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The oxygen present in a human organism comes from numerous sources, but the major factor that causes variation in the isotopic composition of this element in a tissue is available drinking water. The isotopic ratio of oxygen in an organism's tissue, including that found in bones and teeth, reflects the isotopic oxygen composition typical for the area where a given individual developed and lived. Of particular interest with regard to this issue were a series of skeletons from the multiple grave discovered at the Funnel Beaker-Baden settlement at Bronocice (southern Poland). The question therefore arose whether the specimens buried in this grave were part of the local community. The oxygen isotope level was established using apatite isolated from bones or teeth. A femur and root dentine samples taken from permanent teeth were subjected to oxygen isotope analysis. The oxygen isotope level of the site was established on the basis of local water precipitation and measurements taken from the oxygen isotope concentration in apatite samples isolated from the bones of animals co-occurring with the studied human group. It has been found that the oxygen isotope levels in the bones and dentine of almost all the analysed specimens from the excavated site at Bronocice were within the established range for the area's environment, providing evidence for their local origin. Thus, it can be assumed that the analysed group inhabiting the macrosettlement at Bronocice during the Funnel Beaker phase of the Baden culture was most probably of local origin., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The human distal thumb phalanx from the earlier Upper Paleolithic of Obłazowa Cave, southern Poland, exhibits features of its palmar surface that align it morphologically principally with early modern humans. These aspects include the configurations of the proximal palmar fossa, the flexor pollicis longus tendon insertion, the proximal margin of the palmar apical tuft, and especially its low ulnar deviation angle. If it is assumed that it possessed the pollical phalangeal length proportions of an early modern human, it would exhibit modest base and tuft breadths. However, given Late Pleistocene archaic-modern contrasts in relative pollical phalanx lengths, the isolated nature of the phalanx prevents secure assessment of its radioulnar interphalangeal articular and apicaltuft hypertrophy. Similar constraints apply to the assessment of other Pleistocene Homo pollical phalanges.