Institute of Archaeology
Topic
The Late Paleolithic and Mesolithic in the middle part of the Polish Jura in the light of lithic artefacts
PhD. program
Internal/External
Year of admission
2026
Name of the supervisor
PhDr. Marián Soják, PhD.
Contact:
Receiving school
Comenius University Bratislava
Annotation
The objective of the planned research project is to determine the character of Stone Age hunter-gatherer settlements in the Middle Kraków-Częstochowa Upland region. The study will involve technological and typological analyses of lithic artefacts, utilizing both collections from previous research and those gathered during this project.
A crucial component of the project will be field surveys and excavations, during which the implementation of flotation and wet-sieving techniques will facilitate the recovery of botanical and faunal remains that have previously been lacking. These materials are expected to provide significant environmental data. Of particular importance are samples of charcoal, which will be subjected to carbon dating, if to attempt to establish a chronological framework for the investigated area. If lack of carbon will be observed, OSL analyses of sediments will be provided instead of carbon dating.
Additional studies will include morphometric analyses, comparative studies and geomorphological research. A comprehensive terrain analysis will be performed to assess its influence on the mobility patterns of the hunter-gatherers in the region. Another important aspect of the project will be raw material studies, as the area in question is rich in siliceous rock outcrops. A key issue to be addressed is the extraction and use of Jurassic type G flint, which, although typically associated with Eneolithic communities, may have been exploited locally by other cultural groups during the Stone Age.
The findings of the project will enable the verification of several hypotheses, including the continuity of the end of Early and Middle Stone Age occupation in the middle part of the Polish Jura, the cultural affiliations of the region’s inhabitants during this period and the acquisition of precise chronological data for settlement activity in the study area.
A crucial component of the project will be field surveys and excavations, during which the implementation of flotation and wet-sieving techniques will facilitate the recovery of botanical and faunal remains that have previously been lacking. These materials are expected to provide significant environmental data. Of particular importance are samples of charcoal, which will be subjected to carbon dating, if to attempt to establish a chronological framework for the investigated area. If lack of carbon will be observed, OSL analyses of sediments will be provided instead of carbon dating.
Additional studies will include morphometric analyses, comparative studies and geomorphological research. A comprehensive terrain analysis will be performed to assess its influence on the mobility patterns of the hunter-gatherers in the region. Another important aspect of the project will be raw material studies, as the area in question is rich in siliceous rock outcrops. A key issue to be addressed is the extraction and use of Jurassic type G flint, which, although typically associated with Eneolithic communities, may have been exploited locally by other cultural groups during the Stone Age.
The findings of the project will enable the verification of several hypotheses, including the continuity of the end of Early and Middle Stone Age occupation in the middle part of the Polish Jura, the cultural affiliations of the region’s inhabitants during this period and the acquisition of precise chronological data for settlement activity in the study area.