Osseous points and harpoon heads from Šventoji Subneolithic sites, coastal Lithuania. First traceological insight into the way they were produced and used

This article presents the results of traceological analyses of bone points and harpoon heads discovered at hunter-gatherer-fisher sites 1, 3, 4, 6 and 23 in Šventoji, coastal Lithuania, c. 3500–2700 cal bc. The data obtained through the studies were used to interpret technological processes and operational chains resulting from the production of these artefacts, as well as in answering questions surrounding the function of some specimens. Another important result of the presented research is the confirmation, thanks to an SEM-EDX analysis, of the presence of an inlay in the decoration visible on one of the harpoon heads. Keywords: Šventoji, Subneolithic-Neolithic, points, harpoon heads, bone, traceological analysis, SEM-EDX

NEOLITHIC SOCIETIES AND THEIR POTTERY IN SOUTH-EASTERN LITHUANIA

South-Eastern Lithuanian Stone Age pottery reflects the way of life, nutrition, social status, artistic expression, and intercommunity relationships of its creators and users. Natural conditions unfavourable for the survival of organic material and the intermingling of artefacts from different periods in sandy settlements limit the ability to precisely date and reconstruct the long, distinctive process of Neolithisation that began in the late 6th millennium bc. Analysing the traces of ceramic vessel use, the structure of the pottery, the coiling and decoration technologies, their changes and reasons, it is possible to understand better the traditions of the Forest Neolithic communities and the encounters of different influences in SE Lithuania. Keywords: Neolithic societies, SE Lithuania, potters, pottery, coiling, decoration, interaction between communities.

Macro and Micro Scale Neolithisation Processes in SE Poland against the Background of Central-Eastern Europe

The aim of the article is to outline the causes, mechanisms, and course of the Neolithisation process in South-Eastern Poland, as seen from a global (macro-) and local (microregional) perspective. It has been assumed that the most effective tool for analyzing this process on a macro scale is a set of concepts and rules constituting the theory of globalization (Hodos 2017). Cultural analysis (Wuthnow 1987), on the other hand, considers conflict as the main driving force of deep changes on a micro scale. Globalization is a form of connectivity that is the price humans pay to access resources that satisfy their desire for status and wellbeing. A common human pursuit is the desire to achieve a higher status and to improve one’s own wellbeing. People, realizing their intentions and aspirations, enter into conflicts which can potentially be one of the main sources of crises, and thus also of cultural change. Keywords: Neolithisation, SE Poland, Linear Band Pottery culture, globalization, cultural analysis, conflict.

KUPIŠKIO (AUKŠTUPĖNŲ) PILIAKALNIS: TEORINĖS PRIELAIDOS IR TYRIMŲ REZULTATAI

The hillfort of Kupiškis (Aukštupėnai) has never been investigated before but was regarded by many researchers as a former location of a wooden castle, used for defence during the attacks of the Teutonic Order. Between the years 2017 and 2018, interdisciplinary investigations were conducted on the hillfort, which included excavations of a 20 m2 area, a geophysical survey, a survey and soil sampling from 150 drilled boreholes, and laboratory analysis of soil samples and archaeological material. Although the obtained results corresponded with the theoretical model of Selonian hillforts, new and unexpected details about the structure of the hillfort were also revealed. Prior to the establishment of settlement structures, the hill was of a completely different shape than it is now. Archaeological excavation confirmed the assumption based on soil geochemical analysis that the hill was settled during the 1st millennium BC. A structure of stones, soil and wood, was built along the edges of the hilltop during the period between the 8th and 5th centuries BC, during which it burned on several occasions and was rebuilt. Finds from the hillfort attest to the fact that people lived here during the turn of the millennium. However, no cultural layer or fortification features of this period have been detected. During the 1st millennium AD, the hillfort could have been used during emergencies. Hillfort reinforcements were destroyed by fire during the 5th-6th century and the 8th-10th century. Lastly, no traces of activity on the hillfort were detected for later periods. Key words: Kupiškis (Aukštupėnai), hillfort, settlement, interdisciplinary research.

ŽMOGUS PRIEŠ GAMTĄ: RELJEFO TRANSFORMAVIMAS ĮRENGIANT XIII–XIV A. KERNAVĖS PILĮ IR JO SUKELTI EROZINIAI PROCESAI

Hillfort fortifications served not only a defensive function but were also an expression of social status. Therefore their scale and the work involved in their creation could be an important feature in attempting to distinguish the centres of power in a settlement system. Pursuant to this point-of-view, the article analyses the fortifications and the relief modification work carried out in creating of 13th–14th-century Kernavė Castle, which consists of four separate hillforts. This analysis made use of a 2018–2019 survey, which was conducted especially for this purpose and included boreholes, GPR profiles, and test pits, and also made use of previous excavations. Stratigraphical data collected in a wide territory allowed to the reconstruct the palaeorelief, which existed prior to the creation of the hillforts, and the modifications made to it. Moreover, it also revealed the connection between the relief transformation works and the natural geodynamic processes. The investigation showed that the creation of the hillforts caused largescale erosional processes, which critically influenced the development of both the castle and the town founded around it. The article raises the hypothesis that the loss of the administrative significance of Kernavė Castle and Town in the late 14th century could have been caused by precisely these erosional processes brought about by human activities. Keywords: geoarchaeology, geophysics, hillforts, palaeorelief, erosional processes.

Characterization of Tertiary Flints by geochemistry; application to the French territory

In present-day France, tertiary flints have played an important part in the supply of prehistoric populations, due to their abundance, quality and presence in areas without marine flint. From the Upper Paleolithic until the end of the use of flint, they were transported over far distances, especially in the center of the Central Massif. In this article the geochemical method is preferred for attributing of precise geographical origin to an archaeological artifact. To form the geological repository, a very large geographical field was taken, encompassing a large part of France, from the Marne county to the Gard county, and most of the major French sedimentary basins (Bassin Parisien, Cantal, Gard). The archaeological corpus includes pieces from sites of the Upper Paleolithic and the Epipaleolithic of Auvergne. The geochemical study does not provide a comprehensive answer to the question of the geographical origin of tertiary flints, but nevertheless allows for certain and significant advances in knowledge. Keywords: Flint raw materials, Palaeolithic age, Magdalenian, Raw materials, Geochemistry.

EIGULIAI, ONE OF RIMUTĖ RIMANTIENĖ’S FIRST EXCAVATIONS – A REVISED INTERPRETATION

The Final Palaeolithic site at Eiguliai in Central Lithuania, was monitored by Konstantinas Jablonskis and his daughter, Rimutė Jablonskytė (Rimantienė), when she was already in her teens. By the late 1940s, the site had been partly destroyed, but not before yielding many surface finds. She, therefore, decided to obtain as much archaeological data as possible. Rimantienė’s excavations at the Eiguliai 1 site became one of the very first investigations of her career. The collected lithic assemblage suddenly became a reference in researching Swiderian culture sites. The Eiguliai site was well known to scientists from the Eastern Baltic countries as well as to colleagues in Western Europe. As time passed and new excavation methods appeared, the site, which had been recorded only by several pictures and trench plans and where most of the material had been collected from the sandy surface, came to be regarded as not informative enough and ceded its importance to other newly discovered Swiderian sites. However, during the past five years, with the help of consultations with Rimantienė, the archaeological data from Eiguliai was reviewed and the discussion resumed. The aim of this publication is to present the entire lithic collection of morphological tools ascribed to the earliest stage of the site’s occupation, along with some new insights into the archaeological data from Eiguliai. The site is considered to have been a place that was visited multiple times for hunting purposes. While the Swiderian culture assemblage predominates, the possibility of discussing an even earlier visit pre-dating the Swiderian culture is considered. Various remains of archaeological features once recorded at the site are reviewed and their interpretation is clarified: there are probably only a few features that could be ascribed to the Stone Age, contrary to what had been previously proposed. An analysis of the lithic assemblage has shown that people had probably brought flint material to the site, but did not stay there for long, and made quick decisions when tools needed to be produced. Keywords: Rimutė Rimantienė, Final Palaeolithic, Swiderian, Brommean.