Tracing the Past: Microwear Analysis of Stone and Shell Beads Unearthed in Early Neolithic Burials at Samborzec, Poland

Authors

  • Aldona Kurzawska Faculty of Archaeology Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0215-046X
  • Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka Faculty of Archaeology Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5913-1177
  • Małgorzata Mrozek-Wysocka Institute of Geology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8194-4331
  • Tomasz Oberc Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23858/SA/76.2024.1.3585

Keywords:

Neolithic, Spondylus, marble beads, LBK burials, cinnabar, red pigment

Abstract

This paper presents a thorough analysis of ornaments discovered in two Neolithic burials at Samborzec Site 1, providing valuable insights into their origins and significance. The artefacts, retrieved over six decades ago in the burials of a woman and child, have undergone extensive examination, including raw material identification, microwear studies, and the analysis of red residues found on their surfaces. While most of the ornaments concerned were crafted from marble, two beads were identified as Spondylus shells. Chemical analysis of residues, primarily found on the marble ornaments, revealed the presence of cinnabar, a red pigment of foreign origin. The remarkable similarities in ornaments between the investigated burials strongly suggest the association of both with LBK communities. The presented studies offer valuable insights into their object biographies, from the acquisition of raw materials from distant regions through their manufacture, assembly, and prolonged use as personal items. In this context, our research emphasizes their belonging to a shared Neolithic tradition in Europe.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Antonelli F. and Lazzarini L. 2015. An updated petrographic and isotopic reference database for white marbles used in antiquity. Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali 26, 399-413. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-015-0423-4

Baines R. K. 2012. The Social Significance of Neolithic Stone Bead Technologies at Çatalhöyük. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).

Bajnóczi B., Schöll-Barna G., Kalicz N., Siklósi Z., Hourmouziadis G. H., Ifantidis F., Kyparissi-Apostolika A., Pappa M., Veropoulidou R. and Ziota C. 2013. Tracing the source of Late Neolithic

Spondylus shell ornaments by stable isotope geochemistry and cathodoluminescence microscopy. Journal of Archaeological Science 40/2, 874-882. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2012.09.022

Banaś M. and Mochnacka K. 1986. The two uranium deposits in the Polish part of the Sudety Mountains. In H. Fuchs (ed), Vein Type Uranium Deposits (Report of the Working Group on Uranium

Geology Organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency, International Atomic Energy Agency – Technical Document), 361. Wien: International Atomic Energy Agency, 335-357.

Beck H. C. 1928. Classification and Nomenclature of Beads and Pendants. Archaeologia 77, 1-76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261340900013345

Bonnardin S. 2009. La parure funéraire au Néolithique ancien dans les Bassins parisien et rhénan. Rubané, Hinkelstein et Villeneuve Saint Germain (= Société Préhistorique Française, Mémoire 49). Paris: Société Préhistorique Française.

Borić D. 2015. Mortuary practices, body and persons in the Neolithic and early-middle Copper Age of South-East Europe. In Ch. Flower, J. Harding and D. Hofmann (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Neolithic Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 926-957.

Brilli M., Giustini F., Conte A. M., Lapuente P., Quarta G., Royo H., Scardozzi G. and Belardi G. 2015. Petrography, geochemistry, and cathodoluminescence of ancient white marble from quarries in the southern Phrygia and northern Caria regions of Turkey: Considerations of provenance discrimination. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 4, 124-142. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.08.036

Budziszewski J. and Włodarczak P. 2009. Kultura pucharów dzwonowatych na Wyżynie Małopolskiej. Kraków: Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk.

Burchard B. and Włodarczak P. 2012. Złota culture graves at site 1 in Samborzec, Sandomierz District. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 64, 269-310.

Burgert P. and Přichystal A. 2022. Marble as a material for the production of bracelets in Neolithic Central Europe. Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 52, 27-40.

Chapman J. and Gaydarska B. 2015. Spondylus Gaederopus/Glycymeris exchange network in Neolithic and Chalcolithic. In Ch. Flower, J. Harding and D. Hofmann (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Neolithic Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 639-656.

Choyke A. M. and Bar-Yosef Mayer D. 2017. Introduction. In D. Bar-Yosef Mayer, C. Bonsall and A. M. Choyke (eds), Not just for show. The archaeology of beads, beadwork and personal ornaments. Oxford: Oxbow Books, UK, 1-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv13pk763.4

Czekaj-Zastawny A. 2016. Hunter-gatherers and the first farmers. In P. Włodarczak (ed.), 5500–2000 BC The Past Societies. Polish lands from the first evidence of human presence to the Early Middle Ages 2, ed. P. Urbańczyk. Warszawa: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences, 107-124.

Czekaj-Zastawny A., Mitura P. and Valde-Nowak P. 2009. Kultura ceramiki wstęgowej rytej. In A. Czekaj-Zastawny (ed), Obrządek pogrzebowy kultur pochodzenia naddunajskiego w neolicie Polski południowo-wschodniej (5600/5500-2900 BC). Kraków: Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 175-216.

Czekaj-Zastawny A. and Oberc T. 2021. Chronologia osady. In A. Czekaj-Zastawny, A. Rauba-Bukowska and A. Kukułka (eds), Najstarsza osada kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej z terenu Polski Gwoździec stan. 2, gm. Zakliczyn. Kraków: Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 313-334.

Czerniak L. 2012. After the LBK. Communities of the 5th millennium BC in north-central Europe. In R. Gesler and V. Becker (eds), Mitteleuropa im 5. Jahrtausend vor Christus. Beiträge zur Internationalen Konferenz in Münster 2010. Neolithikum und ältere Metallzeiten. Studien und Materialien 1. Berlin: Lit Verlag Dr. W. Hopf, 151-174.

d’Errico F. and Stringer Ch. B. 2011. Evolution, Revolution or Saltation Scenario for the Emergence of Modern Cultures? Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences 66(1567), 1060-9. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0340 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0340

Domingo I., Garcia-Borja P. and Roldan C. 2012. Identification, processing and use of red pigments (hematite and cinnabar) in the Valencian Early Neolithic (Spain). Archaeometry 54/5, 868-892. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4754.2011.00650.x

Falci C. G., Cuisin J., Delpuech A., Van Gijn A. and Hofman C. L. 2018. New Insights into Use-Wear Development in Bodily Ornaments Through the Study of Ethnographic Collections. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 26, 755-805. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-018-9389-8

Gajić-Kvaščev M., Stojanović M. M., Šmit Ž., Kantarelou V., Karydas A. G., Šljivar D., Milovanović D. and Andrić V. 2012. New evidence for the use of cinnabar as a colouring pigment in the Vinča culture. Journal of Archaeological Science 39/4, 1025-1033. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.11.023

Gardelková-Vrtelová A. and Golej M. 2013. The necklace from the Strážnice site in the Hodonín district (Czech Republic). A contribution on the subject of Spondylus jewellery in the Neolithic. Documenta Praehistorica 40/1, 265-277. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.40.21

Gil G., Gunia P., Barnes J. D., Szymański M., Jokubauskas P., Kalbarczyk-Gil A. and Bagiński B. 2020. Origin of Talc and Fe-Ti-V Mineralization in the Kletno Deposit (the Śnieżnik Massif, SW Poland). Minerals 10/1, 13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/min10010013

Gorelick L. and Gwinnett A. J. 1978. Ancient seals and modern science. Expedition 20(2), 38.

Gorelick L. and Gwinnett A. J. 1990. Innovative lapidary craft techniques in Neolithic Jarmo. Archaeomaterials 4/1, 25-32.

Groman-Yaroslavski I. and Bar-Yosef Mayer D. E. 2015. Lapidary Technology Revealed by Functional Analysis of Carnelian Beads from the Early Neolithic Site of Nahal Hemar Cave, Southern Levant. Journal of Archaeological Science 58, 77-88. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2015.03.030

Grygiel R. 2008. Neolit i początki epoki brązu w rejonie Brześcia Kujawskiego i Osłonek. T. II. Cz. 3. Środkowy neolit. Grupa brzesko-kujawska kultury lendzielskiej. Łódź: Fundacja Badań Archeologicznych Imienia Profesora Konrada Jażdżewskiego, Muzeum Archeologiczne i Etnograficzne w Łodzi.

Hedges R., Bentley R. A., Bickle P., Cullen Ph., Dale Ch., Fibiger L., Hamilton J., Hofmann D. Nowell G. and Whittle A. 2013. The supra-regional perspective. In P. Bickle and A. Whittle (eds), The first farmers of Central Europe. Diversity in LBK lifeways. Oxford, Oakville: Oxbow Books, 343-384.

Herz N. 1992. Provenance determination of Neolithic to Classical Mediterranean marbles by stable isotopes. Archaeometry 34/2, 185-194. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4754.1992.tb00491.x

Jastrzębski M. 2005. The tectonometamorphic evolution of the marbles in the Lądek-Śnieżnik Metamorphic Unit, West Sudetes. Geologia Sudetica 37, 1-26

Jeunesse C. 1997. Pratiques funéraires au Néolithique ancien. Sépultures et nécropoles danubiennes (5500–4900 av. J.-C.). Paris: Éditions Errance.

Kadrow S. 2008. Gender-differentiated burial rites in Europe of the 5th and 4th millennium BC: attempts at traditional archaeological interpretation. Analecta Archaeologica Ressoviensia 3, 49-95.

Kamieńska J. 1963. Field book of the excavated site 1 in Samborzec [manuscript in the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology PAS].

Kamieńska J. 1964a. Osady kultur wstęgowych w Samborcu. In S. Nosek (ed), Studia i materiały do badań nad neolitem Małopolski. Wrocław, Warszawa, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 77-189.

Kamieńska J. 1964b. Sprawozdanie z badań archeologicznych w Samborcu, pow. Sandomierz, w 1962 roku. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 16, 35-38.

Kamieńska J. and Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa A. 1970. The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age settlement at Samborzec, in the Sandomierz district. Archaeologia Polona 12, 223-246.

Kenoyer J. M. 1991. Ornament styles of the Indus Valley tradition: Evidence from recent excavations at Harappa, Pakistan. Paléorient 17/2, 79-98. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/paleo.1991.4553

Knaf A., Guzzo Falci C., Habiba Toftgaard C. J., Koornneef J. M., van Gijn A., Brandes U., Hofman C. L. and Davies G. R. 2022. A holistic provenance and microwear study of pre-colonial jade objects from the

Virgin Islands: Unravelling mobility networks in the wider Caribbean. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 41, 103223.

Koszela S. 1997. Petrogeneza marmurów z południowo-wschodniej części metamorfiku Śnieżnika (Sudety). Geologia Sudetica 30, 59-115.

Kościuk-Załupka J. 2023. Usage of ochre on the verge of neolithisation from the Near East to the Carpathian Basin. Oxford: Archaeopress Archaeology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32028/9781803273365

Krauss A. 1964. Grób kultury starszej ceramiki wstęgowej ze Szczotkowic, pow. Kazimierza Wielka. In S. Nosek (ed), Studia i Materiały do badań nad neolitem Małopolski. Wrocław, Warszawa, Kraków: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 69-76.

Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa A. 2008. Samborzec. Studium przemian ceramiki wstęgowej rytej. Wrocław: Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk.

Kurzawska A. and Sobkowiak-Tabaka I. 2020. Spondylus shells at prehistoric sites in Poland. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 72/2, 41-66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23858/SA/72.2020.2.1713

Kurzawska A., Sobkowiak-Tabaka I. and Jakubowski G. 2020. Miocene shells in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age burials in Poland. Geoarchaeology 35, 952-973. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21809

Kurzawska A. and Sobkowiak-Tabaka I. 2024. Uncovering the Tradition of Shell Ornaments in the Neolithic Poland. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 55, 104476. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104476

Maras A., Botticelli M. and Ballirano P. 2013. Archaeometric investigations on cinnabar provenance and origin by X-ray powder diffraction: preliminary data. International Journal of Conservation Science 4, 685-692.

Margarit M., Mirea P. and Radu V. 2017. Exploitation of aquatic resources for adornment and tool processing at Magura ‘Buduiasca’(‘Boldul lui Mos Ivanus’) Neolithic settlement (southern Romania). Quaternary International 472, 49-59. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2017.10.032

Micheli R. 2021. Similarities and Differences Between Italian Early Neolithic Groups: The Role of Personal Ornaments. Open Archaeology 7/1, 1274-1294. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2020-0194

Michera W. 1993. Uwagi o użytkowaniu czerwonego barwnika w polskim mezolicie i neolicie do około III tys. p.n.e. Światowit 37, 57-70.

Mioč U. B., Colomban Ph., Sagon G., Stojanović M. and Rosić A. 2004. Ochre decor and cinnabar residues in Neolithic pottery from Vinča, Serbia. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 35/10, 843-846. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jrs.1221

Mochnacka K. and Banaś M. 2000. Occurrence and genetic relationships of uranium and thorium mineralization in the Karkonosze Izera Block (the Sudety Mts, SW Poland). Annales Societcitis Geologorum Poloniae 70, 137-150.

Mozgała-Swacha M. and Murzyński T. 2017. Cmentarzysko kultury jordanowskiej ze stanowiska 10/11/12 w Domasławiu, gmina Kobierzyce, województwo dolnośląskie. In B. Gediga (ed), Cmentarzysko ludności kultury jordanowskiej w Domasławiu, pow. wrocławski. Badania na autostradzie A4, część XIV, zeszyt 19. Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk: Wrocław, 7-134.

Munsell® Soil Color Charts: Year 2000 Revised Washable Edition. New Winsor, NY: GretagMacbeth.

Nieszery N. 1995. Linearbandkeramische Gräberfelder in Bayern (= Internationale Archäologie 16). Espelkamp: Marie Leidorf.

Oberc T., Czekaj-Zastawny A. and Rauba-Bukowska A. 2022. Radiocarbon dating for the Linear Pottery culture from the territory of Poland. In M. Grygiel and P. Obst (eds), Walking among ancient trees. Studies in honour of Ryszard Grygiel and Peter Bogucki on the 45th anniversary of their research collaboration. Łódź: Wydawnictwo Fundacji Badań Archeologicznych Imienia Profesora Konrada Jażdżewskiego, 183-212.

Podborský V. 2002. Dvĕ pohřebištĕ Neolitického lidu s Lineární Keramikou ve Vedrovicích na Moravĕ. Brno: Masarykovy univerzity.

Poggiali F., Buonincontri M. P., D’Auria A., Volante N. and Di Pasquale G. 2017. Wood selection for firesetting: First data from the Neolithic cinnabar mine of Spaccasasso (South Tuscany, Italy). Quaternary International 458, 134-140. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2017.06.028

Poppe G. T. and Goto Y. 2000. European Seashells. Vol 2. Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, Cephalopoda. Hackenheim: ConchBooks.

Přichystal A. 2000. Stone raw materials of Neolithic-Aeneolithic polished artefacts in the Czech Republic: The present state of knowledge (= Krystalinikum 26). Brno: Moravian Museum Brno, 119-136.

Přichystal A., Burgert P. and Gadas P. 2019. Marble from Neolithic quarries at the Bílý Kámen Hill near Sázava (Czech Republic) and its petrographic-geochemical characterization. Geological Quarterly 63/4, 811-821. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7306/gq.1503

Rigaud S., d’Errico F. and Vanhaeren M. 2015. Ornaments reveal resistance of North European Cultures to the spread of farming. PLoS One, e0121166, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121166. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121166

Rigaud S., Manen C. and García Martínez de Lagrán I. 2018. Symbols in motion: Flexible cultural boundaries and the fast spread of the Neolithic in the western Mediterranean. PLoS One 13(5), e0196488, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196488. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196488

Sakalauskaite J., Plesseraud L., Thomas J., Albéric M., Thoury M., Perrin J., Jamme F., Broussard C., Demarchi B. and Marin F. 2020. The shell matrix of the European thorny oyster, Spondylus gaederopus: microstructural and molecular characterization. Journal of Structural Biology 211/1, 107497. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsb.2020.107497

Schild R., Królik H., Tomaszewski A. J. and Ciepielewska E. 2011. Rydno. A Stone Age Red Ochre Quarry and Socioeconomic Center. A Century of Research. Warszawa: Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii PAN.

Séfèriadès M. L. 2010. Spondylus and long-distance trade in prehistoric Europe. In D. W. Anthony and J. Chi (eds), The lost world of old Europe. The Danube Valley, 5000-3500 BC. New York,

Princeton, Oxford: Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University, Princeton University Press, 179-186.

Siklósi Zs. 2013. Traces of Social Inequality during the Late Neolithic in the Eastern Carpathian Basin (= Dissertationes Pannonicae ex Instituto Archaeologico Universitatisde Rolando Eötvös nominatae Budapestinensis provenientes IV/3). Budapest: Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Archaeological Sciences.

Todorova H. 2002. Die Mollusken in den Gräberfeldern von Durankulak. In H. Todorova (ed), Durankulak, Band II. Die Prähistorischen Gräberfelder (Textteil). Sofia, Berlin: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, 177-186.

Van Gijn A. 2017. Bead Biographies from Neolithic Burial Contexts: Contributions from the Microscope. In D. Bar-Yosef Mayer, C. Bonsall and A. M. Choyke (eds), Not Just for Show: The Archaeology of Beads, Beadwork, and Personal Ornaments. Oxbow Books, Oxford, 103-114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv13pk763.11

Vitezović S. 2012. The white beauty – Starčevo culture jewellery. Documenta Praehistorica 39, 215-226. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.39.15

Vollmar K. 2009. Das grosse Buch der Farben. Krummwisch: Königs-furt-Urania Verlag GmbH.

Windler A. 2018. Der Austausch von Spondylus gaederopus in Europa zwischen 5500 und 5000 v. Chr.: eine ökonomische Analyse (= Der Anschnitt Beiheft 40). Bochum: Verlag Marie Leidorf. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46586/DBM.180

Windler A. 2019. The Use of Spondylus gaederopus during the Neolithic of Europe. Journal of Open Archaeology Data 7, 7. http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/joad.59 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/joad.59

Włodarczak P. 1999. Cmentarzysko w Samborcu, woj. świętokrzyskie na tle innych znalezisk kultury ceramiki sznurowej z Wyżyny Sandomierskiej. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 51, 119-144.

Woźny J. 2002. Symbole, wierzenia i rytuały „ludów leśnych” w pradziejach ziem polskich In W. Łysiak (ed.), II Ogólnopolska Konferencja pt. Las w kulturze polskiej: materiały z konferencji, Gołuchów 2001, t. 2. Poznań: Wydawnictwo „Eco”, 119-130.

Woźny J. 2007. Środowisko i wierzenia religijne. Czerwona ochra w rytuałach społeczeństw archaicznych. In A. Kowalczyk (ed.), Procesy i zachowania społeczne w przestrzeni geograficznej. Bydgoszcz: Wydawnictwo UKW, 101-121.

Downloads

Published

2024-10-14

How to Cite

Kurzawska, A., Sobkowiak-Tabaka, I., Mrozek-Wysocka, M., & Oberc, T. (2024). Tracing the Past: Microwear Analysis of Stone and Shell Beads Unearthed in Early Neolithic Burials at Samborzec, Poland. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne, 76(1), 309–334. https://doi.org/10.23858/SA/76.2024.1.3585

Issue

Section

Field Survey and Materials