The Problems of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Settlement in the Light of Interdisciplinary Research. Analysis of Selected Regions

Abstract

The article presents an outline of the research issues concerning Late Palaeolithic settlement,
carried out by the authors as part of PhD studies at the Institute of Archaeology of
the Nicolaus Copernicus University under the supervision of Prof. Dr hab. Krzysztof Cyrek.
Ewa Jurzysta studied the remains of short-lived camps and flint workshops in the upper
section of the Narew River, located mainly on the sandy terraces above the floodplain of
the river and its tributaries. The analysis covers the artefacts obtained during the surface
research, as well as the materials discovered as a result of excavation works carried out in this
area. Thermoluminescence dating was also performed for three samples of sandy sediments,
and the obtained dates indicate the late glacial age of the river terrace. The results of these
works were used for the study on the late Palaeolithic settlement in the area.
Justyna Kuriga undertook an attempt of a multifaceted analysis of the multicultural
and multiphase site in Łykowe (Łódź Voivodeship), paying special attention to sources
related to Mesolithic hunter-gatherer communities. The main goals of the work include
the reconstruction of the range, the manner of settlement and use of this place, as well as
presentation of individual settlement phases against a broader cultural background.
The basic research assumption adopted by Beata Bielińska-Majewska was to verify
and systematize the results of research on the Late Palaeolithic in the basins of the lower
Vistula and middle Warta rivers, analysis and determination of the cultural affiliation and
chronology of available archaeological sources, and consequently creating an image of the
cultural situation in this part of Poland at that time. The source base was materials from
over 280 archaeological sites and the complex in Brzoza (formerly Toruń-Rudak).