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This paper The data from the article was presented by the author during 16 th SKAM Lithic Workshop (“Fossil Directeur”. A Phenomenon over Time and Space), 21–23 October 2019, Nitra, Slovak Republic, presentation: The Late Palaeolithic in Toruń Basin in the light of the latest research in Brzoza, site 50 (poster session). presents the preliminary findings related to the excavations in Brzoza site 50, commune Wielka Nieszawka, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (Poland). The Late Palaeolithic site complex in Brzoza – until the end of 1990s known as Toruń-Rudak – is located it Toruń Basin (Poland), in the grounds of a military shooting range on the left bank of Vistula south of the city. According to the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Monuments Conservator the whole complex was defined as one, site no. 50. Rescue excavations in Brzoza in years 2015–2018 were conducted by the District Museum in Toruń. In total 276 m 2 were excavated, resulting in documentation of over 11 000 flint products. The research was funded from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivode budget via the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Monuments Conservator and the District Museum in Toruń. The research consisted of archaeological exploration at the remains of the dune embankment, to locate and document undisturbed (in situ) cultural features (flint concentrations). In order to capture the stratigraphic situation in the vicinity of the planned research excavations and to locate the cultural layer with the flint materials linked to the Late Palaeolithic surveys were conducted by means of drillings. The following specialist examinations and consultations were carried out: geological and geomorphological documentation; analyzes of the geographical environment and pedostratigraphy of the research area; from selected profiles soil samples were taken for TL and OSL method analyses. Against the background of other well-known sites with tanged points in northern Poland, the area under study stands out both in terms of the number of flint products obtained and the documented flint concentrations. It must be emphasized that the context of new flint concentrations discovered in Brzoza in the years 2015–2018 is different than that of earlier investigations. Flint products were discovered in a preserved planigraphic and stratigraphic layout; not on a secondary deposit, as was the case, among others in the 1970s. New concentrations discovered in 2015–2018 are related to the Late Palaeolithic technocomplex with tanged points. Amongst flint tools there are elements typologically characteristic to Ahrensburg and Swiderian culture, and individual finds that can be associated with Bromme assemblages. At the present stage of research the acquired flint materials can be linked to the Late Palaeolithic communities present in the area presumably in the younger Dryas. Brzoza site complex occupies an important place in the research of the Late Palaeolithic of northern Poland.

This paper addresses the earliest Neolithic phases in Ukraine: aspects relating to the chronology, methods and time of Neolithisation. In general, the earliest Neolithisation relates to the times of the Linear Pottery culture. Nevertheless, Ukraine has numerous eco-zones so the process could have been different in other zones. The authors emphasize that the key to getting closer to solving this problem is the chronology-re-dating and validation program. Hitherto dates of one culture or period of culture have been treated against each other. This article presents a small series of AMS from well-defined contexts of four sites, previously dated by the Kyiv radiocarbon facility. The results are compared with existing dates in order to establish the validity of existing chronologies for the Neolithic of Ukraine. Obtained results allowed the authors to conclude that the Kyiv dates should not be obligatorily treated as wrong . Furthermore, the authors reopened the discussion to establish what was the role of LBK and Azov-Dnieper culture communities in spreading farming and herding in Ukraine during the second half of the VI th millennium BC.

This article examines the complex social organization that emerged in the mid-6 th Millennium BC from the perspective of new research conducted in Uğurlu (Phase III), on the island of Gökçeada (Imbros). The mid-6 th Millennium BC witnessed major cultural transformations and abrupt changes in virtually all regions from Anatolia to Central Europe, as new settlements brought new forms of social organization. Our aim here is to stimulate further debate about the early complex social organization in the mid-6 th Millennium BC. The results of this study reveal a well-organized rural community on the island, reflected in the complex settlement layout, with ritual areas, multifunctional central buildings and activity areas.

The results of previous researches conducted across the upland territories of Central Europe reflect a considerably close correlation between the settlement by prehistoric agricultural societies and the ranges of the local loess covers. This correspondence – caused mainly by the high utility value of the territories in question, especially the presence of fertile soils and convenient geomorphological and hydrological conditions – is apparent even for the earliest phase of the Neolithic, and is clearly confirmed for later periods of prehistory. Until recently, this state of research concurred the interpretation that the neighbouring non-loess uplands had not been permanently settled, but only temporarily penetrated in order to exploit local resources (e.g., flint outcrops). This observation also applies to the territory being the essential subject of this paper, that is the sandy loam areas of the Iłża Piedmont, which is the direct northern forefield of the loess Sandomierz Upland. The results of interdisciplinary research conducted in this territory during the last several years allow us to considerably complete and verify the previous findings. They clearly confirm the intense and long-lasting character of the local settlement between the Early Neolithic and the Early Iron Age, as well as the typically agricultural activities of societies linked with different cultures that successively settled the discussed area during that time period. The obtained data show us the previously little known phenomenon of forming and functioning of the settlement microregions occupying uplands located outside the range of the compact loess cover, that is within ecological and landscape zones that were not preferred by prehistoric, early agricultural societies inhabiting the old upland territories of Central Europe. They also indirectly indicate the considerable flexibility and adaptability of early farmers, which made it possible for them to effectively colonise the definitely less rich territories located outside the compact area of the loess uplands since as early as the earliest phase of the Neolithic. This fact creates important possibilities for future research, allowing us to suspect that analogous settlement clusters also existed across the peripheral zones of other Central European loess uplands.

A research project aiming to determine the functional aspects of flint-knapping of the Lublin-Volhynian culture (ca. 4200–3650/3600 BC) has been conducted for several years in the Institute of Archaeology at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. This article presents deliberations on the functions of tools discovered in a rich male grave, at site 1C in Gródek. The subject of the functional research are nine artefacts deposited near the buried person. Among them, noteworthy are two retouched blade daggers found on the buried man’s rib cage. Other items – blades and tools – were discovered in different parts of the burial pit. When conducting microscopic analyses, attention was paid to the fact that the discovered forms represent two categories – used artefacts and those that do not have marks of utilisation on their edges. Spectrometric analyses (SEM-EDS) of residual substances recorded on the surfaces of certain artefacts supplemented the performed research.

Fifty-eight Stone Age buildings discovered at 31 settlement sites are currently known in Belarus. Our attention is focused on 21 pit-houses, which are presumably dated to the 4 th millennium BC and were found at 13 sites in southern Belarus. They are mainly related to the Eastern Polessye and Upper-Dnieper cultures of the Dnieper-Donets cultural complex, as well as to the Neman culture. Analysis of the shapes, sizes and constructive features of these pit-houses revealed both similarities (size up to 11 m 2 , depth ca. 0.3–0.5 m and the presence of rounded fireplaces without stones) and differences (rectangular or oval shapes for the Eastern Polessye culture and rounded for the Upper-Dnieper culture). Analogues of the Belarusian building remains exist on the territories of Ukraine and Lithuania. The distribution of these pit-houses indicates an architectural tradition that differs significantly from the second geographically well-defined pit-house area from the 4 th millennium BC, which is located in Finland, north-western Russia and the northern coast of Estonia.

In recent decades, many studies have been carried out on the technology of ceramics of the Trypillya-Cucuteni culture. The presented article gives a summary of much of the information amassed. All stages of the Trypillya ceramic production have been considered: the preparation of the clay mass, the methods of modelling, the connection of structural parts, and decoration. Manufacturing standards for vessels that formed ceramic assemblages of different chronological stages of Trypillya culture are identified. Particular attention is paid to the study of engobe and the composition of pigments in the paint layer.

The Gordineşti II-Stînca goală is an archaeological site located in the northern part of the Moldavian Plateau in Edineț Region. Chronologically this settlement is linked to the later phase of the Tripolye Culture. Currently, in archaeological literature, the problems of human occupation, land management, and spatial arrangement of settlements in Moldova during the Eneolithic are highly understudied. In this paper, we present the results of recent archaeological works focusing on the spatial patterning of housing structures, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey, and desk-based Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) analysis, that has been undertaken to further the understanding of the spatial organisation of the Gordineşti II-Stînca goală settlement. The results indicate the high archaeological potential of this site, with the likely presence of multiple housing structures arranged in a planned and functional manner.

Based on a comparable color scheme, Naqada II decorated pottery (D-ware) with spiral motifs is often described as an imitation of breccia stone vessels. Using MU5038 as an example, this article traced the time line of development for both during Naqada II. Results indicated that pottery with spiral motifs did not appear as an imitation of stone vessels, as previously thought. This article proposed that they appeared earlier with breccia vessels following as luxurious versions. The latter point could be justified by the need of the rising elite of the period to use raw materials, whose sources they controlled. Stone quarries being located outside of the Nile Valley allowed for this control. In an attempt to explain the sudden occurrence and significance of spiral motifs on D-ware pottery, this article uses analogy and “ethnographic imagination” (Lane 2005) to shed light on the origins of spiral motifs in different cultures.

Seima-Turbino bronzes spread in Eurasia at the transition to the Late Bronze Age. However, the absolute chronology of this horizon remains unclear. Radiocarbon chronology now determines their interval to have been ca. 22 nd –20 th centuries BC, or the first third of the 2 nd millennium BC. The presence of this tradition from Europe to China makes it possible to associate them with historical chronology. The basis for this is the chronologies of the early Shang Dynasty in China, Central Europe and the Shaft Graves of Greece. The Santorini eruption presents an opportunity to compare these chronologies. As a result, the Seima-Turbino bronzes are dated to the first half of the 17 th century BC, or within the 18 th century BC to the first half of the 16 th century BC. This suggests that as the radiocarbon method develops, its results will be close to historical chronology.

Usage patterns are one of the leading research issues in archaeological pottery studies. Non-cinerary vessels deposited in burials of the Lusatian Urnfield are particularly intriguing since they did not typically undergo detailed functional analysis. Their function has usually been determined based on the shape and surface treatment. Thus, grave pottery is widely regarded to have been explicitly fashioned for mortuary practices and not used for other purposes. It applies particularly to ceramic items other than containers, such as zoomorphic vessels, figurines, and rattles, which must have played a significant role in funeral ceremonies. The paper presents the outcome of morphological, stylistic and chromatographic analyses of vessels deposited in the Lusatian Urnfield cremation graves found at site 2 in Czernikowice, Legnica district, Poland. The ceramic items come from well-investigated grave contexts dated to Montelius’ periods IV and V. The results indicate that most of the analysed vessels had contact with substances of vegetal and faunal origin.

This paper will discuss the results of material science analyses of artefacts from grave no. 89 in Karzec, Central Poland, that were discovered in 1959. The obtained results will be interpreted in the context of the possibility of a ‘new’ specialisation within the metallurgical workshop of the Lusatian people of the Late Bronze Age – a mouldmaker/moulder. In many terms, the grave at Karzec is a unique object for the study of Bronze Age metallurgy, as it contained not only two complete stone casting moulds but also pre-prepared raw material for the production of another mould as well as other metalworking objects. Despite this fact, it has yet to be the subject of a detailed analysis.

Since 1941, only five Bronze Age hoards have been found in the four provinces around Sweden’s Lakes Mälaren and Hjälmaren: three in Uppland, two in Södermanland, none in Västmanland or Närke. The most recent one appeared in 2016. Here each hoard is discussed in terms of its date, the regional affiliation of its contents, and its landscape situation. They all date from Per. V–VI, c. 950–520 cal BC, and are entirely dominated by locally made objects. Two sites are apparently peripheral in relation to period settlement and to other deposition sites, while two are in an area of dense settlement and were found during the same military metal detector campaign. The steep drop in new hoard finds after World War II is discussed, and Sweden’s restrictive metal detector legislation is identified as the main reason that only five hoards have come to light in the area over the past eighty years.

Zusammenfassung Im Herbst 2020 entdeckte eine Gruppe von Detektorgängern auf einer bewaldeten Düne in der Nähe des Dorfes Cierpice in Nordzentralpolen 150 Bronzefunde. Der Fund umfasst Backenstücke, Phalerae, Rassel- und Terretringe sowie Zügelmanschetten mit Drahtgliedern, die einst Teil eines Pferdezaumzeugs aus der Endbronzezeit waren. Die Zaumzeugteile wurden zusammen mit einem Tüllenbeil in Pflanzenfasern eingewickelt und dann sorgfältig in einen organischen Beutel gelegt, der verrottet war. In diesem Artikel werden die Ergebnisse der archäologischen, metallographischen und paläobotanischen Untersuchungen des Hortes vorgestellt und diskutiert, unterstützt durch andere archäologisch dokumentierte Daten. Diese werden mit den Mustern der Bewegung und des Verbrauchs von Metallwaren im heutigen Polen während der Lausitzer Periode und dem weiteren Kontext der nordeuropäischen Bronzezeit in Beziehung gesetzt.

More than sixty years ago, J. Kostrzewski published a paper titled Ze studiów nad wczesnym okresem żelaznym w Polsce ( Studies on the early Iron Age in Poland ; in the German version Studien über die ältere Eisenzeit in Polen ). The article was a product of his long-time research, readings and searches conducted during the turbulent first half of the 20 th century. Kostrzewski’s work is still one of Poland’s basic chronological studies of the HaC and HaD. The text contained a substantial analysis of the “Kuyavian bronzes”, also called the “Stanomin-style” dress accessories, named after the hoard from Stanomin. New finds, as well as 14 C and dendrochronological datings, significantly changed our understanding of the cultural processes in Poland’s early Iron Age. The dating of the “Kuyavian bronzes” and the interpretation of the associated phenomena have never been the subject of a comprehensive study. The following text shall focus on this specific category of metal artefacts – crucial for understanding the chronological variation of the Polish early Iron Age.

The article presents the methodology of archaeological research on the hillfort in Chotyniec in south-eastern Poland. In addition to other elements, the research project included the discovery and examination of an object known as a zolnik. A zolnik is a unique object which functioned as a cult place where rituals took the form of communal feasts. Similar objects can be found among those located in the forest-steppe zone of Eastern Europe, which in the early Iron Age was influenced by the Scythian culture. The research methodology presented in the article deviates significantly from that used so far in relation to the investigation of zolniks. This is due to the focus on identifying the most complete spatial and functional context possible, as well as creating a permanent excavation documentation for further analysis and verification. Particular emphasis was placed on the accuracy and meticulousness of documenting the discoveries, which would not have been possible without the application and implementation of spatial information systems. Due to its innovative nature, the article is also intended to start a discussion about the way in which the proposed change in the methods of zolnik examination translates into greater interpretation possibilities. This applies to both functional and chronological issues, which in turn leads to a fuller knowledge and reconstruction of these objects.

Attempts were made in several locations in Central Europe to continue minting in gold, following the Celtic Boii tradition which began to fade after the collapse of the Bohemian-Moravian oppida at the turn of the LTD1/D2 phases (ca. 60/50 BC). The main center for the continuation of this activity was in the lands of the Pannonian Boii, in the Bratislava area, and probably in the Bratislava oppidum itself. This paper focuses on three other minting centers which were established north of the Carpathians and Sudetes among the northern barbarians and which imitated late Boii gold coins: one in the Tyniec group near Kraków, and two in the main Przeworsk culture settlement zones on the middle Prosna River near Kalisz and in Kuyavia. These northern mints, undoubtedly operated by experienced Celtic minters, recycled extremely popular shell staters with solar and lunar motifs that were reintroduced into circulation with a renewed stamp or after having been legalized by adding small additional marks. They also issued various small coins made of electrum alloys, significantly varying in weight (mostly about 1/8 of a Boii stater), with an abstract knob-and-rib ornamentation reminiscent of the motifs featuring on the youngest coins minted at the oppidums in Staré Hradisko (Moravia) and Bratislava. The nominally gold coins issued in the Oder and Vistula basins must have provided the equivalent in supra-regional prestige exchange, which is indicated by their extensive circulation zone. One of the reasons for the disappearance of the local minting traditions among the northern barbarian elites might have been the massive influx of Roman coinage into the Central European Barbaricum in the second century AD.

Zusammenfassung Einer der wichtigsten Fundplätze der Zarubincy-Kultur im Gebiet des mittleren Dnjepr ist die Siedlung von Pilipenkova Gora. Sie liegt etwa 2,5 km südöstlich der Stadt Kaniw auf einer Landzunge am rechten Ufer des Dnjepr. Das Plateau, auf dem sich der Fundort befindet, umfasst eine Fläche von etwa 1,5 ha. Die Spuren der latènezeitlichen Siedlung erstrecken sich über das gesamte Gebiet des Vorgebirges. Pilipenkova Gora wurde 1945 bei einer von T. S. Passek durchgeführten Feldbegehung entdeckt. Im Jahr 1948 wurden hier archäologische Ausgrabungen durchgeführt, die die Identifizierung von drei (?) Wohnstrukturen ermöglichten, die der Zarubincy-Kultur zugeschrieben werden. Später, in den Jahren von 1966–1970, wurde die Siedlung von E. V. Maksimov ausgegraben und eine Fläche von 3000 m 2 freigelegt. Als Ergebnis dieser archäologischen Untersuchungen wurden mehr als 30 Wohngebäuden und 100 Gruben aus der der jüngeren vorrömischen Eisen- und frühen Römischen Kaiserzeit entdeckt.

In 2010, the remains of a pond turtle were discovered at the bottom of a secondary pit (“robbery” trench) in one of the graves (feature 963) in the Wielbark Culture cemetery at Czarnówko (PL). This paper attempts to characterise the find from Czarnówko in the context of two important questions: the opening of graves and the presence of turtle remains in the grave against the background of similar finds from the Central and East European Barbaricum. The problem of post-burial manipulation affects about 90 % of the graves in the cemetery at Czarnówko. The situation from grave 963 finds analogies in the burial grounds of the Masłomęcz Group, the Chernyakhiv culture and the Sarmatian and Longobard sites. The problem of the presence of these reptiles in the graves is related as it turns out to the phenomenon of grave opening, a phenomenon of great territorial and chronological extent observed in the areas where inhumation was practised during the Roman Period and the Migration Period.

The results of archaeological research carried out on the early medieval stronghold in Santok prove that from the 2 nd half of the 8 th century it functioned in the contact zone between Baltic trade centres and inland, as one of the points in the network of goods exchange. We present the centre in a broader context, not only from the perspective of discovered artefacts but from the natural and ideological elements of the landscape of this place created by the communities inhabiting the Warta and Noteć valleys in the 8 th and 9 th centuries. The settlement was founded in a convergence of waterways in a way that perfectly uses elements of the topography of the area. Wetlands were important ecological niches for residents whose lifestyle was associated with exploring both the valley and upland zones. Santok is difficult to interpret merely as a mere reflection of the practicality of power or economic activity, including manufacturing and trade. It is a clearly legible place in the landscape, with a symbolic structure that represents the concepts of the cosmological order related to the spatial organization of the exchange point and the communication node. So far Santok is the only recognized trading post on a waterway, in this part of the Slavic region, with such an early chronology. Thus we have attempted to present the landscape of this place, considering its many elements, at different levels of perception and in a broad context.