Three Stories About the Exploitation of “Chocolate” Flint During the Stone Age in Central Poland

This paper argues that, despite the purely physical nature of the process of the creation of blades that later will be components of multi-material tools, this is also like an artistic act. If this is so, the manner in which we discuss the sequence of blade production can be analysed in much the same way as any other narrative works of art, like Greek literature or Shakespearean drama. The article presents three stories about cores that were used for production of blades for tools during the Stone Age, examining the systematic sequence of actions (like the choice of the raw material, core preparation, blade production, repairs of core and discarding of the exhausted core) in the form of a 5-act dramatic structure. We suggest that these five parts or acts of drama are similar to the manner in which, in Stone Age archaeology, we talk about the knapping sequence and goals of blade production. Observation of three blade cores connected with the late Mesolithic and the Early and Middle Neolithic from the central part of Poland provides an opportunity for discussion about the features of those pieces and searching for similarities and differences in the use of “chocolate” flint during the latter part of the Stone Ag

Ewa Niesiołowska (1941-2013)

Artykuł ma przypomnieć wieloletnią pracownicę Muzeum Archeologicznego i Etnograficznego w Łodzi mgr Ewę Niesiołowską. Pani Ewa (tak zwracali się do Niej współpracownicy) oficjalnie przepracowała w Muzeum w Łodzi prawie 50 lat. Przeszła całą ścieżkę kariery od asystenta do starszego kustosza. Opiekowała się działem Starszej i Środkowej Epoki Kamienia. Była niezwykle szanowaną i uznaną badaczką mezolitu oraz neolitu szczególnie związana z kulturą pucharów lejkowatych. Pani Ewa była zawsze bardzo życzliwa i pomocna a ponadto całe życie zawodowe jak i osobiste poświęciła Muzeum Archeologicznemu i Etnograficznemu w Łodzi a także wiele razy pomogła nam w czasie naszej pracy w Muzeum. Wg nas oddanie Pani Ewy dla Muzeum oraz archeologii zasługuje nie tylko na tak krótką notatkę.In this paper we would like to remember long-term curator of Archaeological and Ethnographical Museum in Lodz Ewa Niesiolowska. Ms. Ewa (how hers co-workers call her) worked in Museum of Lodz for almost 50 years and stared as assistant and finished as a curator. She was mostly interested in Mesolithic and Neolithic studies and was very friendly and helpful for us. She spend all Her professional life in Lodz Museum and we are sure that Ms Ewa deserves more than this short text

Settlement of Linear Band Pottery culture in the area of the Kuyavian Lakeland in the light of field-walking survey realized within the framework of the program “Archaeological sources in the region of the Wietrzychowice Culture Park”

W artykule zaprezentowano stanowiska kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej odkryte w czasie badań powierzchniowych w ramach zadania „Źródła archeologiczne w rejonie Parku Kulturowego Wietrzychowice”, realizowanego w ramach programu Ministra Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego pt. „Dziedzictwo Kulturowe”, priorytet 5, „Ochrona zabytków archeologicznych”. Program ten, rozpoczęty w 2013 r., umożliwił prowadzenie intensywnych badań powierzchniowych oraz zastosowanie na szeroką skalę archeologii lotniczej, prospekcji geofizycznych i geochemicznych, a także badań abiotycznych elementów środowiska naturalnego (por. P. Papiernik, P. Kittel, D.K. Płaza, J. Wicha 2017). Weryfikacyjnymi badaniami powierzchniowymi objęto 4 obszary Archeologicznego Zdjęcia Polski (o nr: 52-45, 52-46, 53-45, 53-46) o łącznej powierzchni ok. 150 km2 (por. ryc. 1). Ogółem, w czasie prac terenowych materiały KCWR odkryto na aż 44 stanowiskach (por. ryc. 2). Wynik ten należy uznać za dość niespodziewany efekt przeprowadzonych prac, bowiem z akcji AZP wykonanej w latach osiemdziesiątych XX wieku, z całego wskazanego terenu znane były tylko dwa stanowiska KCWR (Michałowo, st. 1 i Pasieka, st. 7 – por. J. Pyzel 2010 ), które były oddalone o ok. 20 km od dobrze rozpoznanego skupienia osadniczego KCWR w rejonie Brześcia Kujawskiego (R. Grygiel 2004).Archaeological excavations in the region of today’s Wietrzychowice Culture Park were begun in the 1930s by professor Konrad Jażdżewski himself and were carried on under his supervision in the 1950s. Field works were resumed by the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography in Łódź and the Konrad Jażdżewski Foundation of Archaeological Research in 2009. They aim at conducting interdisciplinary research, which would provide a complete picture of the settlement of the Funnel Beaker culture in the vicinity of megalithic cemeteries at Wietrzychowice and Gaj. A very important element of the programme is non-invasive work done as the project “Archaeological Sources in the region of Wietrzychowice Culture Park“, completed as part of the programme of the Minister of Culture and Cultural Heritage, called “Cultural Heritage”, priority 5, “Protection of Archaeological Artefacts”. Field works have yielded artefacts dating back to the period between the late Palaeolithic and the Middle Ages. One of the most important results of the field surveys has been the discovery of a new group of sites of the Linear Pottery culture. Artefacts of that type were unearthed on 44 sites. It is an unexpected result, as the programme of Archaeological Picture of Poland carried out in the 1980s revealed only two such sites on the territory in question, situated 20km away from a well-recognised settlement cluster of the Linear Pottery culture in the region of Brześć Kujawski. The analysis of the pottery unearthed on separate sites clearly indicates the cultural provenience of particular assemblages. In the case of table ware (delicate work) these are fragments of thin-walled, or more rarely mediumwalled forms, made of processed clay (without silt), almost completely void of thinning admixture. In the case of kitchen ware (coarse work) , we can observe vegetation admixture with sand and grog (chamotte) admixture. Delicate vessel pottery is mainly decorated with engraved lines in various patterns, frequently accompanied by note motifs. Decoration on kitchen ware is limited to finger and fingernail imprints and knobs placed in different parts of the vessels

Nowe cmentarzysko w Rzeczycy Suchej, gm. Dwikozy, woj. świętokrzyskie

In 2014, accidentally ploughed human bones were discovered in the field in the village Rzeczyca Sucha, Sandomierz district, and a year later rescue and trial archaeological excavations were carried out. In the course of research, two poorly preserved human burials were uncovered. One of them contained grave goods and those were two pendants made of shells. It was possible to establish C14 dating on the basis of one of the skeletons. The results of the research indicate the end of the Neolithic period