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Discussed in the article, the multi-burial grave from Ilyatka (Staraya Sinyava district, Khmelnytskyi province, Ukraine) is the first feature of the Globular Amphora culture in the drainage basin of the upper Southern Bug to be subjected to comprehensive bioarchaeological and chronological analyses. The time when the remains of seven people (four men and three women) were deposited in it was determined to be 2700–2550 BC. The feature is part of a small site cluster on the upper Southern Bug, made up of 16 sites. The importance of the cluster follows from its location in one of the crucial communication hubs of the Ukrainian forest-steppe. This makes the cluster vital for the exploration of the forest-steppe settlement by Globular Amphora communities, their expansion towards the middle Dnieper area, and connections to Yamnaya culture groups.

Evidence of gold processing in the fortified site of Bruszczewo (Poland) is the first testimony of the production of gold artefacts in a domestic Early Bronze Age site of Central Europe. This paper highlights the potential of macrolithic tool ensembles as a key element for the recognition of metallurgical work processes. Moreover, it presents an optimised methodological approach to tackle the application of stone tools in metallurgical production, based on technological characterisation, use-wear analysis, portable X-ray fluorescence, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Finally, the absence of gold sources in Central Europe raises the question about the origin of the metal, constituting an especially striking issue, as gold was a raw material of restricted access. As Bruszczewo was one of the few enclosed Early Bronze Age sites north of the Central European Mountain Range, the patterning of metal processing (including gold) sheds light on the mode of the production of metal artefacts, apparently restricted to central sites of power, which controlled the communication trails. 47 Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

The genomic landscape of Stone Age Europe was shaped by multiple migratory waves and population replacements, but different regions do not all show the same patterns. To refine our understanding of the population dynamics before and after the dawn of the Neolithic, we generated and analyzed genomic sequence data from human remains of 56 individuals from the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Eneolithic across Central and Eastern Europe. We found that Mesolithic European populations formed a geographically widespread isolation-by-distance zone ranging from Central Europe to Siberia, which was already established 10 000 years ago. We also found contrasting patterns of population continuity during the Neolithic transition: people around the lower Dnipro Valley region, Ukraine, showed continuity over 4 000 years, from the Mesolithic to the end of Neolithic, in contrast to almost all other parts of Europe where population turnover drove this cultural change, including vast areas of Central Europe and around the Danube River.

Due to postmortem DNA degradation, most ancient genomes sequenced to date have low depth of coverage, preventing the true underlying genotypes from being recovered. Genotype imputation has been put forward to improve genotyping accuracy for low-coverage genomes. However, it is unknown to what extent imputation of ancient genomes produces accurate genotypes and whether imputation introduces bias to downstream analyses. To address these questions, we downsampled 43 ancient genomes, 42 of which are high-coverage (above 10x) and three constitute a trio (mother, father and son), from different times and continents to simulate data with coverage in the range of 0.1x-2.0x and imputed these using state-of-the-art methods and reference panels. We assessed imputation accuracy across ancestries and depths of coverage. We found that ancient and modern DNA imputation accuracies were comparable. We imputed most of the 42 high-coverage genomes downsampled to 1x with low error rates (below 5%) and estimated higher error rates for African genomes, which are underrepresented in the reference panel. We used the ancient trio data to validate imputation and phasing results using an orthogonal approach based on Mendel’s rules of inheritance. This resulted in imputation and switch error rates of 1.9% and 2.0%, respectively, for 1x genomes. We further compared the results of downstream analyses between imputed and high-coverage genomes, notably principal component analysis (PCA), genetic clustering, and runs of homozygosity (ROH). For these three approaches, we observed similar results between imputed and high-coverage genomes using depths of coverage of at least 0.5x, except for African genomes, for which the decreased imputation accuracy impacted ROH estimates. Altogether, these results suggest that, for most populations and depths of coverage as low as 0.5x, imputation is a reliable method with potential to expand and improve ancient DNA studies.

Visuose Marijos Gimbutienės darbuose ir indėlyje į archeologijos istoriją buvo svarbiausia žemyno indoeuropeizacijos samprata. Ji sujungė įvairias archeologės interesų kryptis, atskleidė teorinius ir metodologinius jos tyrimų pagrindus. Šiame darbe primenama pati koncepcija ir jos raida, taip pat jos svarba Europos archeologijai. Šios koncepcijos, kurią metaforiškai galima apibūdinti kaip triadą: recepcija – atmetimas – atgaivinimas, dalys iliustruoja archeologijos transformacijas XX a. antroje pusėje ir pirmaisiais XXI a. dešimtmečiais. Reikšminiai žodžiai: Europa, stepių sritis, kalbos pokyčiai, archeologijos istorija. The theory of Indo-Europeanization of the continent can be seen as a focal point in all Marija Gimbutas’s work and in her role in the history of archaeology. This theory has combined various directions of her interests and revealed the theoretical and methodological foundations of her research. This paper recalls the theory itself and its development, as well as its importance for European archaeology. The vicissitudes of this theory, which can be metaphorically described as the triad: reception – rejection – revitalization, illustrate the transformations of archaeology in the second half of the 20th century and in the first decades of the 21st century. Keywords: Europe, steppe area, language changes, history of archaeology.

The article presents the history and the most important results of archaeological research on the so-called Prokopiak’s Mount at Opatowice in the Kujawy region. Archaeologists from the Adam Mickiewicz University conducted surveys and excavations there for several years - from 1983 to 1998. Remains of settlements and graves discovered on the hill come mainly from the 4 th and 3 rd mill. BC and represent several units of the archaeological taxonomy: the Funnel Beaker culture, the Globular Amphora culture, the Corded Ware culture, the Neman culture, and the Proto-Bronze group. Since 2006, a special series of monographs of individual sites has been published. To date, five volumes have been published, and more are being prepared. Thanks to meticulous investigations as well as comprehensive and multifaceted scientific analyzes, the Prokopiak’s Mount at Opatowice is one of the best-recognized micro-regions of Late Neolithic settlement in Kujawy and is a reference point for extensive comparative research. This applies, for example, to the local scale of absolute chronology, various components of material culture, forms of settlements and camps, ceremonial and funeral practices, as well as economic activities. 102 123 Treasures of Time: Research of the Faculty of Archaeology of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań

Significance We sequenced the genomes of 15 skeletons from a 5,000-y-old mass grave in Poland associated with the Globular Amphora culture. All individuals had been brutally killed by blows to the head, but buried with great care. Genome-wide analyses demonstrate that this was a large extended family and that the people who buried them knew them well: mothers are buried with their children, and siblings next to each other. From a population genetic viewpoint, the individuals are clearly distinct from neighboring Corded Ware groups because of their lack of steppe-related ancestry. Although the reason for the massacre is unknown, it is possible that it was connected with the expansion of Corded Ware groups, which may have resulted in violent conflict., The third millennium BCE was a period of major cultural and demographic changes in Europe that signaled the beginning of the Bronze Age. People from the Pontic steppe expanded westward, leading to the formation of the Corded Ware complex and transforming the genetic landscape of Europe. At the time, the Globular Amphora culture (3300–2700 BCE) existed over large parts of Central and Eastern Europe, but little is known about their interaction with neighboring Corded Ware groups and steppe societies. Here we present a detailed study of a Late Neolithic mass grave from southern Poland belonging to the Globular Amphora culture and containing the remains of 15 men, women, and children, all killed by blows to the head. We sequenced their genomes to between 1.1- and 3.9-fold coverage and performed kinship analyses that demonstrate that the individuals belonged to a large extended family. The bodies had been carefully laid out according to kin relationships by someone who evidently knew the deceased. From a population genetic viewpoint, the people from Koszyce are clearly distinct from neighboring Corded Ware groups because of their lack of steppe-related ancestry. Although the reason for the massacre is unknown, it is possible that it was connected with the expansion of Corded Ware groups, which may have resulted in competition for resources and violent conflict. Together with the archaeological evidence, these analyses provide an unprecedented level of insight into the kinship structure and social behavior of a Late Neolithic community.

Artykuł prezentuje serię datowań radiowęglowych ze stanowiska Złota-Gajowizna. Są to pierwsze dane chronometryczne dla najważniejszej nekropolii grupy centralnej kultury amfor kulistych. Dzięki specyfice odkrytych na stanowisku konstrukcji możliwe było skorygowanie datowania radiowęglowego za pomocą dendrochronologii. Zaproponowana został również nowa interpretacja organizacji przestrzennej cmentarzyska, która stała się punktem wyjścia do rozważań nad rytuałem pogrzebowym kultury amfor kulistych z Wyżyny Sandomierskiej. The paper presents a new series of absolute age determinations from the Złota-Gajowizna site. Those are the first chronometric data from the most important necropolis of the central group of the Globular Amphora culture. The obtained denrochronological data, which are unique for the sites of the Late Neolithic in Poland, made it possible to specify the results of the calibration. A new interpretation of the arrangement of the cemetery has been proposed, which is the starting point for determining the GAC funeral rite in the Sandomierz Upland.

This article presents the results of analyses of relics made out of wood that were discovered during the investigation of the Yampil Barrow Complex (Ukraine, Vinnitsa Oblast) in the period 2010-2015 in respect to the graves of Eneolithic communities, Yamnaya culture, Catacomb culture, Noua culture and the Iron Age. The research has documented a process of the selection of wood used in funerary rituals in the 4th to 2nd mill. BC and the choice of tree species present in stenothermal climax forests (Quercus sp., Fraxinus sp.).

This paper presents a newly developed model that links the destruction processes of wattle-and-daub houses and the internal chronology of sites. By examining the weight and spatial distribution of burned daub, our model explicates the relative chronological sequence of the structures and nearby associated features. A three-step analytical procedure allows for the specification and self-checking of model outcomes. We verify the model by its application to data from Mrowino site 3 (western Poland) and confirm its utility for re-assessing the sequence of Funnel Beaker culture settlement structures. The obtained results are confirmed by previous work detailing the stratigraphy of pits, the distribution and seriation of pottery and radiocarbon dating.

This paper is devoted to some questions from the prehistory of areas situated between two seas: the Balticin the north-west and the Black in the south-east. The territory in question is located between two big rivers –the Vistula and Dnieper. Despite many essential differences, in the 3rd millennium BC the areas between theVistula and Dnieper rivers were covered by a network of multi-directional circulation of peoples, cultural patternsand innovations. This particular set of movements gradually commanded an increasingly greater area,where agrarian societies as well as quasi-pastoral and early pastoral ones functioned. The intensity of theserelationships justifies using the name Baltic-Pontic contact space. In the 3rd mill. BC the territoriesbetween the Vistula and Dnieper rivers were coveredby a network of multi-directional circulation ofpeoples and cultural patterns, ideas and innovations.This particular set of movements graduallycommanded an increasingly greater area, whereagrarian societies as well as quasi-pastoral andearly pastoral ones functioned. In this context, itis possible to identify thanks to their presence,direct and indirect markers that indicate the riseof cultural and social transformations, as well aschanges that hitherto stable cultural boundariesunderwent. No doubt, this proved to be one of thesignificant foundation stones at the close of the 3rdand 2nd mill. BC for the reorganisation of culture asfar as the Baltic-Pontic region was concerned. An especially great challenge, of a Pan-Europeanrank, is posed by the question of relationsbetween Central European and Steppe societies,especially from the point of view of the originsof the CWC circle. For this question, the key areaappears to have been located between the Carpathians,the Western Bug and the Dniester or evenSouthern Bug rivers.

This paper presents the experiments with 14 C dating of two potsherds, which contained carbon dispersed rather homogeneously in their clay fabric. After AAA treatment, the potsherds still appeared to be contaminated with young carbon, presumably connected with humic acids. To make removal of humic acids more effective, we treated the sherds with HF acid of different concentration. The 14 C results obtained demonstrate that HF treatment indeed helps to remove humic contaminants, but it also mobilizes carbon bound to raw clay, which may make 14 C dates too old. We conclude therefore, that using a simple combination of HF and AAA treatment seems insufficient in reliable 14 C dating of carbon homogeneously dispersed in the volume of potsherds.

The article presents the present state of research on the general issue of the dniester region of cultural contacts between communities settling the Baltic and Pontic drainage basins . Some five domains of research shall be brought to discussion in which it is possible to see fresh opportunities for archaeological study, on the basis of ‘Yampil studies’ on dniester-Podolia (forest-steppe) barrow-culture ceremonial centres from the latter half of the 4th millennium and first half of the 3rd millennium BC . This relates to the peoples of the Eneolithic and the Early Bronze age . in terms of topogenesis, embracing the Pontic-Tripolye, Yamnaya and Catacomb cultures, as well as Globular amphora and Corded ware in central prehistoric Europe . This publication constitutes the fruits of the National Programme for the Development of the Humanities (grant no. 0108/NPH3/H12/82/2014).

Opatowice - Wzgórze Prokopiaka tom V poświęcony jest wynikom badań archeologicznych na Kujawach - przedstawia monografię stanowiska Opatowice 36. Wieloautorskie opracowanie zawiera wyniki analiz rozmaitych kategorii źródeł archeologicznych (obiektów nieruchomych, ceramiki, wyrobów krzemiennych, materiałów organicznych itp.) oraz interpretację ich wyników w aspekcie chronologicznym, przestrzennym, funkcjonalnym, osadniczym oraz kulturowym. Kolejny fragment Wzgórza ukazuje szczegółową historię wykorzystywania go przez grupy ludzkie od mezolitu po czasy nowożytne. Najbardziej intensywne użytkowanie obszaru stanowiska miało miejsce w okresie późnego neolitu, kiedy to osiedlały się tu grupy społeczności o różnym wyposażeniu materiałowym.

The age and properties of illuvial bands in sandy soils were determined using archaeological and radiocarbon methods at a neolithic archaeological site at Opatowice (Kujawy, central Poland). The results indicate that the formation of illuvial bands started not earlier than the beginning of the Subboreal period (4800-4700 BP). These bands cannot be treated as relics from the end of the Vistulian (Wisconsinan) glaciation as is suggested by some authors. The paleopedological analyses show that the illuvial bands were formed by pedogenic processes (a peculiar kind of lessivage).

Cet article presente les derniers resultats de la recherche sur la transition du Neolithique a l'âge du Bronze en Cujavie au 3eme millenaire av. J.-C., alors une des regions d'implantation et d'essor culturel les plus importantes de la plaine polonaise. Le modele des transformations culturelles elabore pour cette periode de la prehistoire repose sur deux theses principales, qui supposent une continuite des traditions neolithiques et leur survivance jusqu'au debut de l'âge du Bronze, ainsi que la coexistence de groupes d'heritage culturel different. Cet article caracterise egalement les unites culturelles identifiables pour la Cujavie du 3eme millenaire, soit la civilisation des Trichter-Becher tardive, la civilisation des Kugelamphoren classique et tardive, le Corde, une variante locale des groupes issus du Campaniforme (la culture d'Iwno), le groupe de Dobre, ainsi que les groupes des forets de l'Europe orientale. Les auteurs presentent les arguments soutenant les deux theses avancees et mettent l'accent sur les emprunts reciproques faits dans le domaine de la culture materielle et des coutumes. Ils ont egalement fait une analyse critique de la serie des datations au carbone 14.

Biomarker and stable isotopic analysis of lipid residues from perforated pottery vessels from sixth millennium bc Europe are consistent with these vessels having been used for making cheese, a low-lactose dairy product with digestion and storage advantages for the prehistoric lactose-intolerant farming communities. Dairying was an important innovation in early agriculture — despite the fact that the first dairy farmers were unable to metabolize lactose. One way of making milk more palatable to the lactose intolerant is to turn it into cheese, a process that involves straining the fat-rich curds from the lactose-containing whey. In this study Richard Evershed and colleagues report the presence of organic residues on pottery shards from enigmatic pottery vessels produced widely in settlements of the earliest farmers in northern Europe about 7,500 years ago. The vessels exhibit numerous millimetre-sized holes, which were postulated to be cheese strainers in 1984 by Peter Bogucki, a co-author on this current paper. That idea is now supported by the chemical evidence. The introduction of dairying was a critical step in early agriculture, with milk products being rapidly adopted as a major component of the diets of prehistoric farmers and pottery-using late hunter-gatherers1,2,3,4,5. The processing of milk, particularly the production of cheese, would have been a critical development because it not only allowed the preservation of milk products in a non-perishable and transportable form, but also it made milk a more digestible commodity for early prehistoric farmers6,7,8,9,10. The finding of abundant milk residues in pottery vessels from seventh millennium sites from north-western Anatolia provided the earliest evidence of milk processing, although the exact practice could not be explicitly defined1. Notably, the discovery of potsherds pierced with small holes appear at early Neolithic sites in temperate Europe in the sixth millennium bc and have been interpreted typologically as ‘cheese-strainers’10, although a direct association with milk processing has not yet been demonstrated. Organic residues preserved in pottery vessels have provided direct evidence for early milk use in the Neolithic period in the Near East and south-eastern Europe, north Africa, Denmark and the British Isles, based on the δ13C and Δ13C values of the major fatty acids in milk1,2,3,4. Here we apply the same approach to investigate the function of sieves/strainer vessels, providing direct chemical evidence for their use in milk processing. The presence of abundant milk fat in these specialized vessels, comparable in form to modern cheese strainers11, provides compelling evidence for the vessels having being used to separate fat-rich milk curds from the lactose-containing whey. This new evidence emphasizes the importance of pottery vessels in processing dairy products, particularly in the manufacture of reduced-lactose milk products among lactose-intolerant prehistoric farming communities6,7.

Objective: We aim to identify maternal genetic affinities between the Middle to Final Neolithic (3850–2300 BC) populations from present-day Poland and possible genetic influences from the Pontic steppe.Materials and methods: We conducted ancient DNA studies from populations associated with Złota, Globular Amphora, Funnel Beaker, and Corded Ware cultures (CWC). We sequenced genomic libraries on Illumina platform to generate 86 complete ancient mitochondrial genomes. Some of the samples were enriched for mitochondrial DNA using hybridization capture.Results: The maternal genetic composition found in Złota-associated individuals resembled that found in people associated with the Globular Amphora culture which indicates that both groups likely originated from the same maternal genetic background. Further, these two groups were closely related to the Funnel Beaker culture-associated population. None of these groups shared a close affinity to CWC-associated people. Haplogroup U4 was present only in the CWC group and absent in Złota group, Globular Amphora, and Funnel Beaker cultures.Discussion: The prevalence of mitochondrial haplogroups of Neolithic farmer origin identified in Early, Middle and Late Neolithic populations suggests a genetic continuity of these maternal lineages in the studied area. Although overlapping in time – and to some extent – in cultural expressions, none of the studied groups (Złota, Globular Amphora, Funnel Beaker), shared a close genetic affinity to CWC-associated people, indicating a larger extent of cultural influence from the Pontic steppe than genetic exchange. The higher frequency of haplogroup U5b found in populations associated with Funnel Beaker, Globular Amphora, and Złota cultures suggest a gradual maternal genetic influx from Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Moreover, presence of haplogroup U4 in Corded Ware groups is most likely associated with the migrations from the Pontic steppe at the end of the Neolithic and supports the observed genetic distances.

SummarySeveral major migrations and population turnover events during the later Stone Age (after c. 11,000 cal. BP) are believed to have shaped the contemporary population genetic diversity in Eurasia. While the genetic impacts of these migrations have been investigated on regional scales, a detailed understanding of their spatiotemporal dynamics both within and between major geographic regions across Northern Eurasia remains largely elusive. Here, we present the largest shotgun-sequenced genomic dataset from the Stone Age to date, representing 317 primarily Mesolithic and Neolithic individuals from across Eurasia, with associated radiocarbon dates, stable isotope data, and pollen records. Using recent advances, we imputed >1,600 ancient genomes to obtain accurate diploid genotypes, enabling previously unachievable fine-grained population structure inferences. We show that 1) Eurasian Mesolitic hunter-gatherers were more genetically diverse than previously known, and deeply divergent between the west and the east; 2) Hitherto genetically undescribed hunter-gatherers from the Middle Don region contributed significant ancestry to the later Yamnaya steppe pastoralists; 3) The genetic impact of the transition from Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to Neolithic farmers was highly distinct, east and west of a “Great Divide” boundary zone extending from the Black Sea to the Baltic, with large-scale shifts in genetic ancestry to the west. This include an almost complete replacement of hunter-gatherers in Denmark, but no substantial shifts during the same period further to the east; 4) Within-group relatedness changes substantially during the Neolithic transition in the west, where clusters of Neolithic farmer-associated individuals show overall reduced relatedness, while genetic relatedness remains high until ~4,000 BP in the east, consistent with a much longer persistence of smaller localised hunter-gatherer groups; 5) A fast-paced second major genetic transformation beginning around 5,000 BP, with Steppe-related ancestry reaching most parts of Europe within a 1,000 years span. Local Neolithic farmers admixed with incoming pastoralists in most parts of Europe, whereas Scandinavia experienced another near-complete population replacement, with similar dramatic turnover-patterns also evident in western Siberia; 6) Extensive regional differences in the ancestry components related to these early events remain visible to this day, even within countries (research conducted using the UK Biobank resource). Neolithic farmer ancestry is highest in southern and eastern England while Steppe-related ancestry is highest in the Celtic populations of Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall. Overall, our findings show that although the Stone-Age migrations have been important in shaping contemporary genetic diversity in Eurasia, their dynamics and impact were geographically highly heterogeneous.

Archaeological site no. 3 at Mrowino is located on the Polish Lowland, in the Greater Poland region. It was excavated from 1973 until 1980. The excavation produced very rich movable finds, with the core of them being formed by Funnel Beaker culture (FBC) ceramics. The collections hold over 37,500 FBC pottery shards and several intact or reconstructed vessels. The vast majority of pottery comes from an FBC settlement dated to 3300-3150 BC. The pottery set includes vessels of clear Baden culture connections. For the mineral-ogical and petrographic study, 40 samples were selected to identify mineral and rock components of the ceramic body and compare the ways of raw-material preparation. In the studied samples, boulder clay in all probability was used to make the vessels. All studied samples were made from clay with grog and a small amount of sand as temper. In addition, several samples contained igneous rock crumbs. To find out if this was a deliberate or accidental admixture, it is necessary to carry out further research.