Sepulchral use of caves in Lusatian culture: Evidence from the Sąspówka Valley in the Polish Jura

Małgorzata Kot,Elżbieta Jaskulska,Michał Wojenka,Bartosz Kontny,Adrian Marciszak,Grzegorz Czajka,Michał Mazur,Marcin Szeliga

doi:10.35686/ar.2021.7

Abstract

Funeral and ritual practices in cave sites during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age have been recognised in multiple sites south of the Carpathians. This paper presents the first evidence for the funeral and ritual use of cave sites with such chronology north of the Carpathians. Unburned human remains dated to Ha B and Ha C/D have been identified in two cave sites (Zbójecka Cave and Bramka Rockshelter) located 500 m apart, in the Polish Jura. Additionally, a pottery deposit dated to Ha B2-C has been found in a third cave (Ciasna Cave) situated near the aforementioned sites. The paper analyses these finds in the context of the local Lusatian culture settlement and the already recognised traces of Lusatian cave site use in the studied karstic region. The results give ground to search for more evidence of ritual cave use in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age.

Highlights

The funeral and ritual use of cave sites is well attested throughout Prehistory
In Central Europe human remains dated to Bronze Age and Early Iron Age have been found in several caves in Slovakia, Czechia, Austria and SE Germany (Galik 1998; Orschiedt 2012; Parzinger – Nekvasil – Barth 1995; Peša 2006)
Apart from a rich stone assemblage found in the lower Holocene layer, called 5 (Madeyska 1988), an intentional burial containing child remains was found in the middle of the site

Summary

Introduction

The funeral and ritual use of cave sites is well attested throughout Prehistory. It is an especially well-studied phenomenon for Stone Age (Bergsvik – Skeates 2012; Moyes 2014; Orschiedt 2012; Riel-Salvatore – Gravel-Miguel 2013; Peterson 2019). In Central Europe human remains dated to Bronze Age and Early Iron Age have been found in several caves in Slovakia, Czechia, Austria and SE Germany (Galik 1998; Orschiedt 2012; Parzinger – Nekvasil – Barth 1995; Peša 2006). It is due mainly to the poor state of preservation of the primary contexts in Holocene cave sediments and lack of direct radiocarbon dating of the human remains.

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Conclusion