Northeast Asia (4,365 – 2,638 BCE): Late Neolithic — Maritime Networks, Woodworking Fluency, and Early Social Ranking

Geographic and Environmental Context

Northeast Asia includes eastern Siberia east of the Lena River to the Pacific, the Russian Far East (excluding the southern Primorsky/Vladivostok corner), northern Hokkaidō (above its southwestern peninsula), and extreme northeastern Heilongjiang.

• Anchors: Amur delta–estuary, Sakhalin lagoons, Kamchatka river mouths, Okhotsk barrier bays, northern Hokkaidō shell rings.

Neosiberian Expansion and the Reshaping of Northeast Asia

Between roughly 4,000 and 3,000 BCE, Northeast Asia experienced a major influx of populations with strong East Asian ancestry, often referred to collectively as Neosiberians.

These groups largely replaced or absorbed the remaining Ancient Paleosiberians across Siberia. As a result:

• The earlier Paleo-Siberian genetic structure survived only in diluted form

• Many contemporary Siberian populations trace much of their ancestry to these later migrations

• The genetic landscape of Northeast Asia shifted decisively toward East Asian affinities

This transformation explains why modern Siberian peoples are not direct descendants of the Proto-Amerindian populations that gave rise to Native Americans.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Shorelines stabilized; warm-phase productivity high in eelgrass bays and salmon estuaries.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Shell-midden complexes on barrier spits; river estate-like clusters controlling salmon weirs and seal rookeries.

• Interior taiga camps exploited elk, reindeer, and furbearers.

Technology & Material Culture

• Plank-canoe carpentry advanced (mortise–tenon lashings, adze-finished strakes); sophisticated net weirs, fish fences.

• Ceramic specialization (smoking jars, storage vats, lamps); ground slate knives on the outer coast; composite bone harpoons.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Coastal short-hop voyaging stitched Sakhalin–Kurils–Hokkaidō; Amur–Sungari ferried ceramic and lithic styles inland; obsidian circuits from Hokkaidō/Kamchatka widened.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Enlarged feast middens, formalized cemeteries, and display goods (shell beads, tooth pendants) signal incipient ranking; bear crania deposits and salmon-offering locales persisted.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Estate-like tenure over salmon stations and seal rookeries stabilized access; surplus enabled social buffering against bad years.

Transition

By 2,638 BCE, the coastal–riverine economy had matured into ranked hamlets with maritime expertise that foreshadows later culture-area florescences.