Homo-journal of Comparative Human Biology, Feb 13, 2020
The beginning of the early Middle Ages period in Poland (10th-14th century) has been widely debat... more The beginning of the early Middle Ages period in Poland (10th-14th century) has been widely debated in the context of an active demographic inflow from other countries and its contribution to the creation of the new country. Finding chamber graves which are considered typical for the Scandinavian ethnic group in a few cemeteries in Poland has become the basis for the anthropological inference on the potential participation of North European people in forming the social elite of medieval Poland. However, the question of whether this fact was the result of presence of people from other countries lacks an unambiguous answer. We attempted to isolate ancient DNA from the medieval necropolis in Kałdus where several chamber graves have been found and analysed the genetic diversity of maternal lineage of this population. We analysed the HVR I fragment and coding regions to assess the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup. We have identified a few relatively rare haplogroups (A2, T2b4a, HV, K1a11, J2b1a, and X2) which were previously found in early medieval sites in Norway and Denmark. Obtained results might suggest genetic relation between the people of Kałdus and past northern Europe populations. Present and further research can undoubtedly shed new light on the aspect of the formation of the early medieval Polish population.
The text discusses three different cases of rescue research carried out in recent years by the In... more The text discusses three different cases of rescue research carried out in recent years by the Institute of Archaeology the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń on fortified settlements in Bydgoszcz-Stare Miasto, Pawłówek and Bydgoszcz-Fordon (historic Wyszogród), in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodeship. These settlements played an important role in the early Middle Ages as centres of exchange and defence of the Greater Poland-Kuyavia borderland. Together with their immediate settlement base, they were subject to destruction processes to varying degrees. These destructions were the result of natural and human activities. The progressive degradation required wide-ranging archaeological investigations to be carried out on these sites and appropriate legal, administrative and conservation measures to be taken in order to secure the remaining relics.
The definitions and interpretations of anti-vampire burials have provoked impassioned discussion ... more The definitions and interpretations of anti-vampire burials have provoked impassioned discussion in archaeology over the last century. That the diseased and disabled were sometimes perceived as vampires is very intriguing and worth investigating because historical and ethnographic materials and archaeological studies indicate a connection between disease (e.g. tuberculosis and anaemia) and vampirism. Until the development of germ theory in the 19th century, some people explained the phenomenon of disease and death as its consequence by connecting it with beliefs in vampires. We investigate if the diseased and disabled were buried in anti-vampire graves based on materials from early medieval Culmen in Poland. We selected 574 skeletons from 566 graves for our analysis. The research allowed the identification of 13 antivampire graves, which include 14 skeletons. Of 574 skeletons, 299 indicate pathological lesions associated with diseases and 8 skeletons indicate lesions associated with...
Knowledge about horses from early medieval (10th–13th c.) Poland has been largely based on histor... more Knowledge about horses from early medieval (10th–13th c.) Poland has been largely based on historical and archaeological data. Archaeozoological information has only been used to a limited extent. Therefore, this article aims to present the current state of knowledge on this subject, drawing on archaeozoological data from studies of horse bones. Apart from confirming earlier reflections regarding the sacred significance of the horse, additional information was obtained about specific individuals who were the subject of magical treatments. It turned out that sites with horse skeletons and skulls are few compared to the familiar presence of horse remains among kitchen waste. This contrasts with the neighbouring regions, where horses were buried more frequently among the Germans, Scandinavians and Prussians. Some new data have been obtained thanks to taphonomic analyses, which demonstrated that horse skulls of apotropaic status were not only exposed to public viewing but were also depo...
The paper discusses types o f early mediaeval timber constructions discovered on an island in Par... more The paper discusses types o f early mediaeval timber constructions discovered on an island in Parsęcko in Pomerania by F. W. Kasiski in 1863, which have been interpreted so far as remains of circular settlement or waterside fortifications. Comparative studies on that issue include recent results of survey on an island on Zarańsko Lake in the Drawskie Lakeland where observed. Functional analysis o f the place in context of remains confirming its valorization in mythical and sacral terms was presented.
Homo-journal of Comparative Human Biology, Feb 13, 2020
The beginning of the early Middle Ages period in Poland (10th-14th century) has been widely debat... more The beginning of the early Middle Ages period in Poland (10th-14th century) has been widely debated in the context of an active demographic inflow from other countries and its contribution to the creation of the new country. Finding chamber graves which are considered typical for the Scandinavian ethnic group in a few cemeteries in Poland has become the basis for the anthropological inference on the potential participation of North European people in forming the social elite of medieval Poland. However, the question of whether this fact was the result of presence of people from other countries lacks an unambiguous answer. We attempted to isolate ancient DNA from the medieval necropolis in Kałdus where several chamber graves have been found and analysed the genetic diversity of maternal lineage of this population. We analysed the HVR I fragment and coding regions to assess the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup. We have identified a few relatively rare haplogroups (A2, T2b4a, HV, K1a11, J2b1a, and X2) which were previously found in early medieval sites in Norway and Denmark. Obtained results might suggest genetic relation between the people of Kałdus and past northern Europe populations. Present and further research can undoubtedly shed new light on the aspect of the formation of the early medieval Polish population.
The text discusses three different cases of rescue research carried out in recent years by the In... more The text discusses three different cases of rescue research carried out in recent years by the Institute of Archaeology the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń on fortified settlements in Bydgoszcz-Stare Miasto, Pawłówek and Bydgoszcz-Fordon (historic Wyszogród), in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodeship. These settlements played an important role in the early Middle Ages as centres of exchange and defence of the Greater Poland-Kuyavia borderland. Together with their immediate settlement base, they were subject to destruction processes to varying degrees. These destructions were the result of natural and human activities. The progressive degradation required wide-ranging archaeological investigations to be carried out on these sites and appropriate legal, administrative and conservation measures to be taken in order to secure the remaining relics.
The definitions and interpretations of anti-vampire burials have provoked impassioned discussion ... more The definitions and interpretations of anti-vampire burials have provoked impassioned discussion in archaeology over the last century. That the diseased and disabled were sometimes perceived as vampires is very intriguing and worth investigating because historical and ethnographic materials and archaeological studies indicate a connection between disease (e.g. tuberculosis and anaemia) and vampirism. Until the development of germ theory in the 19th century, some people explained the phenomenon of disease and death as its consequence by connecting it with beliefs in vampires. We investigate if the diseased and disabled were buried in anti-vampire graves based on materials from early medieval Culmen in Poland. We selected 574 skeletons from 566 graves for our analysis. The research allowed the identification of 13 antivampire graves, which include 14 skeletons. Of 574 skeletons, 299 indicate pathological lesions associated with diseases and 8 skeletons indicate lesions associated with...
Knowledge about horses from early medieval (10th–13th c.) Poland has been largely based on histor... more Knowledge about horses from early medieval (10th–13th c.) Poland has been largely based on historical and archaeological data. Archaeozoological information has only been used to a limited extent. Therefore, this article aims to present the current state of knowledge on this subject, drawing on archaeozoological data from studies of horse bones. Apart from confirming earlier reflections regarding the sacred significance of the horse, additional information was obtained about specific individuals who were the subject of magical treatments. It turned out that sites with horse skeletons and skulls are few compared to the familiar presence of horse remains among kitchen waste. This contrasts with the neighbouring regions, where horses were buried more frequently among the Germans, Scandinavians and Prussians. Some new data have been obtained thanks to taphonomic analyses, which demonstrated that horse skulls of apotropaic status were not only exposed to public viewing but were also depo...
The paper discusses types o f early mediaeval timber constructions discovered on an island in Par... more The paper discusses types o f early mediaeval timber constructions discovered on an island in Parsęcko in Pomerania by F. W. Kasiski in 1863, which have been interpreted so far as remains of circular settlement or waterside fortifications. Comparative studies on that issue include recent results of survey on an island on Zarańsko Lake in the Drawskie Lakeland where observed. Functional analysis o f the place in context of remains confirming its valorization in mythical and sacral terms was presented.
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