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The area of the Vistula is rich in deposits of several kinds of flint that were widely used in prehistoric times: ‘chocolate’, grey white-spotted, Jurassic-Krakow, striped (banded), and on its eastern borders, Volhynian. The differentiation of these flint types and determination of their characteristic features can be achieved by applying mineralogical studies. Samples of flint from Poland and Ukraine were collected in flint outcrops and deposits used by prehistoric communities from the Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age and analysed to determine distinguishing characteristics. The mineralogical research focused on the accessory minerals present in the flint samples. The most interesting and useful minerals recognized are apatites, and phosphates of rare earth elements. Their chemical composition is variable and characteristic for samples from different outcrops. The authors discuss the results of chemical analyses of the phosphates of flints from different geological formations. These analytical findings allow the determination of the diagnostic features of the raw materials that were used in this part of Europe by prehistoric communities.

Thirteen stone artefacts were discovered during excavations at the Pasym stronghold. Twelve were made of flint (Cretaceous flint of the erratic Baltic and Pomeranian varieties), and one of sandstone. They were not found in their primary contexts, but in early medieval features and deposits. The analysed items were made of local raw material of postglacial origin. Ten specimens were made of Cretaceous erratic Baltic flint, and one of Pomeranian flint. In the case of one axehead fragment, it was not possible to identify the raw material from which it was made. The assemblage of 11 flint artefacts comprises blades, flakes, fragments thereof and debitage. Most of them show signs of having been produced by the bipolar technique. Two pieces show evidence of having been removed from an opposed-platform core, possibly pointing to a Palaeolithic presence at this site. The blade of a fragmented axehead probably attests terminal Neolithic activity.

Soil geochemical prospecting is becoming an increasingly important part of archaeological research. Therefore, it is possible to determine the location of various archaeological facilities that no longer exist in the study region. In this study, a morphological analysis of the “Stara Góra” deposit in Radzimowice (Lower Silesia, Poland) was performed using LiDAR DTM (light detection and ranging digital terrain model) images and historical data that describe mining in the vicinity of Radzimowice. This method identified numerous remains of centuries-old mining and metallurgical activity. The data collected were used to create a map of arsenic soil concentrations in this area. The map helped point to the exact locations of the old ore-processing facilities. Geochemical mapping was performed on a 20 × 20-m grid at a sampling depth of approximately 0.2 m. The samples were analysed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (XRF-EDS). The highest concentrations of this element occurred near the arsenic calciner and related dumps, as well as near dumps created during extraction from the Arnold shaft. In summary, in this article, we present the possibility of using a geochemical map of arsenic concentrations in soils supported by LiDAR data for archaeological purposes.

The discovery of previously unknown chocolate flint outcrops in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (only the second known area after that in the Holy Cross Mountains) has undermined our seemingly solid knowledge of the prehistoric economy, which is based on the distribution pattern of this important raw material. The authors present new interdisciplinary research focused on the prehistoric mining of chocolate flint in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, the distribution of chocolate flint artefacts within the Upland and beyond, and methods to distinguish this material from the Holy Cross Mountains chocolate flint.

Researches on prehistoric flint mines are currently widely developing, as they allow a deep insight into the past economy, early industry, and the network of trading routes and inter-regional contacts. In the territory of Poland and in general, Central Europe, one of the most important flint raw materials was an Upper Jurassic chert, so-called chocolate flint. In this paper are presented preliminary results of the research of chocolate flint mine in Poręba Dzierżna, site 24 (Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, southern Poland). The outcrop, and anthropogenic relief indicating the activity of prehistoric miners, were discovered in 2013. Recently excavations undertaken on the site recorded the remains of mining shafts, spoil heaps, and rich traces of workshops. The deposits of chocolate flint were previously known only in the Holy Cross Mountains, 130 km to the NE. The research undertaken has therefore a significant impact on the existing interpretations related to the extraction, use, and distribution of chocolate flint by prehistoric communities in Central Europe.

This paper reports the results of non-destructive energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis of 186 obsidian artifacts from eight archaeological sites attributable to the Alföld Linear Pottery Culture (c. 5600-4900 cal BC). This is the largest instrument-based study yet conducted and reported for Alföld Linear Pottery Culture (ALPC) artifacts from Slovakia, where ALPC chipped lithic assemblages are almost entirely composed of obsidian items. Results show that all obsidian artifacts analyzed were manufactured exclusively from a volcanic glass of the Carpathian 1 chemical type, the source of which has been localised in Slovakia. This chemical variety of obsidian appears to have been the most important volcanic glass used by prehistoric communities in East-Central Europe during the Neolithic.

Eighty-six obsidian artifacts from twenty Paleolithic and Mesolithic archaeological sites in Poland were analyzed using non-destructive energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis and assigned to parent geological obsidian source (chemical type). Results of the study— the first country-wide survey of its kind—support the conclusion that the geological source of obsidian remained largely unchanged for thousands of years, that obsidian use appears to have been minimal throughout the Paleolithic and Mesolithic regardless of distance to source, that obsidian artifacts were used to perform the same functions as their non-obsidian (flint and radiolarite) counterparts, and that the distinct visual properties of volcanic glass may have contributed to its recognition as unique and exotic in different social contexts.

Chocolate silicites from the Świetokrzyskie (Holy Cross) Mountains in south-central Poland were widely used for stone tool production from Middle Palaeolithic times to the Early Iron Age. Their presence extends beyond Poland into lithic assemblages from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and eastern Austria. Outcrops of this material are situated within a narrow strip of Mesozoic (Upper Jurassic) sediments at the northeastern footslopes of the Holy Cross Mountains. Attempts of a raw material characterisation were repeatedly undertaken, however, a clear differentiation of the visually defined subvarieties was never achieved. For the present study, we applied the Multi-Layered Chert Sourcing Approach (MLA) by combining macroscopic, microscopic and geochemical analyses using Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to samples from five chocolate silicite deposits in order to characterise the materials and to assess the potential of a source differentiation. Secondly, we included chert samples from Sąspow near Krakow for differentiation on a larger scale. Our results illustrate that a source separation of Holy Cross Mountains chocolate silicites is possible to a certain extent – there are limitations due to their geographic proximity and the resulting similar geologic genesis environments. However, our study showed clear possibilities to differentiate chocolate silicites from Jurassic-Krakow silicites based on characteristic microfossil inclusions and trace element contents.

The paper presents the preliminary results of petrographic and geochemical analyses of erratic flint found throughout present-day Poland. Three different methods have been applied: electron probe micro analysis (EPMA), scanning electron method (SEM) and energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry. The results of the EPMA and SEM analyses of erratic flint have revealed a largely homogeneous mineral composition, which suggests that mineral composition will be of limited utility in in distinguishing erratic flint. However, EDXRF analysis of a small sample of erratic flint has identified differences in calcium (Ca) and iron (Fe) content between and among samples of erratic and ‘chocolate’ flint but a much larger sample of erratic flint specimens needs to be analysed to determine the range of chemical composition they contain.

The paper presents the initial results of energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometric analysis of ‘chocolate’ flint from outcrops located on the northeastern slopes of the Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross) Mountains in central Poland. EDXRF analysis shows that the composition of certain major and minor elements allow us to distinguish between and among some varieties of ‘chocolate’ flint. EDXRF analysis also was undertaken on other flints know from Poland (Jurassic-Cracow; Gray-white spotted; Striped Flint), providing a geochemical baseline for instrumental identification of these flints in archaeological sites.

W artykule zawarto wstepne wyniki analiz geochemicznych i palinologicznych krzemienia „czekoladowego” z kopalni Wierzbica „Zele”, pow. Radom.

The problems associated with Mątwy cultural component function in the Polish archaeological literature for over twenty years. Currently there is no coherent view on the issue of origin „storeaked-comb-shaped” ornamentation and its relationship with the Funnel Beaker culture. Further Funnel Beaker culture settlement were discovered during rescue excavations carried out in connection with the construction of the A1 motorway, at site 12 Szynych, Grudziadz district, site 13 Szynych, Grudziadz district and site 31 Lisewo, Chelmno district (fi g. 2, 3, 4; tab. 1). Results allow us to discuss the origin and chronology of Mątwy cultural component. In 1981 A. Kośko published his work about Mątwy cultural component group and he related it genesis with culture from „Black Sea steppe-subtaiga zone” (Kośko 1981, p. 5). Since that time a lot of polemical voices appeared in the literature. Some archaeologist undermine the relationships Mątwy cultural component with trypole culture (Jastrzebski 1984, pp. 176–184), others generally indicate origins of this type of material pointing with the influenced from the Subneolithic cultures, like from Narva culture (Kukawka 1984, pp. 7–10; 1989, pp. 3–27; 1991a; 1991b, pp. 139–161; 1997; 2001, pp. 75–83). In 2001 M. Daszkiewicz and D. Prinke suggested the possibility of separately treatment Mątwy cultural component and FBC (Daszkiewicz, Prinke 2001, pp. 121–129). According to the chronology of Funnel Beaker culture for Kujawy and the result of the analysis of pottery (tab. 3) from settlements: site 12 at Szynych (fig. 5–7) and site 31 at Lisewo (fig. 10–12) be associated with stage IIIA (periodization for Kujawy), which is 3900–3650 years cal. BC (3200–2900 conv. bc) (Kukawka 2001, p. 79). However settlement at site 13 at Szynych (fig. 8, 9) can be associated with phase IIB (periodization for Kujawy), or 4000–3750 years cal. BC (3300–3000 conv. bc) (tab. 2; Kukawka 2001, p. 79). Summarize represented settlements according to results of technological and stylistic analysis of pottery should be placed in stage IIB and IIIA of Funnel Beaker culture chronology. Existing concepts relating to the genesis and chronology of Mątwy cultural component are mutually exclusive. Analyzed settlements can be placed in each of the aforementioned hypotheses, only the concept of dating of emergence and development of Mątwy cultural component proposed by A. Kośko, which is indicating a delay Chelmno Land and Greater Poland in relations to Kujawy in this process, is necessary to be re-verified.

International audience; Twenty-five years of experience in excavating flint mines allow us to give a methodological overview about sites char-acterized by the sheer depth of some structures, the often vast extensions of the deposits and the specialised activities that were carried out there. By comparing operations undertaken up to fifteen years apart, the importance of accurate stratigraphic and planimetric records becomes clear. Palaeoenvironmental approaches probably have to be multiplied in view of the results ob-tained when sampling is systematic. If the use of a mechanical excavator is inescapable to create large geological cross sections and allows the excavation of a large number of structures, an agreement emerges to consider that its exclusive use should be avoided. It should be regarded as a complement to be employed once a certain number of previous stages have been completed