Plants in the diet of the early farmers of the Zaisanovsky Cultural Tradition on the coast of the Peter the Great Bay (on materials from the Klerk-5 site)

The article exams materials reflecting the first appearance of farmers on the sea coast of Peter the Great Bay as terminal area of a multistage migration process of the farming population of East Asia. At the multilayered site Klerk-5, the deposits of light brown loam corresponding to this event are dated to the interval of 4600-4500 BP. Site catchment analysis provides insights into the resource base of this community, which differs from the original occupied areas. Assemblage of artifacts and eco-facts obtained using special field methods made it possible to reconstruct the fishing and hunting habits of the site’s inhabitants. The sphere of the subsistence system related to gathering and farming remained unclear. Previously, starch from plants related to these activities was found on stone tools. This article presents the study of ceramic of the first farmers by ancient starch analysis. Ancient starch was found on the most sherds. Analysis of all data showed that farmers retained the main set of cereal plants: two types of cultivated millet and wheat cereals. Gathering represented by acorns, wild lily bulbs, ferns, roots of other plants, hazelnuts, and wild fruits. For the first time, starch of eelgrass seeds (Zostera marina) was discovered on ceramic fragments. This sea grass has both technical and nutritional significance. Change of the resource base on the coast made little effect on the basic kit of the carbohydrate component of the diet.

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