Archaeologists studied 6 thousand years old settlement in Poland

Archaeologists in Browina (Kujawsko-Pomorskie) discovered objects attesting to far-reaching contacts of the first farmers living in the area of today’s Poland.

1/3. Unusual vessel without analogy in the materials from the Polish lands. Photo by M.Pronobis, Ł.Kowalski.

"Here, in the central part of Chełmno land, the first farmers appeared as early as 8000 years ago. Fertile soil and varied water network encouraged settlers. We came across one of their later settlements" - told PAP head of excavations, Dr. Kamil Adamczak from the Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. The research project, carried out with the support of the Regional Office for the Protection of Monuments in Toruń, ended in August.

It turned out that within the settlement of first farmers, people had also lived in the Iron Age - 1st millennium BC. The latest fragments of ceramic vessels come from that period. Researchers focused their efforts on the analysis of the oldest objects. In addition to storage pits, inside which food had been stored, archaeologists discovered numerous fragments of vessels, flint and stone tools and animal bones. These objects belonged to the agricultural communities, known as Linear Pottery culture and Funnel Beaker culture.

"We also found tools made of chocolate and striped flint from Krzemionki Opatowskie and Jurassic flint from the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. These products could be transported in prehistory up to several hundred kilometres to the settlements near today’s Chełmża" - said Dr. Adamczak.

The most intriguing find, according to the researchers, is a unique vessel the fragments of which were discovered in a pit dating to the fourth millennium BC.

3/3. Fragment of vessel from the 5th millennium BC - so-called Linear Pottery (Incised Ware) culture. Photo by O.Łukomska, B.Rzepkowski.

"We do not know similar vessels from the Polish lands. Ornaments and form of the vessel may indicate relations of the communities from the basin of the Vistula with the communities of Eastern European Lowlands" - believes the archaeologist.

Dr. Adamczak explained that it would be contacts of farmers with hunters and fishers. There are numerous examples of lasting ties between such cultures. They could be based, inter alia, on the marital exchange - argues the scientist.

According to Dr. Adamczak the new discovery shows that, despite intensive research in recent decades, the soil and water reservoirs still hide many unique and important finds. Archaeologists plan to return to Browina next year to search for further monuments that could facilitate the study of contacts between prehistoric communities. naukawpolsce.pap.pl