Open Access journal ISSN (Print) 1231-0344 - ISSN (Online) 2719-5422 This journal is no longer being updated because: the publisher no longer provides RSS feeds
Abstract: Non-invasive geophysical methods are often very useful and efficient in the investigation of various archaeological sites. Using one of the most popular of them, i.e. magnetometry, we carried out a survey of the area of the multi-phase Eneolithic site of Brînzeni IV (north-western Moldova) in 2019. As a result, the spatial arrangement of the site and its current state of preservation were preliminarily identified. PubDate: Sun, 21 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: According to Tamara Movscha, vessels from the Funnel Beaker culture settlement in Zhvanets can be synchronized with the period of existence of the settlements in Zimno, Leżnica and Gródek. Based on the currently available radiocarbon dates, we can say that the long-term settlements in Gródek and Zimno existed from around 3650 BC. The older phase of the settlement in Gródek is dated to 3650-3400 BC, while the younger ones to 3400-3100 BC. The first is characterized by the presence of imports of tableware with the characteristics of the Brînzeni group dated to 3400-3100 BC. In order to verify the current attempts to position the above at a more precise time, several radiocarbon analyses of the samples from the sites of Brînzeni and Gordinești group in northern Moldova were conducted. PubDate: Sun, 21 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: In scientific literature the discussion over the evident ties between the Baden complex and Tripolye culture dates back to the mid 1990s and is related to Sofievka type complexes. In earlier papers by scholars on TC Stage CII only passing mention was given to Baden influences, the exception being works by Mykhailo Videiko, who paid particular attention to contacts with the Carpathian Basin. He noted their impact upon Troyaniv-Gorodsk type complexes and pointed out the presence of the Baden pottery style in the settlements of the Kasperivtsy-Gordineşti complex. The adoption of Baden traits by communities belonging to the Funnel Beaker and Tripolye cultures in western Volhynia ran along very different lines. The quantity of data on Baden influence upon Funnel Beaker culture communities in the area between the Western Bug, Upper Dniester and Styr rivers remains small. PubDate: Sun, 21 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: This study describes and discusses an old find from a wholly new perspective. The non-local fragment or fragments represent imports or imitations that can be linked to the Funnel Beaker culture and not to Kostolác, Coţofeni, Livezile or Bošáca as originally suggested by József Korek. The hallmarks distinctive to the culture are the ornamented rim exterior and rim interior, the zigzag motif under the rim and the ladder motif on the belly. However, the channelling on the belly is a typical Baden trait, which has not been noted on Funnel Beaker vessels to date. The best and closest analogies can be cited from the Baden settlement at Oldalfala/Stránska–Mogyorós, where they were erroneously identified as Coţofeni/Livezile imports. The occurrence of Funnel Beaker pottery on several sites on the southern fringes of the Western Carpathians suggests a more complex situation; however, their stratigraphic contexts on these multi-period, stratified sites remain unclear due to the field techniques employed during the old excavations. The determination of the exact place of origin is rather difficult within the culture’s vast distribution, although they can most likely be assigned to the Funnel Beaker eastern group, Wiórek phase (IIIB – IIIB-C in the current terminology), whose absolute dates fall between 3700/3600 and 3200 BC. The petrographic analyses revealed that the clay and the tempering agents are of local volcanic origin, providing conclusive evidence that Funnel Beaker vessels had been made locally. In this sense, the pottery fragment discussed here can be best described as a local hybrid product. PubDate: Sun, 21 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: The 2012–2019 investigations in Western Ukraine identified the reaches of the Funnel Beaker and Tripolye cultures in western Volhynia and on the upper Dniester, and syncretic phenomena produced in all likelihood by direct contacts between the representatives of these different communities. Moreover, it was found that the contacts were greatly intensified by the exchange of so-called Volhynia flint. It was distributed to both the Late Tripolye Brînzeni group in northern Moldavia and the eastern and south-eastern groups of the FBC. The intensification of contacts between the communities of the two cultures may be associated with the lifetime of the Brînzeni group. The investigations sought to answer the question what changes were induced in these cultures by the intensification of contacts between their populations. PubDate: Sun, 21 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: Archaeological site no. 3 at Mrowino is located on the Polish Lowland, in the Greater Poland region. It was excavated from 1973 until 1980. The excavation produced very rich movable finds, with the core of them being formed by Funnel Beaker culture (FBC) ceramics. The collections hold over 37,500 FBC pottery shards and several intact or reconstructed vessels. The vast majority of pottery comes from an FBC settlement dated to 3300-3150 BC. The pottery set includes vessels of clear Baden culture connections. For the mineral-ogical and petrographic study, 40 samples were selected to identify mineral and rock components of the ceramic body and compare the ways of raw-material preparation. In the studied samples, boulder clay in all probability was used to make the vessels. All studied samples were made from clay with grog and a small amount of sand as temper. In addition, several samples contained igneous rock crumbs. To find out if this was a deliberate or accidental admixture, it is necessary to carry out further research. PubDate: Sun, 21 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: The article discusses the current state of knowledge concerning the set of specific pottery characteristics of the Funnel Beaker culture that constitutes the so-called Pikutkowo stylistics. It is especially strongly represented in Kujawy, where the changes in the Pikutkowo set of characteristics define Phases IIIB and IIIB-C dated to 3700-3200 BC. Already in 3700/3650-3500 BC, Pikutkowo pottery appears not only on the Polish Lowland (including Wielkopolska and central Poland as well as the Chełmno Land and Gostynin Lake District), but also on the old Uplands in the upper Vistula basin. The latest data indicate that at the same time Pikutkowo characteristics are also present in Funnel Beaker assemblages from the Subcarpathian foothills and upper Dniester area. It is argued that this wide distribution delimits the Pikutkowo stylistics space, which was a zone of active circulation of cultural patterns within the Funnel Beaker culture. The culture-forming potential of this zone is best seen in the increased transfer of one of the key technological innovations of the Eneolithic, i.e. copper (including arsenic copper) use and processing. PubDate: Sun, 21 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: In this article we would like to point out some issues related to a series of ceramic materials found in sites attributed to the Late Enolithic groups of Brînzeni and Gordinești in the Dniester-Prut interfluve. In terms of technology and stylistics in the case of pottery from the Brînzeni type sites and stylistics in the case of pottery from the Gordinești type sites, we can see some analogies in the cultural environment of the central European area. For the Brînzeni group the clearest analogies tend to be seen in eastern, southern and south-eastern areas of the Funnel Beaker culture, whereas for the Gordinești group this seems to be visible within the Złota culture in the Sandomierz Upland, Middle Vistula region. Another issue of our study concerns the chronological frames of these two groups. Analyses of the radiocarbon data series obtained so far allow us to make some careful corrections in the chronological scheme of the Late Eneolithic for eastern Europe. Both mentioned issues fit into socio-cultural relations in the East Carpathian area in the context of the cultural transformations in the second half of the 4th millennium BC. PubDate: Sun, 21 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: The article characterises new materials obtained in the course of studies of Neolithic (according to the Baltic periodisation) settlements of the Vistula Lagoon coast. These sources according to all their features belong to the Funnel Beaker culture, whose monuments were previously unknown in the region. All Funnel Beaker materials were identified in settlements, the main cultural complexes of which belong to the Primorskaya culture. Small sites of the Funnel Beaker culture existed here before the arrival of the Primorskaya population. In Ushakovo 3, Funnel Beaker pottery were found in the cultural layer in the eastern part of the excavation area, where it lies mainly separate from ceramics of the Primorskaya culture. In Pribrezhnoye, in addition to pottery, traces of two constructions with a double-row pillar wall structure were found. Buildings were of a ground type, elongated, with a width of not more than 3.20 m. Technological and morphological characteristics of ceramic fragments found within the buildings leave no doubt that these complexes belong to the Funnel Beaker culture. Also, two amphorae with typical features of the ‘badenised’ Funnel Beaker culture were revealed here. Funnel Beaker ceramic ware was also found in the cultural layer of settlements. All these materials from the settlements of Ushakovo 3 and Pribrezhnoye are dated in the range of 3500-3100 BC. It is most likely that inconsiderable human groups of the Funnel Beaker culture reached the coastal area around the middle of the 4th millennium BC when local communities of the Neolithic Zedmar culture had existed on this territory for a long time. PubDate: Sun, 21 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: Authors present results of analysis of the collection of pottery from pit no. 4 in Mezhyrich-Mistechko and pit no. 4 in Ostrog-Zeman. Both sites are located in the middle Horyn basin. The analyzed complexes are important due to the fact the relative chronology of the Malice culture and Lublin-Volhynia culture within western Volhynia and their possible connections with later communities represented by the Funnel Beaker culture and especially the Tripolye culture. PubDate: Sun, 21 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: The rescue excavations at site 11 in Święte, Radymno Commune, Jarosław District, were conducted prior to the construction of the A4 motorway. Thirteen Corded Ware culture (CWC) features, including eleven graves, were discovered. The Final Eneolithic cemetery was placed in the neighbourhood of FBC graves, possibly at megalithic tombs. Most of the CWC graves have a niche construction – typical of the Lesser Poland funerary rite. The furnishings found in these features are characteristic of Subcarpathia as are inventories from nearby sites in the Lower San Valley and Rzeszów Foothills. Their typo-chronological assessments point to the younger phase of the CWC. Ceramic artefacts include vessels finding analogies in the assemblages of the Middle Dnieper culture and the cultures of the steppe/forest-steppe of the North-Western Black Sea Area. Among the latter is the spectacular find of a round-base pot from Feature 1149B. A series of five dates estimate the origins of the Święte cemetery graves at the interval of 2530-2375 BC. PubDate: Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: The research on archaeological materials from sites 11, 15, and 20 at Święte produced a series of 13 radiocarbon dates for niche graves of the Corded Ware culture (CWC). The results are coherent and point to a range of 2550-2350 BC. This corresponds well with other results obtained for nearby CWC cemeteries in the Rzeszów Foothills, and is consistent with dates obtained for CWC graves in other regions in Lesser Poland: the Lesser Poland Upland, the Sokal Ridge, and the Lublin Upland. At the same time, the obtained absolute age range corresponds with a wave of influences from the North Pontic circle of steppe cultures and the Middle Dnieper culture. It can be synchronized with the beginning of the development of the classic variants of the Catacomb culture: the Ingul and Doniec variants. PubDate: Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: The presented study was based on isotopic analysis of δ13C and δ15N in human bone collagen samples from graves of the Corded Ware culture in Święte, south-east Poland. Isotopic values demonstrate a relatively narrow variation, ranging from -20.4‰ to -19.8‰ and 10.6‰ to 12.0‰ for δ13C and δ15N values, respectively. The diet was likely C3 plant-based with a substantial animal protein component, including predominantly terrestrial and possibly riverine resources. PubDate: Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: Twenty Corded Ware graves containing twenty five interments were identified at sites 11, 15 and 20 at Święte, Radymno Commune, Jarosław District. In most of the graves (16), there was only one interment, although there were also three graves with two internments and one grave with three interments. The age and sex structure of buried individuals shows the roughly equal number of females, males, and children at the age of Infans I and II, with the category Maturus (individuals aged 40 to 50) having the highest mortality rate. So far, Rzeszów Foothills and the Lower San River Valley yielded 40 Corded Ware graves containing 51 interments in total. Single burials were predominant. Alike at Święte sites, the highest proportion of burials is recorded for individuals at the age of Maturus irrespective of sex; overall, for the entire region, male graves, however, outnumber female graves. In most cases skeletons are poorly preserved, but scarce anthropometric data are the indication of dolichomorphic crania in both males and females, which phenomenon is already noted for the Małopolska Upland and present Ukraine. The intravital body height for adults varies from 161.3 to 175 cm for males and from 156.7 to 163.1 cm for females. PubDate: Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: Archaeological excavations at site 20, Święte, Radymno Commune, Jarosław District, were prompted by construction of the A4 motorway. Among the results the site has yielded there are two Corded Ware graves. Both of them are niche constructions datable to the younger Corded Ware phase in Małopolska. Accommodating three interments, grave 43 is particularly interesting for the re-use of its burial chamber and re-deposition of disarticulated older human remains. Grave goods within the graves are typical of the younger Corded Ware phase, with parallels found at closely located sites of the Lower San Valley and Rzeszów Foothills. The absolute date range for both graves has been determined to be ca. 2550-2400 BC. PubDate: Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: The Corded Ware culture (CWC) cemetery at site 15 in Święte, Radymno Commune, Jarosław District, was researched in 2010-2011 in the context of rescue excavations before the construction of the A4 motorway. Nine features were discovered, including six graves with a niche construction. An analysis of funerary rite traits and relics forming the grave inventory indicates that the above is linked with the later stage of the CWC development in Lesser Poland. Analogical materials are found in the neighbouring sites 11 and 20 in Święte and 7 in Skołoszów. On the basis of radiocarbon dating the chronology of the cemetery complex was defined to the period 2525-2380 BC. An interesting element of grave inventories is vessels analogous to finds from the Middle Dnieper and Catacomb cultures. These point to the ties of communities using the cemetery complex in Święte with those to the east of Lesser Poland – confirmed in the analysis conducted of stable isotopes of strontium. PubDate: Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: A set of sources embodied by features 1149A and 1149B at Święte 11, Jarosław District, Podkarpackie Province, is one of a kind in Lesser Poland as it includes a vessel associated with steppe cultures of the Northwest Black Sea Coast. The vessel has been discovered in a stratigraphic context that is not fully clear. It probably constituted an offering (trizna) connected with the male burial identified in the niche grave underneath. The vessel appears to be linked to the late Yamnaya/early Catacomb horizon. Such chronological attribution is further supported by an absolute date of the 2nd half of the third millennium BC established for bones. The vessel sits alongside other finds that provide corroboration for connections the population of the younger Corded Ware phase in Lesser Poland had with eastern European regions. PubDate: Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: For microscopic examination, 22 pottery fragments from sites 11, 15 and 20 in Święte, Jarosław District were selected. The pottery types included beakers (N=19) and amphorae (N=3). The goal of the petrographic analysis was to identify mineralogical composition of ceramic fabric, sources of raw materials, and intentional additives to the clay. The analysis yielded data that helped determine ceramic fabrics types and preparation methods, as well as pottery firing conditions and approximate firing temperature.In all samples analysed, ceramic fabrics were prepared in a similar way, using heavy clay poor in muscovite, with grog deliberately added. Crystalline material present in some of the samples is most likely a natural component of raw materials used in the production process. No sand is added to the clay. No other method for preparing pastes was identified for the amphorae type. Previous observations on amphorae firing are confirmed: amphorae are fired in oxidizing conditions. The ceramic fabrics of two vessels have a deliberate admixture of bones in addition to grog and argillaceous rock intraclasts. Vessels decorated with cord impressions and vessels with herringbone or other incised patterns are more often made from paste type A (inclusion and grog) and paste type B (grog), respectively. PubDate: Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) were applied to investigate provenance amongst the Final Eneolithic population at Święte (sites 11, 15 and 20) in the Subcarpathian region, south-eastern Poland. The study used 11 human enamel samples collected from the niche graves of the Corded Ware culture. To obtain base-line information on the local Sr isotope composition seven animal enamel samples were also examined. They were found in the adjacent archaeological sites of the Mierzanowice culture at Mirocin and Dobkowice, which have the same environmental and geological background as the sites at Święte. The investigated individuals from Święte display a wide spectrum of Sr isotope signatures, from 0.7094 to 0.7109. Because a comparison of human 87Sr/86Sr values from Święte with Sr animal signatures from Early Bronze Age sites in the area is not unambiguous the local range of 87Sr/86Sr values were based on published data for the Subcarpathian population of the Corded Ware culture. Strontium isotope ratios indicate that only three males with the most radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr values exhibit local signatures. Values below 0.7103 document individuals born outside of the Subcarpathian region. Among these are all women and children, two males and one individual with undetermined sex. The probable homeland of the non-local individuals were areas along the northern and eastern margins of the Carpathian Foredeep in Poland and Ukraine. PubDate: Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT
Abstract: This study explores a Subcarpathian assemblage of Corded Ware funeral materials as evidence obtained over the last decade, with a focus on their research value for studies of the transmission of civilization models embraced by Final Eneolithic/Early Bronze communities settling the border zone between eastern and western Europe. Results of studies on the correspondence among ceremonial traditions that existed in the area between the Dnieper and the Vistula in the third millennium BC are presented, with two stages of adaptation of Black Sea or ‘barrow’ thanatological belief systems by Corded Ware groups in Lesser Poland being highlighted. Chronometric determinations relating to the development of ceremonial centres of the Rzeszów Foothills (Szczytna) and Lower San Valley (Święte) in the context of ‘western intrusions’ of late Yamnaya and Catacomb cultures are considered significant, providing the date range of ca. 2550-2400 BC. PubDate: Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT
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