Cave funeral practices during the Roman and Migration Periods in the Cracow Upland, southern Poland

Bibliographic Data

ID13094718
AuthorsM Wojenka (0000-0002-6205-5627, Jagiellonian University), Bartosz Kontny (0000-0003-3627-046X, University of Warsaw), Marzena J Przybyła (Jagiellonian University), Anita Szczepanek (0000-0003-0936-767X, Polish Academy of Sciences), Elżbieta Jaskulska (0000-0001-8786-5602, University of Warsaw), Zdzislaw Belka (0000-0001-9634-610X, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań), Rafał Fetner (0000-0002-9489-0424, University of Warsaw), Tomasz Goslar (0000-0002-1346-3122, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań), Grzegorz Czajka (0000-0002-1311-1274, University of Warsaw), Danijela Popović (0000-0003-1025-3776, University of Warsaw), M Baca (0000-0003-2174-3914, University of Warsaw), J Wilczyński (0000-0002-9786-0693, Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals), M Kot (0000-0001-5277-0283, University of Warsaw, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume52
Pages104250-104250
Publication date2023-10-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Archaeological Science Reports (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2352-409X • E-ISSN: 2352-4103
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104250
OpenAlexW4387792317
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited63

Although caves have been used for funerary purposes almost since the dawn of time, there is very little evidence of such use in Central European Barbaricum. This paper presents newly obtained results from the Cracow Upland (southern Poland) concerning multiple skeletal remains that apparently share a similar third–fifth centuries AD chronology, corresponding to the Late Roman and Early Migration Periods. Multiple analyses have been performed to supplement archaeological data, including radiocarbon dating, osteoarchaeological analysis, ancient DNA research and isotopic analysis. The complex picture points towards unusual burial practices, which generally spanned from the third to the fifth centuries AD and involved a broad demographic, with no indication of selection based on an individual's biological profile. Isotopic analysis has also indicated the individuals’ heterogeneity with regard to diet and local versus nonlocal origin. The results point towards the previously unrecognized unique role of caves in the Przeworsk culture, then present in southern Poland

Ancient DNA · Archaeology · Art · Biology · Cave · Chronology · Geography · Isotope analysis · Period (music · Population · Radiocarbon dating · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Demography · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Ecology