Wyniki wyszukiwania - Biblioteka Nauki

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Early Makuria Research Project: Interim report on the excavation at el-Detti in 2014 and 2015 with Appendix: Metal objects from the el-Detti cemetery

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El-Tayeb M. , Czyżewska-Zalewska E. , Kowarska Z. , Lenarczyk S.

Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean

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2016

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tom 25

403-430

EN

Burial structures and the assemblages found inside them at the site of el-Detti, about 13 km downstream from Karima and 7 km upstream from el-Zuma, were explored in 2014 and 2015 by a joint team from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw and the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of Sudan. The aim was to enable comparison with the excavated burials at el-Zuma, a nearby tumuli field explored by the Early Makuria Research Project in recent years. Special attention was paid to metal artifacts from the tombs (studied in the appendix), which contribute to a better understanding of the local social and cultural traditions. The focus of the Early Makuria Research Project on examining the mortuary customs at el-Detti has helped to identify the burial practices of Early Makurian society and to trace the spread of Early Makurian society over time.

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Beer jars from Tell el-Murra graves. Seasons 2011–2015

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Kazimierczak M.

Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization

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2015

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tom 19

7-21

EN

Over the five excavation seasons conducted between 2011 and 2015 at the Early Dynastic Tell el-Murra cemetery, 17 graves were discovered along with their pottery assemblages. Nine of them contained vessels which are generally considered to be beer jars. Amongst the 18 examples of this kind of jar, a few types can be distinguished that show an affinity to similar vessels from the other Early Dynastic sites of Tell el-Farkha, Minshat Abu Omar, Buto, Helwan, Abydos, and Kafr Hassan Dawood. These analogies indicate that the Tell el-Murra graves should be dated to the Naqada IIIC2/D period and in some cases an even more precise date can be obtained. In addition, the presence of beer jars within the pottery assemblages of the graves also provides us with information concerning the funerary customs of the inhabitants of the Tell el-Murra site.

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Stratyfikacja społeczna ludności prawobrzeżnego leśnostepowego Podnieprza okresu Scytii klasycznej (2. poł. VI–IV/III w. p.n.e.)

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Burghardt M.

Materiały i Sprawozdania Rzeszowskiego Ośrodka Archeologicznego

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2017

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tom 38

111-154

XX

The article discusses the issue regarding the reconstruction of social structure of the early Scythian populations from the forest-steppe area of the Dnieper river, in the period between the second half of 6th–4th/3rd century BC, on the basis of funeral materials. As a result of the analysis of the most important elements of burial rites implemented by the discussed population groups, and based on records of ancient authors (The Histories by Herodotus), it has been established that the most valuable sources are the size and complexity of the funerary structure and covering embankment as well as quantitative and qualitative diversity of included inventory. The classification developed on the basis of 198 burials, by means of statistical inference methods, has led to the separation of several classes of graves that can be combined with different social strata. These layers included nomadic higher spheres (leaders of local communities, leaders of “military teams” and tribal aristocracy) and elites of local settled tribes, average members of the population divided into its wealthy representatives and the so-called “simple Scythians” and lower layers of (“the poor”) and people with limited rights (domestic slaves?).

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Wyniki badań archeologicznych na cmentarzysku z późnego neolitu w Sadowiu koło Opatowa

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Pasterkiewicz W.

Materiały i Sprawozdania Rzeszowskiego Ośrodka Archeologicznego

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2017

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tom 38

281-289

EN

This article aims at presenting the results of two research seasons carried out at site 23 in Sadowie, Opatów district. The remains of the cemetery were discovered in this place accidentally by one of the inhabitants during agricultural work. The area of 2.5 ares has been uncovered so far, and 10 graves have been discovered and exploited including, among others, human and animal graves affiliated to the Globular Amphora culture. Moreover, a single niche grave typical for the Złota culture has been also uncovered.

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Badania georadarowe (GPR) w archikatedrze fromborskiej w roku 2013

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Udyrysz M. , Szynkiewicz A.

Architectus

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2014

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nr 3(39)

3-10

EN

In 2013, a non-destructive GPR investigation was carried out over the floors inside the Cathedral in Frombork. The investigation was performed to a depth of 3 m using an 800 MHz antenna. During the studies, the main focus was to find the place conventionally known as the “lectorium” (reading room). The investigation has confirmed the location of the strong anomalies that were identified during the first GPR study using the 250 MHz antenna in 2005. The paper discusses the methods and stages of the research. Three selected GPR cross-sections are shown as examples together with the map of anomalies in the area called the “lectorium”.

PL

W 2013 r. po posadzkach wewnątrz archikatedry we Fromborku wykonane zostały sprawdzające, nieinwazyjne badania georadarowe (GPR). Badania wykonano antenami 800 MHz do głębokości 3 m. Główną uwagę zwrócono na miejsce określone jako „lektorium” (czytelnia). Potwierdzono występowanie silnych anomalii wykrytych tu w 2005 r. podczas pierwszych badań GPR wykonywanych antenami 250 MHz. W pracy omówiona jest metodyka i etapy badań. Pokazano trzy wybrane przekroje georadarowe (GPR) oraz mapkę wykrytych anomalii w części kościoła nazywanej „lektorium”.

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Enclosure of La Tène Graves in the Territory of Slovakia

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Repka Enclosure; rectangular; circular; graves; La Tène; Slovakia; elite D.

Studia Hercynia

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2020

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tom 24

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nr 2

127-154

EN

The aim of this article is to give a basic analysis of graves enclosed by rectangular and circular ditches documented at La Tène cemeteries from the territory of today’s Slovakia. It is focused mainly on the characteristics of the shape and size of the ditches or their spatial analysis within individual cemeteries. We also pay attention to graves situated within the area enclosed by the ditches. In this regard, the size of grave pits, the composition of grave goods, the dating, and the characteristics of buried individuals are important. The analysis should contribute to the discussion of basic questions reg

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Próba interpretacji zjawiska rytualnego składania ofiar z ludzi na Słowiańszczyźnie Zachodniej

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Pokorski M.

Folia Praehistorica Posnaniensia

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2021

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tom 26

373-397

EN

The subject matter of the article concerns on ritual sacrificial practices related to human sacrifices among the Western Slavs, including the Polish lands and the Polabia region. The chronological range covers the early Middle Ages, from the 7th to the 12th centuries. Considerations on this subject include the review of anthropological and philosophical disciplines research including R. Girard studies in this aspect, an analysis of written sources, and above all the analysis of the occurrence of victims and sacrificial sites from an archaeological perspective. The aim of the study was to identify archaeological remains related to sacrificial rituals by presenting the occurrence of victims and sacrificial sites at selected archaeological sites. The study aims to discuss the issues with interpretations of various aspects of the human sacrifices from the early medival Western Slavdom territory sites. The work is interdisciplinary, as it takes into account and integrates the results of archaeological research, knowledge in the field of history, philosophy and cultural anthropology. The article presents the effectiveness of interdisciplinary methods in expanding analytical and interpretative possibilities of archeology regarding the rituals of sacrifice and sacrificial sites.

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Post-Meroitic cemetery at the Khor Shambat site in Sudan

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Bobrowski P. , Chłodnicki M. , Jórdeczka M. , Stanaszek Ł. M.

Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean

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2020

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tom 29(2)

653-676

EN

Archaeological research at the Khor Shambat site located in Omdurman in central Sudan has been conducted since 2012, when a team of scientists from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences (Poznań) launched a salvage exploration of a Neolithic site and cemetery damaged by road construction. Research is now conducted within the scope of a grant from the National Science Centre, Poland (No. 2015/17/D/HS3/01492). Three seasons of fieldwork since 2016 have focused on the extensive prehistoric settlement spanning nearly 4000 years, from the early Mesolithic to the late Neolithic. The site turned out to be attractive not only for Mesolithic hunters-gatherers and Neolithic shepherds, but also as a burial place for the Meroitic and post-Meroitic inhabitants of the region. A survey of about 1% of the surface of the Khor Shambat site (KSH 1) resulted in the discovery of 66 graves; 12 of these are probably post-Meroitic, and of these three presented a rich and interesting array of burial goods, including imports from the Far East. At the same time, KSH 1 is one of the southernmost post-Meroitic cemeteries.

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Pierwsze groby kultur ceramik wstęgowych w Polsce. Groby kultury lubelsko-wołyńskiej ze stanowiska Złota "Grodzisko I" i "Grodzisko II

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Sałacińska B. , Zakościelna A.

Wiadomości Archeologiczne

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2007

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tom LIX

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nr 59

77-114

EN

The first regular rescue excavation at Złota, comm. Samborzec, distr. Sandomierz, woj. świętokrzyskie, was carried out (1926–1930) under supervision of the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw (J. Żurowski 1934, p. 31; 1935, p. 291) and focused on several archaeological sites identified in the area (Fig. 1–6); rich remains of settlements and cemeteries were discovered, dating from the Neolithic to early Medieval Period (J. Żurowski 1929, p. 4–9; 1934). To verify these findings site ‘Grodzisko II’ at Złota was revisited in 1956 and 1958 by a team from the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw (Fig. 7; Z. Podkowińska, D. Rauhut, Z. Krzak 1959a, p. 237, 239; 1959b, p. 20–21). Investigation at Złota uncovered ie a large settlement (more than one?) of Lublin-Volhynian Culture (LVC) and a number of graves associated with this archaeological unit (Fig. 8–10); these findings are discussed in the present study: grave 390 – Złota, ‘Grodzisko I’ (the 1929 investigation); graves 27, 101, 121, 122 – Złota, ‘Grodzisko II’ (in 1930), and a burial discovered inside a storage pit no. 16 (1956). Grave 390 was situated in W part of the site, between ditches V/3 and II/5, close to a strip of ground dividing ditches V/3 and V/4, in the neighbourhood of storage pit no. 264 associated with LVC (Fig. 8). A 220×160 cm sub-oval grave pit held the remains of an adultus/maturus woman lying in contracted position on her left side, head W (Fig. 11, 12). Grave goods included three vessels set above her head, two copper earrings, a necklace of five Glycymeris and two Veneridae shells found around her cranium, a pendant of a wild pig lower canine, several hundred Cerithium shells, also resting around the skull, and several score Naticidae shells discovered at the left wrist (Fig. 12–16). Finally, a vessel base was found by the right thigh bone. Grave 27, identified in SE region of the investigated area (Fig. 8), was a partly destroyed double burial of an adultus female and child (infans II) discovered at the depth of 30 cm. The woman rested in an extended supine position, head W. Her cranium was sharply twisted back and rested on its left cheek. Arms were flexed at the elbows, forearms upraised, left hand extended towards the child’s knees and the leg bones crossed at the ankles. The child lay in a contracted position on its right side, aligned S (head) – N (legs). It is possible that in this grave the principal burial had been that of the child (a boy – resting on his right side, in this tradition reserved for males), and the woman (mother?) had been placed in the grave with her feet bound. The arrangement of her remains gives the impression that at the time of burial she was still alive and had tried to turn towards (get closer to) the child whose body lay over her head (Fig. 17). According to the field diary of J. Żurowski a vessel (now lost) which had stood by the woman’s right had had a white painted ornament. Grave 101 was discovered in the NW area of the site, in a group with graves 121 and 122 (Fig. 8). Its rectangular 215×95 pit held the remains of an adultus/maturus male resting in contracted position on his right side, head to SW (Fig. 18, 19). Grave goods included fifteen vessels set in two groups: group A (7 vessels) standing before the dead man, set along the E wall of the grave pit, in a line from his head to hips, in the following order: amphora, cup, larger cup, with smaller cup inside, large cup, amphora, amphora. Group B (8 vessels) set at the man’s feet forming the border of the grave pit on its NW side included a pot with four smaller containers within (in the following order: bowl with perpendicular walls, bowl with rounded walls, oval bow, cup), a cup, a bowl with a cup inside (Fig. 20, 21:9.12–15). Other objects included a bracelet of copper wire with a circular pendant of the same material (Fig. 21:16.17) surviving on the man’s left forearm, an antler axe behind the man’s back, an ornamented bone dagger, which presumably originally rested inside the man’s belt (Fig. 21:27), and a set of eleven flint artefacts: five blades, retouched blade, endscraper, retouched truncation, perforator and two trapezes (Fig. 21:18–26). Apart from the trapezes which lay under a vessel in group B all other flints formed a concentration near the man’s left hip, seven of them clustering within a splotch of red pigment (ochre) which has been interpreted as the remains of a container (pouch) of organic material painted red (Fig. 19). The dead man had been provided with beef (a slab of ribs placed in line with the vessel group A) and from a number of animals of undetermined species. The trunk and feet of the man were strewn about with a large quantity of Cerithium shells (Fig. 22); finally, red pigment (presumably ochre) was observed under the skeleton – at cranium, pelvis and feet (Fig. 19). Grave 121, largely lost to ploughing, held the remains of two individuals. In the surviving NE section were found lower limb bones (skeleton A) and a concentration of three vessels. From the arrangement of bones it is possible to determine the position of only the skeleton A, which presumably rested on its right side (male?), head to SE. The arrangement of quite mixed up bones of skeleton B (shin and thigh bones) suggests that it also had rested on its right side (Fig. 23, 24). The vessel concentration resting at the thigh and knees of skeleton A included a large cup within which were found a smaller cup and an amphora (Fig. 25). Grave 122 produced no human remains but held eleven vessels as well as flint objects and some animal bones (Fig. 26–28), resting in an arrangement similar as in grave 101. In SE part of the grave was found a concentration of four vessels: a wide-necked pot containing a hollow--footed beaker, a small cup, and an amphora. In N and NW area of the grave was a second concentration of seven vessels: an amphora with a small cup inside, another amphora, large cup, large cup, amphora, and smaller cup (Fig. 29). Flint finds included three blades, a retouched truncation and a retouched blade (Fig. 30); animal bones included ribs of a horse, lying in the same line as the vessel concentration in the SE part of the grave, and a pile of sheep/goat, pig, cattle and bird bones found by the second vessel group; the entire grave was strewn about with Cerithium shells (Fig. 27, 28). Storage pit no. 16 held a skeleton of a woman (early adultus) lying in a contracted position on her left side, head to S (Fig. 32). There were no grave furnishings. The fill of the pit overlying the skeleton produced fragments of LVC pottery. Out of all post-linear groups in Poland LVC is represented by the largest number of human burials which provide a substantial basis for reconstructing the funerary rite. Jointly with graves discovered in Volhynia and Podolia (Ukraine) some 140 or so burials of this culture unit are recorded (A. Zakościelna 2006b, p. 89). The graves recorded at Złota were richly furnished with diverse goods (Table 1), which is consistent with the burial rite noted in LVC. At the same time the inventory produced by grave 101 is of unprecedented richness. This burial of an adult male was accompanied by a set of no less than thirty items, seven categories of raw material in all: 15 pottery vessels, 11 flint objects, bone dagger, antler axe, two copper objects, abundant Cerithium shells and ochre. Another comparatively richly furnished grave is no 122 – a cenotaph – which judging by the presence of exceptionally fine flint objects may also be interpreted as a male ‘burial’. The female grave 390, although furnished with a smaller inventory, cannot be said to be poor either. This is mainly because of the presence in this burial of exotic imported shells. Their value and nature of a status symbol is indicated by the fact that so far such shells have not been recorded in any other grave in LVC. Their presence testifies to wide-ranging contacts of LVC communities with the environment of Eneolithic cultures on the Black Sea. Such links may also be indicated by the cenotaph no. 122, a form of burial very rage in LVC. At the present stage of analysis of Eneolithic evidence from Złota it is extremely difficult to undertake clarification and interpretation of many questions relating to the grave assemblages presented here. One of such issues is the location of the graves in relation to storage pits in LVC settlement/settlements. To all appearances feature 390 at ‘Grodzisko I’ was a solitary grave situated within the settlement. Grave 390 (and possibly, other, no longer existing graves) in this part of the site are attributed to the classic phase, presumably the period of liveliest settlement activity by LVC people. Similar dating should be given also to grave 27 and the burial inside pit 16 at ‘Grodzisko II’, and also to solitary graves discovered in proximity of settlement features. The cemetery (ie graves 101, 121 and 122) would have been established at the onset of phase III (late phase) on the margin of the settlement catchment at a time when the settlement was on the way to decline. More far-reaching conclusions will have to wait until the evidence from Złota has been analysed in full and the chronology of spatial development of the settlement reconstructed. From evidence published so far in piecemeal fashion it is known that the settlement had been of substantial duration. Some of the material recovered so far is quite early and may be linked to phase I (pre-classic) (Z. Podkowińska 1953, pl. VII:2.3), followed by material – apparently the most abundant – from the classic phase (Z. Podkowińska 1953, pl. I–III); late phase is represented by the presence in the pottery of eg Scheibenhenkel handles (J. Kamieńska, J. K. Kozłowski 1990, pl. 31:1.4). Typical for phase B in Bodrogkeresztúr Culture (cf M. Kaczanowska 1986, p. 43, 46), Scheibenhenkel handles noted in LVC deposits probably correspond to horizon IIIb. It would appear that at Złota we have the complete developmental sequence of LVC culture. All the graves from Złota were provided with radiocarbon determinations (Table 2, fig. 33). The date obtained for the burial in storage pit no. 16 (5500±40 BP) fits within the range of 4370–4320 BC (52.5%, for sigma 1) and 4450–4310 BC (83.0% for sigma 2). These values may correspond in relative chronology to early phase of LVC (S. Kadrow, A. Zakościelna 2000, fig. 44; A. Zakościelna 2006, p. 89). The only problem is that featuring no grave goods the burial is linked to LVC only on the basis of materials associated with this culture discovered within the layer overlying the skeleton (Z. Podkowińska 1959b, p. 15–17). As such culture attribution of this burial is at once plausible but problematic. The radiocarbon date matches the upper chronological confines of the classic phase of Malice Culture (S. Kadrow 1996, p. 68), also documented at Złota in the form of settlement remains. On the other hand there is evidence to postulate very early settlement of LVC at the site basing on the presence of pestle-like vessels in pits 40 and 129a at ‘Grodzisko I’ (Z. Podkowińska 1953, Pl. VII:2.3); these forms are parallel to ceramic forms noted in the Transylvanian group Iclod (Gh. Lazarovici 1991, p. 31). Radiocarbon dates obtained for grave 27 (5270±40 BP) are 4170–4090 BC (27.6% for sigma 1) and 4180–3980 BC (78.9% for sigma 2). This corresponds to the chronology of (classic) phase II in LVC (S. Kadrow, A. Zakościelna 2000, fig. 44; A. Zakościelna 2006, p. 90). Unfortunately, also in case of this grave the dating cannot be corroborated by material finds as its grave furniture has yet to be discovered. Graves 390 (5170±40 BP), 101 (5060±30 BP), and 122 (5020±40 BP) survive complete with intact set of grave furnishings. The result obtained for grave 390 is 4000–3950 BC (50.7% for sigma 1) and 4050–3930 BC (86.3% for sigma 2). This value of radiocarbon dating places this feature in phase II of development of LVC, which is consistent with the dating of the grave inventory and the location of the burial within the settlement. The determination obtained for grave 101 is 3950–3830 BC (54.1% for sigma 1) and 3960–3780 BC (95.4% for sigma 2) whereas grave 122 in its neighbourhood produced the following respective values: 3940–3870 BC (33.7% for sigma 1) and 3950–3700 BC (95.4% for sigma 2). These determinations suggest that both features should be placed late in phase II of LVC, while the formal and stylistic attributes of their ceramics recall similarity with material noted in phase A in Bodrogkeresztúr Culture, which corresponds to horizon IIIa of late phase of LVC. As such, the dates obtained would be too early. Grave assemblages discussed here represent but a small fragment of the history of human settlement in sites ‘Grodzisko I’ and ‘II’ at Złota. A staggering amount of archaeological material still awaits analysis and interpretation, in particular, rich evidence on multiple stages of occupation by Danubian folk, first of all, the fortified settlement of LVC. Over long decades this record has continued to be known only from a small number of finds which had been published at random when they were needed to support diverse concepts. Comprehensive analysis and publication of the material from Złota is urgently needed as it represents a vast body of data which could prove of key importance for resolving many vital issues related to the Neolithic and Eneolithic in Poland.

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Metsamor (Armenia) after five seasons of excavations

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Piliposyan A. , Iskra M. , Zakyan A. , Jakubiak K.

Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean

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2018

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tom 27(1)

429-444

EN

The Metsamor site in the 2017 season was excavated in two areas. The main area was the so-called town area where several dwellings from the Early Iron Age were cleared. Evidence of violent site destruction included two human skeletons belonging most probably to victims of a sudden attack, left unburied after the town had been destroyed. The cemetery was the second investigated area. Exploration of kurgan XIX demonstrated that it had been looted. Nevertheless, some human remains and several artifacts in the form of bronze snake head bracelets were recorded inside the burial chamber.

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Eneolithic copper jewellery from grave 7 of the Lublin-Volhynian culture at site 2 in Książnice, Świętokrzyskie Province, Poland. Typological and physical metallurgy characteristic

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Wilk S. , Garbacz-Klempka A.

Recherches Archéologiques Nouvelle Serie

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2016

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tom 8

29-46

EN

This article presents a typological and physical metallurgy analysis of copper artifacts found in child grave (no 7) at the Lublin-Volhynian culture cemetery in Książnice (Lesser Poland). The burial, dating to approx. 4050–3940 BC, contains a rich set of copper jewellery: a massive earring, small earring, bracelet - made of copper wire, and two beads made of a rolled piece of metal sheet. As part of metallographic analysis of metal finds from grave 7, site 2 in Książnice, quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted, regarding chemistry and microstructure of all the five artifacts. In the artifacts tested, there were identified the elements significant from the perspective of raw material origin and smelting technology: arsenic, antimony, silver, tin, zinc, lead, bismuth, cobalt, nickel and iron. The highest total content of impurities was noted for the bracelet. Against the background of other elements, the arsenic content stands out here and it is 2.1%, and lead 0.26%. For the remaining artifacts, the arsenic content was 0÷0,24%, and lead 0÷0,039%. Antimony (0.098%) and zinc (0.15%) was only recorded for the one of the bead. Also, the highest content of silver (0.05%) was established in this case. In the remaining ornaments, the silver content was below 0.02%. Based on the X-ray fluorescent spectroscopy results, chemical profiles were established for the individual, and they were ascribed to raw material groups according to R. Krause: 1) pure copper, 2) arsenic copper and 3) antimony copper (Krause 2003: 90–91, Abb. 40–41). The presented inventory of copper artifacts from grave 7, having many analogies in the Carpathian Basin and the areas to the north and east of the Carpathians, confirms the thesis about wide, trans-Carpathian contacts of the group which was using the necropolis in Książnice at the turn of 5th and 4th millennium BC.

PL

Niniejszy artykuł prezentuje typologiczną i metaloznawczą analizę zabytków miedzianych znalezionych w grobie dziecięcym (nr 7) na cmentarzysku kultury lubelsko-wołyńskiej w Książnicach (Małopolska). Pochówek, datowany na przełom V i IV tysiąclecia BC (4050–3940 BC), zawierał bogaty zestaw biżuterii miedzianej, na który składały się: duża, masywna zausznica, mała zausznica i bransoleta – wykonane z drutu, oraz dwa paciorki ze zwiniętej blachy miedzianej. W ramach badań metaloznawczych, przeprowadzono ilościowe i jakościowe, analizy chemiczne i mikrostrukturalne wszystkich pięciu zabytków. W badanych zabytkach zidentyfikowano pierwiastki, istotne z punktu widzenia pochodzenia surowca i technologii wytopu. Należą do nich: arsen, antymon, srebro, cyna, cynk, ołów, bizmut, kobalt, nikiel i żelazo. Sumarycznie największą zawartość zanieczyszczeń zarejestrowano dla bransolety. Na tle innych pierwiastków wyróżnia się tu arsen, który wynosi 2,1% i ołów 0,26%. Dla pozostałych zabytków stężenie arsenu wynosiło 0÷0,24%, a ołowiu 0÷0,039%. Antymon (0,098%) i cynę (0,15%) zarejestrowano jedynie dla jednego z paciorków. W tym przypadku wykazano również najwyższą zawartość srebra (0,05%). W pozostałych ozdobach stężenie srebra wynosiło poniżej 0,02%. Na podstawie wyników analizy spektroskopii fluorescencji rentgenowskiej dokonano ustalenia profili chemicznych analizowanych zabytków oraz zaklasyfikowano je do grup surowcowych wg R. Krause: (1) miedzi czystej, (2) miedzi arsenowej oraz (3) miedzi antymonowej (Krause 2003: 90 – 91, ryc. 40 – 41). Zaprezentowany inwentarz zabytków miedzianych z grobu 7, mający liczne analogie w Kotlinie Karpackiej i na terenach położonych na północ i wschód od łuku Karpat, potwierdza tezę o szerokich transkarpackich kontaktach grupy użytkującej nekropolę w Książnicach na przełomie V i IV tysiąclecia BC.

12

Satt auch im Jenseits? Tierknochen in Gräbern und Siedlungen der Vekerzug-Kultur

72%

Kozubová A.

Materiały i Sprawozdania Rzeszowskiego Ośrodka Archeologicznego

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2019

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nr 40

235-254

EN

In the present study, we deal with numerous animal bones from the sities of the Vekerzug culture in Eastern Hungary und Southwestern Slovakia, which come mainly from archaeozoological quite well recorded and analysed settlements. Their grave findings are rare and they are one of the special features of the burial rites of that culture. Providing a more complex archaeological overview of these finds was at the centre of our interest. Animal bones from the graves and settlements were mainly represented by cattle, sheep/goats, pigs, occasionally horses und their interpretation in graves as the remains of meat dishes ist highly probable.

13

Obrządek pogrzebowy łowców-zbieraczy epoki kamienia w południowej Skandynawii i na Niżu Środkowoeuropejskim

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Bugajska K.

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tom 62

5-70

EN

The paper discusses various aspects of burial practices of hunter-gatherers in the Stone Age, namely the Mesolithic and the Paraneolithic, in Southern Scandinavia and on the Middle European Plain, i.e. Polish and German Plains. The various aspects of the practices are analysed in regional and chronological perspective. Altogether, 58 sites were identified in Southern Scandinavia and on the Middle European Plain (fig. 1). 199 graves and 243 individuals (burials) come from there. The total number of sites containing graves in Scandinavia and the in the examined area of the Plain is similar, but in Scandinavia they concentrate on the opposite shores of Zealand and Scania (fig. 1) and in Poland and Germany they are scattered around the whole area of the Plain (fig. 1). In Poland and Germany, single graves are usually discovered (75 % of the sites). Burial grounds are less frequent there (25%, fig. 1, table 1) . In Scandinavia, there are much more burial sites (40%) and they are larger, for this reason the number of graves is much higher (158) than in Germany and Poland (41). Burial grounds (complexes of at least 2 graves) are relatively frequent, they were discovered at a total of 19 sites (33%), most of them, however, contain only from two to five graves (table 1). Large and medium-sized burial grounds are known only from Scandinavia. Three burial grounds can be counted among the large-sized (Skateholm I – 57 graves, Skateholm II – 20 graves and Vedbćk Bøgebakken – 19 graves), and four – among the medium-sized burial grounds, containing 6-9 graves (Gøngehusvej, Nederst, Nivĺ and Tĺgerup) (fig. 1, table 1). Burial grounds mainly date from the middle and late Mesolithic. Mszano in Poland is the only burial ground where all the graves date from the early Mesolithic (table 1). In Scandinavia, most burials were discovered within or in the vicinity of settlements (73% of the sites, fig. 2). In Germany, there are less than 40% of such sites and in Poland only about 30% (fig. 2). It is interesting, however, that these trends are opposite in the early Mesolithic, because graves in Scandinavia are situated outside the settlement context then, while in Poland and Germany, in contrast, they are located within campsites (table 9). Grave constructions and possible remains of burial containers are rarely recorded (fig. 3). In Denmark, stone constructions (fig. 4), while in Sweden and Poland (Mszano) wooden ones were mainly used. A boat burial discovered in Møllegabet in Denmark is a unique find (table 9). Tree bark, and probably also animal skins were used to wrap the body of the deceased (fig. 3). Remains of bark were discovered in Mszana, Poland (three graves) and at two sites in Denmark: Korsør Nor and Møllegabet (table 9). Various types of organic supports are also known from Scandinavia (fig. 3) – probably wooden in three graves (Gøngehusvej, fig. 5) and a swan wing in one grave (grave 6 in Bøgebakken, table 9). Deer antlers were found in several graves in Scandinavia, which were placed both under the body and next to it – by the legs or behind the back (fig. 3, table 9). Such an arrangement may suggest that the antlers were a kind of “a catafalque” or “a surround” (fig. 4). The swan wing and the deer antlers can also be regarded as grave goods of a symbolic meaning. Orientation of skeletons towards cardinal directions in Scandinavia is different from the orientation in Poland and Germany (fig. 6a). On the Plains, the dead were laid with head to the north or north-east. There are no clear trends in Scandinavia, but the burials were oriented with head mainly to the west, north or south, and rarely to the east. However, it must be added that the orientation may de different even on adjacent burial sites (Skateholm I and II, fig. 6b). In this context it appears that there were very large regional, and even local, differences in this respect. Primary inhumation burials, i.e. laid in anatomical position, dominate in the Mesolithic and the Paraneolithic (circa 80%, fig. 7a). But other kinds of burials are also known (fig. 7a-b), such as for example secondary and partial burials (8%), which were the result of transferring the remains from temporary burials. Cremation was also used, it represents 9% of all burials. Water burials belong to exceptional kinds of disposal of human remains. They are known from two Scandinavian sites – Koelbjerg in Denmark and Stora Mosse in Sweden, and they date back to the early Mesolithic. Both discoveries were treated as drowning victims, but they could equally well be burials which consisted in tipping the bodies into the water. The bodies were probably weighted, because in both cases the bones were lying close together. A boat burial from Møllegabet may be some kind of analogy. Empty graves constitute a separate category (4%). There are no human bones in them, but other attributes such as grave goods and traces of ochre testify to the burial rituals. At least some of them were cenotaphs, but the total disintegration of skeletons should be also taken into account in some cases (table 9). The positioning of primary burials is very diverse, still the supine position dominates (variant 1 – 56%, fig. 8). It should be stressed, however, that this tendency is typical mainly of Scandinavia. Rarely, the dead were laid on their back with the legs arranged in different ways (9%, fig. 8) – with straddled or pulled up legs (variant 2), with legs crouched aside (variant 4) or with legs folded up to the chest (variant 3). The latter variant has occurred only once, at the site in Dręstwo in Poland (table 9). The prone position is also unique, it is known only from the grave 33 from Skateholm I in Sweden (fig. 9a). About 19% of the bodies were lying on their side, in a flexed position (variant 7) or with slightly angled legs (variant 6, fig. 9b). Such burials have been found throughout the area under consideration (fig. 8). Burials in a sitting position (variant 8) account for 15% of burials (fig. 8) and are in three varieties – with straight legs, with one leg slightly angled and with both legs angled. Such burials are quite common in Sweden (20%), but have not been discovered in Denmark. On the Polish and German Plains, the burials in a sitting position are almost as numerous as those in the supine position. The burial from Janisławice is the only documented burial in a sitting position from Poland (Chmielewska 1954). Admittedly, the burial from Woźna Wieś was described as a sitting burial, but mainly due to the fact that the skull fragments were lying higher than the other bones (Sulgostowska 1990). However, the remains from the grave from Woźna Wieś are strongly divided, they are chaotically arranged and the skeleton is incomplete – for example, there are no shinbones (Sulgostowska 1990). It is hard to assume that these specific bones decomposed, and smaller bones, such as ribs and phalanges, have remained. It should therefore be concluded that it is a secondary burial, in which the bones of the skull have been deposited above the rest of the bones. Also the grave 4 from Mszano was suggested to be a sitting burial. That was concluded only from the shape of the burial pit, as no human bones were found there (Marciniak 2001: 102-104). The pit was divided by barren sand into two parts, one of which was dug deeper. On this basis, it was suggested that the shallower pit had been a seat, and the legs of the deceased had been put into the deeper one (Marciniak 1993: 11; 2001: 102-104, 120-121). In my opinion, it would be much easier to assume that two burial pits were situated there. In any case, either a type of the burial, a position, or the age of the buried individual (or individuals?) cannot be determined. It is worth noting that the burials in the supine position with legs crouched aside (variant 4) and on the side with slightly angled legs (variant 6), come from collective graves in more than half of the cases (fig. 10). Such arrangement resulted from turning the deceased in the direction of other individuals buried in the same grave (fig. 9b). 17 secondary burials (8%) have been discovered. They can be divided into two types. Burials of bones from different parts of a skeleton are the first type (8 individuals), and partial burials of single bones, mainly sole skulls, are the second type (9 individuals, table 2). Accidental discoveries from sites in Brajniki, Łojewo and Konne in Poland have been classified under the latter type. At the first two – skulls, and in Konne – a human mandible were discovered. Those remains were accompanied by grave goods, mainly tooth necklaces and ochre, which suggests intentional burials. During the subsequent archaeological prospecting in Konne, a small piece of a skull was found (Szymczak, Zalewski 1980), and small fragments of humeri were discovered in Brajniki (Bohnsack 1939-1940). In both cases, it is not known, however, whether they come from the same individuals as the skulls. On account of the good state of preservation of the skulls and the presence of the bone goods, it is hard to assume that the rest of the skeletons disintegrated or that the postcranial bones had been unnoticed by discoverers, especially as they found even small pieces of grave goods. Therefore, they are interpreted as partial burials. Partial burials of sole skulls are also known from evident graves (Pierkunowo, grave 2, Schmöckwitz, grave 2, Skateholm, grave 64, table 2). Secondary burials of most part of the skeleton are the second type. Like the partial burials, they have been found throughout the area. It should be noted, however, that they also never are fully complete (table 2, 9). Sometimes, there is a lack of small bones such as phalanges there, which could disintegrate or be lost during the transfer of the remains from a temporary burial. However, there is often a lack of large bones, e.g. a skull or long bones (table 2, fig. 11). This suggests that the skeleton was divided and its pieces were laid in different places. I scored a deposit of human bones found in one of the features in Krępnica (Poland) among secondary burials. The human bones were strongly fragmented into more than a thousand small pieces there, and were mixed with numerous flint artefacts (Masojć 2011: 148, fig.5). Because of the context of the finding and the kind of the deposit, the excavator has not explicitly interpreted this finding as a burial (Masojć 2011: 148). In my opinion, this discovery can be regarded as a specific secondary burial. In the same context – in a settlement and in the area of a flint concentration – human remains were found at two other sites in Poland – in Pomorsko and Wieliszew (table 9). Grave goods have been discovered in secondary burials in Poland and Germany, but have not been found in Scandinavia (table 2). Amongst secondary burials, the most are male burials, some are child burials, and female burials are the rarest (table 2). Some cases are known of primary burials which were disturbed already in the Stone Age (table 2). They were not disturbed with the aim of robbing, as the grave goods remained, but rather for rituals reasons. Only specific bones, usually large and characteristic, were taken from graves (fig. 12B, 13, 14). Apart from that, burials could also be disturbed in the course of adding the subsequent deceased to the grave (e.g. Gross Fredenwalde, Skateholm grave 63, fig. 12a). This practice applied rather to adults, both female and male (table 2). 21 cremation burials from 16 graves were discovered in the examined area (table 3). This kind of burial rites was already known from the early Mesolithic, as evidenced by the burial from Hamelev in Jutland and the graves from Mszano in Poland, dated to the Boreal period (table 9). The largest number of cremation burials is known from the middle Mesolithic. Cremation burials in Scandinavia usually comes from burial grounds where the inhumation was practised in parallel (Skateholm I, II, Vedbćk Bøgebakken, Vedbćk Boldbaner, Nivĺ, table 9). The only one cremation burial known from Germany is the burial from Coswig. And from Poland, apart from the above-mentioned grave in Mszano, there are two more burials – from Wieliszew and Pomorsko (table 3). Both the remains from Pomorsko (a child) and Wieliszew (a male skull) were interpreted not as burials, but as the traces of cannibalistic practices (Kobusiewicz, Kabaciński 1991, Wiercińska, Szlachetko 1977). However, burnt bones (particularly very strongly burnt), and even the presence of a single trace of a cut on the frontal bone (Wieliszew), are not proof of cannibalism. So, I have counted those two findings among cremation burials, especially as the bones formed distinct concentrations in both cases (Kobusiewicz, Kabaciński 1991: fig. 4, Więckowska 1985: 73). The burial from Pomorsko was probably equipped with a flint blade and burnt Cervidae remains, and the burial from Wieliszew could be equipped with flint tools. Deceased adults of both sexes as well as children were cremated (table 3). Burnt remains of only one individual were usually put into a burial pit. Two individuals were only in the grave No. 2 in Mszano and five individuals – in Gøngehusvej (grave N, fig. 15). Cremation burials are mostly secondary burials, i.e. the cremation took place outside the burial pit, where only selected burnt human remains were placed (table 3). Most of these secondary deposits have formed small, round clusters, which may indicate that the remains were placed in the grave in a container (fig. 15, table 3). Primary cremation burials, i.e. those where the cremation took place directly inside the burial pit, are known only from Mszano in Poland. In the cremation burials, the grave goods can be both burnt (at least 4 graves) and not burnt (7 graves). That implies that the goods could be either placed to be burnt on the funeral pyre or placed directly in the grave during the burial of human bones (table 3). In the Mesolithic, most of the graves contained remains of only one individual (fig. 16). Collective burials accounted for only 15%, most of them are graves containing two individuals. The double graves are either graves of a child and an adult (mainly a woman, fig. 17), or of two adults, usually of different sexes (table 4). The exceptions are one grave of two women (Dragsholm, fig.14) and two graves of two men (graves 63 and X from Skateholm, fig. 18). There is only one known grave of two children (Skateholm II, grave XII). There are only a few graves with a larger number of the dead (3-8 individuals), (fig. 16, table 9). Most of the examples come from Denmark (Koed, Strøby Egede, grave N from Gøngehusvej, grave 19 from Bøgebakken, fig. 19, 20), and only one from Germany (Gross Fredenwalde). The dead from collective graves were usually treated equally, both in terms of orientation, the type of burial rite – cremation or inhumation – and grave goods – all or nobody (table 4, 9). Differences most often concern the mutual arrangement of the bodies in the burial pit (table 4, fig. 9b, 14, 18, 20). In the case of the graves containing two individuals, the dead were usually laid side by side (at least 14 graves), and only exceptionally one person entirely or partially above another – a child above a woman, a woman with her legs above a man (table 4, fig. 14, 12a). In ten graves, the dead were lying exactly in the same position, usually in the supine position, although there are two cases known where both individuals were buried on their side or in the sitting position (table 4). The grave 63 from Skateholm I is an interesting example. There, two men were lying on their side, one by one, but the man at the front was lying with his face turned toward the man lying behind him. The different way of arrangement of the dead is known from at least seven double graves (table 4). One person usually lies in the supine position, and the other is turned toward the first individual, lying on the side or in the supine position with the legs crouched aside or straddled (table 4, fig. 9b, 14). The grave X from Skateholm II is an exceptional example. Two men, one next to another, were interred there. One of them was lying in the supine position and the other was in the sitting position. They were inversely oriented and their faces were turned one to another (fig. 18). In the case of mass graves, not only the arrangement of each individual, but also the way of their turning (or not) toward each other. Women were usually turned toward men lying with them, and a younger woman was turned toward an older one (fig. 9B, 14). Additionally, three women were laid at the left side of men – in Nivĺ and Skateholm, and two at the right side – in Nymölla and Tĺgerup (table 4, fig. 9b). Thus, it seems that age and sex of the dead were the diversity factor. The mutual arrangement and the way of turning of two individuals toward each other reflect family, emotional and social relationship between them. Ochre was present in 107 graves (54%). It is particularly typical of the graves from Poland (76%) and to a lesser extend from Germany and Denmark (65% and 63%). It is most rarely found in Sweden (45%). The presence of ochre rather does not show an association with the sex of the dead (fig. 21), especially in Scandinavia (circa 50% of burials of each sex). In the case of burials from Poland and Germany, the difference is more distinct (75% of female burials, 60% of male burials), but it may result due to too small sample of female burials. Ochre is more often present in child burials than in burials of adults (84% to 54%, fig. 21). Ochre usually covers the entire child burials, and in burials of adults it rather concentrates in a specific place on the skeleton (table 5). In Scandinavia, ochre was placed mainly near the head or the hips, more rarely near the chest and the limbs. In Poland, by contrast, it was placed near the head, the hips, the head or the legs of the deceased, everywhere with similar frequency. What is important, the presence of ochre near the pelvis is noticed in female graves twice as often as in male graves (14 to 7, table 5), which is consistent with frequent occurrence of waist ornaments in female graves. Traces of ochre are found in such specific places (fig. 4, 14, 17, 19, 25, table 5) and generally on/near the bones, so they are probably connected with colouring of specific parts and items of clothing (belts, headgear) or possibly with colouring of a container of the body (mainly in case of small children). In general, about 60% of the burials was equipped. The adults were equipped slightly more often than children (61% to 49%, fig. 22), which concerns mainly the Polish and German Plains (78% to 38%). Amongst the grave goods, the most frequent are flint tools – 58% of burials, ornaments – 42%, and animal bones – circa 40%. Bone artefacts are less frequent – 25%, and stone artefacts – 8%, fossils and untreated stones – 9% are sporadic (table 6). There is a relationship between the selected categories of the grave goods and the sex of the deceased (table 7). Women were equipped mainly with ornaments (64%), while men mainly with flint artefacts (64%). This tendency is typical mainly of Scandinavia. In Poland and Germany, ornaments are present to the same extent both in female and male graves. In child burials, either flints (57%) or ornaments (circa 40%) are found, other categories of grave goods are rare. As regards flint artefacts, mainly blades were placed in graves (70% of burials equipped with flint artefacts) and the principle applies throughout the area under consideration (table 6). It is interesting that, at least in Scandinavia, the blades were usually placed at the waist of the deceased (18 burials). Such position is more frequent in male than in female burials (10 to 2 burials, fig. 4, 20) and can be also found in child burials (table 8, fig. 17, 23). Microliths and flint flakes are relatively frequent grave goods (circa 20% each, table 6). Microliths are typical mainly of burials from Germany (50%), while flakes – for burials from Sweden (circa 40%). Flakes were placed mainly at the feet of the deceased, and microliths near the legs and the head (table 8). Cores as well as end-scrapers and side-scrapers are an exceptional kind of grave goods, known almost exclusively from Poland and Germany (table 6). Stone and flint axes were found altogether in 18 burials (table 6), of which 9 were male, two female and two child burials (table 7). One axe was usually placed in a grave, but what is interesting is that nearly 1/3 of axe-equipped burials were equipped with two or three axes. Flint axes are known mainly from Denmark (8 burials) and stone axes – from Sweden (5 burials). Few findings of stone axes in graves come also from Germany (Bad Dürrenberg) and Poland (Prabuty). In Prabuty, apart from the cylindrical axe, a stone club with a hole was also found (table 9). Other stone artefacts are rare findings (table 6). Stone plates are known from Sweden, and flakes from Poland (Dręstwo, grave 1, table 9). Animal teeth were the most common category of ornaments (85% of burials equipped with ornaments, table 6). These were mainly red deer and wild boar teeth, chiefly incisors. Moose and aurochs teeth are slightly rarer (fig. 24). Roe deer and horse incisors as well as canine teeth of predators: bears, seals, the canids and the mustelids are also rare. In the case of the ungulates, almost exclusively incisors were used. Ornaments made from wild boar tusks and, very rarely, red deer fangs are also noticed (Janisławice, Gross Fredenwalde, Bad Dürrenberg, grave 8 from Bøgebakken). Untreated animal bones (e.g. roe deer hooves, birds’ beaks), amber, shell or bone beads, stone plates and fossils were also used as ornaments (table 6). Bone pins were used as female head ornaments (table 8, fig. 20, 25). Clay balls and imitations of deer fangs were discovered in one grave near the skull (Gross Fredenwalde, table 9). Ornaments were usually found at the pelvis, the head or near the chest (table 8, fig. 14, 17, 19, 25, 26). Ornaments placed at the waist are typical of female burials and rare in male burials (12 to 4, table 8). Various bone tools and weapons were also placed in graves (table 6). As regards weapons, there were mainly axes made from red deer antlers, bone blades, slotted points and daggers. A harpoon (from Skateholm II, grave IV) and an axe made from wild boar tusk (from Janisławice) are unique findings and they both were found in male graves (table 7, 8). Axes and slotted points are more common in male graves, but there are some exceptions to this (Barum, Bad Dürrenberg, table 9). As regards bone tools, awls (5 graves) and retouchers (4 graves, table 6) belong to more common tools. Bone pins, apart from the above-mentioned head ornaments, were found in two other graves. Artefacts made from wild boar tusks, possibly knives, were found in Janisławice and Bad Duerrenberg. A chisel is known only from a grave in Barum, and a haft/frame made from antlers comes from one grave in Tĺgerup (grave 4). A quiver for microliths, made from the long bone of a crane, which was found in a burial of a woman with a newborn infant in Bad Dürrenberg (table 6, 9), is also a unique finding. Animal bones are also a diverse category of grave goods, both in terms of species and anatomy (table 6, 9). Fish bones were among the most common kind of bones used as grave goods (54% of bone-equipped graves) and were found mainly in Sweden. As regards the ungulates, red deer bones (27%), roe deer bones (18%) and wild boar bones (14%) predominate. Red deer and roe deer bones has been found throughout the examined area, and wild boar bones only in Sweden and Germany. From the ungulates, only horse bones (Woźna Wieś) and elk bones (Tĺgerup) have been also identified as unique findings. Bones of predators discovered in graves belong to seven different species (table 6). A large part of them has been identified only in Sweden and those were the bones of: porpoise, seal, bear, wolf, otter, marten and wildcat. Marten and wildcat bones are also known only from Denmark. Beaver bones belong also to unique findings (table 6 and 9). They are known only from Germany and Poland (Bad Dürrenberg, Janisławice). Bones of different species of birds (12,5% of the graves equipped with animal bones), turtle carapaces, snake vertebrae and mollusc shells have been also found in graves (table 6). Animal bones should be considered in two categories – i.e. as consumption remains and as bones from non-consumption parts of skeletons – skulls, mandibles, antlers, hooves, phalanges etc. (fig. 28, table 6, 9). Fish were main kind of food deposited in graves or consumed just before the death. They were found even in the abdominal area. Apart from them, also some part of bones of the ungulates were deposited as food. A large part of the remains of the ungulates, especially of red deer and roe deer, had clearly a symbolic meaning. Nearly all bones of birds, beavers and predators had also a symbolic importance, with a few exception of a porpoise and a seal. Animals were also deposited together with people in burials, which is known only from Scania and Zealand. A roe deer was placed in one grave (Gřngehusvej), and dogs – in six graves (Skateholm, table 6). In three graves, the dogs were placed at the feet of the dead (fig. 18, 27). Considering the fact that the dogs were also interred in separate graves and sometimes richly equipped (Kannegard Nielsen, Brinch Petersen 1993; Larsson 1983-84; 1988; Peterson 2007), they should not be treated as grave goods or offerings, but rather as additional individuals in the graves, closely emotionally connected with the specific dead. Summary and Discussion On the basis of the above analysis, it can be concluded that in the Mesolithic and the Paraneolithic, burial rites were very strongly differentiated in almost all noticeable aspects. Even so, some regional tendencies can be pointed out. However, they do not defined clear boundaries, but have a higher or lower intensity in a specific region. What is interesting is that the noticed differences did not always exist in opposition between Scandinavia and the Middle European Plain, but also between Denmark and Sweden as well as between Polish and Germany. On the other hand, despite the existence of a number of regional tendencies, there are sometimes significant differences between graves from the same burial ground or two adjacent ones, additionally dated to the same period. All burials from the Polish Plain do not differ substantially from the basic tendencies in the funeral rite in Germany and Scandinavia. The burial from Janisławice, for which the closest analogy is the grave from Bad Dürrenberg in Saxony, is an interesting example of this. In both cases, these are sitting burials, equipped similarly and very richly. Among the grave goods, there were among other things: mollusc shells, beaver bones, an exceptionally large number of microliths, ornaments made from aurochs and red deer teeth, including deer fangs, and a large set of artefacts made from wild boar tusks. Differences in the funeral rite essentially seem to have no connection with the chronology. It is worth noting that in the early Mesolithic, when there are only a few graves, almost every one of the graves is different. Separate burials are different, both in terms of their location and the position of the deceased. From the early Mesolithic, there are water burials, crematory burials and secondary burials known, and primary burials represent many variations of positions of the dead – in the supine position, on the side and in the sitting position. Taking into account that these graves are the oldest known burials of the native population of hunters on the Central European Plain and in Scandinavia, it can be assumed that various forms of funeral practices were originally used. This did not necessarily result from different origins of the population. For the differences in the funeral rites are visible even at the same burial ground, where the dead belonged to the same community. It is also important that it is not until the late Mesolithic, when the unification of the funeral rites, at least in Scandinavia, has been noted. The presence of secondary and partial burials (mainly burials of same skulls) and cases of disturbances of graves and removal of some particular bones from the graves already in the Stone Age, testify to the fact that multi-step burial rituals were also practised in the Mesolithic. Apart from that, cremation rites were practised in parallel with inhumation burials during all the Mesolithic period, although most of the cremation burials comes from the middle Mesolithic. Mesolithic and Paraneolithic graves of hunters usually contain one burial, but there are also collective graves. Most often, these are double burials, usually of a woman and a child or a woman and a man. Graves of a man with a child, of two adults of the same sex or of two children are less common. The arrangement of the dead in the collective graves is diverse, both in terms of their position and the mutual relation, i.e. the way of turning of their bodies or faces toward each other. Women were usually turned toward men, and a younger woman was turned toward an older one. Additionally, at least in Zealand, women were laid at the left side of men. So, the mutual arrangement of adults in grave could depend on their sex and age, and could express a higher social position of men and older people. On the other hand, the way of turning of two individuals toward each other and their positions, at least in some cases – e.g. a woman with a newborn infant, a man and a woman with their faces turned one to another – could reflect emotional or family relationship between them. It should also be noted that there are practically no evidences that any of the individuals in a collective grave was “central”, i.e. treated in a different, “better” way than the others. It is significant that in the only grave where three people were interred, that was a little child who was laid in the centre, and two adults – a woman and a man, were laid on both sides of the child. It is worth adding that it was the man who was probably killed (grave 19 from Břgebakken). Grave goods, found in circa 60% of the graves, are characterized by a wide diversity with regard to their amount and kind. Some of the pieces of the grave goods seem to have a relationship with the sex of the deceased. Blunt weapon (axes), slotted points and a harpoon as well as blades placed at the waist are primarily male grave goods. What is interesting is that bone daggers and smooth blades as well as flint microliths are rather not connected with the sex of the deceased. Ornaments are typical female category of grave goods, mainly those at the waist as well as bone pins as ornaments of the head. Children, including even newborn infants, were equipped similarly to adults, i.e. with flint artefacts, including blades, microliths and axes, and with ornaments. It can be therefore assumed that the type of grave goods reflected the sex of the child. It should be noted, however, that either the type of the grave goods cannot be treated in advance as an indication of the sex of the deceased, or the richness of the grave goods cannot be treated as a reflection of the social status. As examples, richly equipped child burials and female burials with typically “male” grave goods may be mentioned. Additionally, a distinctive, decorated axe-hammer made from deer antlers from Skateholm II – an attribute of a “leader”, as might be supposed – was laid in a separate dog grave! (Larsson 1988: 147-149; Larsson 1989: 376). This implies that emotional and family reasons could also decide on the grave goods and on the arrangement of the dead in a collective (as well as in a single?) grave. Burials of newborn infants are a good example of that. In their case, the arrangement of the body (e.g. on a swan wing) and particularly rich grave goods seem to be rather an expression of despair after the loss of a child than an indication of the child’s high status. Animal remains in graves had probably a completely different significance than other pieces of grave goods. At least half of them had an evident symbolic meaning. These are mainly mandibles, skulls and phalanges of predators as well as beaks, legs endings and wings of birds. Moreover, this also applies to the bones of the ungulates and marine mammals, which were basic food (red deer, roe deer, wild boar and seal). These animals are also represented by skulls, mandibles, antlers, hooves and phalanges, that is non-consumption parts. The fact that the most characteristic elements of a given species were put in the grave may suggest that they were a manifestation of the presence on the animal, which was probably the attribute of a person, a family or a clan. Dog burials, found in the same graves where humans were buried, should be treated differently. Their positions in graves suggest that they should be treated as next, equal “individuals”, not as sacrifices to the dead humans. In conclusion, it should be pointed out that in principle all the burials, both from the early Mesolithic and from large burial grounds from the late Mesolithic, are only few (selected?) representatives of the community of hunters. The key to their selection is not known, and yet it could be varied locally. It is therefore difficult to indicate why some of the dead were interred in the sitting position and others were lying; who and for what reason was a subject of multi-step burials; why some were cremated on a funeral pyre and others were buried in water. It is also worth noting that partial burials, cremation burials and water burials are not only of completely different nature, but also they can be practically archaeologically imperceptible. It is significant that two water burials and one indistinct cremation burial are the oldest burial in Scandinavia, and an untypical secondary burial with very strongly fragmented bones mixed with numerous flint artefacts is the oldest burial on the Polish Plain. It is therefore possible that burial rites of this type were widely practiced then, and that is why classical graves, particularly from the early Mesolithic, have been so rarely recorded.

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The influence of trade contacts on grave equipment of Gniew community in the 14th-18th century

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Grupa M. , Krajewska M. , Majorek M. , Kozłowski T.

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tom Vol. 39, no. 2

133--142

EN

Richness and variety of grave equipment (silk textiles, scapulars, crosses, rosaries and the other objects), revealed during archaeological exploration carried out in St. Nicolas church in Gniew and in the area of the former graveyard, confirmed trade contacts of local community with Western Europe and Asia. Grave finds (wreaths, various flowers) as well as silk garments give evidence that the town and the area dwellers belonged to wealthy social classes. Close relations with many trade centers and luxurious items imported from them had an apparent influence on preserving rich and ceremonial burial rites against obligatory sumptuary law forbidding splendor. Moreover, these multi-direction trade and social contacts had also an impact on spreading out pathogenic microorganisms and transmissive diseases, syphilis, among the others.

15

Wyposażenie symboliczne w grobach łowców-zbieraczy epoki kamienia na cmentarzysku Dudka na Mazurach

72%

Gumiński W.

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nr 1-2

121-186

EN

Graves at the Mesolithic cemetery at Dudka (northeastern Poland) scarcely yielded tools and ornaments, but a considerable set of finds of symbolic significance. The mineral group includes ochre lumps of different colors, belemnites and other fossils, as well as stones of curious color or shape. A second category are animal remains, mostly from the inedible parts of the body, such as: antler, hoof, teeth and jaws of different mammal species, wing or feet bones of birds, turtle carapaces. The presumed meaning of each of these grave goods is discussed in the article. Their distribution permits certain zones to be distinguished at the cemetery, possibly reflecting family–clan or territorial divisions.

16

Khor Shambat, Early Khartoum, Neolithic, cemetery, graves, settlement, pottery, lithic inventory, archaeozoology

72%

Bobrowski P. , Jórdeczka M. , Sobkowiak-Tabaka I. , Binder M.

Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean

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2016

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tom 25

447-478

EN

The locality of Khor Shambat in the Omdurman district of Khartoum was investigated in 2012. The site lies between two gorges draining water to the Nile Valley from the west. Testing established the site stratigraphy, dating the cultural level to the early Neolithic. The source material from this cultural level included vessel-type ceramics, microlithic stone artifacts, macrolithic stone tools and faunal remains. A cemetery containing 13 graves was investigated, the alignment of the burial pits and position of the interments leading to the conclusion that it started as a Neolithic burial ground and continued as a cemetery probably in Meroitic and post-Meroitic times. The archaeological, anthropological and archaeozoological data contributed new information on settlement on this site and in the broader overview, in central Sudan.

17

‘With a Weapon in Hand and a Horse by Side.’ Weapons and Horse Harness in Graves of Vekerzug Culture from an Interregional Perspective

72%

Kozubová A.

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nr 42

81-112

EN

This study deals with graves of Vekerzug culture, which contained weapons and horse harness. These graves reflect an evident social differentiation of Vekerzug society. Special attention in the study was paid to the most accurate geographic and cultural determination of the origin of individual weapon types and horse harness components in the context of new knowledge about Vekerzug culture and answering the question to what extent these finds reflect its interregional contacts. Important is also definition of possible armament schemes of Vekerzug culture and their comparison with armament schemes in the neighbouring cultural regions, especially with the forest-steppe Western Podolian group, Ciumbrud culture and Ferigile culture. Cultural and spatial analyses of individual types of weapons and horse harness as well as of the armament schemes of Vekerzug culture show that the problem of interregional contacts of this culture, mainly the eastern ones, must be considered more differentially than it has been previously presented in scientific literature. At the same time, they confirm the recent knowledge that the effect of eastern influences on Vekerzug culture is in scientific literature without a reason constantly overestimated.

18

Archaeological fieldwork in Berenike in 2014 and 2015: from Hellenistic rock-cut installations to abandoned temple ruins

58%

Zych I. , Sidebotham S. E. , Hense M. , Rądkowska J. K. , Woźniak M.

Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean

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2016

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tom 25

315-348

EN

The report brings a comprehensive summary of archaeological fieldwork and survey carried out in Berenike on the Red Sea coast of Egypt and in the Eastern Desert hinterland over the course of two seasons in 2014 and 2015. The completed magnetic map of the site is discussed in some detail, assessing the potential for future excavations. The report covers the most important discoveries of the two seasons, which include fragments of Middle Kingdom Pharaonic stelae, possibly pushing back the foundation of the harbor, archaeological evidence of a rock-cut watercollection system forming part of the Hellenistic-age fortifications and two inscribed stone bases, one of which records a secretary of an aromatics warehouse at Berenike, discovered undisturbed in the courtyard of the Great Temple of Berenike (also called the Serapis Temple). A previously unknown religious(?) complex was discovered on the western outskirts of the site thanks to work with Corona satellite imagery. In turn, analysis of the magnetic mapping of the city revealed an administrative(?) complex in the northern part of the town; the later, 5th and 6th century layers were examined inside a chamber with niche forming part of this complex. Work also continued in the early Roman harbor, uncovering among others a complete timber ship frame, and a collection of garnets in subsidiary buildings in the late Roman temenos located in the entrance to the southwestern bay.