Early agricultural colonisation of peripheral areas of loess uplands: new data from Sandomierz Upland, Poland

Marcin Szeliga,Maria Lityńska-Zając,Radosław Dobrowolski,Marcin Siłuch,Piotr Demczuk,Irena Agnieszka Pidek,Katarzyna Gawryjołek-Szeliga,Mirosław Furmanek,Przemysław Mroczek,Daniel Makowiecki,Piotr Bartmiński,Jacek Chodorowski

doi:10.15184/aqy.2020.134

Abstract

Excavations in marginal areas of the loess uplands in southern Poland have revealed that the northern periphery of the Sandomierz Upland was intensely colonised in the sixth and fifth millennia BC by Linearbandkeramik and Malice Culture Danubian communities. This research suggests that analogous settlement clusters may exist in other marginal regions of the Central European loess belt, previously thought to be uninhabited.

Highlights

Located in the south-east of Poland, the Sandomierz Upland is one of the most important settlement regions north of the Carpathian Mountains for research on the character and dynamics of cultural transformation in the Neolithic. This statement applies to the early phase of the Neolithic, which is linked with the presence of Danubian communities associated with the Linearbandkeramik (LBK), Lengyel and Malice Cultures
This pattern echoed those seen elsewhere, reflecting the apparent settlement preferences of Danubian communities in Central Europe, including the Upper Vistula Basin (Czekaj-Zastawny 2008). This theory was tested by excavations at three sites located outside the edge of the loess upland, within the sandy-clay area of the southern part of the Iłzȧ Foothills; these were Ćmielów 2 (Michalak-Sć ibior 1994), Tominy 6 and Tominy 12 (Kadrow & Olejarczyk 2010; Szeliga 2017) (Figure 1). The results of these excavations confirmed that permanent, vast LBK and Malice Culture settlements had existed in this area, which is an atypical ecological landscape for such communities
These discoveries became the principal reason for undertaking research focused on estimating the character, range and intensity of settlement and economy of Danubian communities, as well as reconstructing environmental conditions and the impact of these activities in the northern part of the Sandomierz Upland

Summary

Introduction

Located in the south-east of Poland, the Sandomierz Upland is one of the most important settlement regions north of the Carpathian Mountains for research on the character and dynamics of cultural transformation in the Neolithic. This statement applies to the early phase of the Neolithic (the second half of the sixth to the end of the fifth millennium BC), which is linked with the presence of Danubian communities associated with the Linearbandkeramik (LBK), Lengyel and Malice Cultures.

Results

Conclusion