The beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic in Poland in the light of new radiometric data

Andrzej Wiśniewski1, Piotr Moska2, Maciej T. Krajcarz3, Magdalena Procyk-Sudoł4, Krzysztof Cyrek4

1. Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Szewska 48, 50-139 Wrocław, Pl

2. Division of Geochronology and Environmental Isotopes, Institute of Physics, Silesian University of Technology: Gliwice, Konarskiego 22B street, 44-100 Gliwice, Pl

3. Institute of Geological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Pl

4. Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, 87-100 Toruń, Pl

The emergence of new technologies in Poland and other Central European regions, illustrated by the advanced Levallois system , until recently was schematically placed in MIS 8. The period of “great change” was linked with the younger Acheulean (assemblages with handaxes) or early Micoquian industries (Burdukiewicz, 1999; Cyrek et al., 2010; Kozłowski, 2014, 2017). These conclusions were based on the results of dating carried out by TL and OSL techniques. The typological analyses also played an essential role in this discussion, although the archaeological collections were rather small.

In this work, we present our revisiting of all sites from Poland that have ever been identified with early Middle Palaeolithic. We show that the post-IR IRSL (pIRIR) method based on a luminescence signal of potassium feldspar is a reliable method for determining the chronology of early Middle Paleolithic sites . Basing on new data, we present a new chronological scheme. Our data suggests that introducing of advanced Middle Palaeolithic innovations may have occurred during MIS 7 and early MIS 6, and there is no solid evidence for earlier chronology. The earliest Middle Palaeolithic in Poland is represented by flake assemblages formed with, among other things, Levallois technology. An interesting aspect is the presence of bifacial technology. Its origins are difficult to determine, but we do not rule out links to the Acheulean environment.

References

Burdukiewicz, J.M., 1999. Pięściak aszelski z Owsiszcz, gm. Krzyżanowice, Śląskie Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 41, 7-21.

Cyrek, K., Socha, P., Stefaniak, K., Madeyska, T., Mirosław-Grabowska, J., Sudoł, M., Czyżewski, Ł., 2010. Palaeolithic of Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland) within the environmental background. Quaternary International 220, 5-30.

Kozłowski, J.K., 2014. Middle Palaeolithic variability in Central Europe: Mousterian vs Micoquian. Quaternary International 326-327, 344-363.

Kozłowski, J.K., 2017. L’impact de l’environnement sur l’évolution biologique et culturelle dans les périodes de transition en Préhistoire: Paléolithique ancien/moyen et Paléolithique moyen/supérieur. Comptes Rendus Palevol 16, 200-217.