Search results

1

Results of investigations into the Early Mesolithic site of Maroulas on the island of Kythnos (Western Cyclades)

100%

Kaczanowska M., Kozłowski J., Sampson A.

Recherches Archéologiques Nouvelle Serie

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2009

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vol. 1

397-406

EN

In the years 2001-2006, excavations were conducted at the site Maroulas, on the island of Kythnos. This site, dated at about 9400 years BP, in terms of taxonomy can be classified as "Aegean Mesolithic”, which refers to the tradition of Late Palaeolithic Epigravettien of the eastern part of the Mediterranean basin. This site differs from other previously known Mesolithic sites by: a) The presence of the circular stone structures and stone pavements, b) The presence of stone querns and grindstones what in turn suggests a greater role of plant food.

2

Sprawozdanie z badań archeologicznych w miejscowości Kalsko, stanowisko 12, gm. Międzyrzecz, woj. lubuskie

100%

Pogorzelski W.

Raport

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2013

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vol. 8

341-347

EN

The article presents the results of Report the archaeological excavations at site 12 in Kalsko related to the construction of the S-3 motorway between Gorzów Wielkopolski and Międzyrzecz. In total, the research provided the possibility to acquire a complex of 1099 relics, including: 21 cores, 3 tanged points, 11 microlithic tools, 8 end-scrapers, 9 burins and 2 flake-axes, among others. Analysis of the flint inventory acquired during the excavations provides the possibility to conclude that the site was settled in two periods. In the first one – they were left by the Lyngby culture, while in the second the relics of the camp are dated to the Mesolithic Period.

3

Dr hab. Zofia Sulgostowska, prof. IAE PAN

88%

Kobusiewicz M.

Archeologia Polski

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2014

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vol. 59

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issue 1-2

7-12

EN

Professor Zofia Sulgostowska is an outstanding prehistorian interested in the Paleolithic and Mesolithic primarily in Poland, the Baltic catchment area and countries of Eastern Europe. Her research is concentrated on important issues like settlement, economic basics, flint and mineral raw material supplies, interrelations between hunters and gatherers, the art and mortuary practices of these societies, the natural environment. She has published her results in more than 100 scholarly publications and papers read at many Polish and international conferences devoted to these issues. She has also found time to teach and to popularize her work. Her outstanding achievements have won her the respect of the scholarly world and her personal charm has given her the sympathy of her colleagues, archaeologists in Poland and abroad.

4

Doc. dr hab. Hanna Więckowska

88%

Schild R.

Archeologia Polski

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2011

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vol. 56

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issue 1-2

7-10

EN

Hanna completed archaeological studies at the University of Warsaw, defending an MA thesis on the Tardennoisian industry in Masovia and Podlaquia. Concurrently with her studies, she worked in several archaeological institutions. The Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences remained her place of work until her retirement in 1991. In 1965 she defended with the highest honors her doctoral thesis: Cultural differentiation in the Polish Mesolithic. In 1974 she received her habilitation degree, granted for lifetime scientific achievement, and a study entitled The hunting and fishing communities of the Early Holocene. She had the necessary skills to conduct her own fieldwork on a grand scale during the salvage excavation campaign in the Dębe Reservoir area on the Bug river, which she directed in 1958–1963. This campaign gave a breakthrough understanding of the Polish Mesolithic and its cultural base. A fundamental study (A cultural division of the Mesolithic in Masovia), written together with Maria Marczak, was published in 1967. In 1975 she published an extensive synthesis of the Mesolithic (Hunting and fishing communities of the Early Holocene) in the first volume of the monumental Prehistory of the Polish Lands. She carried also investigations in eastern and northern Poland. In 1967 the African chapter in her scholarly career began, associated entirely with the Combined Prehistoric Expedition Sudan, Etiopia nad Egypt. All in all, 35 research seasons on two continents. Modern archaeology of the Polish Mesolithic cannot be imagined without Hanna’s fieldwork which produced the most important chipped flint assemblages essential to the construction of a cultural taxonomy framework for the Mesolithic and scholarly writings.

5

Cremation Burials of Stone Age Hunter-Gatherers on the European Plain

88%

Bugajska K.

Światowit

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2020

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vol. 59

15-45

EN

Cremation burials of Stone Age hunter-gatherers were found at 21 sites across the European Plain (including southern Scandinavia). In total, there are 54 graves and deposits containing bones of at least 89 individuals. Sites with Mesolithic cremations are unevenly spread over the European Plain and there are some regions where this type of burial was more common, such as the Seine Valley and the Low Countries, southern Scandinavia or north-eastern Poland. In all of these regions, the oldest burials are dated to the Early Mesolithic, which indicates a parallel and independent origin of this custom. Moreover, each region or even cemetery has its own features of the cremation rite. In both the Western European Plain and southern Scandinavia, most burials are dated to the Middle Mesolithic and there are only a few examples linked to the Late Mesolithic. North-eastern Poland, including the Dudka cemetery, is probably the only region where cremation was practised on a wider scale in the Late Mesolithic and para-Neolithic. The share of cremations among all burial types differs between regions and cemeteries. It was probably a dominant practice in the Middle Mesolithic in the Netherlands. In other cases, cremation probably involved a large part of the local hunter-gatherer society, for instance at the Dudka cemetery in Masuria or in the Middle Mesolithic of Vedbæk Fiord (Zealand), whereas at the cemeteries in Skateholm it amounted to only a few percent, suggesting that it was practised in the case of the deceased of particular status or in unusual circumstances only.

6

Problem genezy zorganizowanej przemocy w świetle źródeł archeologicznych

88%

Skrzyniecki R.

Folia Praehistorica Posnaniensia

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2015

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vol. 20

449-471

PL

The problem of origins of violence in prehistory still raises many controversies among scholars representing nearly all branches of social sciences. The large number of existing interpretations only complicates the current state of research. This paper’s aim is to present and briefly discuss two main theoretical approaches to the problem, along with an attempt to evaluate them using archaeological record representing the earliest material evidence for small-scale organized warfare.

7

Zorganizowane i wyspecjalizowane obozowisko zbieraczy? Z wyników badań traseologicznych i przestrzennych materiałów mezolitycznych ze stanowiska Ludowice 6

88%

Osipowicz G.

Przegląd Archeologiczny

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2015

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vol. 63

59-85

XX

This article attempts to interpretation function and probable internal, spatial organization of the Late Mesolithic camps, discovered at western habitat at site Ludowice 6, Wąbrzeźno commune (central Poland). The site is located in the middle part of Chełmińskie Lakeland (Fig. 1), within a slope of a hill reaching the height of at most 100 m above the sea level. It is situated in the contact zone of sander and a large melt ice depression, presently filled with biogenic sediments (peat - Fig. 2). Excavation research was conducted here in 2009-2013. Altogether, it covered the area of 756m2. Prehistoric materials found on the examined part of the site formed three collections. According to the observations made during the excavations, as well as opinions of a soil scientist and a geomorphologist, they persisted here in the in situ contexts (Osipowicz et al. 2014). The first of the evolving concentrations (located farthest to the east) consists of remnants of Late Palaeolithic settlement, the remaining two are Mesolithic. Both Early Holocene aggregations found are relatively large (around 4 ares each). So far, precise analysis covered only artefacts originating from one of them, due to location called western habitat (Osipowicz et al. 2014). A spatial analysis of the spread of specimens found here allowed to distinguish two, partly overlapping flint scatters (numbered as 1 and 2 – Fig. 3-6). Altogether, the study of this area provided an unusually rich prehistoric material, which included, among others, 4026 flint artefacts. Technological and stylistic analyzes carried out indicate that these materials may be associated with the Komornica culture and dated for the late (Atlantic) phase of its development (Osipowicz et al. 2014). This chronology found its confirmation in the radiocarbon cross-dating of charcoal samples collected from the hearth, identified within the habitat (feature 10). Both dates provided by two different laboratories are very similar: 6540±45BP (Poz-52082) and 6660±80BP (KML-1706); they locate the described materials in the period directly preceding the occurrence of early-agricultural societies at the Chełmińskie Lakeland (Kirkowski 1994, 58). The basis for conclusions drawn in article were primarily the results of use-wear analyze, which covered all the artefacts from the habitat identified under the arable layer, i.e. specimens included in the planygraphy as well as the material from sieves, and also chosen artefacts from the arable layer (those for which there was no doubt as for their Mesolithic chronology, in practice geometrical insets and other backed forms as well as some end scrapers). Altogether, it covered 2031 flint artefacts, that is more than a half of the collection from the habitat. As a result of the conducted analysis, identified were 198 artefacts bearing use-wear traces, which were used for 209 functions (Tab. 1, Fig. 8-11). Function of the camps Flint scatter 1 may be considered as a remnant of some sort of a briefly used home structure and its backroom. Such interpretation is supported by several arguments. First, it is in agreement with the identification of a complex hearth and several other large features (Fig. 12), which may be considered as the result of activities of character going beyond temporary/occasional stay of a human group. Important is here also significant amount of bones found, and most of all the fact they originate from many animal species (Osipowicz et al. 2014), what may suggest a longer occupation of the place. Next of the arguments supporting this hypothesis is the functional structure of the collection, in which in a similar way (although in an usually small number) are represented artefacts related to processing of hide/meat and bone/antler, specimens associated with wood treatment are relatively numerous, but no significant content of projectile insets characteristic for hunting camps were found. It’s a very similar functional structure to observed in case of a collection from the flint scatter 2 in site Sąsieczno 4 (Osipowicz 2010, 238). Nevertheless described feature from Ludowice couldn’t be used for a longer time, what indicates a small amount of discovered tools. Situation is very different in the case of flint scatter 2. No fireplace was found here, no larger number of features, and no bones (Osipowicz et al. 2014), while the functional structure of the collection is generally quite similar to the one observed in case of flint scatter 1 from site Sąsieczno 4 (Osipowicz 2010, 238). Identified functional tools are mainly (omitting the group of tools for treatment of siliceous plants for the moment) artefacts related to the processing of hide and meat, projectile insets as well as functionally uncertain but maybe directly associated with gathering or hunting microscrapers (Osipowicz 2010: 239). Such structure of the tool group suggests a hunting profile of the location. Thus, we are dealing here with collections largely corresponding in terms of functional structure to chronologically close Early Holocene collections from the site Sąsieczno 4. Interesting is also the occurrence here of the homestead-hunting camp arrangement observed in Sąsieczno. However, it is not possible to confirm its homogeneity, what precludes any far-reaching reasoning, going spatially beyond the area of a single flint scatter. Here the analogies between the two sites end. In materials from both concentrations found in the western habitation in Ludowice very strongly represented is also a functional group essentially absent in Sąsieczno, i.e. tools used for processing of siliceous plants. Artefacts included in it dominate both the studied collections and occurred in many types, what allows to claim that they probably evidence the basic activity of Mesolithic hunters in Ludowice. The results of hitherto analyzes indicate that curved knives constituting this group were most probably used in splitting and combing of plant fibers (Vaughan, Bocquet 1987: 402; Juel Jensen 1994: 67; van Gijn 2010: 66, Osipowicz 2010: 96). However, so far one did not succeed to identify with certainty the species which could be treated with the help of these tools. It is believed that these were perhaps plants useful for instance in making ropes or cloth production (Juel Jensen 1994: 63). Perhaps the discovery of a large number of these artefacts in Ludowice is a resultant of production exceeding the needs of single group. The existence of specialized workshops in the Mesolithic is suggested by findings from the site 7 in Krzyż Wielkopolski (Kabaciński et al. 2008). Localization of camp in Ludowice might be in such case determined by the consumption of resources provided by a peat bog located here in the Late Mesolithic, but most of all flora of ecological zone associated with it. Perhaps the availability of certain siliceous plant species, determined by the moment and length of their growth season fixed the time and duration of stay of Mesolithic people at the discussed site (occasional camp? – Galiński 2011: 90). This question however, has to remain unanswered, at least until an unambiguous interpretation of bent knives’ function is known. Internal organisation of the camps The methodology applied during excavations in Ludowice, especially the way of collecting and cataloguing of flint materials, together with a very good state of site preservation, allowed to carry out a precise spatial analysis and shed light on possible internal organization of the camp. Observation that comes to mind even after only a superficial analysis of various sources’ distribution in the settlement is the fact that both distinguished main flint scatter (1 and 2) do not form ensembles, where functional artefacts are spread evenly (Fig. 12). In both cases, they are concentrated in specific (southern) regions of flint scatter, occupying an area of approximately 5m2. At the same time, these were places with the highest concentration of flint artefacts, beyond which there were no significant signs of functional tools or any other relevant source categories. Therefore, these sites comprise the zone of economic activity (EA zone) of Mesolithic groups and, interestingly, in both concentrations cover less than a half of area where flint artefacts forming the flint scatter. The second important observation is the presence of large features in the centre of both EA zones, around which the economic activity of human groups was probably centred. In flint scatter 1 it is a hearth (feature 10) while in flint scatter 2 it is feature 2, relatively rich in prehistoric material (Osipowicz et al. 2014). The area around these features can be analysed in terms of zonality of tools (observable to some extent) related to the processing of particular types of raw materials and other artefacts which express human economic activity within a particular EA zone (Fig. 12). And so, feature 10 in flint scatter 1 constituted not only the central area of flint processing, but also of treatment of other stone materials. On its western side, works related to the processing of siliceous plants were performed, while on east and south sides most of works in wood were carried out. Bones were abundant within the whole area, and are most likely the remains of meals prepared on the hearth. Organization of the EA zone of flint scatter 2 is slightly different. Stone raw material was processed on the west side of centrally located pit (feature 2). The eastern and southern part of the zone was the site of siliceous plants’ processing. However, there was also a narrow area in this zone related to treatment of hide and meat (Fig. 12). Moreover, several microscrapers and flint projectile points were present in a scattered manner in flint scatter 2, which is probably the result of a functional profile different from that observed in concentration 1. Both Mesolithic sites are characterized by a rather large analogy in terms of the overall functional structure, and particularly the organization of internal space of settlements. However, until the larger number of collections is investigated and observations made here are confirmed, no far-reaching conclusions concerning presented issues can be drawn.

8

WIELISZEW, POWIAT LEGIONOWSKI, STANOWISKA III, VIB; WYKOPY XVI, XVIIC: PRZYCZYNEK DO ROZWAŻAŃ NAD WYTWÓRCZOŚCIĄ KRZEMIENNĄ SCHYŁKOWEGO MEZOLITU (PRZEMYSŁ KOKROWSKI)

88%

Boroń T., Winiarska-Kabacińska M.

Archeologia Polski

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2016

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vol. 61

25-72

EN

Authors present an analysis of two Final Mesolithic flint assemblages from sites Wieliszew III and VIb in Central Poland. The sites comprised two artifact concentrations buried in trenches XVI and XVIIc. A number of quantitative and qualitative attributes characterize the two assemblages, namely: the dominance of scrapers over endscrapers, the occurrence of bipolar technique of flaking, the microlithic character of tools and the governance of trapezoidal pieces among the insets. These are the traits that have suggested a new discrete stylistic entity, which, subsequently, has been termed the Kokry industry. One hundred thirty and six flint artifacts from trench XVIIc show use-wear traces indicating heavy use. Hide processing wear has been the most frequent. In addition, the tools were involved in wood and bone processing, whereas the microliths were used as insets being elements of armament.

9

Wyniki badań archeologicznych w miejscowości Raczyn, stanowiska 4 i 7, gm. Czarnożyły, woj. łódzkie

88%

Ziętek J.

Raport

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2013

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vol. 8

403-418

EN

The site Raczyn 4 is located on the left bank of the River Pyszna, on the ridge of the periodically flooded terrace of the urstromtal of the river. The excavations embraced a total of 104 ares and revealed 651 settlement features. They led to the recognition of a site of the Lusatian culture of a settlement character, as well as traces related to other cultural groups from the Mesolithic and the Early Bronze. Settlement flourished at site 4 in Raczyn at the beginning of the 3rd period of the Bronze Age. The settlement established at the time operated until the Hallstatt period D. The excavations revealed residential features, furnaces, fireplaces, and an array of household pits and post holes left by the people of the Lusatian culture. Trench excavations helped recognised also a fragment of the settlement of the Lusatian culture at the site Raczyn 7. The investigations embraced an area of 15 ares and revealed 34 features of the Lusatian culture from the 3rd-4th period of the Bronze Age.

10

Ryby a rybolov v súdánském mezolitu a neolitu : předběžné výsledky z pohoří Sabaloka

88%

Sůvová Z., Suková L.

Pražské egyptologické studie (Prague Egyptological Studies)

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2014

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issue 13

61-67

EN

Several thousands of fish remains were excavated by the mission of the Czech Institute of Egyptology (Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague) at Jebel Sabaloka (West Bank) in 2011–2012. The fish bones came from two sites: 1) Fox Hill (Mesolithic and Neolithic), 2) Sphinx (Mesolithic), and were obtained by both standard excavation and sieving. Altogether, fourteen fish families were determined in the assemblages. The most common taxa were the Nile perch (Lates niloticus) and silurids (esp. Synodontis, Clarias and Bagrus), and also Alestiidae and Citharinidae. The assemblage from the Mesolithic settlement at Sphinx contained more open-water elements than the Mesolithic and Neolithic site of Fox Hill, where shallow- water taxa were also abundant. The majority of the finds were vertebrae.

11

Ślady osadnictwa mezolitycznego i neolitycznego we wsi Kokotów, gm. Wieliczka, woj. małopolskie, stanowisko 20

88%

Czerniak L., Wąs M., Józwiak B., Szydłowski M.

Raport

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2015

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vol. 10

7-42

EN

The article presents the results of rescue excavations undertaken in connection with the construction of A4 motorway. The site is situated in the south-eastern outskirts of Cracow, in the area of the vast, sandy valley of the Vistula river. That area is distinguished from the predominant area of loess highlands in terms of the environmental conditions, particularly good for gathering and hunting, grazing cattle and obtaining various resources. The survey of that and several other, similarly located sites show that the zone became attractive, apart from the period of dominance of gathering and hunting communities, as late as in the Eneolithic and the early Bronze Age. The 161 pits, as well as the pottery and flint artefacts, recorded in Kokotów in the area of 0.56 ha, present the following chronological profile: a Mesolithic temporary campsite followed by a multiphase, but, in all cases, rather temporary presence of the Funnel Beaker culture community, the Corded Ware culture, the Mierzanowice and Trzciniec cultures. An important element of the nature of the profile of exploitation of that zone in the Eneolithic period and the early Bronze Age on the site in Kokotów are quite numerous relics connected with making and using flint axes, which may suggest obtaining wood.

12

Przyczynek do poznania środkowej epoki kamienia w Polsce środkowo-wschodniej. Mezolityczne stanowisko Pulki 1 w dolinie Wisły pod Puławami

75%

Połtowicz-Bobak M., Bobak D.

UR Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

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2019

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issue 3(12)

5-21

PL

Rejon Puław jest słabo rozpoznany pod kątem osadnictwa przedneolitycznego. Znane są stąd nieliczne stanowiska, które można łączyć z paleolitem lub mezolitem. Należy do nich nowe stanowisko Pulki 1 położone na łagodnym stoku wydmy opadającym ku dopływowi rzeki Kurówki. Materiały z czasów poprzedzających początek neolitu stanowią jedynie niewielką część znalezisk. Pozyskano w sumie 411 zabytków krzemiennych. W skład inwentarza wchodzi 17 rdzeni, łuszczeń, 50 narzędzi, oraz debitaż i odpadki. Artefakty wykonano z kilku rodzajów surowców kamiennych, głównie z lokalnego krzemienia narzutowego. Mniej licznie reprezentowany jest krzemień czekoladowy, świeciechowski i wołyński. Niemal 40% inwentarza jest przepalona. W grupie rdzeni dominują drobne albo nawet mikrolityczne rdzenie do wiórków, niekiedy połączonych z otrzymywaniem odłupków lub wiórów. Niemal wszystkie to formy szczątkowe, jednopiętowe lub ze zmianą orientacji. Ponad połowę debitażu stanowią wióry i wiórki. Odłupki to głównie odpadki z zapraw bądź napraw rdzeni. W grupie narzędzi dominują zbrojniki (wiórki tylcowe, trójkąty i trapezy, półtylczaki) i drapacze, które łącznie stanowią 60% wszystkich narzędzi. Wśród pozostałych występują dwa liściaki trzpieniowate oraz ciosak. Z analizy inwentarza wynika, że jest to niemal w całości pozostałość osadnictwa mezolitycznego – najpewniej młodszej fazy kultury komornickiej. Tylko pojedyncze zabytki są na pewno starsze (liściaki) bądź młodsze (grocik z wklęsłą podstawą).Stanowisko w Pulkach jest kolejnym śladem osadnictwa z początków holocenu odnotowanym na obszarach położonych po wschodniej stronie Wisły. Jest to też jedno z nielicznych stanowisk, które przebadano wykopaliskowo.

EN

The Puławy region is poorly recognized in terms of pre-Neolithic settlement. There are few known sites that can be connected with the Palaeolithic or Mesolithic, among them Pulki 1. The site is located on a gentle slope of a dune, falling towards a tributary of the Kurówka river. The materials dating from before the beginning of the Neolithic period constitute only a small part of the findings. A total of 411 flint artefacts have been obtained. The inventory consists of 17 cores, 1 flake, 50 tools, debris and waste product. Artefacts are made of several types of stone raw materials, mainly local erratic flint. Chocolate, Świeciechów and Volhynian flint is less represented. Nearly 40% of the artefacts are burnt. The group of cores is dominated by small or even microlithic cores for bladelets, sometimes combined with obtaining flakes or bladelets. Almost all of them are residual forms, mono-directional or with a change of orientation. More than half of the debitage is made up of blades or bladelets. Flakes are mainly waste from core preparation or repairs. The group of tools is dominated by microliths (backed bladelets, triangles and trapeze, truncated bladelets) and endscrapers, which together account for 60% of all tools. Among the others, there are two tanged points and an adze. The inventory analysis shows that this is almost entirely a relic of the Mesolithic settlement – most probably of the younger phase of the Komornicka culture. Only single artefacts are certainly older (tanged points) or younger (a point with a concave base). The site in Pulki is another trace of settlement from the beginning of the Holocene recorded in areas located on the eastern side of the Vistula. It is also one of the few sites which were excavated.

13

A bullet core specimen form NE Bulgaria

75%

Gatsov I., Nedelcheva P., Kaczanowska M., Kozłowski J. K.

Acta Archaeologica Carpathica

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2017

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vol. LII

14

Przemysł ze skał niekrzemiennych w mezolicie ziem polskich? Z wyników badań stanowiska Ludowice 6, gm. Wąbrzeźno

75%

Osipowicz G.

Przegląd Archeologiczny

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2013

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vol. 61

145-188

EN

Stone products constitute one of the basic types of sources identified on Stone Age sites. In case of the earlier and middle phase of this period it is often the only source. The area of Polish Lands is rich in flints, what made them the basic raw material used for tool production in this region during primeval times. Other rock species had less importance in this regard. However, as is commonly believed, they were used for making macrolithic forms of different types. The introduction of such classification, particularly its uncritical acceptance, despite the fact that it is often reflected at the archeological sites, may however generate mistakes. It is not a secret that in areas of difficult access to flint, technically inferior types of fine crystalline rocks, e.g. quartz, quartzite, fine crystalline sandstones etc., were often utilized in production of tools of everyday use as equivalents. One cannot exclude that this happened also on the territory of Poland. Recently, a very interesting collection of stone artifacts from non-flint rocks has been discovered during the study of multicultural site Ludowice 6, in the Wąbrzeźno commune. Ludowice 6 site, Wąbrzeźno comm. The Ludowice 6 site is located in the central part of the Chełmno Lake District, on the Chełmińska Height, in the contact zone of sandur and a large kettle hole, filled with biogenic sediments (peat) (Fig. 1). Archeological research of the site began in 2009 on behalf of the Institute of Archeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, and so far they have covered the area of 628,5m2 (Fig. 2). The group of collected mobile sources includes (as for 2012): 11349 flint artifacts, 674 artifacts from other stone materials, 227 bones and (in the peat part) a few wooden sources. The main settlement phase of this area of the site took place in the Mesolithic, when it used to be frequently visited mostly by the representatives of Komornica culture (Duvensee tradition) in Atlantic period). Primaeval materials discovered on the site occurred in three aggregations. On the basis of observations made in the course of archeological research as well as opinions of a soil scientist and a geomorphologist it was concluded that Mesolithic materials occurring in the sandur part of the site, in the top of rusty soil, are located in the primary deposit (in situ) and were not subject to significant displacements. Results of material, morphological and technological analysis of materials from non-flint rocks During previous research at the Ludowice 6 site discovered have been 579 stone artifacts made of non-flint rocks, qualified for further analyze as specimens potentially subjected to treatment. Petrographic study of this collection, conducted by dr Halina Pomianowska from the Department of Geology and Hydrogeology of the Institute of Geography, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, showed that the majority of them was made from red quartz porphyry, ferruginous quartz sandstone or fine-grained red granite (Tab. 1). The collection contained also, in much smaller amounts, items from other species of granite and sandstone, quartzites, gneisses, mudstones, slates and single minerals of quartzes and feldspars. The material was subjected to multifaceted analysis, the main aim of which was the verification the hypothesis on its anthropogenity. Red quartz porphyry It is the most frequently represented type of raw material in the analyzed collection. Discovered were 297 artifacts made of this material (Tab. 1). The group of specimens identified as cores amounts to 13 pieces and includes: one striking platform blade core with a prepared striking platform (Tabl. 1: 1, Fig. 3: 1), two artifacts of core that has changed orientation or are two striking platform cores (Tabl. 1: 2, 3; Fig. 3: 4), three specimens which can be considered as splintered cores (Tabl. 1: 4-6; Fig. 3: 3), three specimens with attributes of multi platform flake cores (Tabl. 1: 7; Fig. 3: 2) and four forms with single negatives. The group of blades contained 15 artifacts (Tabl. 1: 8-12; Fig. 3: 5, 6). Besides the material the group included also a specimen with features of a partly-crested blade (Tabl. 1: 13). 247 flakes and pieces of porphyry waste (Tabl. 1: 14-18; Fig. 3: 7-9) as well as 13 technical specimens were collected at the site (Tabl. 1: 19-24; Fig. 3: 12). The collection of probable morphological tools amounts to 22 specimens. One can distinguish: four end-scrapers (Tabl. 2: 1-3, 5; Fig. 3: 10, 16, 18), a retouched blade (Tabl. 2: 4; Fig. 3: 15), a fragment of microlith, certainly a triangle (Tabl. 2: 6; Fig. 3: 14), two side scrapers (Tabl. 2: 7, 8; Fig. 3: 17), four retouched flakes (Tabl. 2: 9-12; Fig. 3: 13), a retouched core form (Tabl. 2: 13), five burins (Tabl. 2: 14-16; Fig. 3: 11) and four forms the features of which do not allow for their more certain typologization. Red granite 115 artifacts made of this material were distinguished (Tab. 1), among which found were three core forms: one striking platform flake core (Tabl. 3: 1), both sides, bipolar splintered core (Tabl. 3: 2; Fig. 4: 1) and multi striking platform flake core in early stages of debitage. 12 artifacts of blade parameters occurred (Tabl. 3: 3-6; Fig. 4: 2, 3), besides which four blade technical forms deserve attention (Tabl. 3: 7-10; Fig. 4: 4, 5). The group of flakes and waste contained 97 specimens (Tabl. 3: 11-15; Fig. 4: 6-8). In the collection three forms with features of morphological tools were distinguished, all of them are burins (Tabl. 3: 16-18; Fig. 4: 9). Red quartzite sandstone The collection contained 99 artifacts z red quartzite sandstone (Tab. 1). Distinguished were four one striking platform cores (Tabl. 4: 1, 2; Fig. 4: 15) and one two striking platform core (Tabl. 4: 3; Fig. 4: 16). Blades are represented by 13 specimens (Tabl. 4: 4-9; Fig. 4: 14, 17-19) and two blade technical forms (Tabl. 4: 10, 11). Identified were 74 flakes and pieces of waste (Tabl. 4: 12-16; Fig. 4: 20, 22-24). The collection of artifacts considered as morphological tools amounts to seven specimens, including six probable burins (Tabl. 4: 17-20, 5: 4; Fig. 4: 21, 5: 4-6). Grey quartz sandstone 28 artifacts made of this raw material were collected (Tab. 1). The group of cores contained four one striking platform forms (Tabl. 5: 1-3; Fig. 5: 1-3) and blade specimen with the attributes of two striking platform core. The group of semi product included one blade and 22 flakes and pieces of waste. The only distinguished morphological tool is a blade with a retouched cavity (Tabl. 5: 5; Fig. 5: 6). Quartzite The collection contained 18 quartzite artifacts (Tab. 1). This group included: hypothetical core (Tabl. 3: 19; Fig. 4: 10), four blades (Tabl. 3: 20-22; Fig. 4: 13), 10 flakes and three tools: end-scraper (Tabl. 3: 25; Fig. 4: 11), a retouched bulb part of a blade (Tabl. 3: 24; Fig. 4: 12) and a burin (Tabl. 3: 23). Other materials Besides the artifacts described above, the collection included also single specimens of other rock species, such as: gneisses, mudstones, slates and single minerals of quartzes and feldspars. Artifacts or geofacts? Artifacts of quartz porphyry The group of porphyry artifacts is the largest one. The search for the origin of the collection began with testing the surface of the site and its surroundings for the presence of possible porphyry sources. Results of this investigation showed that the material was concentrated only within the site. Further analysis of the spread of porphyry artifacts was restricted to the area covered by excavations. It was found that they occurred here only in trenches, in which registered were the remnants of primaeval settlement (Fig. 6). Their spreading manner was not uniform. In the western habitat they used to accumulate in the centre of the area covered by research, in the region of registration of the largest number of other types of artifacts, constituting a clearly visible aggregation (Fig. 7). In the habitat located more towards east one can distinguish two aggregations of this type. The spreading manner of the materials indicates its anthropogenic origin and connection with primaeval source present at the site. Further arguments for this hypothesis were provided by results of artifacts’ morphological analysis. All the porphyry cores wear traces of processing, characteristics of which indicate a connection with intentional human activity. Systems of negatives observed on them carry the marks of intentionality of undertaken activities, and their forms themselves and techniques applied in their treatment have strict analogies in flint artifacts. Also the majority of identified porphyry material wears identical signs indicating the anthropogenic origin. Further arguments were provided by the analysis of a group of morphological tools. Attention is drawn here by similarity of porphyry forms to those registered among artifacts made of flint. Also the very manner of their production, including the applied retouch, is analogous and differs significantly in the majority of cases, from use or post-depositional fractures (Osipowicz in print). Similar conclusions can be drawn through analysis of the distinguished burins. Also adjustments, to which some of the artifacts were subjected, e.g. end-scrapers, find their analogies in collections of flint materials (Osipowicz 2010, 196-201). Use-wear analyze of the collection led to registration of quite uniform damage. All the analyzed artifacts had rounded edges (both in the retouched and raw parts – Fig. 8a), what indicates significant post-depositional changes of their surface. However, on their isolated fragments observed were smoothness and atypical linear polish (Fig. 8b). It is hardly visible and may raise doubts. However, the set contained two specimens the with damage of very probable usage character. On the first one a rounding was observed, very clearly visible also macroscopically (Fig. 9a), the further microscopic analysis of which showed the presence of spread linear polish of invasive range, covering the top parts of the micro structure of the material (Fig. 9b). On the second artifact (scraper) discovered were very well developed polish as well as linear traces (Fig. 10). To the use-wear analyze subjected was also the only one in the collection microlith (probable triangle). On the specimen identified was a „spin off” and a series of several micro-burin facets, completely damaging the blade of the artifact ad one of its sides (Fig. 11). Observed traces indicate that the specimen was used as a arrow- or spearhead. Results of all conducted analyses seem thus to indicate the anthropogenity of the collection of porphyry artifacts. Granite artifacts The range of occurrence of granite artifacts was related to spreading of other types of artifacts and in some places they used to occur in aggregations (Fig. 12, 13). Features of some specimens quite clearly indicate the anthropogenic origin. The group of cores contained two forms with ordered negatives, the arrangement and characteristics of which have a strict analogy in techniques used in Stone Age in flint material treatment. Both the specimen identified as blade core and splintered core wear traces of planned, multi-phased treatment, aimed at obtaining a regular semi-product. Anthropogenic features are present also in specimens considered as semi-product, particularly blades. In the majority of cases they have regular, parallel sides, convergent layout of negatives on the top side and trapezoidal cross-sections. Of major importance is here also, undoubtedly, the presence of four technical forms, having strict analogies among flint artifacts. Similar regularity is characteristic for the majority of specimens ascribed to the group of flakes. Anthropogenity of this collections seems very probable. Artifacts made of quartzite sandstone Sandstone artifacts occurred in aggregations the range of which was restricted to the distribution zone of other types of primaeval products. Basically, the aggregations of these artifacts covered the range of aggregations of artifacts made of other materials, although some discrepancies have been also registered here (Fig. 14, 15). Worth noting is a significant uniformity of these materials. The majority of them (78%) are specimens made of ferruginous quartzite sandstone; the remaining ones differ only in color from them. This type of sandstone is well fissible and despite appearances quite hard. Experiments with its treatment showed that one can obtain from it a semi-product of varying size and very sharp edges, including blades, from which various tools can be made, also microliths (Fig. 16). All the discovered cores of quartzite sandstone are characterized by ordered negatives, the arrangement of which shows tendencies to made flakes with parallel edges and parameters close to blades. What draws attention is a large resemblance of the described forms and clear ways of dealing with them to those observed in case of flint artifacts. A similar statement can be formulated in relation to the identified semi-product. The content of the group of morphological tools is most probably due to technological parameters of the quartzite sandstone. All the discovered morphological burins from the collection were made based on the techniques used in flint materials treatment. Among the flint artifacts they also have strict analogies. Their connection with human activity, similarly as in the case of the remaining quartzite sandstone artifacts, seems quite certain. Quartzite artifacts The collection of quartzite products is not very numerous, what causes problems in its precise analysis. Of anthropogenic origin are, however, most probably all the distinguished morphological tools, what is supported by their forms and the arrangement of negatives observed on them. To sum up the above remarks, it is clear that all the precisely discussed materials were certainly processed to a varying degree at the Ludowice 6 site. Analyzing their distribution in the region covered with excavations one may statistically distinguish at least five places of their concentration. Certainly, these are not remains of points of intense material treatment, but rather traces of its use or possibly its occasional processing. In the western habitat two concentrations are distinguished, one of which contains mainly porphyry and sandstone artifacts (22 specimens in total), and the other – those made of sandstone and granite (17 specimens). In the habitat located further to the East at least three concentrations are found, amounting to 35, 15 and 13 artifacts. In one of them artifacts from porphyry, sandstone and granite occurred; the latter material did not occur in the two remaining concentrations. All the concentrations from the eastern aggregation should be considered as examined only fragmentarily. Possible reasons of non-flint rocks treatment at the Ludowice 6 site The actual genesis of the collection of porphyry artifacts seems to be described by results of the conducted morphological and use-wear analysis. They show that porphyry cracking in Ludowice bears the characteristics of coring oriented at the production of semi-product and tools used for various works. However, at this stage of research it is difficult to tell what kind of. The conducted experimental studies (Fig. 17) suggest that porphyry products only in slight degree (if at all) are inferior to flint tools, concerning both the effectiveness and resistance to damage, or versatility. Use-wear analysis of the experimental tools showed that use-wear traces occurring on porphyry tools may be quite similar to those observed on flint specimens (Fig. 18, 19). However, it is premature to transfer these observations onto primaeval artifacts. It is even more difficult to talk about the reasons of granite knapping at the Ludowice site. Most likely, however, crumbs (wastes) and some of the flakes found originate from the treatment of grinders and other macrolithic tools, the remaining ones form small-scale coring. Its reason remains unclear at this stage. Probably, an analogous is the situation in case of artifacts made of quartzite sandstones. Some of the flakes are certainly a remnant of the process of sanding plate production. However, as can be inferred from the presence and forms of the excavated cores, parameters of blades and flakes, and particularly the finding of specimens subjected to secondary treatment (i.e. morphological tools), the great majority of the found sandstone artifacts was formed probably in the course of coring, oriented at the production of semi-product, and – in consequence – tools. Unfortunately, concerning the technological parameters of the rock, we are unable at the moment (similarly as in the case of granite) to determine what was the purpose of their use. Industry chronology At the Ludowice site, covered by excavation research, identified were remains of primaeval settlement from three periods: Late Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Early Bronze Age. The planigraphic distribution of the deposition of described artifacts (Fig. 20, 21) as well as their morphological features allow to suggest their connection with the Mesolithic. Summary The industry of non-flint rocks distinguished at the Ludowice 6 site constitutes only less than 5% of all stone and flint artifacts collected so far from its surface. It is, however, certainly something new and raising interest on the ground of the present knowledge about the Middle Stone Age of the Polish Lands. Such aggregations are, however, present in the European Mesolithic, especially in places poor in high quality flint raw materials. Quartz and quartzite belonged to the basic materials used in tool production in some regions of Scandinavia and Ireland (Larsson 1990, 282; Price 1991, 220; Bang-Andersen 1996, 439; Bergman i in. 2003, 1456; Olofsson 2003, 3-4; Driscoll, Warren 2007; Ballin 2008, 8-14; Bailey 2008, 81; Hertell, Tallavaara 2011, 11; Manninen, Knutsson 2011, 169-173; Manninen, Tallavaara 2011, 194). They occur also, for instance, in materials from the area of Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, and even Spain (Gob, Jacques 1985, 167; Pallarés, Mora 1995, 68; Kriiska, Lőugas 1999; Kind 2006, 217; Bailey 2008, 229). At the Mesolithic Scandinavian sites one can find also porphyry artifacts (MacCurdy 1927, 397; 1937, 496; Larsson 1990, 282; Olofsson 2003, 3-4), constituting in some cases (e.g. Garaselet site in Sweden) almost 3/4 of the collection (Olofsson 2003, 9). Like (probably) at the Ludowice site, this rock was used in this region also for production of microliths (Manninen, Knutsson 2011, 146, 169, fig. 2). Quartzite sandstones were subjected to treatment in the Mesolithic at some Finnish and Estonian sites Kriiska, Lőugas 1999; Kankaanpää, Rankama 2011, 43). They were, however, subjected to treatment also in other region of Europe, e.g. in Spain (Pallarés, Mora 1995, 68). Granitoids, in the Middle Stone Age, were used mainly in production of macrolithic tools. The residues of granite treatment were found for instance in the Netherlands, Denmark or northern part of Urals (MacCurdy 1937, 496; Holst 2010, 2873; Mosin, Nikolsky 2010, 6). Some time ago also in Poland opinions started appearing, in which postulated is the possibility of treatment of different kinds of non-flint rocks at late glacial and early Holocene sites. This suggestion was first put forward by S. W. Krukowski and A. Nowakowski (Nowakowski 1976, 68). About early Holocene artifacts of this type H. Więckowska and M. Chmielewska (2007, 30-33) have written recently. Without a doubt, one should also mention here that artifacts made of red quartzite sandstone, analogous to those excavated in Ludowice, occurred also in a relatively large number at a, located only several tens of kilometers from the described site, Mesolithic cemetery in Mszano (site 14). Identified were here as well, although less numerous, artifacts made of red porphyry quartzite. Due to the dune character of the cemetery in Mszano, the presence of the recalled specimens cannot have natural reasons. In the light of cited data, the industry of Ludowice does not constitute, on the ground of European findings, something unusual, although the observations made will certainly be strengthened through acquiring more artifacts and reconstruction, by experimental and technological-morphological studies, of the full operational chain accompanying the treatment of the described materials. Confirmation is required also in the case of conclusions drawn in the course of the conducted use-wear analyses. Archeological works at the Ludowice site are still underway, while the conducted analyses are incomplete, what makes a future verification of the drawn conclusions possible. Certainly, doubts are raised by some of the described artifacts, particularly if one tries to consider them separately. However, taking into account the data collected so far, anthropogenity of the majority of analyzed materials seems very probable. Sources obtained in the course of research at the Ludowice 6 site indicate cracking of different types of non-flint rocks and production of tools from them. Stratigraphic-planigraphic observations made as well as results of preliminary technological-morphological analyses allow to date them for Mesolithic. The matter of the genesis of this process remain open. Perhaps important for the solution of this problem will be the presence in the collection of flint artifacts of quite specific microliths (shouldered points), having close analogies in Mesolithic Scandinavian and Western European materials (Price 1987, 258; Sjöström 1997, 8, Fig. 5:1-5; Galiński 2002, p. 59). With high degree of probability it should be stated that reasons of the formation of this industry should not be looked for in local material situation but rather in cultural traditions.

15

RYDNO IV/47. ORGANIZACJA PRZESTRZENNA OBOZOWISK W KRZEMIENICY KULTURY JANISŁAWICKIEJ W ŚWIETLE BADAŃ FUNKCJONALNYCH, SKŁADANEK ORAZ PLANIGRAFII ZNALEZISK ARCHEOLOGICZNYCH

75%

Boroń T., Winiarska-Kabacińska M., Sołodko A.

Archeologia Polski

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2019

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vol. 64

125-155

EN

The article studies Mesolithic campsites of Janisławice culture at the Rydno IV/47 site in terms of their spatial organization and functional attributes. Traseological analyses of flint artifacts (scrapers, endscrapers, burins, points, truncated blades, retouched blades and flakes, crested blades and ordinary blades) from three concentrations revealed use-wear traces in the case of 32 specimens. These traces could be attributed to activities such as processing animal carcasses and processing of plants and wood.

16

Najstarsze osadnictwo mezolityczne w strefie zachodniobałtyckiej w świetle badań stanowiska Bolków 1

75%

Galiński T.

Przegląd Archeologiczny

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2015

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vol. 63

29-57

XX

During excavations being conducted on the site Bolków 1 (Figs 1-2) in the 2010-2011 seasons, two campsites representing the oldest Mesolithic settlement in the Western Baltic zone have been discovered and examined. Their dating is based on stratigraphy (Figs 3-4), palynological examinations and radiocarbon determinations (14C) for younger Duvensian assemblages (T. Galiński 2014) and refers to the 1st half of the Late Preboreal (Fig. 12). The concentrations are situated in close proximity to each other on a platform of the middle floodplain terrace of the former lake Krynickie (Fig. 5). The western campsite (I/2010W) is 6.5 m x 5.5 m in size and its overall area is about 28 m2. In the central-western part of the cluster, there is a pit object with irregular outline, 1.35 m x 0.70-0.95 m in size. The eastern campsite (I/2010E) is 7.0 m x 6.0 m in size and its overall area is about 32 m2. In the eastern part of the cluster, there is a household pit with irregular outline, 1.42 m x 1.00-1.28 m in size. Apart from flint and lithic products, tools and items made of organic raw materials (antlers, bone, wood) and relatively numerous paleozoological material have been found in the campsite under discussion. In the first place, this group of artefacts includes a hunting bow, about half complete, made of elm (Fig. 9:1). The characteristic forms of flint cores being found in the two discussed campsites are presented in Figure 6. They were primarily used to produce blades, stylistically correct, with the following parameters: a – narrow, 0.9-1.2 cm wide and 3.1-4.0 cm long; b – medium, 1.3-1.8 cm wide, with the length ranging from 3.5 to 4.8 cm; and c – broad and very broad, 1.9-3.4 cm wide and, maximum, up to 7.0 cm long. Blades, less often flakes, were used to produce mainly dihedral burins (Fig. 7:12; Fig. 8:17, 20) and burins on truncation (Fig. 7:13; Fig. 8: 16, 18), end-scrapers (Fig. 7:10-11; Fig. 8:15, 19), truncations (Fig. 8:11, 13) and microliths (Fig. 7:1-9; Fig. 8:1-10). They are accompanied by groovers (Fig. 7:14; Fig. 8:12), regularly retouched blades Klosterlund type (Fig. 8:14), denticulate tools (Fig. 7:15), and core-axes and picks (Table 1). Significant differences which occur between assemblages of the two campsites refer to the qualitative frequency of respective microlith categories (Table 2). In the western campsite, there are no triangles at all; Komornica micro-truncations (Fig. 7:5-6, 9) and the Vig-type points (Fig. 7:1-4, 8) are predominant. In the eastern campsite, apart from Komornica micro-truncations (Fig. 8:1-4) and the Vig-type points, backed blades have a prominent place, including in particular the specimens being broken into truncated edge (Fig. 8:5-7). In addition, isosceles triangles (Fig. 8:9) and scalene triangles (Fig. 8:10) are present here. In respect of taxonomy, the two campsites represent a Flixtonian assemblage – the oldest Mesolithic formation in the Western Baltic zone, being dated back on the grounds of numerous radiocarbon determinations to 9700/9600-9000 BP (T. Galiński 2002, p.151 et seq.). These assemblages refer culturally to local, lowland Paleolithic groups of the tanged point and backed blade character from the Youngest Dryas. Among others, campsite PF/2011 on the site Bolków 1 (Fig. 10) belongs to them. In the light of the results of research being conducted on the site in Bolków, two cultural and chronological phases need to be distinguished in the technological and typological development of Flixtonian assemblages. In respect of taxonomy, the older phase is closer to Paleolithic groups of the end of the Youngest Dryas, while the younger one is closer to the oldest classic (fully developed) Mesolithic assemblages. 1. Assemblages representing phase A: Bolków 1, F/2010W; Duvensee 8 and Duvensee 9; Pinneberg, lower horizon; Barmose 1; Skottemarke and Vig. 2. Assemblages representing phase B: Bolków 1, F/2010E; Chwalim 1, lower horizon; Friesack 4, horizon A; Wehldorf 7; Draved 604 “S”; Draved 611; Klosterlund; Sønder Hadsund; Hasbjerg 2; Svenstorp; Henninge Boställe; and others. Older phase assemblages on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea occur in the period between 9700 and 9350 BP, whereas in the northern regions of the European Plain – in Scandinavia – they appear slightly later, about 9500 BP, and occur much longer – to about 9200 BP. Younger phase assemblages appear in the Polish Plain and the North German Plain about 9500 BP and occur to about 9350 BP. In the southern Scandinavia, these assemblages are dated back to the period between about 9400 and 9000 BP. Palynological, dendrological and paleobotanical examinations, as well as paleozoological ones, being carried out in Bolków enable full reconstruction of natural environment at the time in which the oldest Mesolithic settlement occurred. At the beginning of the Late Preboreal, there was a phase of absolute predominance of birch trees (betula undiff.) with pine (Pinus sylvestris t.); there was also alder (Alnus undiff.), poplar (Populus), willow (Salix undiff.), common hazel (Corylus avellana), European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and common juniper (Juniperus communis). The list of animal species living in the nearby forests and waters, and hunted by the then inhabitants of the site, presents a typical fauna composition for the central-western part of the European Plain in the Preboreal period (T. Galiński 2014). The campsites of the oldest Mesolithic hunters (Flixtonian) occupied the same platform of the middle terrace as the Paleolithic settlement from the end of the Youngest Dryas (campsite PF/2011) but, due to a rise in water levels in the lake, they were located only about 15-20 m away from the former lake-shore. The groups of hunters dwelled in small huts (4-5 m in diameter) embedded in the ground and constructed from wooden poles and perches, tree branches, animal hides and turf. Also birch bark was commonly used to line the interior of such structures. The economy was based on hunting, in the first place for big forest game, such as elk, red deer, aurochs and roe-deer, as well as fishing – primarily for pikes – in a nearby water reservoir. Also the gathering of forest produce, including hazel nuts, played a big role. The basic weapon of both hunter and warrior was a bow. Based on a fragment of the bow stick being preserved in the western campsite (Fig. 9:1), it is known that large, heavy bows, among others, with a considerable range and great penetrating power (a suitable weapon for large animals), were used. The widespread use of such heavy bows in that time may be suggested by large and even very large – as for this type of tools– microliths, being used as arrow-heads. As evidenced by the find in Vig on Zealand, where flint points, being undoubtedly remnants of arrows, have been found near aurochs remains, they are backed and truncated points, fairly robust, of the Vig type. It should be noted that the majority of microliths of this type have a considerably larger surface and weight than the leaf-shaped arrow-heads being used by reindeer hunters. It seems, therefore, that there is an obvious relationship here between the character of arrow-heads and bow size and the type of animals which were hunted. Thus, in so far as leaf-shaped arrow-heads, so called tanged points, were used to hunt tundra reindeers, the large Paleolithic backed blades, and then the robust points of the Vig type were primarily used for hunting large forest mammals, including in particular elk, aurochs and giant deer. This can explain the presence of both leaf-shaped arrow-heads, both of the backed piece type and the microlithic truncation type, as well as those being modified by the burin technique in the form of the Vig points in the assemblages from the Youngest Dryas when the natural environment in the European Plain was very diverse: tundra, forest-tundra and open brich and birch-pine forests. At the beginning of the Late Preboreal, i.e. about 9700/9600 BP, when the forest environment started to prevail in the European Plain landscape, the importance of the latter microliths increased, with a complete elimination of the tanged points. On the other hand, one of the finds in the western cluster on the site Bolków suggests that also a string sling with stone projectiles was used in hunting for big game. Despite the fact that flint tool-manufacturing in the Flixtonian assemblages bears the characteristics of new Mesolithic culture, it clearly refers however, in many respects, to flint industry of the tanged point and backed blade assemblages from the Youngest Dryas (campsite PF/2011). Therefore, this raises the belief that there was not only a close cultural bond between the manufacturers of both assemblages but also specific genetic relations. Thus, the formation process of the oldest Mesolithic culture assemblages in the Western Baltic zone should be seen in the first place as the transformation process of local tanged point and backed piece Paleolithic formations from the Youngest Dryas. A direct participation of “foreign” social groups originating outside of the area of the European Plain, if any, was very limited. About 9400/9350 BP, classic Duvensian assemblages appeared on the site in Bolków. The oldest settlement is represented by two occupation clusters being explored in 2011-2013, i.e. campsites I/2011 “S” and I/2012 “E” (T. Galiński 2014), and also by assemblage D/1985 from the previous excavations by D. Jankowska (T. Galiński, D. Jankowska 2006). These changes coincide with a clear climate warming and flora development. In the environment of the site in Bolków, these changes are very clearly marked in all pollen profiles examined. A depauperate birch-pine forest being dominant here from the beginning of the Younger Pre-Boreal is replaced by a well-developed pine-deciduous forest where, apart from predominant pine and birch trees, such tree species as poplar, European ash, oak, elm, common hazel, and even yew are quite numerous. The forest is inhabited by animals, the list of which fully reflects composition of the fauna characterising rich, fully developed boreal forests of the temperate zone, with red deer, aurochs, roe-deer and wild boar first and foremost. Classic Duvensian assemblages are of the allochthonous nature and associate their origin with different formations being known collectively as Tardigravetian groups of the Mediterranean zone (T. Galiński 2002, p. 348 et seq.). They appearance on the site in Bolków is undoubtedly associated with the arrival of a specific social group here from the southern Europe. At this time, Flixtionian settlement, being moved off to the northern areas of the European Plain (Western Baltic land bridge, Denmark, southern Sweden), disappears completely here. There, it significantly contributed first to the development of settlement of local Flixtionian assemblages (“Maglemosian, phases M0 and M1” according to E. Brinch Petersen, 1973 plus “Barmosegruppen” according to A.D. Johansson, 1990), and then to the formation of classic Maglemosian assemblages of the Baltic zone (“Maglemosian, phases 2-5” according to E. Brinch Petersen, 1973).

17

Zdobiony zabytek z poroża z Nowej Łupianki, woj. podlaskie

75%

Gieysztor-Szymczak E.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2001

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vol. LV

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issue 55

3-19

EN

The article presents a previously little known ornamented antler artifact discovered nearly five decades ago in the deposits of an open cast chalk mine at Nowa Łupianka, woj. podlaskie (Fig. 1). It is a 41.5 cm long right antler of a red deer, its head section is 7.85 cm wide, the main stem 3.5–3.8 cm wide (Fig. 2). The truncated head section features a hole bored inside the antler to the maximum depth of 10.5 cm (Fig. 4g). Worthy of note is both the unusual richness of the ornament as well as the precise multi-stage working. It is possible to reconstruct the working techniques used in producing the specimen. After preliminary preparation of the raw material (presumably separating the antler from the skull, cutting and breaking off of the needed fragment, cutting off of the brow line and trez) it was softened most probably by soaking in cold water or by heating, for instance, in ashes. Next, the surface of the object was carefully modelled by whittling. It is also possible that an effort was made to straighten the antler (Fig. 6). Finally, after decorating the antler with an elaborate ornament it was smoothed and polished. There is a suggestion that the antler was painted with yellow ochre (Table 1). The find is covered with a series of notches almost all over its surface forming an original composition, different at different locations. Several zones of ornamentation were distinguished: A. On the face of the circular head section, five lines formed of 18 grooves and 6 rough incisions converging at a single point and 7 incisions on the edge forming a zigzag (Fig. 3); B. On the circumference of the head section, two rows of lentoid incisions arranged in two rows: row one – 23 lentoid incisions (12 distinct and 11 less well defined), row two – 31 lentoid incisions (29 distinct and 2 schematic) (Fig. 2–4); C. In the region of the junction of the head section and the main beam, on one side of the antler, a set of 13 irregular incisions, on the opposite side, a set of 7 and 8 parallel incisions; D. On three sides of the main beam, an ornament of a large zigzag formed of 6–8 parallel lines of incisions in the form of adjoining “V-shapes (Fig. 4a,b,d); E. On the remaining side of the main stem, herringbone formed by five pairs of diagonal lines and a central line topped with chevron incisions, one of its apexes pointing downwards (Fig. 4c); F. On the top section, an encircling representation of a “fringe composed of sets of 2–4 parallel rows of incisions separated from zones D and E by three to five transverse lines of incisions (Fig. 5). The ornament was produced with a flint burin in two similar techniques: 1. Technique of an engraved line, a single incision; 2. Technique of repeated deepened incisions to produce grooves or lentoid shapes. Presumably the ornament on the antler was made at a single sitting by one artist. In its technique of working the find from Nowa Łupianka shares some characteristics with mesolithic antler objects from the European Lowland (Pobiel 10, Pułtusk, Woźniki, Sværdborg I, Holmegaard I, IV). However, the ornament seen on individual sections of the specimen has no close analogies on any bone or antler objects in the western and eastern Baltic zone during the Boreal Period (G. Clark 1975; I. Loze 1983). Likewise, the form of the artifact does not resemble any known antler or bone artifacts. Presumably the studied find did not serve any economic function (showing no traces of wear or damage, being in a fine state of preservation and apparently resulting from substantial effort to model and decorate the antler). Rather it would seem that the aim was to produce an object of beauty having a decorative purpose and most probably, symbolic as well. The incisions may have been a calendar of a kind associated with inserting additional months to form a year consisting of 12 lunar months (see S. Iwaniszewski 1996). In zone E it is possible to distinguish a design which may possibly be an anthropomorphic representation. The image has analogies in mesolithic specimens from Denmark (Veksø, Jordløse, Ryemarksgaard, Refsvindinge, Fyn(?); fig. 7). Alternately, it may be an image of an animal or plant – lizard or Cosmic Tree with an image of a heavenly body (moon or sun) at the top. Both designs have numerous analogies in 17th c. and later clan symbols of Siberian tribes on the river Ob (Fig. 8). Accurate dating of the antler find and definition of its culture affiliation is at present exceedingly difficult owing to the lack of archaeological context or close analogies. Nevertheless on the basis of raw material used to produce the specimen it is possible to define the lower chronological boundary to the beginning of the Holocene when woodland fauna, mainly red deer, dominated Poland’s territory. Definition of the upper chronological boundary is more difficult. Ornamented antler artifacts occur in the Mesolithic but in later periods as well. Basing on the elements of the working and the ornamentation technique the find from Nowa Łupianka may with relative probability be classified as a specimen of early Holocene art.

18

RYDNO VI/60. WYSPECJALIZOWANE OBOZOWISKO SPOŁECZNOŚCI MEZOLITYCZNEJ KULTURY JANISŁAWICKIEJ

75%

Boroń T., Winiarska-Kabacińska M., Sołodko A.

Archeologia Polski

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2018

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vol. 63

29-46

EN

The article presents a spatial and functional analysis of a flint concentration of the Janisławice Culture from the site of Rydno. Traseological studies of a few dozen flint artifacts have demonstrated 16 cases of evidence of use-wear (scrapers, end-scrapers, groovers, borers, notched tools, retouched blades, retouched chips and blades). These tools were used predominantly to process wood and plants.

19

Kuĺ 1, a mesolithic site from South-West Belorussiav

75%

Vashanau A. M.

Acta Archaeologica Lodziensia

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2017

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vol. 63

37-47

PL

Stanowisko Kuĺ 1 zlokalizowane 5,1 km na zachód od wsi Sviatica, położone jest w dystrykcie Liachavičy, w regionie Brest (południowo-zachodnia Białoruś). Stanowisko o powierzchni 81 m2 zostało przebadane w 2006 roku. Kolekcja archeologiczna liczyła 286 artefaktów krzemiennych. Rdzenie odłupkowe i wiórowe reprezentowane były przez formy jednopiętowe (2 fragmenty), dwupiętowe (3 fragmenty) a także takie o zmienionej orientacji. Zestaw narzędziowy zawierał różnorodne formy narzędzi m.in. rylce (12), drapacze (3), zgrzebło (1), półtylczaki (3), ciosła (3). Ostrze z retuszowaną podstawą jest jedynym zbrojnikiem w zestawieniu. Na podstawie zastosowanej charakterystycznej technologii oraz morfologii form narzędzi możliwe jest przyporządkowanie zbioru artefaktów ze stanowiska Kuĺ 1 do kultury Kudlajevka.

EN

Kuĺ 1 settlement is located 5.1 km to the west of Sviatica village, Liachavičy District, Brest Region (southwestern Belorussia). An area of 81 m2 was excavated at the site in 2006. The obtained archaeological assemblage consists of 286 flint artifacts. Cores for blades and flakes are represented by single- (2 pieces), double- (3) and multiplatform (3) ones as well as four fragments. Tool-set contains various types of burins (12), end-scrapers (3), a scraper (1), truncated blades (3), adzes (3). A bladelet with truncated base is the only microlith in the assemblage. It is possible to attribute the assemblage to Kudlaevka culture based on peculiarities of flintworking technology and morphology of tools.

20

Epiahrensburgian. Osadnictwo paleolityczne w początkach holocenu na stanowisku w Bolkowie na Pomorzu Zachodnim

75%

Galiński T.

Przegląd Archeologiczny

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2018

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vol. 66

5-30

EN

Multidisciplinary excavation research carried out in recent years at the site in Bolków in Western Pomerania have brought many important and interesting results. They include materials, excavated in 2010-2011 and 2015, related to the poorly-recognized problem of Palaeolithic settlements in the Plain at the beginning of the Holocene. The paper is the first presentation of the results and an attempt to discuss them in the broader European context. The settlement cluster defined as Bolków PF/2011 is dated using the C14 radiocarbon analysis to a period of about 9900-9600 BP and represents the so-called Epiahrensburgian.

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