We present the first comprehensive multi-isotopic data on human and animal remains from the Final Neolithic Corded Ware culture (ca. 2900–2300 cal. BC) in south-eastern Poland. The study focused on communities of two settlement areas located in the Małopolska Upland and in the Subcarpathian region. Carbon and nitrogen isotopes of bone collagen were investigated to obtain insights into human dietary preferences, whereas the strontium isotope composition of human tooth enamel was used to trace the mobility and provenance of individuals. Sr isotope data point to a non-local origin of at least one-quarter of the investigated individuals in the Subcarpathian region, consistent with associated allochthonous grave inventories of eastern or western origins. In contrast, all investigated individuals in the Małopolska Upland were of local origin. Furthermore, our study shows an example that the use of fauna for the assessment of the local 87Sr/86Sr range of an archaeological site can lead to incorrect conclusions and suggests that a detailed Sr isotopic survey of the geological background and its hydrologic elements is necessary to provide conclusive constraints for the identification of local and non-local individuals in prehistoric communities. Carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of bone collagen indicate an omnivorous diet that included C3-based terrestrial plant and animal resources, in which plant food dominated. In both regions, there were no significant sex differences in dietary intakes. Higher δ15Ncoll values of younger infants presumably reflect the effect of weaning.

The appearance of the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) on Poland territory initiated the process of neolithization in the area. However, as we will see in this article, this colonization took place later than previously thought. The stage, which in Poland is called as the early phase, actually corresponds only to the Fomborn/Ačkovy stage of LBK, and the earliest dating currently indicates around 5350 BC. Due to the small number of sites from this phase excavated on a large scale in Poland, this stage of the culture's development is poorly known. The Gwoździec Project is focused on the earliest stage of LBK settlement in southeastern Poland. Excavation at the site was finished in 2018. Therefore, the article presents preliminary results of interdisciplinary analyzes, such as research on ceramics, flint production and use, and botanical remains. They point to various aspects of the economy of these early agricultural communities and significantly enrich the knowledge of this period in Central Europe. They also expose the chronological development of the oldest LBK development stage in Poland.

No abstract

Neolithic human communities. The data presented in this paper, referring to the occurrence of macroscopic plant remains of various types, was collected from 23 sites (97 identifi ed taxa). The analyses covered charred remains of plants, their imprints in daub and pottery, and fragments preserved within the mass of clay used for production of ceramic vessels. The results of these studies have delivered a great number of interpretative opportunities; apart from reconstructions of the environment and economic behaviours of fi rst farmers, these opportunities included the versatile application of plants, and clearly indicated that an application of plants and organic materials was highly diversifi ed and constituted the grounds on which human economy of the Early Neolithic was based.

The interpretation of massive clay objects from the Trostianchyk site of the Trypillia culture. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 71, 11-39.The article considers the characteristics of truncated-pyramidal and discal type clay objects that were found in pit 1 at the Trostianchyk site (Vinnytsia oblast, Ukraine) of BII Trypillia stage. The context, location and chronology of these artifacts are characterized. On the basis of ethnographic evidence, the interpretation of the clay objects as movable constructive elements of a pottery kiln is given. We assume that such kilns are the archaic link in the evolution of ceramic firing devices. They preceded the multi-channel kilns that have been known in Cucuteni-Trypillia Cultural Complex since the end of V millennium BC.