Wojciech Piotrowski was born on 25 October 1952 in Warsaw, in the first decade after World War II, when the city was recovering from the ruins. From 1955, he lived with his parents in Zielona Góra (until 1945, the German town of Grünberg), near Poland's new western border. There, he began his primary school education. He read extensively from his school years onwards. Archaeology was popular at the time, and historical themes relating to the Middle Ages were common in novels and in belles-lettres more generally. The year 1966 marked the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of the Polish prince Mieszko I. For the Roman Catholic Church, which then played an important role in the country, it was the millennial anniversary of Christianity in Poland, and for the political authorities controlled by the Soviet Union, which did not see eye to eye with the Church, it was the millennial anniversary of the state. With the creation of the new Polish People's Republic (PRL – officially since 1952, the 'dictatorship of the proletariat'), the country saw a return to the borders of the times of Mieszko I and his son, King Bolesław Chrobry 'the Brave' of the Piast dynasty (who reigned from 992 to 1025).

The subject of this article is to present a special type of collective finds, namely compact deposits of flint artefacts in the graves belonging to the Corded Ware culture, to the Kraków-Sandomierz group. Grave deposits from two cemeteries: Kichary Nowe and Wilczyce, situated in the Sandomierz Upland and located in the Opatówka-river valley serve as an example. The authors propose a new perspective on issues related to the placement of such deposits in human graves, hoping that this will contribute to a broader discussion on the meaning and function of finds of this kind in the socio-cultural context of Late Neolithic communities, with particular emphasis on their role in funeral rites.

This paper examines the economic activities of Corded Ware Culture (CWC) communities in the region of Schleswig-Holstein (SH), Germany. It contextualises them within the concept of taskscapes as well as current discussions on mobility and migration. As a novel approach, it considers whether the spatial variation in battle axe deposition strategies – graves predominating in the west, and isolated finds in the east – may reflect the practices of mobile groups with distinct taskscapes, rather than entirely separate or differently behaving populations, as previously suggested. It is argued that the western part of SH functioned as a ritual core in a long durée, while the eastern regions functioned as economic zones. The known settlements take a position between the ritual and economic zones. The argument is made that the human groups were not static; instead, they continuously formed new and flexible social configurations. Ultimately, this mobile and dynamic spatial system is interpreted as a catalyst for the integration of individuals from diverse backgrounds, giving tangible form to the migrations associated with the CWC phenomenon.

The earliest manifestation of funerary monumentality in Central Europe is represented by long barrows from the 4th millennium BC. The latest discoveries suggest that it was the long barrows that initiated the tradition of shaping ritual landscapes. Besides their funerary function, these monuments also served as ancestral shrines. Current research indicates the existence of approximately a thousand-year hiatus in the use of these sacred places in Bohemia. Secondary burials associated with the Corded Ware and Únětice Cultures have been recorded in long barrows. Similar sequences can also be observed in other sites where evidence of long barrows is currently not secure. Beaker cultures of the 3rd millennium BC are represented primarily by funerary monuments in the form of round barrows. This form of funerary monuments did not evolve from the long barrows. On the contrary, it represents a new phenomenon originating from the North Pontic/Caspian region, associated with the Yamna Culture.

The article examines thechronology and distribution of regional and local groups within the Corded Ware Culture in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It begins with a brief overview of the research history. Until the early 1990s, the approach to chronology was typological, sometimes based on some stratigraphically “dated” graves. Multivariate procedures have been applied since the late 1990s. At the same time, chronological research is based on graves dated by 14C. In this study, radiocarbon-dated graves form a basis for typological work. Using the radiocarbon dates, three main stages of the Corded Ware Culture can be identified (Stages 1–3). Furthermore, the first stage can be subdivided into three sub-stages (1a1, 1a2, 1b). Each stage lasted about 150 years, the sub-stages 1a2 and 1b even half this time. The number of radiocarbon-dated graves of Stage 1 of the Corded Ware Culture has increased from four to 52, at least reliably dated graves, since the studies of Johannes Müller and Martin Furholt. Thus, the focus of the chronological study is on this early stage. Beyond chronology, the shapes and decorations of the ceramics allow us to define regional and local groups of the Corded Ware Culture (CWC) in Saxony-Anhalt. Regional groups include the Saale estuary Group (SEG), the North Harz Group (NHG), the South Harz Group (SHG), and the Middle Saale Group (MSG), which may define the territories of ethnic groups or sub-groups. In contrast, four local sections in the north, middle, centre, southeast, and southwest of the Middle Saale Group may define the territories of leading clans.

On 6–8 May 2025 took place the 12th International Conference of the UISPP Commission on Flint Mining in Pre- and Protohistoric Times titled “Excavating in the Land of the Devil: Past and Current Research on Prehistoric Flint Mines” (see Werra ed. 2025). It was organised by the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IAE PAN), Worthing Museum and Art Gallery, English Heritage, and the UISPP Commission on Flint Mining in Pre- and Protohistoric Times. The conference was hosted jointly by Worthing Museum and Art Gallery (West Sussex) and English Heritage Grime’s Graves and the Grime’s Graves Visitors Centre (Norfolk, East of England). The symposium was organised at the initiative of Dagmara H. Werra (IAE PAN), Jon Bączkowski (University of Southampton), and Anne Teather (Past Participate / Bournemouth University).

This article focuses on the reconsideration of some aspects of the Corded Ware phenomenon in Europe. It highlights the impact of new archaeogenetic data, which challenge traditional views of archaeological cultures as monothetic entities. It critiques interpretations of extensive steppe migrations as simplistic, particularly concerning genetic changes. Additionally, it underscores the importance of sacred landscapes, sacred mountains and natural shrines, in understanding Corded Ware rituals and beliefs. The continuity and transition between the Corded Ware and Bell Beaker periods are explored, with a view that rather than a sharp break, these periods represent evolving cultural and ritual practices, particularly noticeable in their burial customs. The article calls for nuanced interpretations embracing both archaeological and genetic evidence to understand the intricate cultural development of the 3rd millennium BC in Europe.

The Corded Ware Culture complex in Sweden involves a special form of social structure called the Battle Axe Culture. Among well-known features, such as single graves, there are also other forms of expression. A special form of find is illustrated by a place with a significant accumulation of deliberately burned or otherwise destroyed objects. This mass deposit includes both well-known object forms and items indicative of far-reaching contacts. This kind of deposit practice has continuity dating back more than a millennium. The earliest part of the Late Middle Neolithic (Younger Neolithic I) appears to be a period of multicultural elements that included a continuation of the Funnel Beaker Culture with evident influences from the Pitted Ware Culture. Another form of expression relates to the so-called palisade constructions. Aspects of relations within southern Scandinavia, involving influences from the Corded Ware Culture and older cultural forms, are discussed. It is suggested that a tradition based on Funnel Beaker Culture has a longer existence in parts of Scania, the southernmost part of Sweden, than in the rest of southern Sweden.

The article is devoted to two barrows of the Corded Ware Culture (CWC). Mounds I–II in Kavske in the Sub-Carpathian region (Ukraine), have until now been interpreted as the remains of a settlement of this culture. As a result of the analysis of the source base (archival materials and the museum collection), it was established that the CWC material in these mounds is represented by a small group of artefacts. On this basis, the interpretation of the mounds as the remains of a CWC settlement was refuted, instead, they were defined as burial places of the CWC. The planigraphy of the features and, where possible, movable material, is presented. The vast majority of the finds belong to the Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC), and it is clear that the barrow burial ground was founded on the remains of a FBC settlement (individual Mesolithic artefacts were also discovered). Imports of the Trypillia Culture were distinguished from the complex of FBC ceramic vessels. We date the construction of Barrows I–II of the CWC no earlier than the middle of the 3rd millennium BC and note a strong similarity of the ceramic material to the vessels of the Middle Dnipro Culture.

In this paper, for the first time are presented the full selection of finds of antler composite combs with a single row of teeth from Olbia Pontica. All of them belong to the Cherniakhiv culture and are related to the time of the last settlement of the territory of the ancient city. From a typological point of view, all of them can be divided into two groups: combs with semicircular or trapezoidal handle and, slightly older than them, comb handles of a complex shape, which is based on a rectangle with a semicircular middle part.