Raw materials base of the chipped industries in pre-neolithic settlement of South Bohemia

Contribution on the raw materials base of the chipped industries in pre-neolithic settlement of South Bohemia

The Early Bronze Age in Moravia in the Light of Raw Materials of Chipped Artefacts

Paper analyses the use of knapped industry raw materials during the Early Bronze Age in Moravia

Flint Axes from Central Poland in Moravia

This paper presents the Moravian finds of flint axes made of banded Krzemionki flint (14 pcs.) and spotted Swieciechów flint (3 pcs.) transported from central Poland. The first group of artefacts is connected to the Globural Amphora Culture, the second to the Corded Ware Culture

The provenance of serpentinite tools in the Corded Ware culture of Moravia (Czech Republic)

This paper constrains the provenance of polished tools used in the Corded Ware culture (CWC) in Moravia. Based on optical microscopy, Přichystal and Šebela (1992) suggested the source for the CWC battle-axes would be the Gogołów-Jordanów Massif in Lower Silesia (Poland). The present study examines 14 serpentinite tools from archaeological sites of Central Moravia. We have located the origin of the tools' raw material by applying detailed petrographic, geochemical and petrophysical methods, as well as comparisons with data from probable serpentinite sources. Possible sources are adjacent to the Sowie Góry Block (mainly the Gogołów-Jordanów Massif) and within other areas in Central Europe (Penninic Bernstein Window, Western Lugicum and the eastern part of the Moldanubicum). Its most probable source is the Gogołów-Jordanów Massif, which is a part of the Ślęża ophiolite. The tools resemble the raw material source in several ways: firstly in magnetic susceptibility, with an average value of~40 x 10-3 SI; secondly, in the light yellowish-green patched patinated surface and very strong serpentinisation with almost no primary mineral relics; and lastly, in the occurrence of pseudomorphs filled with opaque minerals, and also parts with magnesite aggregates, which are quite rare. The main common feature is the presence of large primary zoned spinels, with Cr- and Al-rich cores and Fe-rich rims. The conclusions are supported by the results of bulk-rock chemical analysis, both the raw material from Lower Silesia and the tools being Mg-rich. In addition, the shape of some Moravian battle-axes (from Prusinovice) corresponds to the Ślęża type that is believed to be characteristic of Lower Silesia. The estimated distance of transport from the source area in Gogołów-Jordanów Massif to the archaeological sites in Central Moravia is >260 km

New perspective on Neolithic rectangular features using artefact analysis, soil micromorphology and ethnohistorical analogies: A case study from Střelice u Brna, South Moravia, Czech Republic (advance online)

Neue Perspektiven auf rechteckigeneolithische Befunde durch Artefaktanalyse, Bodenmikromorphologie und ethnohistorische Analogien. EineFallstudie aus Střelice u Brna, Südmähren, Tschechien.Die Funktion eingetiefter rechteckiger Strukturen währenddes Spätneolithikums ist in Mitteleuropa seit vielenJahren Gegenstand von Untersuchungen. Gruben dieserArt werden selten gefunden. Eines der jüngsten Beispieleist ein quadratischer Lengyel-Befund aus der Gemeinde: The function of sunken rectangular features inthe Late Neolithic has been a subject of interest in CentralEurope for many years. This type of pit is not found veryoften. One of the latest examples is a square Lengyelfeature in the village of Střelice near Brno. A study of themicrostratigraphy of the fill has made it possible to qualitatively move the debate to a new level. The qualitativeassessment of bone micro-fragments is also innovativefor the method of micromorphology in the archaeologicalcontext. The study also includes an analysis of artefactsin the actual fill of feature 562, especially the deposits offragments of “other lithic industry”, pottery and parts of an animal’s body. The discovered situation is theninterpreted in the context of other known contemporaryfeatures of this type. The presence of excrement withdigested bone micro-fragments in the lower layer and theabsence of a floor treatment, tread horizon or bedding canbe interpreted in the context of ethnohistorical analogies,e.  g., as the short-term use of a faecal pit for an omnivorous or carnivorous species (bear) with a subsequentritual ending