Origin of the ornamented bâton percé from the Gołębiewo site 47 as a trigger of discussion on long-distance exchange among Early Mesolithic communities of Central Poland and Northern Europe

Abstract

This article describes evidence for contact and exchange among Mesolithic communities in Poland and Scandinavia, based on the interdisciplinary analysis of an ornamented bâton percé from Gołębiewo site 47 (Central Poland). Typological and chronological-cultural analyses show the artefact to be most likely produced in the North European Plain, during the Boreal period. Carbon-14 dating confirms the antiquity of the artefact. Ancient DNA analysis shows the artefact to be of Rangifer tarandus antler. Following this species designation, a dispersion analysis of Early-Holocene reindeer remains in Europe was conducted, showing this species to exist only in northern Scandinavia and north-western Russia in this period. Therefore, the bâton from Gołębiewo constitutes the youngest reindeer remains in the European Plain and south-western Scandinavia known to date. An attempt was made to determine the biogeographic region from which the antler used to produce the artefact originates from. To this end, comprehensive δ18O, δ13C and δ15N isotope analyses were performed. North Karelia and South Lapland were determined as the most probable regions in terms of isotopic data, results which correspond to the known distribution range of Rangifer tarandus at this time. In light of these finds, the likelihood of contact between Scandinavia and Central Europe in Early Holocene is evaluated. The bâton percé from Gołębiewo is likely key evidence for long-distance exchange during the Boreal period.

La historia de un arpón. Reutilización de un proyectil óseo subneolítico procedente de Šventoji (Lituania)

“…Taking into account their exceptional delicateness making them invisible to the naked eye, it is possible they were not purely practical but rather served a symbolic purpose. The fact that the role of decorations on the tools of prehistoric hunters is not purely ornamental, as well as the fact that the marks could have been created over a long period of time (for instance illustrating a specific event in the life of a person or a community) can be backed up by (besides the many already existing examples presented in archaeological literature) the uniquely fascinating and recently discovered bâton percé from Gołębiewo (Osipowicz et al, 2017). The item's surface is covered in complex ornamentation in the shape of 10 asymmetric triangles, with oblique striations similar in shape and size, arranged in a horizontal line and filled with oblique shading.…”

“…Products that are considered by us to be solely a sign of economic activity may have ha da great deal of cultural significance in the world of prehistoric hunters (and not only hunters -material culture always carries multiple layers of significance in the society where they are used-even today) (see Płonka 2012: chapter IV and VI), as demonstrated by the example of the Mesolithic bâton percé from Gołębiewo. In that case, it is especially difficult to find any economic reasoning behind the transportation of a fragment of reindeer antler over a few thousand kilometers, taking it through geographically and culturally varied regions, only for it to arrive in an area full of deer, just to produce an item that was ultimately intentionally (most likely) deposited in a lake (Osipowicz et al, 2017).…”

The Dawn of the Mesolithic on the Plains of Poland

“…Hence the latest finds of such unworked antlers mark the end of the last herds of reindeer in this part of Europe. Naturally this does not preclude imports of antlers or antler artefacts during later phases of the Mesolithic, a good example of which is the recent find of the baton at Gołębiewo, central Poland (Osipowicz et al 2017).…”

Oxygen isotopic fractionation in rat bones as a result of consuming thermally processed water – bioarchaeological applications

“…As has already been mentioned, the range of the isotopic variability of an environment is obtained by analysing contemporary water in a given area or the use of isotopic calculators (Daux et al, 2008;Gregoricka and Sheridan, 2017;Hamre and Daux, 2016;Müldner et al, 2011;Osipowicz et al, 2017;Parks, 2009) and/or analysing the remains of another human groups or animals who inhabited that area with the analysed groups of humans in different periods of time (Oleszczak et al, 2018;Parks, 2009;Shaw et al, 2010;Stepańczak, 2012).…”