Globular Amphora Culture Research Articles

Fra grænselandet mellem to kulturer

Fra grænselandet mellem to kulturer

Unique versus unusual – some comments on the Globular Amphora culture cemetery at the Złota-Gajowizna site

The article is inspired by the new paper (Witkowska et al. 2020) “The cemetery of the Globular Amphora culture community at the Złota-Gajowizna site in the light of radiocarbon analysis and dendrochronology“. It delivers some remarks on the famous GAC necropolis, focusing mostly on the issues concerning the layout of the cemetery and interpretation of various funerary features.

Поселення пізнього етапу трипільської культури Кунисівці і Перебиківці у Подністер’ї

The late stage of the Tripolye culture, which has recently attracted the interest of various researchers, is particularly worth mentioning. Currently available sources provide the basis for several important conclusions regarding this period. First of all, this culture is characterized by the similarity all over the area of its range in the sets of vessels and their style, in flint and bone items, as well as in construction. Only its northwest region is distinguished. There are: models of houses and anthropomorphic objects in the Badenian type, as well as vessels and battle axe models in the type of the Funnel Beaker culture. Secondly, two chronological horizons of the late Tripolye culture can be distinguished; early – 3350/3300 ВС and late – 3100/3000/2900 ВС. This division is related to the frequency of using cord decorations; in the early stage they were used relatively rarely, whereas later they were more common. Thirdly, at the turn of 4th–3rd thousand BC, apart from the Tripolye culture, among others, there were communities of the Globular Amphora culture in Volhynia. However, in the areas of the Dniester right-bank, groups of the Corded Ware culture might have appeared, whose contacts with the Tripolye culture are currently unknown.

The cemetery of the Globular Amphora culture community in the Złota-Gajowizna site in the light of radiocarbon analysis and dendrochronology

This paper presents a new series of absolute age determinations from the Złota-Gajowizna site. These are the first chronometric data from the most important necropolis of the central group of the Globular Amphora culture. The obtained dendrochronological data, which are unique for the sites of the Late Neolithic in Poland, made it possible to specify the results of the calibration. A new interpretation of the arrangement of the cemetery has been proposed, which is the starting point for determining the GAC funeral rite in the Sandomierz Upland.

The Globular Amphora Culture on the territory of Western Palessye: history if research and current state of studies

In the history of the archaeological research of the Globular Amphora Culture on the territory of Western Palessye, two periods are distinguished. U. F. Isayenka was the first who pointed out the presence of Globular Amphora Culture elements on the South­Western region of Belarus in the second half of the 1960s. In the 1960–90s the issue of the Globular Amphora Culture on the area of interest to us appeared on the margins of studies of other cultures. The works had been based on the cultural bricks theory. Since the end of the 1990s the polythetic notion of the Globular Amphora Culture had been suggested (M. Szmyt). The special study on the Globular Amphora Culture on the territory of Western Palessye had begun (M. M. Kryvaltsevich, A. U. Vaitovich (Zuyeva)). The publications consider mostly aspects of the systematization and identification of the traits genetically linked to the Globular Amphora Culture in the local cultural environment. On the current stage of research, the expansion of the source database is needed. The issue of the chronology of the spreading of the Globular Amphora Culture traditions in the area in question requires more detailed study. Top priority should also be given to a thorough investigation of the problem of the role of the Globular Amphora Culture in the socio­economic transformation of the Western Palessye population in the 3rd – the beginning 2nd millenium BC.

The first radiocarbon dates for the Globular Amphora culture cemetery in Sadowie in the Sandomierz Upland

The article presents new results of radiocarbon dating for the settlement of the Globular Amphora culture from the Sandomierz Upland area. These are three determinations obtained for animal graves (No. 4, 7 and 11) coming from the site 23 in Sadowie near Opatow, where traces of a vast cemetery were discovered. 14C dating was established in the Poznań Radiocarbon Laboratory. The received values were verified by indicating diagnostic features in the composition of artefacts that are referenced in groups of other features of the Globular Amphora culture.

Studia nad domieszką mineralną w ceramice naczyniowej kultury amfor kulistych z terenu Kujaw

This article relates to the question, „what exactly is a mineral admixture in Globular Amphora Culture?”. My studies prove that only the granites fulfill the criteria. I designed the experiment. One of the goals was to examine which stone is the easiest to process. It was a rapakivi granite. Its minerals are pink or grey after processing. The admixture found in GAC ceramics has the same color and the same size of minerals. There was another type of admixture which was not recognizable.

A closer look at Šventoji 2/4 – a stratified stone age fishing site in coastal Lithuania, 3200–2600 cal BC

Šventoji 2/4, which is situated on the Lithuanian coast, is among the most important East Baltic Stone Age sites due to the extraordinary preservation of archaeological finds in waterlogged gyttja and due to extensive excavations ongoing since 1967. This paper presents the results of excavations in 2014 and subsequent laboratory analyses. This new research has allowed for the revision of the site’s chronology and function as well as provided valuable environmental data. In 3200–2700 cal BC the site was used as a fishing station constructed in the deepest part of the shallow lagoonal lake. Remains of various fishing gear and other human waste left during fishing expeditions accumulated there. Enormous amounts of cranial fish bones left during the initial processing of the catch that was carried out directly at the fishery indicate that cyprinids, pike, and zander were mostly caught at the site. The site most likely continued to be used in similar way during the beginning of the Neolithic, although Globular Amphora culture fishermen did not process fish on the site and transported the entire catch to dwelling sites instead.

Unraveling ancestry, kinship, and violence in a Late Neolithic mass grave

The third millennium BCE was a period of major cultural and demographic changes in Europe that signaled the beginning of the Bronze Age. People from the Pontic steppe expanded westward, leading to the formation of the Corded Ware complex and transforming the genetic landscape of Europe. At the time, the Globular Amphora culture (3300-2700 BCE) existed over large parts of Central and Eastern Europe, but little is known about their interaction with neighboring Corded Ware groups and steppe societies. Here we present a detailed study of a Late Neolithic mass grave from southern Poland belonging to the Globular Amphora culture and containing the remains of 15 men, women, and children, all killed by blows to the head. We sequenced their genomes to between 1.1- and 3.9-fold coverage and performed kinship analyses that demonstrate that the individuals belonged to a large extended family. The bodies had been carefully laid out according to kin relationships by someone who evidently knew the deceased. From a population genetic viewpoint, the people from Koszyce are clearly distinct from neighboring Corded Ware groups because of their lack of steppe-related ancestry. Although the reason for the massacre is unknown, it is possible that it was connected with the expansion of Corded Ware groups, which may have resulted in competition for resources and violent conflict. Together with the archaeological evidence, these analyses provide an unprecedented level of insight into the kinship structure and social behavior of a Late Neolithic community.

The role of the Globular Amphora Culture in the development of the Upper Neman communities

The paper discusses the problems of the Globular Amphora Culture (hereinafter the GAC) in the Upper Neman region. According to the proposition of M. Shmyt the sources related to the GAC have been divided in two groups. The first group is made up of the so-called pure sources i.e. the materials directly related to the GAC although hypothetically at times. It includes cemeteries, flint mines and workshops as well as finds of the quadrangular ground flint axes and chisels. The second group comprises so-called syncretic sources associated with the broad understood GAC traditions. The traits genetically linked to the GAC could be identified in materials of the Neman Culture as well as the local groups of the Corded Ware cultures Range. The presence of the GAC people and traditions in the area in question is dated to the second quarter III - first quarter II BC. Two main forms of transfer the GAC traditions have been distinguished. Firstly, the Upper Neman region was the territory of the direct contacts between the GAC people and the local populations. Secondly, the GAC elements had been distributed in the synthesized forms. The major source of the synthesized GAC traits was the Rzucewo Culture as well as the Middle Dnieper Culture. The prospects of the archaeological research are discussed. On the current stage of the research, the issue of the chronology of the GAC traditions spreading in the area in question requires a more detailed study. Top priority should also be given to a thorough investigation of the GAC role in the socio-economic transformation of the Upper Neman population in the III - the beginning II mill. BC.

The Globular Amphora Culture in the Writings of Jan Kowalczyk

The Globular Amphora Culture in the Writings of Jan Kowalczyk

Nowe dane na temat obrządku pogrzebowego kultury amfor kulistych z zachodniej Lubelszczyzny

The discovery of the Naleczow type grave in Konskowola as well as the reinterpreta-tion of the grave from Pulawy-Wlostowice has shed new light on the funeral rite and range of influences of the Naleczow subgroup of the Globular Amphora culture in the western part of the Lublin region. Both sites are located outside the compact zone where features of this site occur and outside the upland area of the Naleczow Plateau. The graves from Pulawy-Wlostowiceand Konskowola differ slightly from the “classic” features of the Naleczow type in terms of their burial goods, and in Konskowola, the raw material used for the construction of the burial cham-ber. They most likely represent the youngest phase of settlement of the Naleczow subgroup in the Globular Amphorae culture. Translator: Andrzej Leligdowicz

The Złota culture grave from Święcica, site 30, Sandomierz district

The paper presents the results of research on a unique Zlota culture niche grave discovered at site 30 in Świecica, Sandomierz district. The construction of the grave, as well as its inventory, bears multiple traces that could be linked to the tradition of the Globular Amphora culture. The structure, dated to the 1st half of the 3rd millennium BC, presents a rare example of funerary rituals using animal remains in the Zlota culture, and sheds new light on the processes of origin of this community.

Artefacts Made from Siliceous Rocks of Polish Origin on Prehistoric Sites in the Czech Republic

Compared with Poland, the territory of Bohemia and Moravia is not so rich in natural occurrences of high-quality siliceous rocks (silicites, ‘flints’). This contribution follows distribution of the four most attractive Polish chipped raw materials (silicite of the Cracow-Częstochowa Jurassic, ‘chocolate’ silicite, banded Krzemionki [striped] silicite and spotted Świeciechów [grey white-spotted] silicite) in the Czech Republic. Since the middle phase of Upper Palaeolithic (Gravettian) the Jurasssic-Cracow silicites had been transported to Moravia and since its late phase (Magdalenian) also to Bohemia. The first use of the ‘chocolate’ silicite has been ascertained at some Late Aurignacian (Epiaurignacian) sites of central Moravia similarly as an exceptional find attesting early use of Świeciechów spotted silicite (Late Szeletian?). No finds of the banded Krzemionki silicite have been registered in Pre-Neolithic flaked assemblages in the Czech Republic. Evidence of systematic and mass transport of silicites from the Cracow-Częstochowa Jurassic to northern/central Moravia and to eastern/central Bohemia has been found in some periods of the Neolithic (especially connected with the Linear Pottery culture). For the period of the earlier Eneolithic (Funnel Beaker culture) we can identify a small but systematic presence of raw materials from the northern foreland of the Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross) Mountains, this comprises objects of banded Krzemionki silicite and spotted Świeciechów silicite. About 24 Moravian non-stratified finds of axes made of the banded Krzemionki silicite and polished over the whole surface can be probably connected with the Globular Amphora culture. Silicites from the Cracow-Częstochowa Jurassic appeared again in the late Eneolithic, especially as arrowheads of the Bell Beaker culture in Moravia. Only two pieces made from the Jurassic Cracow-Częstochowa silicite appeared in a collection of 1463 artefacts connected with the Early Bronze Age in Moravia

Wyniki badań archeologicznych na cmentarzysku z późnego neolitu w Sadowiu koło Opatowa

This article aims at presenting the results of two research seasons carried out at site 23 in Sadowie, Opatów district. The remains of the cemetery were discovered in this place accidentally by one of the inhabitants during agricultural work. The area of 2.5 ares has been uncovered so far, and 10 graves have been discovered and exploited including, among others, human and animal graves affiliated to the Globular Amphora culture. Moreover, a single niche grave typical for the Złota culture has been also uncovered.

Evidence of interpersonal violence or a special funeral rite in the Neolithic multiple burial from Koszyce in southern Poland – a forensic analysis

This study uses anthropological and forensic medical analyses to determine the cause of fractures found in the remains of 15 individuals buried at a site associated with the Globular Amphora Culture (2875-2670 BC). The intent was to determine the mechanism underlying the injuries and to indicate the types of tools that might have inflicted the blows. The fractures were diversified in their forms, but the majority of the injuries appear to have been inflicted by a flint axe, which is frequently found in graves of the Globular Amphora Culture. Apart from the forearm being severed in one of the victims, all the remaining skeletons showed from 1 to 4 injuries involving solely the skulls. The grave might contain victims attacked by invaders who executed the captives, or else the feature is ritual in character and it reflects the beliefs of the Neolithic community.

Pozostałości osadnictwa z późnego neolitu i wczesnej epoki brązu na stanowisku 4 w Sztynwagu, gm. Grudziądz, woj. kujawsko-pomorskie

The multicultural site 4 in Sztynwag occupies a small section of the second fluvial terrace (fi gs. 1, 2) of the Grudziądz Basin mesoregion. The site lies on cambic arenosols which were originally surrounded by waterlogged ground (wetlands), most of which has now been drained (Bienias 2006). An open-plan excavation carried out at this site in 2000 revealed 680 archaeological features and over 8000 pottery sherds, around 70% of which were associated with phase IIIB of the Chelmno group of the Funnel Beaker culture (Chudziak 2006; Slupczewski 2006). Four features and 100 ceramic sherds were attributed to the Globular Amphora culture (figs. 4–6); they represented the remains of a small settlement dated to phases IIIa–IIIb of this culture in the Kuyavia region. The Corded Ware culture was evidenced by the presence of three features and 65 potsherds, most of them (58 sherds) produced using a technology that involved the addition of crushed stone temper to the ceramic fabric; only seven of these sherds were tempered with a mixture of sand and grog (fi gs. 7–9). Three rim sherds are particularly distinctive: they came from vessels with a fabric tempered with crushed stone and were decorated with a motif of intersecting horizontal and vertical impressions made with a thick two-stranded cord (fig. 8: 7–9). This type of pottery is currently ascribed to the so-called northeast trend of the Corded Ware culture sphere. It can probably be linked to the late period of this sphere’s development or to the early Bronze Age. The discovered remains provide evidence of multiple though transient use of this site by communities representing almost every stage of development of the Corded Ware culture (the most intensive use occurring during the earlier phase). Early Bronze Age evidence took the form of nine features and 490 ceramic vessel sherds attributable on stylistic grounds to the Iwno/Trzciniec culture of the Chelmno region (figs. 10–15). They are generally consistent with the end of the early horizon/beginning of the classic horizon of the Trzciniec cultural sphere in Kuyavia (HT 1–2 – after Makarowicz 1998a; 1998b; 2010). The pottery assemblage is from a single stylistic phase and probably represents the remains of a relatively permanent (multi-season?) settlement located on the sandy elevation of a fluvial terrace. The number of features and finds dating from the transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age discovered in Sztynwag indicates that this was an area of relatively intensive occupation, particularly well-evidenced in the early Bronze Age. Rescue excavations carried along the route of the A–1 motorway in the Chelmno region, within the Lower Vistula valley, led to the discovery of several other sites which yielded finds dating from the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age which were stylistically similar to those recovered from Sztynwag (Kamionki Duze, Łysomice Commune, sites 2 and 15; Stare Marzy, Grudziądz Commune, site 5; Ruda, Grudziądz Commune, sites 3–6).

En stendyngegrav ved Kvorning - Fund, kontekst og betydning

En stendyngegrav ved Kvorning - Fund, kontekst og betydning

Mycolic Acids as Markers of Osseous Tuberculosis in the Neolithic Skeleton from Kujawy Region (Central Poland)

The subject of analysis is the male skeleton from a double burial of the Globular Amphora Culture, derived from the Neolithic site at Brześć Kujawski in Kujawy region (central Poland). Within the spine of the individual advanced lesions are observed (destruction of the vertebral bodies, symptoms of the periostitis in the thoracic region) which are characteristic of skeletal tuberculosis. To check whether the observed morphological changes resulted from infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), the bone material was tested positively for the presence of mycolic acids, the specific components of the cell wall of pathogenic M.tb bacilli, by mass spectrometry.

Neolithic Adhesive from a T-shaped Ornamental Element Excavated at Site 14 at Kowal, Kuyavia, Central Poland

We conducted an identification of a substance isolated from a T-shaped ornamental element excavated from a Globular Amphora Culture tomb at the Kowal 14 archaeological site in Poland. 14C dating indicated 4105 ± 35 bp (POZ-21912) and 3990 ± 50 bp (POZ-21910). Analytical methods such as SEM–EDS, XRD and FT–IR were applied to study the origin of its structure. The results of instrumental analysis and the archaeological context indicate that the adhesive substance investigated consists mainly of calcium carbonate (calcite, 78–88%), silica dioxide (quartz), sodium aluminium silicate (albite) and potassium aluminium silicate (microcline). The material might be a man-made, mineral adhesive, a kind of lime mortar. The object is considered as the oldest European finding of this type outside the Mediterranean Basin. It provides evidence for the use of the lime calcination process in Central Europe as early as in the Late Neolithic, for which there were—up to now—no convincing premises.