The earliest farming communities north of the Carpathians: The settlement at Gwoździec site 2

Abstract

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.

Holocene vegetation, fire and land use dynamics at Lake Svityaz, an agriculturally marginal site in northwestern Ukraine

“…First farming communities connected to sites of the Volynskaya Neolithic culture and Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) established in the second part of the sixth millennium bc in the region (Kotova 2003 ). Earliest archaeological findings of LBK from southeastern Poland and northwestern Ukraine have been dated to 5300–4800 bc or 7,300–6,800 cal bp , indicating a rapid eastward spread of the LBK (Kotova 2003 ; Motuzaité Matuzevičiūtė and Telizhenko 2016 ; Czekaj-Zastawny et al 2020 ). In the northwestern Pontic region of the Ukrainian steppe, there is even earlier evidence for plant and animal domestication that has been attributed to the Bug-Dniestr culture, dated to the second half of the seventh millennium bc (ca.…”

The Linear Pottery culture face vessel from the site Biskupice 18, southern Poland

“…312 m.a.s.l.) is quite a unique feature in this zone, more closely resembling the cluster of settlements situated in more southern areas of the foothills, near the Dunajec river (Czekaj-Zastawny et al 2020).…”

Technological indicators in the pottery production of the late Linear Pottery culture and the Malice culture

“…The earliest farming settlements in the territory of Poland were established by communities of the Linear Pottery culture (from German Linearbandkeramik -LBK). The latest studies on absolute chronology for this culture indicate that it existed from 5350-4900/4800 BC within the territory of modern Poland (Czekaj-Zastawny 2014;2017;Czekaj-Zastawny et al 2020;Oberc et al in press). The beginnings of the classic phase (Ib) of the Malice culture (MC), which is connected with the Lengel and Tisza cultures was established to between 4650-4550 BC (Kadrow et al 2021).…”