A Ritual Feature with Bell Beaker Elements in a Late Neolithic Hunter- Gatherer Campsite in North-Eastern Poland

European Journal of Archaeology 24 (2) 2021, 226–248 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncsa/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the same Creative Commons licence is included and the original work is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use.

1 1 2 DARIUSZ MANASTERSKI ,KATARZYNA JANUSZEK ,ADAM WAWRUSIEWICZ 3 AND ALEKSANDRA KLECHA

1Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Poland

= = = = 2Podlaskie Museum, Bial = ystok, Poland 3South-Eastern Europe Research Centre, University of Warsaw, Poland

The ephemeral nature of religious practices and rituals makes them challenging to trace in the archaeological record of Late Neolithic hunter-gatherer communities in central and eastern Europe. A ritual feature with Bell Beaker elements discovered in north-eastern Poland, a region occupied by hunter- gatherer groups of the Neman cultural circle, is thus exceptional. Its syncretic character indicates its role as a harbinger of wider cultural change that led to the emergence in this region of the western group of the Bronze Age Trzciniec cultural circle.

Keywords: Late Neolithic, hunter-gatherers, ritual feature, Bell Beaker set, north-eastern Poland, Neman cultural circle, Trzciniec cultural circle

INTRODUCTION material evidence of their presence is sparse and scattered, and burial rites leave Rapid progress in scientific methods has no or few tangible archaeological traces. opened new vistas for research, putting an Groups from the Neman cultural circle array of modern analytical tools at the (sensu Manasterski, 2016: 21) in central service of archaeologists examining behav- and eastern Europe, still practising a iour that had previously been elusive. This hunter-gatherer mode of life in the Late is particularly true of ‘irrational’ practices, Neolithic, are such an example. They occu- such as religious ceremonies, which leave pied a region that was being penetrated in little if any evidence in the archaeological the Neolithic by groups of farmers and pas- record (e.g. Renfrew, 1994:50–53). The toralists, interactions with whom impacted issue is all the more important in the localculturalprocessesofthelocalpeople. case of ‘mute’ prehistoric communities, Site 6 at SupraslinPodlachia(́ Figures 1 such as hunter-gatherer groups, where the and 2A) constitutes one of the most

Copyright © European Association of Archaeologists 2020 doi:10.1017/eaa.2020.52 Manuscript received 13 February 2020, accepted 25 September 2020, revised 20 July 2020 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.40.219, on 24 Sep 2021 at 09:00:37, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2020.52 Manasterski et al. ‒ Ritual Feature in Late Neolithic Poland 227

Figure 1. Location of Site 6 in Suprasl.́ 1: Site 6 at Suprasl;́ 2: Borderland between western and eastern Europe; 3: Neman cultural circle; 4: Bell Beaker phenomenon (sources: Józwiak, 2003: map 8; Wawrusiewicz et al., 2015: fig. 5).

interesting recent central-eastern European Neolithization of north-eastern Poland, as archaeological discoveries relating to the both an inhibitor and a stimulator (Koskó nature of these cultural interactions, & Szmyt, 2004:81–82). It had serious including ritual practices consequences for the cultural make-up of Podlachia, or Podlasie in Polish, is a the region, which remained a zone occu- geographical and historical region in pied by hunter-gatherer societies up to the north-eastern Poland on the border with beginning of the Bronze Age in the early Belarus, part of the wider North Podlasie second millennium BC. Traces of Neolithic Plain, one of the westernmost regions of farming and pastoral cultures have been eastern Europe (Kondracki, 2002: 236). found in Podlachia, but not in quantities Podlachia is distinguished by its con- that would indicate that the economic tinental climate and forms a border zone model based on hunting and gathering between the Western and Eastern was significantly affected (Wawrusiewicz, European Plains, the former characterized 2011; Wawrusiewicz et al., 2015:15–16). by its Atlantic climate, the latter by its The communities of the Neman culture continental climate. Aleksander Koskó at Site 6 in Suprasĺ belonged to the sub- and Marzena Szmyt noted the key role Neolithic Neman cultural circle, which this distinction in climate played in the consists, apart from the classic Neman

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.40.219, on 24 Sep 2021 at 09:00:37, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2020.52 228 European Journal of Archaeology 24 (2) 2021

Figure 2. Suprasl,́ Site 6. A: Model of the relief around the town of Suprasĺ marking the location of the site; B: Site 6, excavated areas: trenches (1), stone hearth with ritual deposit Feature 30 (2), ephemeral shelter (3), domestic features (4), damaged area (5), Neman culture sherds (6), visualization

of sherd clusters and density (7) (sources: Kwiatkowski, 2015: fig. 1; Wawrusiewicz et al., 2015:

= = = = fig. 69). Reproduced by permission of the Podlachian Museum in Bial = ystok.

culture, of the Linin group in Masovia MATERIALS AND METHODS and the Ząbie-Szestno group in Masuria, both in central north-eastern Poland Materials (Manasterski, 2016: 21, fig. 2). These communities made pottery while still prac- The feature known as Feature 30 at Site 6 tising a hunting-gathering economy. In in Suprasĺ formed an integral part of a the Late Neolithic, they occupied the vast Late Neolithic settlement and ritual territories between the upper Pripet river complex (Figures 2B and 3; Wawrusiewicz and the Vistula, sporadically reaching the et al., 2015:90–94). It consists of a Notećand Oder rivers in western Poland hearth, within which a bag made of (Charnyavski, 2011a: 49; Józwiak, 2003: unidentified organic material containing 189–95, map 11; Manasterski, 2016: 19). an array of ecofacts and artefacts was Their material culture reveals Neolithic found. The only evidence of this ‘pouch’ cultural influences and an Early Bronze was a ring of darker sand surrounding the Age impact in its final phase, which contents (Figure 4B). would seem a natural consequence of The hearth (Figure 4A), which mea- human interaction. Ceramic vessels consti- sured 0.50 m in diameter, was constructed tute the chief evidence of cultural diffusion of pebbles. These stones were fire-cracked. in the Neman cultural circle (e.g. The deposit inside it, which must have Kempisty, 1973, 1989: 313–16; Józwiak, been contained in a bag, included yellow- 2003: 189ff.; Charnyavski, 2011b; ish sand distinct from the surrounding Manasterski, 2009:62–64, 2014a:41–53, sand matrix, heavily fragmented burnt 2014b), hence they are a key factor for bones, five small sherds of differently identifying the cultural components of ornamented ceramic vessels, a small piece groups influencing change. Other types of of metal plate with a thick patina, an archaeological evidence have yet to be amber pendant, and three flint tools. clearly defined (Józwiak, 2003:69–76, The yellow sand (Figure 4) was clearly 147, 151–53, 158–61; Manasterski, 2016: different from the surroundings in terms 19–21). Evidence of spiritual life in the of grain structure and homogeneity. It form of ceremonial or ritual features is must have come from elsewhere, from a uncommon (Wawrusiewicz et al., 2017: location yet to be identified. The bones 188). Feature 30 from Site 6 in Suprasĺ (presumed to be animal, but see below) (Figure 2B) is one such extremely rare mixed with it, as well as the ceramic example. The context and the finds assem- sherds, flint artefacts, and amber pendant blage, coupled with results from archaeo- suggest that it formed an integral part of metric studies, suggest unique activities the deposit. The bones were the only indicative of ritual practices. organic macro-remains recovered, consist- In the Early Bronze Age, alongside ing of a small quantity of heavily fragmen- other Late Neolithic and Early Bronze ted burnt bone weighing 39.6 g, the larger Age cultural units, including Bell Beaker fragments being cracked and deformed elements, the Neman cultural circle fed (Figure 5A). The strong fragmentation, into the formation of the western part of porosity and white colour indicate burning the Trzciniec cultural circle (sensu at high temperatures of around 900– Makarowicz, 2010: 437). This latter repre- 1000oC. Identification to species, possible sents the cultural community of the bor- only for a few larger fragments, deter- derland between western and eastern mined the presence of domestic animals, Europe (Makarowicz, 2010: 24, 387). i.e. cattle, goat/sheep, and pig (Gręzak,

Figure 3. Suprasl,́ Site 6. Ephemeral gully for shelter (1); stone hearth with ritual deposit Feature 30 (2); damaged area (3); pottery sherds (4); density of sherd clusters (5).

2015: 247). Nothing can be said about the stuck to the inside of this fragment other bones; it is not even certain whether (Figures 5C and 8C). they all belong to animal species or A pendant (Figure 5D) made of a whether some bones could be human. natural lump of amber had a threading Five small sherds from decorated vessels hole measuring 1.5 mm in diameter, were found, each with a different motif. drilled from both sides (Figure 8B). The They were probably brought to the site irregular trapezoidal shape of this piece from elsewhere because the excavated part was slightly modified. of the site yielded no other fragments The three flint artefacts are a perforator belonging to these pots (Figure 2B). (Figure 5E1), a burin (Figure 5E2), and The varying surface condition of these the tip of an arrowhead (Figure 5E3). sherds indicates that they had lain in dif- The first two are made of so-called ferent contexts before being deposited in chocolate flint, which does not occur natur- the feature. One fragment, identified as a ally in the region, its outcrops being located bell beaker, had remains of a white sub- on the north-eastern fringes of the Holy stance (calcium carbonate) adhering to the Cross Mountains further south in Poland break and in the grooves of the comb- (Budziszewski, 2008:49–87). Their surface impressed decoration (Figure 5 B1 and preservation differs, the perforator having a C). A small piece of a heavily patinated glossy sheen and the burin bearing evi- metal plate, approximately 9 mm2,was dence of overheating. The arrowhead

Figure 4. Stone hearth with ritual deposit Feature 30 in plan (A) and in section during excavation

(B); the white arrow marks the traces of an organic container (‘pouch’) (source: Wawrusiewicz et al.,

= = = = 2015: figs 51, 53). Reproduced by permission of the Podlachian Museum in Bial = ystok.

fragment is covered with a white patina surface preservation, the three artefacts that makes it impossible to identify the must be considered as having been col- raw material. Given these differences in lected from different contexts.

Figure 5. Artefacts from the hearth Feature 30. A: burnt bone. B: pottery sherds: 1–3: Bell Beaker pottery; 4–5: Linin Group pottery. C: fragment of a metal plate attached to the inside of a bell beaker. D: amber pendant. E: flint artefacts (1: perforator, 2: burin, 3: arrowhead fragment).

Feature 30 was located approximately ephemeral shelter-like structure with an 2 m south-east of a gully that encircled an approximate diameter of 4.5 m. This area of 25 m2, interpreted as an gully had clear evidence of posts at its

Figure 6. Concentration of vessel fragments in front of the entrance to the ‘shelter’. A: outline of the ephemeral shelter gully (1), damaged area (2), concentration of sherds from an S-shaped vessel (3). B: vessel reconstruction based on sherds from the cluster.

base and an entrance at the west (Figure 3, The formal characteristics of the broken no. 17 and Figure 6A). The feature was vessel found in front of the entrance to the partly damaged by a modern disturbance. shelter-like structure have been used to Numerous sherds from an S-shaped vessel date this feature. The technology, form, (Figures 6B and 7B) were found concen- and ornamentation of the pot find many trated in a small area just outside the pre- parallels in the ceramics of the Neman sumed entrance to the ‘shelter’,while culture of the Neman river basin, specific- further fragments of this vessel were scat- ally the Dobryj Bor type (Charnyavski, teredaroundit(Figure 3, no. 4 in legend). 1979: fig. 17 nos 3, 10, 13, fig. 18 nos 1, The area of the settlement and ritual 11–14; Lakiza, 2008: pl. 18 no. 6) dated complex excavated at Site 6 did not yield from the second half of the third to the any organic remains suitable for radiocar- beginning of the second millennium BC bon dating. Therefore, the dating of the (Charnyavski, 1979: 78). Our pot also site to the second half of the third millen- closely resembles vessels classified as group nium BC is based on the conventional IV (a stylistic Neman culture pottery pottery typology developed for the region grouping) of the well stratified site at (Wawrusiewicz et al., 2015: 160–62). Grądy-Woniecko (Wawrusiewicz et al.,

Figure 7. Reconstruction of the decorated vessels from Suprasĺ Site 6. A: bell beaker from the ritual deposit; B: S-shaped pot recovered in front of the entrance to the ‘shelter’.

2017: 167–68). The chronological place- Methods and Results ment of this group in the second half of the third and beginning of the second mil- A series of archaeological (including lennia BC has been established chiefly by chronological and cultural identification as seriation, supplemented by radiocarbon well as typological and technological clas- dates. This concurs with earlier determina- sification) and archaeometric methods tions made by Belarusian researchers were used to examine the finds assemblage (Wawrusiewicz et al., 2017:175–76). It is from Site 6 at Suprasĺ (Wawrusiewicz also consistent with the results of compara- et al., 2015). The specific properties of the tive analyses of two fragments of vessels objects were determined as follows. with cord ornament from the deposit The stones from the hearth (Figure 4A) (Figure 5B: 4–5), especially a sherd with an were analysed by non-invasive petrography, impressed cord pattern linked to deep dots examining under stereoscopic microscope and incised decoration on the inside of the the rock surface immersed in water vessel under the rim (Figure 5B:5).Vessels (Krajcarz, 2015: 253). The analysis identi- with such decoration fit the stylistic conven- fied: Stockholm granite, Äland quartz por- tion of group VIc identified in the material phyry, and Ragunda granite. Outcrops of from Grądy-Woniecko (Wawrusiewicz these rocks are known on the northern et al., 2017: 171, fig. IV.23) and are dated Baltic shores. These are indicators of erratic to the end of the third and beginning of rocks, from glacial/fluvioglacial deposits, the second millennium BC. also recorded in northern Podlachia. They

bear traces of abrasion without aeolian pol- Europe due to it being one of the oldest ishing and glacial erosion, which denotes a metal artefacts discovered in northern riverine or alluvial provenance (Krajcarz, Podlachia and apparently being copper 2015:259–61). The most likely scenario is soldered with tin. that the pebbles were brought to the site Infrared spectroscopy (IRS) was used to because no similar stones could be found examine the amber pendant. It revealed within the 1000 m2 of the site excavated at that the pendant was made of succinite Suprasĺ or in the nearby valley of the (Baltic amber); the diagnostic bands Suprasĺ river. The pebbles around the indicate strong weathering of this raw hearth were heavily cracked and crumbling, material (Kwiatkowska, 2015: 330, fig. 1). which indicates that they had been sub- Microwear trace analysis coupled with jected to high temperatures for less than experimental research indicated that a tool four hours (Krajcarz, 2015:261–62). with a sharp edge (possibly a metal knife, Ethnographic sources suggest that this time most probably a copper alloy, rather than is too short for natural cooling to be respon- flint; Popkiewicz, 2016:57–59) was used sible for such damage, but it can be achieved to modify the shape of the object by pouring water on the pebbles while still (Popkiewicz, 2016). The hole was drilled hot. Potters from nearby western Belarus with a copper-alloy drill (Popkiewicz, were still using this technique for crushing 2016: 59). The object is an asymmetric

rock in the first half of the twentieth century pendant belonging to sub-group 2A in

= = = = (Hol = bowicz, 1950:33). Mazurowski’s classification (Mazurowski, The metal plate fragment was subjected 1983: 31, table 2). Pendants with drilled to metallographic analysis (Wawrusiewicz suspension holes, made of natural or only et al., 2015: 108–09). Given the state of slightly modified lumps of amber, appear preservation and small size of the artefact, for the first time on the Polish Plain in X-ray fluorescence was the only analysis the Early Bronze Age and are linked to that could be undertaken. Chemical com- the Iwno and Úneticě cultures (Bukowski, position analyses of the metal, including 2002:31–32). However, the drilling tech- Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy nique using a metal drill is completely (EDX-SEM) and a graph showing the unknown in central and eastern Europe at spectrum of metal peaks, were conducted this time. This kind of precise perforation with a Tescan Vega scanning microscope. with a metal drill was an Early Bronze The metal plate was chiefly made of Age technological improvement in amber copper and tin (Figure 8C), which points processing and was used in the British to bronze as an alloy. However, spot ana- Isles and the Mediterranean region lyses revealed different ratios of the two (Mazurowski, 1983: 113). metals, perhaps indicating soldering of The flint artefacts were examined for two surfaces or edges rather than an alloy. use-wear traces using a metallographic If so, it would be one of the oldest known microscope (Pyżewicz, 2015:304).Their examples of the technique (Wawrusiewicz analysis revealed a variety of post- et al., 2015: 109, fig. 62). A small hole, c. depositional changes that made it difficult 1 mm in diameter, can be discerned in the to identify their function. In the case of X-ray image of the artefact (Figure 8C). It the arrowhead, a characteristic ‘impact’ could suggest that the piece formed part mark (Figure 8D) and weak linear traces of a larger object, perhaps a pendant. It is on one of its surfaces suggest that it was differentiated from contemporary finds used either for hunting or in combat from other regions of central and eastern (Pyżewicz, 2015: 304–05). The flint

Figure 8. Selected images from analyses of artefacts from Suprasĺ Site 6. A: wood tar traces on the surface of the S-shaped pot recovered in front of the entrance to the ‘shelter’ under magnification (200× and 120×); B: traces of drilling with a metal tool of the threading hole in the pendant; C: fragment of a metal plate in an X-ray image and analyses of its chemical composition; D: impact marks on the tip of the arrowhead (magnification >50×) (sources: Pietrzak, 2015: fig. 2, 6; Pyżewicz, 2015: fig. 5, 1A; Wawrusiewicz et al., 2015: figs 59–62, 71).

artefacts are not very distinctive, either and measurement of the electron paramag- chronologically or culturally; although the netic resonance (EPR) spectra (see Pietrzak, burin is close to Late Palaeolithic 2015:284–85). As for the organic temper examples in terms of shape and the raw in the fabric of the ceramics, it was exam- material employed (Schild et al., 1975: ined with a gas chromatographer (GC fig. 15.1). Agilent Technologies 6890N) coupled with The pottery sherds from the ‘shelter’ a mass spectrometer (MS, 5973 Network entrance were subjected to a series of Mass Selective Detector). The interpret- analyses. The organic remains on the vessel ation of the fractional analysis results was wall were examined under a polarizing based on a determination of fatty acids and optical microscope (PZO) in low magnifi- biomarkers using proportions proposed by

cation. A detailed classification of the English and American researchers (see

= = = = samples was performed using a polarization Rosiak & Kal = użna-Czaplinska,́ 2015: 275, microscope coupled with a Boëtius PHMK 279–80). 05 apparatus with a heating table. Thin- The sherds belonged to a large S- Layer Chromatography (TLC) was under- shaped pot with a rim diameter of c. taken to identify the substance contained in 33 cm and a wall thickness of just 0.5 cm the samples. Supplementary techniques (Figures 6B and 7B). The fabric was involved infrared spectrophotometry (IR) tempered with selected crushed granite

pebbles. The upper part of the vessel was fractions that varied for each vessel. The ornamented with a pattern of repeated bell beaker alone contained mica as temper stamped motifs and tarred. The form, pro- in the fabric. Lipid residue analyses were portions, technique, and decoration bring not performed, as these would have required to mind Late Neolithic Neman culture the total destruction of these small sherds. containers, identified with the Dobryj Bor The state of preservation of the various type (see Charnyavski, 1979: fig. 17 nos 3, artefacts found in the ‘pouch’ indicates 10, 13, fig. 18 nos 1, 11–14; Lakiza, that they came from different pre- 2008: pl. 18 no. 6). Regarding the decor- deposition contexts. Their post-deposition ation, the segmented composition consist- context did not affect their properties, nor ing of diagonal lines engraved below a set did the high temperature in the hearth of horizontal motifs is exceptional. The above the finds, as attested by the amber vessel is a typical Neman culture product, pendant which does not show any effects but the decoration resembles the ornament of thermal influence. Based on the on a fragment of a bell beaker (Figure 7) analyses performed, we argue the material found in the ‘pouch’ deposited in the within the ‘pouch’ was an intentional nearby stone hearth. assemblage. Although the materials were Physico-chemical analyses of the frag- quite variable and fragmentary, they show ments of the S-shaped pot revealed evi- signs of careful curation, as can be seen in dence of pine tar on its surface the smoothed edges of the ceramic sherds (Figure 8A). Tar production was typical of or the choice of three flint items of very the communities of the Neman cultural different origin. circles in north-eastern Poland (Pietrzak, The results of the various analyses per- 2015:294–95, 2017:312–14). Testing for formed on the ecofacts and artefacts indi- organic substances preserved in the vessel cate that the selection of the objects placed

body revealed only plant products (Rosiak in the ‘pouch’ was intentional. We further

= = = = &Kal= użna-Czaplińska, 2015:280).A want to tentatively link this pouch deposit plant steroid, a morphine derivative, and to the vessel recovered in front of the ricinoleic acid all confirmed the presence of shelter, which lipid residue analysis plants. These substances indicate that the revealed as having contained a narcotic pot was intended for either making or substance. This pot was decorated in a

storing a psychoactive substance of vegetal manner that recalls—and perhaps cites—

= = = = origin (Rosiak & Kal = użna-Czaplinska,́ one of the sherds of pottery in the pouch 2015:280–81). deposit. It may therefore have been used Ofthefivevesselsfromwhichthesherds in the same practices as the materials from the deposit inside the hearth were found under the hearth, which we link to derived, three had typical features of Bell ceremonial rites. Beaker pottery (Figure 5B:1–3), whereas the other two combine components of the Neman and Corded Ware culture pottery DISCUSSION (Figure 5B:4–5). These syncretic forms are characteristic of the Linin and Ząbie- A typical hearth at first glance, Feature 30 Szestno groups. Vessel form was identifiable from Site 6 at Suprasĺ nevertheless con- in the case of only one bell beaker tained a unique deposit, comprising a (Figure 7A). The fabric consisted of clay number of objects that were exotic in the tempered with mineral substances (sand Podlachia region. The assemblage is and crushed rock) in proportions and homogeneous, although it is possible to

distinguish a number of cultural compo- suspension hole, using a metal borer nents that differ from the Neman culture instead of a flint drill, is unusual. The material recovered on the site as a whole. metal itself, a piece of copper and tin, is Three of the five pottery sherds equally exotic in this region and in the represent Bell Beaker pottery, while two entire Neman cultural circle. The remains are characteristic of the Linin and Ząbie- of domesticated animals are unusual Szestno groups, which also had a good among the finds from sites of the Neman measure of Bell Beaker influence (see cultural circle in northern Podlachia. Manasterski, 2016:55–71, 83–90, figs Indeed, if the unidentifiable burnt bones 11–28). All the sherd breaks are smooth, also included human remains, the bone but the degree of surface erosion varies. assemblage might have originated in a Only one fragment bears the remnants of cremation burial in which animals were calcium carbonate. These characteristics burnt together or commingled after indicate that the pots were already broken burning with a human body. for some time before being placed in the The evidence for burial rites of the ‘pouch’ and derived from different, not yet Neman cultural circle is too limited to identified contexts. Fragments belonging fully characterize typical customs. Only a to the same vessels were not found any- few significantly different burials have where else in the excavated part of the been found to date (see Manasterski, site, while the smoothed edges of the 2009: 143–44; Wawrusiewicz et al., 2017: sherds suggest that they had been sub- 52–58). Nonetheless, cremation is not an jected to movement for a while. The three unknown rite in the Neman culture, other objects in the deposit are neither having been identified at Site 1 in Grądy- culturally nor chronologically diagnostic. Woniecko in the valley of the Biebrza on Two are made of chocolate flint, which is the northern Podlachia Plain. Burnt bones an exotic raw material in Podlachia. with grave goods in the form of flint arte- However, the burin has parallels among facts and ochre were discovered in one of Late Palaeolithic communities who the funerary features there (Wawrusiewicz imported this raw material (Schild et al., et al., 2017: 55). The few bones that could 1975: fig. 15.1). The incomplete patinated be identified belonged to a human and to arrowhead fragment is difficult to compare a deer or elk (Makowiecki, 2017: 287; with fully preserved examples recorded Więckowski, 2017: 286). Numerous con- in the material culture of various Late centrations of burnt human and animal Neolithic and Early Bronze Age groups. bones were recorded from this site’s cul- The evident surface damage on these tural layer, accompanied by Neman culture artefacts from different pre-depositional ceramics and flint. The excavators have factors, and the morphological and mater- suggested that it was a cremation site ial resemblance of one of the pieces to a (Wawrusiewicz et al., 2017:56–57). These Late Palaeolithic object, suggest that the finds could indicate that burnt human and artefacts came from different contexts, for animal bones occur together in the context instance as surface finds from other sites. of funerary rites, but the animal bones Amber and metal are completely were exclusively those of wild species at unheard of in Podlachia at the end of the Grądy-Woniecko. It would constitute a Neolithic and the beginning of the Bronze significant difference between the burnt Age. The amber pendant is typical of bones of domesticated animals from the the Early Bronze Age Iwno and Úneticě Suprasĺ feature and other finds of a funer- cultures, but the drilling technique of the ary nature from the Neman cultural circle.

The artefacts from the Suprasĺ deposit Podlachia assemblage is a Bell Beaker that can be attributed to a specific cultural feature with amber ornaments, flint arte- unit are few. The Bell Beaker ceramic facts, and cremated human bones without fragments are recognizable, but the other pottery discovered at the site of components are either syncretic in appear- Solbakkegard IV in Denmark (Nicolas, ance (two pottery fragments of the Linin 2017: fig. 5b.5). A Bell Beaker deposit and Ząbie-Szestno group) or intercultural recovered at La Calzadilla (Valladolid, elements (the amber pendant and flint Spain) has a different significance. It con- artefacts). Most, nonetheless, refer to the tained fragments of broken vessels, food Bell Beaker set. Such artefacts, found in remains in the form of bones of domesti- male burials, are considered to be status cated animals, two human ribs, stone and markers (Renfrew, 2001: 122). The core bone tools, and the skull of an aurochs version of the set includes a bell-shaped modified before deposition and interpreted beaker with decoration in zones (or as an ancestral symbol that was ultimately metopes and zones), occasionally found buried during the ceremony conducted at together with other similarly decorated La Calzadilla (Liesau von Lettow-Vorbeck pots, archery items, a copper tanged et al., 2014). dagger or small flint daggers, button beads Following a cognitive approach (see made of bone with a V-shaped threading Hodder, 1987; Renfrew, 1994:51–52; hole, and gold and/or amber objects (e.g. Minta-Tworzowska, 2012: 143–58) and Burgess and Shennan, 1976; Shennan, studies in cultural anthropology and 1986; Garrido-Pena, 2007: fig. 1; Heyd, archaeology, defining and explaining con- 2007). The distribution of the set is linked cepts of symbols and ritual behaviour (e.g. to innovations introduced among local Orphanides, 1990; Renfrew & Bahn, European communities (Kleijne, 2019: 1991: 359–60; Burszta, 1998: 101–19; 194). The spread is thus a dynamic Insoll, 2011), the characteristics, proper- process, regionally specific, but retaining ties, and archaeological context of the Site certain similarities (Czebreszuk, 2001: 46, 6 assemblages can be interpreted as ritual 140; Turek, 2013: 9). deposits. We suggest that the selection of The assemblage of exotic artefacts from material that was not native to Podlachia the Suprasĺ deposit shows many symbolic (a region characterized by the Neman similarities with objects found in Bell culture) was intentional. The deposition Beaker graves, especially in the choice of appears to have been symbolic and ritual, raw materials, less so in their form. The not practical and utilitarian. Signs and Suprasĺ items consist of single pottery symbols exist only because they are pro- sherds (including a bell beaker fragment) duced and reproduced by people who instead of whole vessels, amber in the have a deep knowledge of their nature form of a pendant instead of the button (Orphanides, 1990: 15). Moreover, a beads with V-shaped hole common in the symbol refers to any object that may serve eastern provinces, a copper and tin metal as a carrier of ideas (Geertz, 1992: 503). plate instead of copper or gold artefacts, The placement of the Suprasĺ objects in a and a fragment of a flint arrowhead ‘pouch’ together with river sand and the instead of a whole exemplar, all typical of deposition of the container in a hearth the set, alongside burnt bones that are argue in favour of this interpretation. The encountered in cremation rites in different choice of artefacts for this purpose was areas within the reach of this cultural phe- also specific, as the items came from dif- nomenon. The nearest analogy for the ferent locations and contexts. Some are

fragmented (pottery sherds, a piece of western branch of the Trzciniec cultural metal plate, burnt bones) regardless of circle. where the fragmentation took place; exotic Evidence of similar behaviour was raw materials, such as amber, chocolate noted in a continuation of ritual elements flint, and metal, are also present. in successive deposits at sites such as These characteristics must have had a Skrzeszew and Pass in Masovia (Januszek symbolic significance, motivating the & Manasterski, 2012; Manasterski & choice of objects assembled. Evidence of Januszek, 2017), within the area of the similar behaviour, in the form of fragmen- Linin group, which forms part of the ted pottery sherds, burnt human and Neman cultural circle. The deposits are, animal bones, amber beads, and arrow- however, not identical, reflecting the heads made by exotic flint, has also been changes that took place over time and recorded in ritual and funerary Bell Beaker in a different cultural environment. The features from northern Podlachia (Suprasl,́ Skrzeszew feature was not a hearth, but a Site 3, Features 1, 2, 5, 6; Wawrusiewicz small pit with a pointed base. Its fill con- et al., 2015:44–60, 164; Manasterski sisted of river sand and heavily fragmented et al., In press). charred plant remains originating from a The selection of artefacts, chosen for hearth (redeposited oval chunks of pine their diverse origins, exotic character, and alder wood charcoal; Michniewicz, peculiarity, and symbolic meaning, is indi- 2012). A collection of artefacts was recov- cative of a special, ritual significance. The ered near the pit’s base: single sherds from objects, which are reminiscent of the Bell eight different ornamented vessels, fifteen Beaker phenomenon and its specific cul- flint artefacts with different degrees of tural set, bring to mind associations with erosion on their surface, sections of bronze funerary rites (Burszta, 1998: 104). wire, and fragments of two amber beads However, the presence of syncretic vessel (a cylindrical bead and a trapezoid sherds and burnt animal bones also points pendant). The pottery included syncretic to links with the funerary rites of the vessels of the Linin group with compo- Neman cultural circle known from Grądy- nents of the Neman cultural circle, Bell Woniecko (Wawrusiewicz et al., 2017: Beakers, post-Corded Ware, and early 56–57, 188–89). Analyses of the pottery Trzciniec cultural circle. The largest sherd found in the context of funerary practices in the assemblage came from a bell- from that site uncovered traces of mor- beaker-shaped vessel decorated with a phine derivatives (Wawrusiewicz et al., quasi-band-and-metope motif (Januszek 2017: 188, 301) similar to the traces & Manasterski, 2012: 116, pl. I). The found in the vessel from in front of the flint forms a group of artefacts whose ‘shelter’ at Site 6 in Suprasl.́ surface preservation indicates diverse pro- The data point to a funerary rite con- venances before their ultimate deposition taining two cultural components: alloch- in the feature (Januszek, 2015: 116–22). thonous connected with the Bell Beaker, Among them is an arrowhead and two and autochthonous deriving from the specimens of exotic chocolate flint along- Neman cultural circle. The syncretic rites side items made of local erratic flint evidenced by these material remains (including two examples modified by high should be considered as representing a temperatures, one overheated and the peculiar diffusion of beliefs that continued other burnt through). to evolve and which are still visible in The Skrzeszew feature is similar to Early Bronze Age communities of the Feature 30 at Suprasĺ in that the context is

connected with a hearth. As for the The key difference between the small pottery, both features reveal the same pit at Pass and earlier features at Suprasĺ choice of single sherds from ornamented and Skrzeszew is that a complete vessel vessels, with similar decorative compo- made of non-organic material was placed nents. The assemblage of flint artefacts is in the pit. There are no traces of a hearth similar but larger, the similarity being or burning in the Pass feature. The assem- chiefly based on the presence of a com- blage did not include amber artefacts, plete arrowhead, two items of rare choc- metal objects, or individual pottery sherds. olate flint and overheated and burnt The flint did not include an arrowhead. exemplars. The similarity is also clear in Thus, the Pass feature, the most recent the different post-depositional changes among our three examples, may be a that reflect the diverse pre-depositional weaker reflection of an act that had contexts of specific objects. Amber, was become symbolic: making this feature was present in both features, including a trap- merely a manifestation of being part of a ezoid pendant. Such pendants are mostly community, whereas it had once been per- known from burials of the Iwno culture formed as an expression of ‘living’ values and, to a lesser degree, the Úneticě culture (Burszta, 1998: 114–15). (Januszek & Manasterski, 2012: 129). The The artefacts made of non-local raw drilling technique used to make the pen- materials found at Suprasl,́ especially those dant’s perforation is what mainly differ- demonstrating the use of an advanced entiates the Skrzeszew from the Suprasĺ technology (use of metal drills, soldering) pendants, the former having been drilled do not recur in the local community, most with a flint tool. Finally, both features probably because there was no access to contained a metal artefact: the Skrzeszew either copper or bronze. The earliest evi- item is a fragment like the piece from dence of local bronze production in Suprasĺ but made of classic bronze. Podlachia comes from Suraż, a site con- There are fewer similarities between the nected with the Late Bronze Age Lusatian Suprasĺ feature and a small pit discovered culture (Dąbrowski, 1997: 167, map 11). at Pass (Manasterski & Januszek, 2017). It Baltic amber was also not easily accessible contained a vessel placed upside down and in this region, hence the absence of amber a deposit of river sand and three flint arte- artefacts from Neman culture sites in facts. The vessel was a small S-shaped pot, Podlachia. The only innovative element resembling a slender bell beaker, decorated incorporated into this cultural circle is Bell in its upper part with a quasi-band- Beaker pottery, chiefly its decorative style, and-metope ornament (Manasterski & less so its vessel shape, and hardly any ele- Januszek, 2017: fig. 2). The ornamental ments of its production techniques. The motifs, their composition and disposition, initial stage consisted of more or less suc- correspond largely to the largest sherd from cessful imitations of Bell Beaker ornamen- the Skrzeszew deposit. While already char- tation made according to local custom; the acteristic of the Trzciniec cultural circle, it fragment found in front of the ‘shelter’ at still recalls bell beakers in its morphology Suprasĺ is such an example. This later and style. The flint artefacts include two evolved into a specific style combining a made of local erratic flint and one fragmen- mixture of decorative components from tary piece of chocolate flint, all from differ- Bell Beaker and other Late Neolithic and ent contexts. The pieces of local flint are Early Bronze Age cultural entities. This paralleled at Skrzeszew, whereas chocolate led to the emergence of syncretic vessels flint artefacts are found in earlier features. described as ‘proto-Trzciniec’, which

Figure 9. Possible adaptation and transformation of the Bell Beaker style in the Neman cultural circle into the Trzciniec cultural circle in northern Podlachia. 1: bell beaker from Site 6 at Suprasl;́ 2: S- shaped pot of late Neman culture from Site 6 at Suprasl;́ 3–4: proto-Trzciniec vessels from Site 1 at Grądy-Woniecko; 5: Trzciniec culture vessel from Site 1 at Strękowa Góra (sources: authors (see Figure 7); Bugaj, 2008: fig. 16; Wawrusiewicz et al., 2017: pls XVIII.282, XVI.251).

clearly recall the Bell Beaker style but CONCLUSION with increasingly strong traits typical of the classic Trzciniec pottery style Feature 30 from Site 6 at Suprasĺ is a rare (Figure 9). A similar phenomenon is also example of a ritual practice performed by observable in other regions of the Neman Late Neolithic hunters-gatherers within cultural circle, that is, in the territories a Neman cultural circle environment. occupied by the Linin and Ząbie-Szestno Elements of this feature point to a synthesis groups (Manasterski, 2016: 116–20, figs of rites practised by autochthonous and 38–41). allochthonous groups. The components of

the deposit, for the most part extraneous to Warszawa: Instytut Archeologii i the local community, are linked to the Bell Etnologii PAN. Beaker cultural set and are a harbinger of Burgess, C. & Shennan, S.J. 1976. The Beaker Phenomenon: Some Suggestions. innovations that would transform the In: C. Burgess & R. Miket, eds. hunter-gatherers’ world. Pottery was the Settlement and Economy in the Third and chief vehicle of change. Initial imitations of Second Millennia BC. Oxford: British various kinds were gradually transformed, to Archaeological Reports, pp. 309–31. become a new syncretic form of vessel. The Burszta, W.J. 1998. Antropologia kultury. Teorie, tematy, interpretacje.Poznan:Wydawnictwó Bell Beaker component in this pottery was Zysk i S-ka. still discernible in the Early Bronze Age. Charnyavski, M.M. 1979. Nyealit Byelaruskaha The Suprasĺ feature may be considered Panyamonnya. Minsk: Navuka i tekhnika. as the beginning of a process of transform- Charnyavski, M.M. 2011a. Kamyenny vyek ing ritual behaviour. The rites were still Byelarusi. Minsk: Tekhnalohiya. Charnyavski, M.M. 2011b. Nemanskaya neali- performed, albeit with their initial sym- tychnaya kul’tura v Belarusi: genezis i eva- bolic components lost or modified, in the lyutsyya. In: U. Stankiewicz & A. Early Bronze Age as the Neman cultural Wawrusiewicz, eds. Na rubieży kultur.

circle was fading, and can be traced in the Badania nad okresem neolitu i wczesną

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wej” stylistyki dekoracji naczyńjako przy- / Analysis of the Residues of Organic

= = = =

czynek do badańnad ksztal = towaniem się Substances Preserved on the Wall

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ich wpl = yw na przemiany kulturowe Features of Bell Beaker in Suprasl.́ The

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= = = = Archeologii Uniwersytet Warszawski. sladamí smól = drzewnych ze stanowiska 1

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Warszawa-Poznan:́ Wydawnictwo Naukowe Offering – Taking Possession of the Land or

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PWN SA. Cultural Integration? Bial = ystok: Muzeum

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Analiza substancji organicznych zachowa- znad srodkowej́ Narwi. Bial = ystok: Muzeum

= = = = nych na powierzchni scianeḱ naczyńodk- Podlaskie w Bial = ymstoku. rytych na stanowisku 3 i 6 w Supraslú / Więckowski, W. 2017. Analiza antropolo- Analysis of Organic Substances Preserved giczna szczątków kostnych ze stanowiska 1 in the Ceramic Mass. In: A. wGrądach-Woniecko, gm. Rutki, woj. Wawrusiewicz., K. Januszek & D. podlaskie. In: A. Wawrusiewicz, T.

Manasterski. Obiekty obrzędowe Pucharów Kalicki, M. Przeździecki, M. Frączek &

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Dzwonowatych z Suprasla.́ Zl = ożenie darów – D. Manasterski. Grądy-Woniecko. Ostatni

= = = =

przejęcie terenu czy integracja kulturowa? / l = owcy-zbieracze znad srodkowej́ Narwi.

= = = =

Ritual Features of Bell Beaker in Suprasl.́ Bial = ystok: Muzeum Podlaskie w

= = = =

The Offering – Taking Possession of the Bial = ymstoku, p. 286.

= = = =

Land or Cultural Integration? Bial = ystok:

= = = = Muzeum Podlaskie w Bial = ymstoku, pp. 273–82. Schild, R., Marczak, M. & Królik, H. 1975. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES Późny mezolit. Próba wieloaspektowej

analizy otwartych stanowisk piaskowych.

= = = = = Dariusz Manasterski is Assistant Professor

Wroclaw, Warszawa, Kraków &

= = = = Gdańsk: Zakl= ad Narodowy Imienia at the Department of Prehistoric Ossolińskich, Wydawnictwo Polskiej Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology Akademii Nauk. of the University of Warsaw. His interests Shennan, S. 1986. Central Europe in the Third include long-distance contacts and cultural Millennium BC: An Evolutionary Trajectory interactions in the European Neolithic and for the Beginning of the European Bronze Age. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, Early Bronze Age. His research focuses on 5: 115–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/0278- the border zone of the Central and Eastern 4165(86)90011-5 European Plains and in the interactions

between local hunter-gatherer communities research is focused on the eastern border- and extraneous farming and pastoralist soci- lands of Poland and the Central and Eastern eties, with pottery as one of the main iden- European Plains, with a special interest in tifiers of past behaviours and cultural the sub-Neolithic hunter-gatherer commu-

processes. nities of the Neman culture.

= = = = Address: Institute of Archaeology, Address: Podlaskie Museum in Bial = ystok,

University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Kosciuszkí Square no. 10, 15-426

= = = = Przedmiescié St. 26/28, 00-927 Warsaw, Bial= ystok, Poland. [email: adamwawrusie- Poland. [email: [email protected]]. [email protected]]. ORCID https://orcid.org/ ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002- 0000-0002-2887-387X 0246-4795 Aleksandra Klecha is a PhD candidate at Katarzyna Januszek is a lecturer at the the Antiquity of South-Eastern Europe Department of Prehistoric Archaeology of Research Centre of the University of the Institute of Archaeology of the Warsaw; her doctoral dissertation focuses University of Warsaw, specializing in flint on the application of interdisciplinary in the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. research to identifying cultural transform- Her interests include the regions of the ation from the Neolithic to the Bronze Central and Eastern European Plains. Age at the edge of the Central and Eastern European Plains. She has partici- Address: Institute of Archaeology, pated in archaeological investigations in University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Poland, Russia, and Belarus. Przedmiescié St. 26/28, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland. [email: katarzyna.januszek@uw. Address: Antiquity of South-Eastern edu.pl]. ORCID https://orcid.org/0000- Europe Research Centre, University of 0001-7355-3827 Warsaw, 017 Krakowskie Przedmiescié 32, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland. [email:

Adam Wawrusiewicz is an employee of the [email protected]]. ORCID

= = = = Podlaskie Museum in Bial = ystok. His https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6131-9889

Une structure rituelle avec éléments campaniformes dans un camp de chasseurs- cueilleurs du Néolithique Final en Pologne nord-orientale

La nature éphémère des pratiques religieuses et des cérémonies rituelles les rend difficile à appréhender parmi les données archéologiques relatives aux chasseurs-cueilleurs du Néolithique Final en Europe cen- trale et orientale. Une structure rituelle contenant des éléments campaniformes découverte dans le nord- est de la Pologne, une région occupée par des groupes de chasseurs-cueilleurs appartenant à la culture de Neman, constitue une exception. Son caractère syncrétique présage des transformations culturelles plus amples menant à l’émergence à l’âge du Bronze du groupe occidental de la culture de Trzciniec dans cette région. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Mots-clés: Néolithique Final, chasseurs-cueilleurs, structure rituelle, ensemble campaniforme, Pologne du nord-est, culture de Neman, culture de Trzciniec

Eine rituelle Struktur mit Glockenbecherelementen auf einer spätneolithischen Jäger und Sammler Stätte in Nordost-Polen

Der flüchtige Charakter der religiösen Praktiken und Riten machen es schwer, solche Erscheinungen in den archäologischen Befunden der spätneolithischen Jäger und Sammler Gesellschaften in Zentral- und Osteuropa zu erfassen. Eine rituelle Struktur mit Glockenbecherelementen in Nordost-Polen, ein Gebiet, das von Jäger und Sammler Gruppen des Neman Kulturkreises besiedelt war, ist deswegen eine Ausnahme. Der synkretistische Charakter dieses Befundes kündigt weitere kulturelle Veränderungen an, welche zur Entstehung des westlichen Trzciniec Kulturkreises in der Bronzezeit führte. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Stichworte: Spätneolithikum, Jäger und Sammler, rituelle Struktur, Glockenbecher Satz, Nordost- Polen, Neman Kulturkreis, Trzciniec Kulturkreis