/ Schyłek epoki kamienia i początki epoki brązu w okolicach Igołomi i Wawrzeńczyc The end of the Stone Age and the beginning of the Bronze Age in the vicinity of Igołomia and Wawrzeńczyce

The borderland of the Vistula Plain and the Proszowice Plateau is part of the loess zone extending mainly to the north of the Vistula River, known for numerous discoveries of archaeological sites from the Eneolithic period and the early Bronze Age. The state of reconnaissance of settlement is far from satisfactory here. From the final Eneolithic period primarily cemeteries of the Corded Ware culture (around 2800–2300 BC) are known. Falling within this age range is probably the only burial mound in the area, in Igołomia, which yielded a niche grave of the Corded Ware culture within the eastern part of its cover. Another cemetery was investigated in Rudno Górne, where niche graves of the culture in question were found dug into the embankments of Funnel Beaker culture megalithic graves from the middle Eneolithic period. From the early Bronze Age, the richest and most cognitively significant sites of the Mierzanowice culture (around 2200–1600 BC) are concentrated on loess hills rising above the valleys of Ropotek and Rudnik. They are both cemeteries and large settlements. Particularly valuable results were obtained during research on the cemetery in Szarbia, where as many as 44 graves were found. These findings enable the reconstruction of funeral rite rules from the early Bronze Age.

A History Of Fire At Hitchcock Nature Center, Western Iowa, Reconstructed Through An Analysis Of Macroscopic Charcoal And Soil-Magnetic Properties

We analyzed soil-magnetic properties and macroscopic charcoal abundances for two soil profiles located in Hitchcock Nature Center (HNC), Honey Creek, Iowa. Both profiles are located on valley bottoms in the Loess Hills of western Iowa and developed in redeposited Peoria loess. Site HNC 15D is located on an elevated stream terrace and contains a moderately well-developed modern soil. Site HNC 15G is located on a valley floor and consists of a poorly developed modern soil and a series of buried soil horizons. Both sites record consistently low charcoal concentrations of 0.5 mm2/g in prehistoric deposits. While site HNC 15D remains undated, age control at site HNC 15G is provided through four radiocarbon dates from charcoal and snail shell fragments. At site HNC 15G, late 19th century deposits are characterized by a marked increase in charcoal abundance to 3 mm2/g and charcoal abundances return to near prehistoric levels in recent sediment. We observe a similar increase in charcoal abundances below the modern soil at HNC 15D and an accumulation of charcoal at the surface of the profile. Soil-magnetic properties show moderate increases in magnetic susceptibility and ARM/IRM ratios when compared to loessic parent material and confirm moderate to weak soil development. High values for χARM/χFD (40-100) and χARM/χ (2-5) further suggest that regional fires have not been intense enough to significantly heat the topsoil horizons and allow for the formation of strongly magnetic secondary iron-oxide minerals.