceptions to the rule that pottery and farming coexist in Europe. In the Near East farming appeared before pottery, then when farming spread into Europe from the Near East, pottery-making came with it. However, in Asia, where the oldest pottery has been found, pottery was made long before farming. It appears that the Comb Ceramic Culture reflects influences from Siberia and distant China.{{sfn|Zvelebil|2004|pp=431-435}}

The ceramics consist of large pots that are rounded or pointed below, with a capacity from 40 to 60 litres. The forms of the vessels remained unchanged but the decoration varied.

By dating according to the elevation of land, the ceramics have traditionally (Äyräpää 1930) been divided into the following periods: ''early'' (Ka I, c. 4200 BC – 3300 BC), ''typical'' (Ka II, c. 3300 BC – 2700 BC) and ''late Comb Ceramic'' (Ka III, c. 2800 BC – 2000 BC).

However, calibrated [[radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dates]] for the comb-ware fragments found (e.g., in the Karelian isthmus), give a total interval of 5600 BC – 2300 BC (''Geochronometria'' Vol. 23, pp 93–99, 2004).

Among the many styles of comb ware there is one which makes use of the characteristics of [[asbestos]]: [[Asbestos-Ceramic|Asbestos ware]]. In this tradition, which persisted through different cultures into the Iron Age, asbestos was used to temper the ceramic clay.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Helle|first=Knut|title=The Cambridge History of Scandinavia|last2=Kouri|first2=E. I.|last3=Oleson|first3=Jens E.|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-47299-7|location=Cambridge|pages=52}}</ref> Other styles are Pyheensilta, Jäkärlä, Kierikki, Pöljä and Säräisniemi pottery with their respective subdivisions. Sperrings ceramics is the original name given for the ''younger early Comb ware'' (Ka I:2) found in Finland.

==Habitations==
[[File:Kierikki Stone Age Centre Oulu Finland 02.jpg|thumb|Reconstructions of Stone Age dwellings in [[Kierikki]], Finland]]
[[File:Rajakangas Giant's Church.jpg|thumb|A so-called [[Giant's Church]] at Rajakangas, Oulu, Finland. The purpose of these large, rectangular stone structures is unclear.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://museot.keski-pohjanmaa.fi/vah_erik_7.htm |title=Arvoitukselliset jätinkirkot |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=26 January 2013 |work=Keskipohjalaisia museoita ja kulttuuriympäristöjä |publisher=Keski-pohjanmaan liitto |language=fi |access-date=26 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109130650/http://museot.keski-pohjanmaa.fi/vah_erik_7.htm |archive-date=9 November 2013 }}</ref>]]
The settlements were located at sea shores or beside lakes and the economy was based on hunting, fishing and the gathering of plants. In [[Finland]], it was a maritime culture which became more and more specialized in hunting seals. The dominant dwelling was probably a [[teepee]] of about 30 square meters where some 15 people could live. Also rectangular houses made of timber become popular in Finland from 4000 BC cal. Graves were dug at the settlements and the dead were covered with [[red ochre]]. The typical Comb Ceramic age shows an extensive use of objects made of [[flint]] and [[amber]] as grave offerings.

==Tools==
The stone tools changed very little over time. They were made of local materials such as [[slate]] and [[quartz]]. Finds suggest a fairly extensive exchange network: red slate originating from northern Scandinavia, asbestos from [[Lake Saimaa]], green slate from [[Lake Onega]], amber from the southern shores of the [[Baltic Sea]] and flint from the [[Valdai Hills|Valdai]] area in northwestern Russia.

==Art==
[[File:CombCeramicPottery.jpg|thumbnail|Comb ceramic pottery from Estonia, 4000-2000 BCE.]]

The culture was characterised by small figurines of burnt clay and animal heads made of stone. The animal heads usually depict moose and bears and were derived from the art of the [[Mesolithic]]. There were also many [[rock painting]]s.

There are sources noting that the typical comb ceramic pottery had a sense of luxury and that its makers knew how to wear precious amber pendants.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pohjola|first=Jari|title=Historical Perspectives to Postglacial Uplift: Case Studies from the Lower Satakunta Region|last2=Turunen|first2=Jari|last3=Lipping|first3=Tarmo|last4=Sivula|first4=Anna|last5=Marila|first5=Marko|date=2018|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-030-00970-0|location=Cham|pages=6}}</ref>

==Language==
In earlier times, it was often suggested that the spread of the Comb Ware people was correlated with the diffusion of the [[Uralic languages]], and thus an [[Proto-Uralic language|early Uralic]] language would have been spoken throughout this culture.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|pp=439-430}} It was also suggested that bearers of this culture likely spoke [[Finno-Ugric languages]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Taagepera|first=Rein|title=Estonia: Return To Independence|date=2018|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0813311999|location=New York|pages=11}}</ref> Another view is that the Comb Ware people may have spoken [[Paleo-European languages|Palaeo-European languages]], as some [[toponyms]] and [[hydronym]]s also indicate a non-Uralic, non-[[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] at work in some areas. In addition, modern scholars have located the [[Proto-Uralic homeland hypotheses|Proto-Uralic]] homeland east of the [[Volga]], if not even beyond the [[Urals]]. The great westward dispersal of the Uralic languages is suggested to have happened long after the demise of the Comb Ceramic culture, perhaps in the 1st millennium BC.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|pp=439-430}}

==Genetics==
Saag et al. (2017) analyzed three CCC individuals buried at [[Kudruküla]] as belonging to Y-hg [[Haplogroup R1a|R1a5-YP1272]] (R1a1b~ after ISOGG 2020), along with three [[mtDNA]] samples of mt-hg [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)#Haplogroup U5|U5b1d1]], [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)#Haplogroup U4|U4a]] and [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)#Haplogroup U2|U2e1]].{{sfn|Saag|2017}}

Mittnik (2018) analyzed two CCC individuals. The male carried [[Haplogroup R1|R1]] (2021: R1b-M343) and [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)#Haplogroup U4|U4d2]], while the female carried [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)#Haplogroup U5|U5a1d2b]]. Generally, the CCC individuals were mostly of [[Eastern Hunter-Gatherer]] (EHG) descent, with even more EHG than people of the [[Narva culture]].{{sfn|Mittnik|2018}}

Lamnidis et al. (2018) found 15% [[Western Hunter-Gatherer]] (WHG) ancestry, 65% [[Eastern Hunter-Gatherer]] (EHG) - higher than among earlier cultures of the eastern Baltic, and 20% [[Western Steppe Herder]] (WSH).{{sfn|Lamnidis|2018}}

[[File:Dugout boats Kierikki Centre Oulu 20130526.JPG|thumb|Dugout canoes, reconstruction]]

==See also==
* [[Pitted Ware culture]]
* [[Dnieper–Donets culture]]
* [[Rzucewo culture]]
* [[Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lamnidis |first1=TC |date=November 27, 2018 |title=Ancient Fennoscandian genomes reveal origin and spread of Siberian ancestry in Europe |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |publisher=[[Nature Research]] |volume=9 |issue=5018 |pages=2185–2193 |doi=10.1038/s41467-018-07483-5 |pmc=6258758 |pmid=30479341 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Mallory |first1=J. P. |author-link1=J. P. Mallory |last2=Adams |first2=Douglas Q. |author-link2=Douglas Q. Adams |year=1997 |chapter=Pit-Comb Ware Culture |title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |pages=429–430 |isbn=1884964982 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Mittnik |first1=Alisa |date=January 30, 2018 |title=The genetic prehistory of the Baltic Sea region |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |publisher=[[Nature Research]] |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages= 442|doi=10.1038/s41467-018-02825-9 |pmc=5789860 |pmid=29382937 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Saag |first1=Lehti |date=July 24, 2017 |title=Extensive Farming in Estonia Started through a Sex-Biased Migration from the Steppe. |journal=[[Current Biology]] |publisher=[[Cell Press]] |volume=27 |issue=14 |pages=2185–2193 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.022 |doi-access=free |pmid= 28712569}}
* {{cite book |last1=Zvelebil |first1=Marek |author-link1=Marek Zvelebil |year=2004 |chapter=Pitted Ware And Related Cultures Of Neolithic Northern Europe |editor1-last=Bogucki |editor1-first=Peter I. |editor2-last=Crabtree |editor2-first=Pam J. |title=Ancient Europe 8000 B.C.- A.D. 1000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lk1JnQEACAAJ |series=Encyclopedia of the Barbarian World |volume=1 |publisher=[[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]] |pages=431–435 |isbn=068480669X }}
{{Refend}}

{{Neolithic Europe|state=expanded}}
{{Prehistoric technology}}

[[Category:Neolithic cultures of Europe]]
[[Category:Mesolithic cultures of Europe]]
[[Category:Neolithic Europe]]
[[Category:Types of pottery decoration]]