Seasonal Aggregation Site in Late Paleolithic – Intrasite Analysis of Large Hamburgian Encampment in Myszęcin, Western Poland

Abstract

ABSTRACT The pioneering colonization of the North European Plain by the communities of the Hamburgian culture was considered a cultural phenomenon related archaeologically to episodic short-term occupations. The camps resulting from this mobility were to be characterized by little differentiation. The presented article shows the results of a spatial analysis of the Hamburgian culture site in Myszęcin, in western Poland. The use of the refitting method to analyze the flint inventory made it possible to determine the relative chronology of concentrations and to reconstruct the spatial organization of the camp. The results of the analysis indicate the existence of large encampments in the settlement system of the Hamburgian societies. The presence of such structures suggests that the Hamburgian groups functioned within a dualistic settlement model with seasonal aggregation, which was a permanent element of the post-Magdalenian traditions of the Late Paleolithic communities.