State‐of‐the‐art overview of the Loess Palaeolithic of Poland

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn Poland, loess mainly occurs in the southern part of the country, in the Polish Uplands, and on the northern foreland of the Sudetes and the Carpathians. Most of these sediments come from the time of the last glaciation–the Vistulian (Weichselian) glaciation. Thin covers of loess from the penultimate glaciation have been preserved in Upper Silesia. Only a few sites from the Middle Palaeolithic remain in the loess. In the eastern part of Poland loess creates profiles several metres high. Discoveries in this zone represent the cultural sequence from the transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic. We know more traces of various cultures from the Upper Palaeolithic exist. The study attempts to synchronise profiles from selected archaeological open‐air sites, outlines of the history of research on loess sites, and attempts to explain terminological and conceptual issues. The issue of loess in the cave site profiles will not be discussed in the article.