Prehistory of Poland

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The prehistory in the area of ​​today's Poland begins with the Paleolithic .

Paleolithic

The Paleolithic (the Paleolithic), the longest section in human history, had a different course than south of the Carpathian Mountains due to the triple glaciation of Poland . The oldest human traces, individual ancient Paleolithic stone tools , can only be found in southern Poland. They come from the Mindel-Riss interglacial and the Riss-Glacial (between 230,000 and 110,000 BC) from the following Riss-Würm-Interglacial and part of the Würm-Glacial (110,000 to 40,000 BC) already more traces of human presence. They come from u. a. from caves in southern Poland. The flint tools of this time, which typologically belong to the Middle Paleolithic , are more differentiated, which reflects the emergence of a new tradition. The flint knives of the Micoquia - Prądnik culture are characteristic of the Middle Paleolithic .

At the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic (around 40,000 BC) the anatomically modern man ( Homo sapiens ) appears. The oldest traces, which are dated to an age of 20,000 years, were discovered on Wawel Hill and its cave not far from Krakow . The border of the areas populated by humans shifted to the north and now ran through central Poland. People built huts out of mammoth bones . In addition to the flint, which was produced no later than 13,000 BC. When it was mined, bones began to be used as raw material for the manufacture of tools , spearheads and jewelry. Necklaces were made from animal teeth.

In the late Upper Paleolithic (13th to 9th millennium BC) people made their living from hunting reindeer that inhabited the tundra .

Mesolithic

The further warming of the climate began around 8300 BC. The Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), which lasted until the 5th millennium BC. Lasted. The early Mesolithic is assigned to the Maglemose culture , the late Mesolithic (6000–4000 BC) to the Komornica and Janisławice cultures . Forests covered Poland since the Boreal . In an economy adapted to the forest environment, fishing played a major role. Very small objects ( called microliths by archeology ) were made from flint, the most important raw material for the manufacture of tools, especially arrowheads adapted to the new hunting methods ; Harpoons made from pieces of antler were in use. Realistic animal figurines were made from bone, horn and amber . We know of burials from this age in which the corpses were sprinkled with red chalk, which was probably symbolic. The Janisławice grave is one of the most richly decorated Mesolithic graves in Europe. In the grave cave strewn with red chalk, the body was found with additions of arrowheads, a tooth necklace and bone knives.

Neolithic (Neolithic)

The Neolithic brought the knowledge of agriculture and animal husbandry, which in Central Europe in the form of the linear ceramic (LBK) around 5300 BC. Reached the Vistula . The LBK brought a new ceramic tradition with it, which replaced the one that had been widespread since the Mesolithic with the Narva culture . The band ceramics farmers settled a large area in Europe and had a very similar economic and social structure as well as religion. They colonized the fertile black earth soils on loess . Important settlements were excavated in Kraków-Olszanica (part of Kraków -Zwierzyniec) and Brześć Kujawski , among others .

The line band ceramics are followed by the note head and stitch band ceramics , referred to in Polish archeology as "Late Danube Groups". In contrast to the LBK, which was very uniform, regional cultures emerged. In Poland, parts of Austria and the Czech Republic, this was the stitch band ceramics.

In the 4th millennium, the early Neolithic funnel beaker cultures (TBK) also spread to less fertile soils. They were common from the Netherlands to Ukraine and from Scandinavia to Bohemia and Moravia. New means of agriculture ( plow ) and transport (wagon) can be proven. Some funeral beaker culture burials took place as individual graves, in houses of the dead , in long beds and in passage graves and dolmens .

From around 3100 BC In Central Europe, with a focus on Poland, the spherical amphora culture was added. The carriers of the spherical amphora culture gained flint on a large scale, u. a. mining. A large complex of Neolithic flint pits is located in Krzemionki Opatowskie (southern Poland). More than 3000 shafts have been discovered here on a 4 km long and 15 to 120 meter wide field. Horizontal corridors branch off from the shafts, which are a few meters wide and up to 9 meters deep. The height of the extraction chambers is 0.55 to 1.10 meters. Left standing rock pillars protected the cave system from collapsing, and a clever ventilation system made the heavy work underground possible.

The spherical amphora culture was followed by the end-Neolithic cord ceramic culture , which arose according to 14 C dates in eastern Poland, possibly even further east. It is characterized by tucked individual burials in a gender-specific orientation in flat graves , partly under burial mounds, partly as subsequent burials in megalithic structures of the funnel cup culture.

Bronze and Iron Ages

The use of copper in Poland has been documented since the Jordansmühl culture . The Early Bronze Age began from 1800 BC. BC in the western areas with the Central European Aunjetitz culture , while in eastern Poland the culture of corded ceramics continued to exist. In addition to handicraft, trade developed: some faience pearls , gold and Mediterranean mussels are evidence of far-reaching connections. Specialized handicrafts and the beginning of trade favored further social differentiation. A rich body grave from the A2 period was discovered in Łęki Małe . A stone chamber had been built under a four meter high and 45 meter wide burial mound. In addition to the skeletons of a man and a woman and clay pots, numerous bronze objects were found, including a dagger and gold jewelry. The Trzciniec culture (1600–1300 BC) is known from settlements with bell-shaped storage pits such as Jakuszowice and from burial mounds. Horse harness indicates a connection to the Carpathian region . Overall, bronze remains rare. The Trzciniec culture is usually divided into three phases (B, C and D). The mass graves of the Trzciniec culture are interesting. In Wolica Nowa 23 skeletons were found in one grave, in Kosin 28 skeletons (eleven women, ten men and seven children). It has not yet been clarified whether these are family graves, warriors' graves or the burial of a "prince" with his followers. Fragmentary human remains could indicate cannibalism. [Source?]

View of part of the late Bronze Age Otomani Füzesabony earth building, street and gatehouse from 1650 BC from Trzcinica near Jasło - reconstructed castle settlement (2016)
The Otomani Füzesabony huts, around 1650 to around 1350 BC , Trzcinica near Jasło (2016)

From around the 15th century BC. From the Trzciniec and the Vorlausitzer culture, the Lusatian culture , which occupied most of what is now Poland, arose. Around 1200 BC Chr. ( Ha AB) established the custom of cremation , which was already widespread in the Central European urn field culture , and which could indicate a changed religion. The livelihood was based as before, mainly on agriculture and domestic animals. In addition to cereals, pulses and oil fruits as well as vegetables and fruits were cultivated. Hunting played a minor role.

Reconstructed pile dwelling settlement Biskupin , around 700–400 BC Chr.

The carriers of Lusatian culture lived in open and fortified settlements. The former were inhabited throughout the duration of this culture. The walled castle settlements appeared at the end of the Bronze Age and played an important role in the Early Iron Age . The most famous example is the pile dwelling settlement near Biskupin , north of Gnesen , which dates back to 700 BC. Founded around 400 BC. Was destroyed. Discovered by chance in the 1930s, the settlement on an island consisted of 106 almost identical houses and was surrounded by a defensive wall made of box-like wooden trunks, which was filled with earth and stones. The settlement should have counted a total of around 1250 inhabitants. The Lusatian culture lasted until the Early Iron Age, until the end of the Hallstatt period ( Billendorfer culture ). From the 7th century, the Lusatian culture developed into the Pomeranian face urn culture .

Roman Imperial Era

State graves of Lübsow

During the Roman Empire , the population of what is now Poland maintained trade relations with Rome and Greece via the Amber Road . Graves with Roman officer's brooches and other imports from the earlier imperial era are also known ( Lübsow group ), which probably point to returned mercenaries or followers. The group is named after a rich body grave in Lübsow , (Polish: Lubieszewo in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship ).

Germanic tribes

From around 750 BC Germanic tribes immigrated to the north-west of what is now Poland , and within 500 years they spread south to the Giant Mountains. The Roman historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus described the Vistula as the eastern border of the Germanic settlement area around the year 75 . He localized the Rugians and Gepids on the Baltic Sea, Burgundy and Goths in the center of the country and Vandals and Bastarnen in the south, as well as the non-Germanic Venedae east of the Vistula . At the end of the 2nd century the East Germanic tribes began to migrate to the south and east.

The Germanic settlement ended in the course of the 4th and 5th centuries with the migration of peoples .

Legendary rulers of Poland

In Polish historiography, various early rulers have been named since the 12th century, whose existence is uncertain or unlikely according to today's knowledge.

Slavic settlement

Development of the Western Slavs

In the 6th century, under the onslaught of the Avars coming from Central Asia, Slavic tribes began to settle in these areas. The Slavs, displaced from their homeland between the Carpathian Mountains and the Don , moved west and south.

The first attempts to establish a state among the Western Slavs took place south of present-day Poland in the Czech Republic and Slovakia . Around 626 the Samo Empire was founded in the fight against the Avar and Franconian empires (the existence of which is only attested by the Fredegar Chronicle ). The first historically documented ruler of the Western Slavs was called Derwan , who entered into an alliance with Samo in 632. After the collapse of the Samo Empire around 660, written records about Western Slavs are missing; only in the time of Charlemagne do the sources mention these peoples again.

Border marks were set up to protect the Franconian Empire from the pagan Slavs . The Limes Sorabicus was created . After the subjugation of the Avar Confederation by the Frankish armies around 800, the Pannonian Mark emerged on the eastern flank of the empire. The Moravian and Nitra Principality , from which the later Moravian Empire emerged around 830, were of greatest importance among the associations that settled there . Towards the end of the 9th century, this Christian empire under Grand Duke Sventopluk reached its greatest extent and expanded its sphere of influence to the territories of the neighboring tribes.

Poland from the 7th to 10th centuries

At the beginning of the 7th century, the Slavic tribes spread along major rivers such as the Vistula and the Oder over the territory of present-day Poland. They lived mainly on waterways, numerous castles are known. There are two doctrines opposing each other, which assume a western origin (autochthonous) or an eastern (allochthonous). During the 1st millennium AD, however, there were no archaeological sites in Poland that had a continuous Slavic settlement layer. Therefore, the origin of the early medieval Slavic culture is considered an unsolved problem ( Andrzej Buko ).

On the Baltic coast there were settlements of residents of Scandinavian origin such as the large trading center Jomsburg on the island of Wolin or near Danzig . Baltic Prussian tribes lived on the lower Vistula and east of it .

In the 9th century, the so-called Bavarian geographer mentions names of Slavic tribes in the area of ​​today's Poland, such as Wislanen , Goplanen , Dedosizen , Slensanen , Lendizen and others.

The tribes of Silesia and around Kraków have been part of the Great Moravian Empire since around 874 . In a report on the work of the Slav apostle Methodius u. a. reports about a prince of Wislech who was to be convinced of the baptism. The oldest known church in the country can be found on the Wawel from this period.

After the end of the Great Moravian Empire in 907, the political affiliation of these areas is unclear. From 953, 973 at the latest, Silesia and Lesser Poland up to Bug and Stryj belong to the sphere of influence of the Bohemian Přemyslids . Previously unpopulated areas in Greater Poland are now comparatively densely populated. Fortifications were built in the second half of the 10th century according to a uniform model in Bnin , Giecz ( Powiat Średzki (Greater Poland) ), Gnesen , Grzybowo, Ostrów Lednicki , Posen and Smarzewo ( Powiat Starogardzki ). Later on, new fortresses were built in the neighboring areas after the existing ones had been burned down, so that here it is assumed that territorial rule was extended, which the written sources do not record. This creates the impression in the sources that an empire emerged from nothing. Because during this time Mieszko I, the first ruler of the Piast dynasty, came into the focus of historiography. With him, the Polish prehistory and early history ends: "From the fog of legends, Poland enters European history with a capable ruler", as the historian Manfred Alexander put it.

See also

literature

Remarks

  1. ^ Emil Hoffmann: Lexicon of the Stone Age , 2012, p. 151.
  2. ^ Marek Novak, Hunter-Gatherers and early ceramics in Poland. In: Peter Jordan, Marek Zvelebil (Ed.): Ceramics before farming. The dispersal of pottery among prehistoric Eurasian hunter-gatherers . Publications of the Institute of Archeology, University College London. Walnut Creek, Left Coast Press 2009, 450
  3. ↑ Sarunas Milisauskas, Archaeological investigations on the linear culture village of Olszanica. Wrocław, Zakład Narodowy Imienia Ossolińskich 1976; Sarunas Milisauskas, Early Neolithic settlement and society at Olszanica. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan 19. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Museum of Anthropology
  4. ↑ Janusz Czebreszuk, Marzena Szmyt: Identities, Differentiation and Interactions on the Central European Plain in the 3rd millennium BC . In: Hansen / Müller, Social Archaeological Perspectives: Social Change 5000–1500 BC Between the Atlantic and the Caucasus . Tisza 2011
  5. ^ Peter Bogucki: Animal Traction and Household Economies in Neolithic Europe . in: Antiquity 67 (1993) 492-503.
  6. ^ Magdalena Midgley , TRB culture: first farmers of the North European plain . Edinburgh University Press, 1992; Magdalena Midgley, The Megaliths of Northern Europe . Routledge, 2008.
  7. ↑ Martin Furholt, The Absolute Chronological Dating of Cord Ceramics in Central Europe and Southern Scandinavia. University research on prehistoric archeology 101. Bonn, Habelt 2003
  8. ↑ Barbara Ottaway , Earliest copper artifacts of the northalpine region: their analysis and evaluation. Writings of the Seminar for Prehistory of the University of Bern 7. Bern: Seminar for Prehistory, 1982.
  9. ↑ Kazimierz Godłowski, Jakuszowice - a multi-period settlement in southern Poland. Antiquity 65 (Number: 248), 1991, 662
  10. ^ J. Górski, Osada kultury trzcinieckiej w Jakuszowicach. Kraków 1991
  11. ^ Hans Jürgen Eggers : Lübzow, a Germanic princely seat of the older imperial times. In: Prehistoric Journal . Volume 34/35, 1953, pp. 58-111.
  12. ^ Andrzej Buko: The Archeology of Early Medieval Poland. Discoveries, Hypotheses, Interpretations , Brill, 2008, p. 55 f.
  13. ↑ "The origin of the Slavs remained a topic of considerable interest (though a problem that remained unsolved, despite the organization of many conferences and discussions)" (Andrzej Buko: Archeoligia Polski. Wczesnosredniowiecznej. Odkryccia - hiptezy - interpretacje , Warsaw 2008, p 454).
  14. ↑ Manfred Alexander : Kleine Geschichte Polens , Reclam, 2008, p. 16.
  15. ^ Boundary description of the diocese of Prague
  16. ^ Nora Berend, Przemysław Urbańczyk, Przemysław Wiszewski: Central Europe in the High Middle Ages. Bohemia, Hungary and Poland c. 900-c.1300 , Cambridge University Press, 2013, p. 118.
  17. ↑ Manfred Alexander : Kleine Geschichte Polens , Reclam, 2008, p. 16.