Re-examining millet impressions in Usatovo clay materials from NW Black Sea region, Ukraine

Abstract

The past decade has witnessed debates on the coherence of trans-Eurasian interaction into a particular episode, either the movement of ‘cultural package’ circulating around the 2nd millennium BC or a process more dispersed in time and space. Of particular are the very early published records of broomcorn and foxtail millet in Western Eurasia. Records of charred millet in Europe pre-dating the fifth millennium BC have been called into question using direct radiocarbon dating. The other component of the early millet evidence, impressions in ceramics, consequently becomes critical. In this article, we re-examine a key sub-assemblage of early millet impressions in Europe, specifically those found in Usatovo materials from NW Black Sea Region (Ukraine) as a case study to assess the authenticity of such identifications. We conclude that SEM examination of Usatovo samples reveals insufficient evidence for a secure identification of Panicum miliaceum although the void dimensions may be plausible. We also draw attention to features that could usefully be sought when examining impressions in the future.