Early Farmers in North-Central Europe 1989-1994 Excavations at Osłonki, Poland.pdf

Early Farmers in North-Central Europe: 1989-1994 Excavations at Osłonki, Poland

Author(s): Ryszard Grygiel and Peter Bogucki

Source: Journal of Field Archaeology, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Summer, 1997), pp. 161-178

Published by: Boston University

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/530469

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161

Esrly

Farmers

in North-Central

Europe:

1989-1994

Excavadons

at Ostonki,

Poland

Ryszard Grygiel

Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography

todz, Poland

Peter Bogucki

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

thathad 2 pro-

found impactonhumansettlementand thenaturallandscape.Excavationsat OsZonki

in north-centralPolandhaverevealed 2 settlementofearlyfarmersfromapproximately

4300-4000 B.C. Between1989and 1994,30 trapezoidal

process

lon,ghouses

and 80,graveswere

revealed

in an areaof15,000sqm, alongwithnumerouspitsfilledwithhousehold

rub-

feature

found in thispart ofcentrglEurope.Theanalysisofthehouses,burials,andpit contents

permitstheinvestigationofhousehold

organizationand theprocurement

and useofvari-

ousrgwmaterialsbytheinhabitgntsof OsZonki.

Thisarticlereports

thepreliminaryre-

sultsofthisresearch.

Introduction

Between8,000 and5,000 yearsago, agriculturecameto

Europe after its developmentin the Near East several

millenniaearlier,changingforeverhumansocietyand the

naturallandscape.The establishmentof an agricultural

economybasedon NearEasterncultigensin north-central

Europewithin a relativelyshort time afterthe initialdo-

mesticationof plantsand animalsis a remarkableprehis-

toric achievement.Nearlya centuryof archaeologicalre-

searchhasrevealedthe generaloutlineof thisprocess,and

archaeologistshave now shiftedtheir attentionto its de-

tails. Of particular

Osionkione of the best-datedsitesof thisperiodin central

Europe.

This articlehas the characterof a preliminaryreport.

Althoughexcavationsconcludedin 1994, post-excavation

research,analysis,andinterpretationwill takeseveraladdi-

tionalyears.Furtherresearchwith the goal of reconstruct-

ing the prehistoric

interestis the internalorganizationof

these earlyfarmingsettlementsand the culturallandscape

thatsurroundedthem.

The Neolithicsite of Osionkiis locatedin north-central

Polandabout 150 km NWof Warsaw

(FIG. 1). Excavations

between1989 and 1994 haverevealeda settlementof the

Neolithicperiod,occupiedbetweenapproximately4300-

4000 B.C. (recalibrated

Research Focus and Goals

The establishmentof sedentarycommunitiespracticing

agricultureandkeepingdomesticlivestockacrossmuchof

Europe between 8,000 and 5,000 yearsago began the

long sequenceof culturaldevelopmentsthatcharacterized

laterEuropeanprehistory(Bogucki1987, 1988; Bogucki

andGrygiel1993a). Manyofthe samespeciesof domestic

plants and animalsthat continue in use today (or their

precursors)were introducedinto centralEurope at this

time. Sincemanyof these plantsand some of the animals

are not native to Europe (except possibly for isolated

occurrencesin SE Europe),the achievementof these pre-

radiocarbondating),with 30 long-

housesand 80 graves,alongwith habitationfeaturesfrom

laterprehistoricperiods.Particularlynoteworthyfindsin-

clude a burialwith a diadem of copper strips, another

burialin which a clusterof bone points-clearly the re-

mains of an archer'squiver-was found, and a massive

fortificationditch. Two dozen radiocarbondates make

Theintroductionof,griculturetoEuropewas a complicated

bish.Afortificationditch,builtin twostages,isthefirstsuchEarlyNeolithic

landscapearoundthe siteis now under-

way.The purposeof this article,then, is to reportinitially

on the findsfrom the excavationswhich haveestablished

Osionkiasan importantsiteforthe understandingof early

Europeanfarmers.

- k ...........

/ ....................................

162 EclrlyFclrmersin North-Centrcll Europe/Gry,giel

clndBo,gucki

0 9 100

Figure 1. Mapof north-centralEuropeshowinglocationof Osionkiand BrzescKujawski.Shaded

areasareabove300 m asl.

historic pioneers in carryingthese species to different

climates,soils,and terrainis evenmoreimpressive.

Yet little is known of the processby which these early

farmerscolonized the countrysideof centralEurope.A1-

though archaeologistsknow the types of animals and

plantsthey used, how they made theirpotteryand stone

tools, andwherethey settled,they do not yet fullyunder-

standthe reasonswhythesefarmerschoseto migrate,how

theyselectedlocationsfortheirsettlements,andhow their

social and economic lives were organized. In order to

addressthese questions,it is necessaryto studylargeareas

of settlementsin orderto examinethe variability

is thatof the settlementitselfandthe

smallerdomestic units that constitutedit. In order to

understandthe processof adaptationof settled farming

communitiesto the North EuropeanPlain,it is necessary

to examinethe smallerdomestic groups that made the

basic socioeconomicdecisions.The authorsbelieve that

the household'spositionas the primary

locus of decision-

makingwas an importantfeatureof Neolithicsocietyand

facilitatedthe establishmentof earlyagricultural

is that setclements

likeOsionkididnot existin avacuum,butratherwere part

of an activebioticandgeologiclandscapeaswell ashaving

connectionswith otherNeolithic communitiesboth local

and distant.Of particular

communi-

in domes-

tic architectureand other settlementfeatures:the acquisi-

tion, working, use, and final dispositionof variousraw

materials;

the internalsettlementchronology;andthe sub-

sistenceeconomy.At the sametime, it is necessaryto look

beyond the settlementto make comparisonswith nearby

contemporaneoussites and to reconstructthe prehistoric

landscapeandpatternsof landuse.

The analysisandinterpretationof the excavatedmateri-

interestis the impactthat the

Neolithic farmershad on theirhabitat,the persistenceof

thisimpactover time,andthe relationshipswiththe nearby

large settlementof Brzesc Kujawski,which the authors

investigatedbetween 1976 and 1984 (Boguckiand Gry-

giel 1983, 1993b; Grygieland Bogucki1981, 1986).

alsfromOsionkitakeplacewithintwo framesof reference.

The first perspective

ties in Europe.The secondperspective

JoxrnalofFieldArchaeolo,gy/Vol.

The Geography of EarlyFarmingSettlements

in CentralEurope

settlementssuch as Osbonkimay eventuallyshed some

light on thisquestion.

The settlementsof the firstfarmersof centralEurope,

defined as Hungary,the Czech lands, Poland, Germany,

Austria,andthe Beneluxcountries,spreadalongthe major

rivervalleys (Childe 1929; Bogucki and Grygiel 1993a:

403). Radiocarbondatesplacethisprocess,apparentlyone

of colonization,between7,500 and 7,000 yearsago. In-

itially,the Danubeandits tributarieswereimportantcorri-

dors,as the earlyfarmerssettledthe uplandzones covered

by loess soil, a finewind-depositedsedimentthatis excep-

tionallyfertile.Withinthe loess zone, farmingsettlement

spread to the headwatersof the riversystemsthat drain

northto the BalticandNorth Seas:the Elbe,Rhine,Oder,

and Vistula. In these uplands, Neolithic settlementsare

foundalongthe marginsof floodplainsof smallertributary

streams,takingadvantageof the combinationof the high

watertableandrichsoils.

Some of these earlyfarmingcommunitiesspreadout

onto the flatlowlandsof the North EuropeanPlain,espe-

ciallyalong the lower Oder and Vistularivers,where the

plain had been covered by the Weichselice sheet until

about20,000 yearsago. Here, therewas no loess;instead

the terrainwas characterizedby many differenttypes of

soilsanddottedwithlakesandbogs. The earliestNeolithic

farmerssought these lakebelts, perhapsagaindue to the

combination of moistureand fertility,when they estab-

lishedtheirsettlements.

Then, for abouta millenniumbetween7,000 and6,000

years ago, there was no substantialadvancein farming

settlement beyond the lower reachesof the Oder and

Vistulaand the loess areasof the lower Rhine and Maas

valleys.A frontierof sorts existed along the marginof

agriculturalcolonization.Furtherto the north, the Baltic

coastand southernScandinaviacontinuedto be settledby

hunter-gatherers who developed complex maritimeand

terrestrialadaptations(reflected,forinstance,in the ceme-

tery at Skateholmin southernSweden [Larsson1993]).

Osionkiis located on this northernfrontierof the initial

agricultural

PreviousResearchin North-CentralPoland

Since 1976, the authorshave conducted researchon

earlyfarmingsettlementsin a smallregionof north-central

Polandcenteredon the town of BrzescKujawski

took placeat

the sitesof BrzescKujawski3 and4, whichhad also been

investigated over 40 yearsearlierby KonradJazdzewski

(Jazdzewski1938). Jazdzewski'sexcavationsrevealedthe

presenceof a large settlementwith longhouses that had

unusual trapezoidalplans:20 or morem in length,narrow

at the northernend, and about 5-6 m wide at the south-

ern. Theywere constructedby digging a narrowbedding

trenchinto which posts were set aroundthe perimeterof

the house. Some houses had been rebuilt on the same

generallocationfouror five times.Amongthe houseswere

humanburials,often in a contractedpositionin smallpits

with gravegoods thatincludedornamentedbone armlets,

copperbeadsandplaques,andantleraxes.

The researchthatbeganin 1976 representeda continu-

ationof Jazdzewski's excavationswith modestgoals:1) to

establishan EarlyNeolithic chronology for the region,

supported by radiocarbondating;and 2) to recoverdata

on subsistence,including animalbones and carbonized

grain. The first goal was met through the radiocarbon

dating of 18 charcoalsamples and the constructionof a

detailed ceramictypology (Bogucki and Grygiel 1981;

Grygiel1986). A largesampleof animalbones and some

modestfindsof carbonizedgrainpermitteda studyof the

subsistenceeconomyof the inhabitantsof Brzesc Kujawski

(Bogucki 1982).

Two mainperiodsof Neolithicoccupationoccurredat

BrzescKujawski:

the firstbetweenca. 5400 and 5000 B.C.

by people of the LinearPotteryculture,and the second

betweenca. 4400 and4000 B.C., when the sitewassettled

by people of the Lengyel culture. The LinearPottery

settlersleft behind largepits filledwith debris,including

many cattle bones, but no gravesor substantialhouses,

while the Lengyel inhabitantswere the buildersof the

trapezoidallonghouses. The authors' research came to

focus on the Lengyel period of Neolithic occupation,

althoughthepioneerLinearPotteryphasecontinuedto be

colonizationof Europe.

It is probable that there was not a sharp boundary

between foragersand farmersacross this area. Instead,

small "islands"of agriculturalsettlementexisted among

the forestsand lakeswhichcontinuedto supportforaging

populationsforseveralcenturies.Eventually

the foragersof

the North EuropeanPlain adopted agricultureshortly

afterca. 4000 B.C. Indeed, the questionof how and why

agriculturewas adopted by the foragers of northern

Europeis an importantissuein Europeanprehistory,and

it is possible that the knowledge gained from farming

0t lnterest.

The fact that a substantialportion of the Neolithic

settlementat BrzescKujawskihad been excavatedin the

1930s posed a problem, for the earlierdata were not

recoveredwith the samedegreeof precisionandattention

to context that are now required to addressquestionsof

24, 1997 163

(Bogucki

and Grygiel 1983, 1993b; Grygiel and Bogucki 1981,

1986). Between1976 and 1984, excavations

in North-CentrglEarope/Gry,giel

and Bo,gacki

in 0.5 m contours}

showingglacial melavatervalleyto the northof the site andthe dead-icefeature)now a bog to the

south. Shadedareaindicatesapproximate

extentof Neolithicsettlement.

humanbehaviorand settlementorganizaiion.Thus, after

workat BrzescKujawskiendedin the early1980s, a search

beganfor a new Lengyelsettlementthathad not yet been

excavated.In 1985, a promisingone was located at Os-

tonki,about8 kmwest of BrzeAc Kujawski.

Setting, Geomorphology,and

ModernLand Use

The Neolithic site at Oslonki is situatedat 52°37'N,

18°48'E at an elevationof approximately90 m asl. It lies

on a fingerof land between 100-200 m wide definedon

the north by a shallowvalleyrunningfrom west to east,

and on the south by a smalloval depression (FIG. 2). Both

theselandformsarerelicsof the Weichselglaciation,which

covered this area until approximately20,000 yearsago.

The valleynorth of the site is a smallsub-ice meltwater

channel that connects to a major sub-ice channel, the

Bachorzavalley,approximately4 km to the east. Such

sub-ice channelsare common geomorphologicalfeatures

in manypartsofthe Polishlowlands (Niewiarowski1988),

and in the BrzescKujawski-OslonkiareaearlyNeolithic

settlementis virtuallyalwaysassociatedwith such valleys.

Duringthe Neolithic,brooksor intermittentstreams,pos-

sibly conneciing chainsof smalllakes,would have been

found in most of these valleys They would have been

obviousroutesof communicationand theirmarginspro-

vided some of the few "energy-subsidized"habitats

(Odum 1983) in the flatlowlandterrain,wheresoil nutri-

ents would have been refreshedthrough flooding and

slopewash.The depressionto the southof the siteis alsoa

glacial landform,probablya kettle-hole caused by the

strandingand eventualmeltingof a blockof ice fromthe

retreatlnglce ront.

As was the case at Brzesc Kujawski)Osionkilies at the

boundarybetweentwo landscapezones. To the south lies

an expanse of the relativelyundifferentiatedground mo-

raine of the RadziejowPlain)with flat terrainand few

watercourses,

164 EarlyFgrmers

Figure2. Topographicalmapof the Neolithicsite at Oslonkiand its surroundings

lakes,or bogs. To the north lies a belt of

sub-ice channelsand other glacialand periglacialland-

forms,includingkettlelakes.The latterzone introducesan

elementof diversityand heterogeneityinto the flat land-

scape and can be inferredto have had a higher level of

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