Searching for siliceous marl and chert exposures as potential zones of lithic raw material acquisition in the Early Neolithic. The case of the Dynów Foothills and the Rzeszów-Łańcut settlement region (SE Poland) (original) (raw)
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In: M. Dębiec, J. Górski, J. Müller, M. Nowak, A. Pelisiak, T. Saile, P. Włodarczak (eds.), From Farmers to Heroes? Archaeological Studies in Honor of Sławomir Kadrow. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie 376 (Bonn 2022), 2022
In the Early Neolithic, siliceous marls and cherts were widely used in SE Poland for making polished tools, primarily adzes. Research started in 2016 focused on identification of the exposures of these raw materials on the margins of the Rzeszów-Przemyśl loess belt inhabited by Early Neolithic communities. The paper presents preliminary results of field research carried out in six selected areas. The aim of the research was to identify outcrops of siliceous marls and cherts as potential places of raw materials acquisition in prehistory.
Archaeologia Polona, 2022
The Neolithic and Bronze Age communities that settled the eastern Carpathian Forelands and Carpathian Foothills used a variety of local and non-local siliceous raw materials. Raw materials identified in the archaeological record differ in quality and usefulness for making tools. Obsidian, Jurassic flint from the Cracow-Częstochowa Upland, chocolate flint, or Świeciechów and Volhynian flints represent the best quality. On the other hand, some local raw materials were also in use, most popular among them being siliceous marls and cherts. Sources of siliceous marls and cherts are known from many locations in the Dynów, Strzyżów and Przemyśl foothills. Moreover, systematic field surveys in this area have provided new information on the availability of cherts and siliceous marls at many new locations in the region. They appear in the primary autochthonous, secondary autochthonous, and more rarely in sub-autochthonous or residual, sources. Exposures on steep hill slopes and dissected river valleys provide easy access to the best quality raw materials in the primary autochthonous sources. Raw materials from secondary autochthonous sources in the riverbeds were also available, but they were of lesser quality than those from the exposures. The aim of this paper is to present natural exposures of siliceous marls and cherts and discuss them as a potential source of raw materials for the Neolithic and Bronze Age communities inhabiting loess areas of the eastern Carpathian foreland (Rzeszów Settlement Region).
2018
Neolithic and Early Bronze Age communities which settled the eastern Carpathians Forelands and Carpathian Foothills used a variety of local and non-local siliceous raw materials. Silicites identified in archaeological material differ in quality and usefulness for making tools. Obsidian, Jurassic flint from the Cracow-Częstochowa Uplands, 'chocolate' flint, and Świeciechów (grey white-spotted) and Volhynian flints are the best quality. They were commonly used from the Early Neolithic onwards. On the other hand, some local raw materials were also in used. Among them the so-called Dynów marl or siliceous marls were suggested as the most popular. To correct the classification of raw material of these artefacts HCl (Hydrochloric acid) was used for testing both raw material samples and the artefacts of the so-called Dynów or siliceous marls. The results of the analysis shows that so-called Dynów or siliceous marl consists of several different raw material varieties. More than 50% of the analysed tools were of yellowish or grey-yellowish hornstones (cherts). Both siliceous marls and the chert came probably from different sources and each one has a different chemical composition and physical properties.
Archaeologia Polona
Neolithic and Early Bronze Age communities which settled the eastern Carpathians Forelands and Carpathian Foothills used a variety of local and non-local siliceous raw materials. Silicites identified in archaeological material differ in quality and usefulness for making tools. Obsidian, Jurassic flint from the Cracow-Częstochowa Uplands, ‘chocolate’ flint, and Świeciechów (grey white-spotted) and Volhynian flints are the best quality. They were commonly used from the Early Neolithic onwards. On the other hand, some local raw materials were also in used. Among them the so-called Dynów marl or siliceous marls were suggested as the most popular. To correct the classification of raw material of these artefacts HCl (Hydrochloric acid) was used for testing both raw material samples and the artefacts of the so-called Dynów or siliceous marls. The results of the analysis shows that so-called Dynów or siliceous marl consists of several different raw material varieties. More than 50% of the a...
Journal of Archaeological Science Reports, 2020
The Upper Jurassic sediments from the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland developed as carbonates, mostly lime-stones, which represent the microbial-sponge megafacies that were typical of the northern margin of the Tethys Ocean. Outcrops of these rocks are scattered along an extended belt ranging from Portugal to the Caucasus Mts. One of the common features of the bedded limestones belonging to this megafacies is the local occurrence of chert concretions. The siliceous rocks embedded within the Upper Jurassic sequences from the southern part of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland originated from a broad spectrum of limestone silicification processes and are represented by chert concretions, bedded cherts and epigenetic siliceous rocks. These rocks served as raw materials in the production of stone tools from the Middle Palaeolithic onwards. These tools have been studied extensively by archaeologists. This paper presents the identification of the above mentioned types of siliceous rocks used in the manufacture of tools based upon (i) microscopic observations of thin sections which reveal the primary microfacies of limestones subjected to silicification, and (ii) X-ray diffraction analyses, including the determination of the crystallinity index of SiO 2. Unfortunately, the available research methods do not permit the identification of the varieties of chert concretions to an extent that would permit them to be even roughly connected with particular outcrops or, at least, with particular regions of the occurrence of siliceous raw materials on a Pan-European scale. Macroscopic criteria have recently been adopted in archaeological classifications aimed at determining the origin of stone tools and drawing conclusions as to the source outcrops or regions. However, regrettably, these have proven groundless from the geological point of view.
Archaeologia Polona
In terms of supply of good quality raw materials for stone tool manufacture, the area of southeastern Poland is rather poor. Considering research conducted so far, there are only few sites that can be the basis for analysis. Nevertheless, certain phenomena seem to be characteristic on sites in southeastern Poland in the later phase of the Upper Palaeolithic and in the Late Palaeolithic. There are usually more than one kind of raw material present. Apart from local erratic flint, imported Świeciechów (grey white-spotted) and ‘chocolate’ flint dominate. The presence of both Jurassic (areas near Cracow) and Volhynian flints are poorly recorded, whereas resources from the south are almost absent. These imported raw materials indicate the existence of particularly strong relations linking the areas of southeastern Poland with the Sandomierz Upland, and much weaker relationships with the territories of Lesser Poland and Western Ukraine
Artefacts Made from Siliceous Rocks of Polish Origin on Prehistoric Sites in the Czech Republic
Archaeologia Polona
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 ...
Archaeologia Polona, 2018
The aim of the article is to present the results of a multifaceted analysis of a collection of non-flint stone artefacts obtained during excavations of the complex of Late Palaeolithic camps at site 17 in Nowogród, Golub-Dobrzyń district. It included an obsidian artefact and objects made of crystalline rocks (quartzite, quartzite sandstone, quartz, coarse sandstone and diorite), which were created as a result of knapping the raw material using techniques similar or identical to those used during the processing of flint. The results of petrographic analysis confirmed that these raw materials had come from natural resources located near the site. Most of the analysed artefacts are represented by large flakes. In addition, one chip and two tools, a multiple burin and a pebble tool, were distinguished. Use-wear analysis showed signs of use on two artefacts, including the pebble tool. The obsidian artefact is currently the northernmost Late Palaeolithic find of this type. In order to determine the geological source of the raw material, the artefact was subjected to PGAA and XRF analysis. PGAA analysis confirmed that the obsidian originated from a source in northern Slovakia (Carpathian 1 type), probably from the Cejkov or Kašov deposits, Trebišov district. The article also describes a rock crystal and a probable concretion of quartz of this type originating from site 6 in Ludowice, Wąbrzeźno district.
A B S T R A C T P. Jarosz 2017. Dispersion of siliceous raw materials for the production of axes on the Corded Ware culture sites in the Carpathian basins of the Vistula, Dniester and Tisza Rivers, AAC 52:23–37. The Corded Ware culture societies inhabiting the Carpathian zone used various outcrops of flints to processing axes: Volhynian, Turonian (the Świeciechów and the Gościeradów types), Juras-sic A and G-type, cretaceous K-type as well as siliceous marl and radiolarite. From the analysed area 81 axes associated with the Corded Ware culture are known. Most of them come from funeral sites — from grave pits or burial mounds. The predominance of the Volhynian flint is observable in the whole area to the east of Wisłok River, basins of the San River, and in the upper basins of the Tisza and Dniester Rivers. Axes from niche graves on the Rzeszów Foothills, where the Świeciechów flint prevails, are specific in this scope or raw materials distribution. Dispersion of flints can be used indirectly as basis for reconstructing movements of human groups using these raw materials, as well as determining directions of their interactions. It can be noticed that communities of the Corded Ware culture from the Dniester Basin resembled in this respect their counterparts from the Roztocze and the Sokal Ridge, while those from the Rz-eszów Foothills shows connections both with the " Volhynian zone " and the Lesser Polish Małopolska Upland. K e y w o r d s: late neolithic; Corded Ware culture; Carpathian Mountains; raw materials; axes