Provider: Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic

TY  - JOUR
JO  - Anthropologie (Brno)
TI  - Extralocal raw materials in the Swiderian culture: case study of Kraków-Bieżanów sites
AU  - Stefański D
AU  - Wilczyński J
Y1  - 2012
VL  - 50
IS  - 4
PB  - Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic
SN  - 0323-1119
SP  - 427
EP  - 442
KW  - Swiderian culture
KW  - Late Palaeolithic
KW  - Raw material economy
KW  - Chocolate flint
KW  - Radiolarite
KW  - Jurassic flint
N2  - 
N2  - The Swiderian is part of Tanged Point Technocomplex, the Late Glacial cultural unit of North European Plains. It is dated between middle part of the Younger Dryas and early Preboreal (12.7-11.4 kyr BP). Raw material economy of the Swiderian communities is one of the most discussed issues. Researchers present a dynamic system based on local or semi local resources (provinces), on one hand, on the other - supplemented with extralocal materials. Chocolate flint, spread up to 700 km from its outcrops, was the most desired raw material. Long-distance circulation of raw materials supports the idea of great mobility in that period, as well as an existence of interregional exchange systems. This paper deals with new data brought to light by extensive rescue excavations carried out in the Kraków region in southern Poland. The most popular resource in the western part of Little Poland was a local Jurassic flint of high quality. A small number of extralocal raw materials were also recognized. The research objective was to analyze their role in lithic production and utilization amongst the local Swiderian communities. Special attention was paid to chocolate flint and radiolarite, for which comprehensive studies were undertaken. Analyzed artefacts were classified into groups following guidelines of "dynamic classification", which allowed us to investigate process of their use in lithic production. Our analysis showed that either finished products were manufactured elsewhere and subsequently were brought to the site or cores were exploited on site, while their initial preparation was carried out outside the site. This research was also carried out in respect to functional differentiation of the researched area which revealed some interrelation between spatial organization and use of extralocal raw materials. Relevant models were presented as an explanation of the results. Presented data displayed additional vectors of Swiderian migrations in the region.
ER  -