An Early Neolithic House in the Foothills:A Case Study of Pottery and Lithic Artefacts from the Biskupice Site 18 (Wieliczka Foothills, Southern Poland)

Highlights•Biskupice site (S Poland) represents the late Želiezovce phase (5300 to 5000 BCE).•Pottery was produced locally, and showed a use of animal fats for cooking.•The face vessel was of local origin, but influenced by Transcarpathian style.•Obsidian artefacts originated from the Carpathian 1a/1b chemical type, S-E Slovakia.•Transcarpathian contacts between LBK and Bükk culture were discussed.AbstractThe paper presents a comprehensive analysis of pottery and lithic materials found in archaeological features associated with an Early Neolithic house from Biskupice (southern Poland) to shed light on exchange networks of the first farmers in Central Europe. The research began with the discovery of a unique fragment of a face vessel made in the Želiezovce style, a motif primarily found in Moravia and north-eastern Austria. Therefore, specialised analyses were undertaken to determine whether the Biskupice fragment was locally produced or originated from areas south of the Sudetes and Carpathians. The study involved an examination of raw clay material and the technology used to create the anthropomorphic vessel, aiming to establish its provenance (local production versus import). Petrographic methods were employed to analyse a diverse group of vessel types for comparison. Additionally, a selected group of pottery fragments, including the face vessel, underwent lipid residue analysis to determine their potential use. The combination of microscopic examinations and lipid residues analysis was utilised to study the link between the physical properties and function of the vessels. Finally, the archaeological context of other artifacts from the same house, including lithic assemblages, was investigated to determine the presence of both local and imported raw materials in Biskupice. The main conclusion of the study indicates local production of pottery, including the face vessel, and lithic implements. Conversely, a Transcarpathian transfer of some technological and decorative ideas, as well as imports of raw material such as obsidian, were confirmed

Vorläufiger Bericht über die Prospektionsarbeiten der Jahre 2010 und 2011 im Umfeld der Höhensiedlung von Janowice (AZP 106-65 Nr. 61) im mittleren Dunajectal, Kleinpolen

In this paper we report on systematic survey work on Bronze Age sites in the middle part of the Dunajec river valley, Lesser Poland. For some years now, excavations have been carried out on the site of Janowice AZP 106-65 no. 61. The survey work reported on here aims to establish the chronological and – if possible – functional relation of adjacent sites to the north and south of the hilltop site of Janowice that has a long tradition of settlement during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages. Amongst others we report on systematic surface survey work and geomagnetic prospection carried out on AZP 106-65 no. 57, a site only a little distance downhill from no. 61, on the sites AZP 106-65 nos. 70, 71, 72, 74, 75 and 103 towards the north in the Lubinka valley, and on a number of sites south of Janowice no. 61 in the Zakliczyn basin and adjacent foothills further south (e.g. AZP 107-65 nos. 75 and 83). From this intensive survey work that aims at a complete coverage and verification of sites previously reported by AZP an increasingly better understanding of the dynamics of a (Late) Bronze Age to Early Iron Age microregion is beginning to emerge