Archaeologia Lituana
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Baltų genčių gamtinė aplinka, gyvenvietės ir ūkis romėniškuoju laikotarpiu. Bogačevo ir Sūduvių kultūrų dviejų gyvenviečių mikroregionų studija
No full textVakarinių baltų kultūrų rato paežerių gamtinės aplinkos, gyvenviečių ir ūkio tyrinėjimų problematika aptariama dviejų mikroregionų: Osinki-Szwajcaria Suvalkų paežerėje ir prie šiaurinio senojo ežero Wąż kranto Didžiųjų Mozūrų ežerų regione, pavyzdžiu.Gamtinė aplinkaGamtinės aplinkos archeologinės analizės apėmė palinologinius, augalų makrosporinių dalių rūšinius ir medžio anglių iš ūkinių duobių Osinkuose ir Paprotki Kolonia rūšinius tyrinėjimus, taip pat geologinius-geomorfologinius tyrimus. Remiantis palinologinėmis diagramomis ir informacija apie dabartinį Szwajcarijos kapinyno apylinkių kraštovaizdį, buvo atlikta šio mikroregiono kraštovaizdžio rekonstrukcija. Augalų liekanų paleobotaninės analizės iš šiaurinio Wąż ežero kranto mikroregiono leido identifikuoti vienuolika augalų grupių, augusių ten romėniškuoju laikotarpiu. Tuo metu vyraujantys kraštovaizdžio elementai buvo lankos, laukai, lydimai ir tikriausiai krūmai. Taip pat buvo padaryta pirmųjų m. e. amžių kartografinė Wąż ežero skersmens ir gylio rekonstrukcija.GyvenvietėsMikroregionų gyvenviečių tyrinėjimų ir jų publikacijų būklė, tik dalinis ilgo chronologinio laikotarpio gyvenviečių medžiagos pažinimas neleido padaryti platesnių išvadų apie gyvenviečių tinklo raidą ir pokyčius. Paprotki Kolonia ir Szwajcarijos kapinynų antropologinės medžiagos publikacijų trūkumas neleido padaryti paleodemografinės analizės. Buvo galima apibūdinti mikroregionų teritoriją ir jos suplanavimą, svarbiausių gyvenviečių vidaus suplanavimą.Osinki-Szwajcaria mikroregiono apgyvendinimo teritorijai nustatyti taikytas ekvidistancinis metodas. Senojo Wąż ežero šiaurinio pakraščio mikroregiono dydį nustatyti padėjo archeologinių paminklų geografinių sąlygų analizė.Bendras abiejų mikroregionų bruožas - gyvenvietės kūrėsi nedidelėse, bet gerai ištirtose išplovose arba iškyšuliuose, apsuptuose vandens ar drėgno dirvožemio - tai atliko ir tam tikrą gynybos funkciją. Abiejuose mikroregionuose ryškiai išsiskyrė ūkinės veiklos zonos, kuriose aptikta įvairios paskirties duobių.ŪkisAbiejų mikroregionų gyventojų ūkinės veiklos rekonstrukcijai buvo panaudoti archeologiniai ir gamtinių analizių duomenys. Kad Osinki-Szwajcaria mikroregiono gyventojai ankstyvuoju romėniškuoju laikotarpiu vertėsi žemdirbyste, liudija kviečiai plaskurka, vėlyvuoju romėniškuoju laikotarpiu - taip pat miežiai, paprasti kviečiai, rugiai ir avižos. Sėtos ir ankštinės kultūros. Auginti pagrindiniai galvijai, menkesnį vaidmenį turėjo tarpano tipo arklių ir avių auginimas.Šiauriniame senojo Wąż ežero pakraštyje, piktžolėtuose laukuose buvo auginami rugiai, soros ir miežiai. Gyvulių bandoje vyravo galvijai, taip pat avys ir ožkos. Mažiau auginta kiaulių. Arkliai nebuvo naudojami ūkio darbams ar garbinami. Žvejyba, medžioklė ir rankiojimas, kaip papildoma ūkinė veikla, gerai atsispindi Paprotki Kolonia gyvenvietės medžiagoje. Atliekų duobėse aptikta karšių, lynų, ešerių, karpinių šeimos žuvų kaulų ir žvynų, elnių, briedžių ir stirnų kaulų fragmentų, dešimties laukinių augalų liekanų.Iš kitų užsiėmimų galima kalbėti apie medžio, akmens, rago ir kaulo apdirbimą, geležies lydymą ir apdirbimą, puodininkystę, stiklo gamybą, audimą ir drabužių siuvimą
Lietuvos vėlyvojo paleolito kultūrų periodizacija
Get PDFLithuania’s archaeological sites of the Late Palaeolithic and earliest Mesolithic have no absolute chronological data and are dated only on the basis of environmental periodization. Thus, archaeological sites from this periods are chronologically associated with climatic chronozones - the Dryas I, Bölling, Dryas II, Allerod, Dryas III and Preboreal periods. A more specific periodization of Lithuania’s archaeological cultures of this time can presently be made only on a conjectural level.Based on the sites’ artifactual flint complexes and many neighbouring countries’ analogues, especially those that have been accurately dated, the Late Palaeolithic in Lithuanian territory can be divided into five main cultural groups (Hamburgian, Federmesser, Brommean, Ahrensburgian, Swiderian) that partially also reflect chronological periods. Two of these cultures, Hamburgian and Federmesser, arc distinguished in Lithuanian territory for the first time. Moreover, the Brommean, Ahrensburgian, and Swiderian cultures arc defined much more precisely.At present, we can only assign five small sites or artifact collections found in South Lithuania to Hamburgian culture. These are the Kašėtos collection and the sites of Varėnė-2, Ežerynas (8th locus), Margiai “Sala”, and Maksimonys-1. The flint artifacts comprising these sites arc thickly patinated and sometimes glossy from wind erosion. They are characterized by blades that have been detached by hard or soft percussion from a core having two opposite platforms, a microburin technique, shouldered and tanged Hevelte-type points, as well as large Zinken-type tools. As in North Europe, two cultural periods are distinguished in the Lithuanian artifactual complexes; the earlier period consists of shouldered points as well as large Zinken-type tools and long end-scrapers, while the later period consists of tanged Havelte-type points with smaller Zinken-type tools and scrapers (usually with retouched edges). Based on complexes in North Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Poland that have been dated by 14C and TL, Hamburgian culture existed during the Balling and the beginning of the Alleröd periods (mid-11th mil. BC - mid-10th mil. BC). The small hunter communities of this culture arrived into Lithuanian territory from the territories of North Germany and West Poland.Finds characteristic of Federmesser culture have been found in excavations of the Ežerynas 8-13 loci in South Lithuania. The Federmesser culture complexes are characterized by tools made from flakes, a hard or semi-hard percussion, faceted core utilization, a microburin technique. and Federmesser points contained backed blades with a more or less curved edge, Wehlen-type flaked and small scrapers. These complexes in North Germany and Poland arc usually dated to the Alleröd period.Many more sites have been found that belong to Brommean culture. They have been discovered in all of South Lithuania and even in West Lithuania. More than 30 sites of this culture are presently known in Lithuania (Titnas-1C, Maskauka-6, Mitriškės-5n, 6a-b, Vilnius-2, Ežerynai (9, 11, 15-17th loci) Mergežeris-8, Žuvintai-1). Bromme culture is distinguished by a very archaic and rough manufacturing technology. Very heavy and irregular blanks are usually knapped from one-platformed cores by hard percussion; a sparse tool-weapon complex is made from these blanks massive and smaller tanged points, scrapers, and burins. Bromme culture sites in the entire southern and southeastern Baltic arc dated to the Alleröd’s second half and the Dryas III period’s very beginning. Bromme culture representatives came to Lithuania from the West - from the territories of Denmark and North Germany.With the cooling of the climate in the beginning of the Dryas III period, the Bromme cultural complex slowly transformed into the Ahrensburgian and Swiderian cultural complexes. Tool kits very similar to those of Bromme culture are characteristic of Ahrensburgian and Swiderian cultures: utilization of two-platformed cores and a semi-soft or soft percussion-pressure technique. About 40 Ahrensburg culture sites and isolated finds have been encountered in all Lithuanian territory (Šilelis-2, Vilnius-1, Pasieniai-1A, Rekučiai-1A, Nendriniai), except for the western region which has barely been researched. Tanged arrow points, usually without a not retouch on the dorsal side of the tang, Zonhoven microliths, a microburin technique, as well as shorter and usually side, round, or semi-round scrapers are characteristic of this culture. Also, bur ins, various special purpose tools, perforators, naked axes, and other tools are found at these sites. Ahrensburg culture existed during the entire Dryas III period, while during the beginning and middle of the Preboreal it developed into the Pypliai-1C-type complex. Ahrensburgian sites are found in large expanses throughout North Europe and even in the northern part of the Scandinavian peninsula, beyond the Arctic circle.So far, about 130 sites and isolated finds belonging to the Swiderian culture have been distinguished. They are found throughout the whole Lithuanian territory, especially south of the Nemunas and Neris rivers. Characteristic of these Swiderian complexes are points that are both tanged or without tangs and have a flat retouch on the dorsal side, long end-scrapers on blades, single, dihedral and retouched burins, perforators, special purpose tools, axes. According to the dated complexes of Witów, Całowanie (both in Poland), and Kabeliai-2C, Swiderian culture is divided into two periods, the older of which is dated to 8800-8500 BC (it is characterized by points with clearly distinguished tangs and usually an obliquely retouched top), and the younger to 8400-7800 BC (it is characterized by points without tangs). In the beginning of the Preboreal, Swiderian’ culture slowly transformed into Kunda culture, the Pasieniai-1 type sites being a transitional form between these two cultural groups. Swiderian culture sites are found in the territories of Lithuania, Poland, North Ukraine, Belarus, Northwest Russia, and Latvia. Isolated complexes are found even in Czechia, East Germany and Crimea
Žydų lošimo vilkeliai Lietuvos archeologinėje medžiagoje
Get PDFThe article discusses and analyzes data of archaeological and historical sources concerning about a narrow and unique group of archaeological finds, a peculiar gaming dice variety, the so-called dreidl or sevivon. The paper covers the period of the 17th-20th centuries A.D.The most archaic form of dices is the so-called babkės (астрагалы (Rus.) or knucklebones (Eng.)). It is a tarsus bone of a sheep, goat or a horned animal (Fig. 1). For the purpose of games, these bones were used without any treatment. Gradually rectangular, cubical (Fig. 2) and top (Fig. 3) dices developed from these bones. Top-form dices where of several types. One of them, with six sides numbered from one to six. appeared in the Middle Ages. Another form of the top shape dices is a cube with an axis (Fig. 4). Four letters were marked on its four functional planes. They suggested what the player had to do. Such playing tops, so-called teetotum, were already known in Ancient Greece, and some scientists think that they came from an even earlier period in India. In the Middle Ages, playing tops became popular again. These teetotum tops evolved into so-called dreidls. On the four sides of teetotum tops, four Latin letters T, A, D, and N, were marked. They suggested what the player had to do. Later, the letters were replaced according to the country and the players of the game with a letter of the alphabet meaning a certain action. On the sides of the dreidl top there are four letters נ, ג, ה, ש. The fact that Hebrew letters on the sides of the dreidls are a mnemonic expression of the Yiddish language words corresponding to four actions of the teetotum game allows us to think that the spinning tops got into the Jewish culture through the Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazis. Facts allow us to affirm that dreidls, which has become a national Jewish game in our days, is undoubtedly taken from the Germans. It could have happened in about the 16th century A. D. The historical facts and data of archaeological science also provide interesting information about dreidls. Some of them were found during recent archaeological researches in Lithuania. All of them were found in urban cultural layers (Vilnius, Vilkija, Seredžius, Zapyškis, Kulautuva). According to the form they could be divided into three groups. The first, widely known, type of dreidls looks like a cube with an axis (Figs. 5, 6). The second type of dreidl is very similar to the first, the only difference being the lower part of the axis of the second type, which has a form of an overturned pyramid (Figs. 7, 8). The third type is totally different from the previous two. The dreidls are in a form of two square plane surfaces which cross at one axis. They look like small propellers with four paddles and have characters on both sides. Therefore, there are four characters, each repeated twice on such a dreidl. On both sides of the paddle, the same characters are inscribed (Fig. 9).Taking into account that the chronology of all dreidls is not exact, it is possible that these games reached Lithuania in about the 17th century. They spread widely in 18th-19th centuries, and the Jews use them until now. All of them were made from lead or its alloys. They are small, cube-shaped artifacts with the axe to spin them. Almost identical finds are known throughout Europe. Only the third type, four-edged dreidls, are unique. In the meantime, because of their unusual form, it is not known how these dreidls were used
Žiemgalių antkaklės XII-XIII amžiuje
Get PDFIn the 12-13th centuries the custom of wearing neck-ring was disappearing. This period sees only the last evolutionary phase of neck-rings ending with hook and loop.The 12-13th centuries saw the neck-rings of new forms to become widespread - spiral neck-ring with flattened terminals, wire wound band.Necklaces assist in tracing migration processes - a neck-rings of Latgallian origin found in grave No 28 of the Ciemalde burial ground proves the relations between the Semigallians and Latgallians.Spiral neck-rings and other jewellery of the Semigallian origin found in Jakštaičiai-Meškiai, Kuršėnai, Paprūdžiai burial grounds show that at the end of the 13th century the migration routes lead to Lithuania.In the 12-13th centuries, the new fashion of wearing necklaces made of brass spirals, glass beads and cowry shells with a hole was spreading. This custom came from the neighbouring tribes of the Lyvonians, Latgallians and Curonians.Few neck-rings were found in the explored old graves of the 14th century; they are similar, however, quite a lot of splendid necklaces made of brass spirals, glass beads and cowry shells were discovered. The custom might have come to Samogitia thanks to the Semigallian migrants