Burov G.M.

Key words: Mesolithic sites, Vis I, Veret’ye I, radiocarbon analysis, fishing, fishing implements, woodwork, European North, lakes, Esox.
The article gives the age of Mesolithic sites in the north of European Russia (Fig. 1) that yielded finds of organic materials: Antrea, Nizhneye Veret’ye, Vis I, Veret’ye I and Lukinchikha, and the cemetery of Oleniyi Ostrov. The article describes fishing implements: wooden hoops of scoop-nets and network fish-traps (Figs. 3, 7; 4; 5 2 – 4), fish-trap of laths (Fig. 5, 1), bone harpoons (Figs. 7, 8 – 12; 8, 4) bone (Figs. 3, 1 – 4; 7, 1 – 7, 13 – 15; 8, 7, 8), and wooden (Fig. 8, 6) barbed arrow- and spearheads, leisters of wood and bone (Fig. 3, 5; 5, 5; 8, 1), bone fishing hooks (Figs. 3, 6; 8, 2,3,10, 11, 13, 15, 16), fishing nets (Fig. 6, 3, 4, 5), including floats made of bark (Figs. 2, 1 – 4; 6, 1) and stone and birchbark sinkers (Fig. 8, 5, 14), wooden discs of splashing sticks (Figs. 2, 6; 6, 6; 8, 9, 12, 17, 18) and oars (Fig. 2, 5, 7). The staple fish was pike. The level to which fishing skills had developed was not surpassed in Neolithic times. Such fishing skills are only found in microregions around large lakes and small rivers where there is mass migration of fish. The inhabitants led a sedentary life, however, fishers could also hunt or barter with hunters. Fishing was the specialty at Lukinchikha.