Contributions to Raw Material Studies of the Transdanubian Early Mesolithic Lithic Industry: Szekszárd-Palánk (original) (raw)

Lithic Raw Material Procurement in the Late Neolithic Southern-Transdanubian Region: A Case Study From the Site of Alsónyék-Bátaszék

Archaeologia Polona, 2018

This article summarizes the current state of research on the flaked stone assemblages from the Late Neolithic site Alsónyék‒Bátaszék, Tolna district. The raw material distribution of the nearly 6100 pieces that make up the stone tool assemblage is the focus of this paper, with a particular emphasis placed on the dominance of the local raw material. The research addresses the question of the method of procurement of the lithic raw material in the case of this enormous, extended Neolithic site. To supply an answer, basic geoarchaeological research was necessary. To that end, a field survey aimed at detecting those geological formations and lithic variations convenient for knapping was undertaken. The results of the survey reported in the second part of this paper help in our understanding of the selection strategy of the ancient knapping specialists. From these strategies, it is possible to recognize the cultural tradition and raw material manipulation of this Late Neolithic community and, in a wider sense, the southeastern group of the Lengyel culture.

Variability of the Lithic Raw Material in the Upper and Late Palaeolithic sites in Southeastern Poland

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

From the Lower Danube to the Middle Prut and across the Carpathians: long-distance raw material transfers during the Upper Palaeolithic

Marmația 15/2018: 41-67, 2020

This study tested the possible connection of diverse multi-layered Upper Palaeolithic sites through the long-distance transfers of lithic raw materials across different regions of present-day Romania. Based on the petrographic analysis, several distant raw materials were recognized in the study sites: Lower Danube Valley cherts, Sita Buzăului chert, “Prut-Dniester flint”, and “Audia Black schists”. The lithic analysis of the artefacts on distant raw materials suggest diverse discard patterns (from debitage to implements), different modes of introduction (preformed cores and/or end-products) and provisioning strategies. These are related to multiple occupational moments covering a larger time scale. In this picture of long-distance raw material transfers during the Upper Palaeolithic, the Middle Bistrița Valley represents (given the current state of research), as probably do other valleys, an important communication pathway for human groups from different regions and throughout time.