Šukinės-duobelinės keramikos kultūra Lietuvoje. Nauji duomenys iš Šventosios 43

Šventoji 43 is one of eight Comb Ware culture sites known in Lithuania at present. The site was excavated in 2013 and 2014 and revealed a homogeneous pottery assemblage, which was classified as Comb Ware and was radiocarbon dated to 3900–3650 cal BC. As a result of this dating, it has been found that Comb Ware is the oldest pottery type to have been produced in coastal Lithuania. In fact, the pottery assemblage of Šventoji 43 also suggests that Comb Ware originates from a distinct phase in the pottery sequence of coastal Lithuania that both predates all other phases from Šventoji pottery bearing sites and has not been previously recognised in other assemblages. Zooarchaeological analysis has revealed that the site was occupied during the early spring and mostly used for fishing zander and pike in the lagoonal lake and for hunting seals and forest game. The unique character of the flint industry, which combined hard hammer percussion and bipolar knapping that resulted in the production of microliths on irregular blades, suggests that the local Šventoji 43 community had Mesolithic roots. Furthermore, this evidence supports the hypothesis that Comb Ware had reached Lithuania through intense contact between East Baltic hunter-gatherers rather than due to a mass migration of the population from the Northeastern Baltic. The much wider distribution of Finno-Ugric hydronyms, compared to that of Comb Ware sites gives an impression that some other Subneolithic pottery types in addition to Comb Ware might have been produced by Finno-Ugric speaking people

Žemės ūkio raida ir archeobotaniniai tyrinėjimai Lietuvoje

In Lithuania, research on the development of agriculture in early prehistory has been based mostly on palynological and indirect (incidentally noticed seeds, existing of agricultural tools) data so far. This article describes the benefit and possibilities of systematic archaeological macrobotanical research, and methods and results of the first systematic research conducted in a series of Kretuonas settlements of the Neolithic Era and the Early Bronze Age in northeastern Lithuania, and in Turlojiškė settlement of the Early Bronze Age in southwestern Lithuania (see table la and table lb, pic.1). A high-resolution stratigraphic analysis of macrobotanical remains together with archaeological and zooarchaeological findings in Turlojiškė settlement (see table 2 and pic.2) illustrate the course of animal domestication and plant cultivation in the Early Bronze Age in this monument

Natural environment and the economic activity of people in the environs of Lake Biržulis during the Holocene

Biržulio ežeras yra centrinėje Žemaičių aukštumos dalyje, Varnių depresijoje, kuri formavosi veikiama paskutinio – Nemuno – apledėjimo. Egzistuojantis nuo pat ankstyviausių vėlyvojo ledynmečio etapų, Biržulio ežeras yra puiki vieta tirti gamtinės aplinkos raidai per pastaruosius 13-14 tūkst. metų. Straipsnis pristato Biržulio apyežerio kompleksinių paleobotaninių, chronologinių, geologinių ir geomorfologinių tyrimų rezultatus bei jų koreliaciją su archeologų išvadomis. Petrografiniai duomenys parodė, kad Biržulio ir Stervo ežerai telkšo giliausiose Nemuno ledyno Baltijos stadijos suformuotos Varnių depresijos duburiuose. Aerofotonuotraukų dešifravimas buvo vienas pagrindinių tyrimo metodų nustatant Varnių depresijos paviršinių nuosėdų litologinę sudėtį, rekonstruojant pagrindinius reljefo bei hidrologinius elementus ir gautos medžiagos pagrindu sudarant geologinę–geomorfologinę situaciją atspindintį žemėlapį. Palankios žmonėms apsigyventi aplinkos sąlygos Biržulio ežero mikroregione susiklostė dar vėlyvojo ledynmečio pabaigoje. Čia randami pavieniai vėlyvojo paleolito radiniai, o mezolito laikotarpiu buvo įsikūrusios Kundos kultūros bendruomenės. Vėlyvajame neolite Biržulio apyežeryje jau auginti javai ir gyvuliai. Vėlyvajame žalvario amžiuje pasitelkus ugnį buvo intensyviai plečiami dirbamos žemės ir ganyklų plotai, geležies amžiuje praktikuota lydiminė žemdirbystė, pastebimai intensyvėjo gyvulininkystė. Pastaraisiais 800 metų Biržulio apylinkėse plečiantis dirbamų laukų ir ganyklų plotams bei formuojantis trilaukei žemdirbystės sistemai, žmonės kūrė naują kraštovaizdį.Palaeo-environmental studies, the analysis of plant macro remains, 14C dating and geological-geo-morphological and archaeological investigations provide exact data about the environmental history and economic activities of people in the environs of Lake Biržulis during the Holocene epoch. The petrographic data allow us to state that the Varniai was formed during the Baltija stage of the Last (Nemunas) Glacier. The highest terraces of the depression were formed right after thawing of the ice cover at the end of the Last (Nemunas) Glacier. Several lower terraces were formed at later stages, most probably in the Allerd. In the sixth decade of the last century the final stage in the basin development started and took the current shape. Two investigated pollen profiles date back to the Preboreal. Deciduous trees appeared in the territory in around 8900-8700 14C BP and broad-leaved trees flourished in around 7000-6000 14C BP. In around 5200 14C BP the spruce appeared in the region and 200 years later (3200 14C BP) it became prevalent in the local woods. The earliest weak signs of the economic activity and the formation of the forest glades are traced back to the Mesolithic, in around 7600-7900 14C BP. The development of the economic activities is confirmed by the corn pollen in the sediments dated back to the beginning of the Late Neolithic (4400 14C BP). The period of intensive husbandry and land cultivation coincides with the historical times when formation of a new landscape in the environs of Biržulis Lake started

Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene record of sedimentation and carbonate content in the Zervynos paleolake-dune complex, Lithuania

The Late Pleistocene to the Holocene is a time interval that covers the climate transition from a cold to a warm interglacial regime. In the Baltic region, many studies have focused on estimating environmental responses to climatic forcing using palynological and stratigraphic proxies of glacial and periglacial settings. Herein we describe the mixed lacustrine-aeolian succession of the Zervynos-2 section (south-eastern Lithuania), located in the north-eastern part of the European Sand Belt. The succession and the sedimentation styles were characterized by granulometric parameters, structural features, dolomite/calcite ratio, and paleobotanical macro-remains. Our analyses revealed that the Zervynos-2 paleolake formed on the sandur (outwash) plain during the final stage of the Pleistocene. The onset of lake sedimentation was caused by sudden submergence of a sandbody-constrained paleovalley. Carbonate ratios and macro-remains from the lower gyttja material showed the presence of substantial millennial-scale oscillations, which suggests a delayed response to the isotopically derived paleotemperatures. The transition to the fast sand sedimentation started approximately in the Middle Holocene and is interpreted here as being caused by warming and drying of the climate in the Baltic region. The upper Holocene portion of the section represents the transition to exclusively aeolian sedimentation with lower accumulation rates that are likely related to a long-term cooling trend. The obtained results support the conjecture that there is a direct but delayed positive correlation between dolomite and calcite ratios in lake sediments and the climatic signal in the Greenland GISP2 record

Quaternary interglacial sediments as possible natural sources of arsenic and molybdenum anomalies In stream sediments In Lithuania

Geochemical investigations were conducted on Quaternary interglacial sediments in order to reveal if they can be a natural source of 10 potentially harmful chemical elements: As, Ba, Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, V and Zn. Determination of the total contents of elements in 680 samples was performed by EDXRF analysis. The content of Ni, Cu, Pb, Ba in all analyzed samples was lower than maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) for soil, the content of Zn, V, Cr, Mn exceeded MPC values only in several samples (≤4%). The highest percentage of anomalous samples where MPC was exceeded was characteristic of Mo (21%) and As (12.6%). Therefore, interglacial sediments, especially enriched in organic matter and other sorbents, comprise one of the possible natural sources of Mo and As. It is probable that they contribute to As and Mo anomalies in stream sediments in Lithuania. First published online: 22 Dec 201

Augalai, rasti dirbiniuose, naudotuose ne pagal pirminę paskirtį. Įsidėmėtinas atvejis iš Lazdininkų-Kalnalaukio kapinyno Vakarų Lietuvoje

Straipsnyje archeologinės medžiagos, tarpkultūrinių kontaktų, AMS 14C datavimo, cheminių-fizikinių ir biologinių tyrimų požiūriu nagrinėjami bronziniai alavu dengti papuošalai: rato formos kabutis su 11 stipinėlių ir karolis, rasti dviejuose Lazdininkų-Kalnalaukio kapinyno kapuose. Originaliai abu dirbiniai buvo prabangių vėrinių dalys. Remiantis įkapėmis, tarp jų Marco Aureliaus (161–180) ir Komodo (177–192) sestercijais ir AMS 14C datomis, abu kapai datuojami II a. pabaiga – III a. pirmuoju ketvirčiu. Į abu kapus šie papuošalai pateko kaip verpimo įrankiai – verpstukai su augalinėmis šeivomis. Abu verpimo įrankiai yra pirmieji, atsiradę II a. pabaigos – III a. pirmojo ketvirčio Lietuvos archeologinėje medžiagoje. Labiausiai tikėtina, kad ratuko formos verpstuke (kapas 8 (1992)) šeivai naudota Phragmites australis (paprastoji nendrė) arba Schoenoplectus lacustris (ežero pakrantės viksva). Rato formos kabutyje šeivai panaudotas iki šiol Lietuvoje nerastas ir oficialiai neužfiksuotas vandens augalas. Nors ratuko svoris 12,4 gramų ir jis galėjo atlikti verpimo funkciją, tačiau mažai tikėtina, kad šią darbinę funkciją galėtų atlikti vandens augalas. Kape 68 (2001) rastas karolis TM 521 (pagal Tempelmann-Mączyńska 1985) sveria tik 7,48 gramų, o tai per mažas svoris verpstukui, kad jis galėtų būti naudojamas realiame gyvenime verpiant. Tačiau karolio viduje rasta, tikėtina, iš liepos medžio (Tilia cordata) išdrožta šeiva rodo, kad dirbinys buvo naudotas kaip verpstukas, bet simboline prasme – anapilyje, kur svoris nėra labai svarbus. Kaip atskleidžia rašytiniai šaltiniai ir archeologinė medžiaga iš Europos, verpimo tradicijos buvo svarbios kasdieniame gyvenime ir laidojimo papročiuose. Verpimas buvo reikšmingas kasdienėje praktikoje, taigi jo idėja galėjo būti perkelta į pomirtinį gyvenimą. Todėl įmanoma prielaida, kad verpimo įrankiai gali turėti tam tikrą svarbią mitologinę reikšmę. Verpimas ir audimas glaudžiai susiję su likimu, o liepos medis – su deive Laima, kur abu atsiskleidžia per tris mitinius kodus: likimą, laimę ir gimimą. Artimiausios analogijos rato formos kabučiui (Lazdininkų-Kalnalaukio atveju – verpstukui) žinomos iš Vielbarko kultūros ir turėtų būti importas iš šio kultūrinio arealo. Karoliui-verpstukui, rastam kape 68 (2001), analogų žinoma iš Nemuno žemupio, Vidurio Lietuvos ir Sembos-Notangos bei Vielbarko kultūrų. Tuo tarpu Tautų kraustymosi laikotarpio Plinkaigalio kapinyne (Kėdainių rajone), kape 115, ir Vecaucės Losbergų (Vecauces Losbergi, Duobelės r., Latvija) kapinyne atsitiktinai rasti vario lydinio verpstukai su 8 stipinėliais ir stebulėmis yra verpimo įrankiai. Minima, kad Plinkaigalio verpstuke buvo rastas nedidelis nenustatytos rūšies medžio fragmentas (neišliko). Tikėtina, kad abu Tautų kraustymosi laikotarpio verpstukai gaminti vietoje, galbūt net toje pačioje dirbtuvėje. Suprantama, išskirtinės formos dirbiniai, skirti verpti, išlaiko simbolinę gyvenimo trukmės reikšmę.This article investigates tinned bronze ornaments found in two graves of the Lazdininkai-Kalnalaukis cemetery dated to the end of the 2nd century to the first quarter of the 3rd century AD from the perspective of archaeological materials, intercultural contacts, 14C AMS dating, and chemical-physical and biological research. These ornaments - a wheel-shaped pendant and a bead - were originally parts of fashionable necklaces. However, these ornaments went into the graves as spinning tools. The wheel-shaped pendant from grave 8(1992) contains the first ever found, or at least officially recorded, use in Lithuania of an aquatic plant for a spinning tool bobbin. The piece of possible linden tree wood was used to compose the spinning tool bobbin found in grave 68(2001). These spinning tools are the first to have appeared in Lithuanian archaeological material from as early as the end of the 2nd century to the first quarter of the 3rd century. In addition, both spinning tools are unique in the Lithuanian archaeological record so far in that the copper alloy spindle whorls were used to compose both working tools. The closest analogues for the wheel-shaped pendant are known from the Wielbark culture and this example should be considered as an import from that cultural area. Copper alloy beads and various local derivatives, however, are numerous in the range of the Baltic cultures area. The copper alloy wheel-shaped spindle whorls from the Migration period cemeteries are the spinning tools created for the specific purpose of spinning which were produced locally, even possibly in the same workshops. Keywords: pendant, bead, repurposed artefacts, spinning tools, aquatic plant, wood, Lazdininkai-Kalnalaukis cemetery

History of the Environment and Population of the Old Town of Klaipėda, Western Lithuania: Multidisciplinary Approach to the Last Millennium

Progressive stages in the development of the Old Town region of the city of Klaipėda (in German, Memel) were ascertained by analyzing archaeological and historical data combined with an analysis of pollen, diatom, plant macrofossil, and osteological findings as cross-referenced with radiocarbon measurements. The port city of Klaipëda, located on the eastern part of the Baltic Sea, was an important political, economic, and religious center during the last millennium. In addition to its environmental history, the character of human activity and urbanization of the area during the 16th–17th centuries AD were examined. The chronology of these records is based on archaeological, historical, and 14C data. The results obtained indicate the predominance of a wet boggy environment and the presence of a pond in the investigated territory of Klaipëda during the late 15th and early 16th centuries AD. The formation of a new Danė River channel created an island town, resulting in a defensible residual area for the town inhabitants. An ongoing deposition of a cultural layer began in the mid-16th century AD. Rich zooarchaeological data found in this layer provided new details on human diet and exposed a predominance of domestic animals, especially cattle. Due to intensive amelioration of this area, layers of sandy and clayey deposits were formed during the second half of the 16th century AD. A significant presence of cultivars, ruderals, and weeds were recorded, indicating substantial human activity and increasing urbanization of the landscape. According to the paleobotanical, archaeo-logical, and historical data, the culmination of this process took place at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries AD, when residential areas were established.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202