Papers by Michal Sołtysiak
Folia Praehistorica Posnaniensia, Dec 15, 2020
Dyskusja na temat definicji "miejskości" grodów w średniowieczu na ziemiach słowiańskich ma długą... more Dyskusja na temat definicji "miejskości" grodów w średniowieczu na ziemiach słowiańskich ma długą tradycję. Już we wczesnym średniowieczu mamy do czynienia z tzw. "zalążkami miast", centrami wielofunkcyjnymi pełniącymi funkcję miast i grodami miejskimi, jak również z licznymi mniejszymi grodami, którym ciężko przypisywać rolę pierwszych miast. Modele zachodnioeuropejskich miast i ich procesów urbanizacyjnych są trudne do porównania ze wspomnianymi formami osadniczymi, jeśli w analizie staramy się podkreślać postrzymskie, zachodnioeuropejskie rozumienie miast, bez podejścia funkcjonalnego, skoncentrowanego na rzeczywistej roli danych ośrodków w swoim regionie, uzyskujemy obraz, gdzie nie ma żadnych miast, a z punktu widzenia archeologii. Pojawiły się liczne koncepcje na temat definiowania różnych stadiów rozwoju grodów, ale brakuje prób uporządkowania obecnie spotykanej terminologii, bo krótko mówiąc, "gród grodowi nierówny". Bardzo dobrze to widać u ujścia Odry, gdzie mamy nie tylko terminologię wypracowaną przez polskich badaczy, 1 Badania zostały sfinansowane ze środków Narodowego Centrum Nauki przyznanych w ramach finansowania stażu po uzyskaniu stopnia naukowego doktora na podstawie decyzji numer DEC-2014/12/S/ HS3/00013. The research was funded by the National Science Center awarded in as part of financing the internship after obtaining a doctoral degree based on decision number DEC-2014/12 / S / HS3 / 00013.
The aim of the article is to analyse the possibilities and the needs for achievements of historic... more The aim of the article is to analyse the possibilities and the needs for achievements of historical sciences (especially archeology) in game studies. In the current discussion about this field, it is stated that games are merely entertainment, oriented only at pleasure, and as such are not a significant cultural element. All the stories in games are generally an effect of casual creation. Even those using historical knowledge and picturing the past are not actually evaluated as a voice in the discussion about the promoted image of our true past. The question is whether this approach is not a result of misguided postmodernism, where a part of the problem of "the multiplicity of truths" is often evaluating the form, not the content. If so, it legitimizes any recombination of the content and promotes obsolete theories, considering them as some of many truths, whether or not they were already outdated.
Homo Ludens, 2014
Archaeology of chess. A contribution to the study of legitimacy of cultural changes concerning th... more Archaeology of chess. A contribution to the study of legitimacy of cultural changes concerning the status of women in the Middle Ages. The case of the transformation of the vizier into the queen The popular set of chess pieces, seemingly fixed and eternal, does not reflect the look and character of the original version of this game. The first sets discovered in excavations did not contain the figures we know, such as the queen, bishops and knights. Instead, we had a vizier, elephants, chariots, and horsemen, and their cultural significance was different from that to which we are now used.
Homo Ludens, 2015
Knowledge in the area of the history of everyday life is not represented very strongly in history... more Knowledge in the area of the history of everyday life is not represented very strongly in history coursebooks, which focus generally on political and chronological aspects. The mass culture growing from this shortcoming contains a great number of simplifications, distortions, and falsifications concerning past epochs. This paper concerns one of the more colourful elements of pop culture, which is the myth about Viking helmets with horns on top. The article also discusses the Vikings' contacts with the Slavs and the mutual relations of the peoples living in the Baltic Sea region, so close geographically, but culturally very far apart in terms of the degree of awareness of the users of mass culture, in particular game designers.
Folia Praehistorica Posnaniensia, Dec 15, 2020
In the light of archaeology…" means a statement or conclusion based on archaeological sources, it... more In the light of archaeology…" means a statement or conclusion based on archaeological sources, its practice and theoretical models used in it. But the range of possibilities and persuasiveness of all such statements is very wide. A typical lack of contemporary historiographic literature is the writer's failure to define his own research attitude. Researchers also rarely want to confront their own subjectivity and define their views before they start presenting their explanations for the topic under study. This applies to both the research attitude, evaluation and purposefulness of the sources used, the scope of using the achievements and workshop of anthropology, and the issue of the narrative nature of archaeological writing itself. The aim of this article is to discuss the need for a more substantive attention to theoretical assumptions in archaeological writing, especially in the aspect of creating a historiographic narrative in historical archaeology. While attention is put on belonging to a given theoretical trend, the issues of narrative, persuasive procedures and noticing the narrative style that is chosen are less frequently analyzed. These are very significant characteristics of a given text, as they are directly directed to the reader, i.e., the person to whom our research and conclusions are presented. 1 Badania zostały sfinansowane ze środków Narodowego Centrum Nauki przyznanych w ramach finansowania stażu po uzyskaniu stopnia naukowego doktora na podstawie decyzji numer DEC-2014/12/S/ HS3/00013 (The research was funded by the National Science Center awarded in as part of financing the internship after obtaining a doctoral degree based on decision number DEC-2014/12 / S / HS3 / 00013).
The purpose of this study was to construct a model of the course and dynamics of processes of the... more The purpose of this study was to construct a model of the course and dynamics of processes of the rise and functioning of towns in West Pomerania with regard to their economic foundations (manufacturing, barter and trade). While the book is written primarily from the perspective of medieval archaeology, it was also inspired by a number of theoretical ideas derived from the social sciences and history, including Max Weber's reflections on the development of the idea of town and Richard Hodges’ conclusions relating to the development of the ‘economy of the Dark Ages’ from the perspective of archaeological research. At the same time the book is an attempt at the postulated ‘humanisation’ of archaeology.
In the light of archaeology…" means a statement or conclusion based on archaeological sources, it... more In the light of archaeology…" means a statement or conclusion based on archaeological sources, its practice and theoretical models used in it. But the range of possibilities and persuasiveness of all such statements is very wide. A typical lack of contemporary historiographic literature is the writer's failure to define his own research attitude. Researchers also rarely want to confront their own subjectivity and define their views before they start presenting their explanations for the topic under study. This applies to both the research attitude, evaluation and purposefulness of the sources used, the scope of using the achievements and workshop of anthropology, and the issue of the narrative nature of archaeological writing itself. The aim of this article is to discuss the need for a more substantive attention to theoretical assumptions in archaeological writing, especially in the aspect of creating a historiographic narrative in historical archaeology. While attention is put on belonging to a given theoretical trend, the issues of narrative, persuasive procedures and noticing the narrative style that is chosen are less frequently analyzed. These are very significant characteristics of a given text, as they are directly directed to the reader, i.e., the person to whom our research and conclusions are presented. 1 Badania zostały sfinansowane ze środków Narodowego Centrum Nauki przyznanych w ramach finansowania stażu po uzyskaniu stopnia naukowego doktora na podstawie decyzji numer DEC-2014/12/S/ HS3/00013 (The research was funded by the National Science Center awarded in as part of financing the internship after obtaining a doctoral degree based on decision number DEC-2014/12 / S / HS3 / 00013).
Folia Praehistorica Posnaniensia, 2020
Dyskusja na temat definicji „miejskości” grodów w średniowieczu na ziemiach słowiańskich ma długą... more Dyskusja na temat definicji „miejskości” grodów w średniowieczu na ziemiach słowiańskich ma długą tradycję. Już we wczesnym średniowieczu mamy do czynienia z tzw. „zalążkami miast”, centrami wielofunkcyjnymi pełniącymi funkcję miast i grodami miejskimi, jak również z licznymi mniejszymi grodami, którym ciężko przypisywać rolę pierwszych miast. Modele zachodnioeuropejskich miast i ich procesów urbanizacyjnych są trudne do porównania ze wspomnianymi formami osadniczymi, jeśli w analizie staramy się podkreślać postrzymskie, zachodnioeuropejskie rozumienie miast, bez podejścia funkcjonalnego, skoncentrowanego na rzeczywistej roli danych ośrodków w swoim regionie, uzyskujemy obraz, gdzie nie ma żadnych miast, a z punktu widzenia archeologii. Pojawiły się liczne koncepcje na temat definiowania różnych stadiów rozwoju grodów, ale brakuje prób uporządkowania obecnie spotykanej terminologii, bo krótko mówiąc, „gród grodowi nierówny”. Bardzo dobrze to widać u ujścia Odry, gdzie mamy nie tylko...
The aim of the article is to analyse the possibilities and the needs for achievements of historic... more The aim of the article is to analyse the possibilities and the needs for achievements of historical sciences (especially archeology) in game studies. In the current discussion about this field, it is stated that games are merely entertainment, oriented only at pleasure, and as such are not a significant cultural element. All the stories in games are generally an effect of casual creation. Even those using historical knowledge and picturing the past are not actually evaluated as a voice in the discussion about the promoted image of our true past. The question is whether this approach is not a result of misguided postmodernism, where a part of the problem of “the multiplicity of truths” is often evaluating the form, not the content. If so, it legitimizes any recombination of the content and promotes obsolete theories, considering them as some of many truths, whether or not they were already outdated.
Folia Praehistorica Posnaniensia, Dec 15, 2020
In the light of archaeology…" means a statement or conclusion based on archaeological sources, it... more In the light of archaeology…" means a statement or conclusion based on archaeological sources, its practice and theoretical models used in it. But the range of possibilities and persuasiveness of all such statements is very wide. A typical lack of contemporary historiographic literature is the writer's failure to define his own research attitude. Researchers also rarely want to confront their own subjectivity and define their views before they start presenting their explanations for the topic under study. This applies to both the research attitude, evaluation and purposefulness of the sources used, the scope of using the achievements and workshop of anthropology, and the issue of the narrative nature of archaeological writing itself. The aim of this article is to discuss the need for a more substantive attention to theoretical assumptions in archaeological writing, especially in the aspect of creating a historiographic narrative in historical archaeology. While attention is put on belonging to a given theoretical trend, the issues of narrative, persuasive procedures and noticing the narrative style that is chosen are less frequently analyzed. These are very significant characteristics of a given text, as they are directly directed to the reader, i.e., the person to whom our research and conclusions are presented. 1 Badania zostały sfinansowane ze środków Narodowego Centrum Nauki przyznanych w ramach finansowania stażu po uzyskaniu stopnia naukowego doktora na podstawie decyzji numer DEC-2014/12/S/ HS3/00013 (The research was funded by the National Science Center awarded in as part of financing the internship after obtaining a doctoral degree based on decision number DEC-2014/12 / S / HS3 / 00013).
The purpose of this study was to construct a model of the course and dynamics of processes of the... more The purpose of this study was to construct a model of the course and dynamics of processes of the rise and functioning of towns in West Pomerania with regard to their economic foundations (manufacturing, barter and trade). While the book is written primarily from the perspective of medieval archaeology, it was also inspired by a number of theoretical ideas derived from the social sciences and history, including Max Weber's reflections on the development of the idea of town and Richard Hodges’ conclusions relating to the development of the ‘economy of the Dark Ages’ from the perspective of archaeological research. At the same time the book is an attempt at the postulated ‘humanisation’ of archaeology.
FOLIA PRAEHISTORICA POSNANIENSIA T. XXV, 2020
ABSTRAKT: Dyskusja na temat definicji "miejskości" grodów w średniowieczu na ziemiach słowiańs-ki... more ABSTRAKT: Dyskusja na temat definicji "miejskości" grodów w średniowieczu na ziemiach słowiańs-kich ma długą tradycję. Już we wczesnym średniowieczu mamy do czynienia z tzw. "zalążkami miast", centrami wielofunkcyjnymi pełniącymi funkcję miast i grodami miejskimi, jak również z licznymi mnie-jszymi grodami, którym ciężko przypisywać rolę pierwszych miast. Modele zachodnioeuropejskich miast i ich procesów urbanizacyjnych są trudne do porównania ze wspom-nianymi formami osadniczymi, jeśli w analizie staramy się podkreślać postrzymskie, zachodnioeurope-jskie rozumienie miast, bez podejścia funkcjonalnego, skoncentrowanego na rzeczywistej roli danych ośrodków w swoim regionie, uzyskujemy obraz, gdzie nie ma żadnych miast, a z punktu widzenia arche-ologii. Pojawiły się liczne koncepcje na temat definiowania różnych stadiów rozwoju grodów, ale brakuje prób uporządkowania obecnie spotykanej terminologii, bo krótko mówiąc, "gród grodowi nierówny". Bardzo dobrze to widać u ujścia Odry, gdzie mamy nie tylko terminologię wypracowaną przez polskich badaczy, 1 Badania zostały sfinansowane ze środków Narodowego Centrum Nauki przyznanych w ramach fi-nansowania stażu po uzyskaniu stopnia naukowego doktora na podstawie decyzji numer DEC-2014/12/S/ HS3/00013. The research was funded by the National Science Center awarded in as part of financing the internship after obtaining a doctoral degree based on decision number DEC-2014/12 / S / HS3 / 00013.
FOLIA PRAEHISTORICA POSNANIENSIA t. XXV, 2020
"In the light of archaeology…" means a statement or conclusion based on archaeological sources, i... more "In the light of archaeology…" means a statement or conclusion based on archaeological sources, its practice and theoretical models used in it. But the range of possibilities and persuasiveness of all such statements is very wide. A typical lack of contemporary historiographic literature is the writer's failure to define his own research attitude. Researchers also rarely want to confront their own subjectivity and define their views before they start presenting their explanations for the topic under study. This applies to both the research attitude, evaluation and purposefulness of the sources used, the scope of using the achievements and workshop of anthropology, and the issue of the narrative nature of archaeological writing itself. The aim of this article is to discuss the need for a more substantive attention to theoretical assumptions in archaeological writing, especially in the aspect of creating a historiographic narrative in historical archaeology. While attention is put on belonging to a given theoretical trend, the issues of narrative, persuasive procedures and noticing the narrative style that is chosen are less frequently analyzed. These are very significant characteristics of a given text, as they are directly directed to the reader, i.e., the person to whom our research and conclusions are presented.
Homo Ludens, 2017
The aim of the article is to analyse the possibilities and the needs for achievements of historic... more The aim of the article is to analyse the possibilities and the needs for achievements of historical sciences (especially archeology) in game studies. In the current discussion about this field, it is stated that games are merely entertainment, oriented only at pleasure, and as such are not a significant cultural element. All the stories in games are generally an effect of casual creation. Even those using historical knowledge and picturing the past are not actually evaluated as a voice in the discussion about the promoted image of our true past. The question is whether this approach is not a result of misguided postmodernism, where a part of the problem of " the multiplicity of truths " is often evaluating the form, not the content. If so, it legitimizes any recombination of the content and promotes obsolete theories, considering them as some of many truths, whether or not they were already outdated.
Abstract
Archaeology of things (including also such subjects like “board games”) belongs to the ... more Abstract
Archaeology of things (including also such subjects like “board games”) belongs to the so-called. "New empiricism" (already associated with post-postprocessualism), because is engaged in the extraction of "being of things" and therefore the content of the existence of things in terms of relationships, duration of “things life”, their role and significance in society. It is not only the registration and classification, but tries to show the "closeness of man and things" in the sense of coexistence and interaction, with confirming the inanimate characters of material objects in the same time. Boardgames of the Vikings (especially Hnefatafl) are an invaluable example for such analyzes. We can reliably answer the question of how looks the "existence" of this form of entertainment, not only in practical terms (gameplay), but also symbolic. These games were mentioned in the sagas, shown on rune stones and their "survival" lasted centuries. Forms of pawns, boards and other games elements impress us. Currently also they managed to be reconstructed, all with rules and we can verify that these games still are an attractive way of spending time.
The target of this presentation is not only an analysis on the example of the royal game Hnefatafl, that looked like forms of entertainment among the Vikings and communities in the regions they colonized, but also answer the question: how close is our access to past social reality and symbolism in contemporary archeology (especially one of its thematic units - archeology of things, understood in point of view of Bjorner Olsen, Ian Hodder and other contemporary archaeologists).
Knowledge in the area of the history of everyday life is not represented very strongly in history... more Knowledge in the area of the history of everyday life is not represented very strongly in history coursebooks, which focus generally on political and chronological aspects. The mass culture growing from this shortcoming contains a great number of simplifications, distortions, and falsifications concerning past epochs. This paper concerns one of the more colourful elements of pop culture, which is the myth about Viking helmets with horns on top. The article also discusses the Vikings' contacts with the Slavs and the mutual relations of the peoples living in the Baltic Sea region, so close geographically, but culturally very far apart in terms of the degree of awareness of the users of mass culture, in particular game designers. Keywords: myths of pop culture, archeology, image of the past, education of game designers
Archaeology of chess. A contribution to the study of legitimacy of cultural changes concerning th... more Archaeology of chess. A contribution to the study of legitimacy of cultural changes concerning the status of women in the Middle Ages. The case of the transformation of the vizier into the queen The popular set of chess pieces, seemingly fixed and eternal, does not reflect the look and character of the original version of this game. The first sets discovered in excavations did not contain the figures we know, such as the queen, bishops and knights. Instead, we had a vizier, elephants, chariots, and horsemen, and their cultural significance was different from that to which we are now used. It is worth considering how these changes came to pass and how we can show chronologically the transformation of chess symbolism, from a military game into a court one. The best example is the change of the strongest piece on the chessboard – the vizier – into the queen. Judging by archaeological and historical sources, this transformation took place at the turn of the tenth and eleventh centuries. It may have been influenced by a number of new cultural and also political trends, for chess was not only a game and entertainment, and in the stylistic transformations one can hardly see just an aesthetic change. A set of chess was also a prestigious item, and as such constituted an important symbolic element in the material culture. This arti
Viking's Board Games – reconstruction of board games on the example of hnefatafl Although they ar... more Viking's Board Games – reconstruction of board games on the example of hnefatafl Although they are mentioned in sagas and often shown on rune stones, old board games are a big challenge for researchers trying to answer questions about their actual rules. Exhibiting the remains of such a board game in a cabinet at a museum makes it a static object, not a socially functioning cultural component. It is harder to say how a particular game was played in the past (e.g. what elements and strategies were necessary), as well as to determine if the social prestige of that game was similar to, say, that of chess in later times. There is always a dilemma: whether we are able to reconstruct the rules or just to create a potential, not easily verifiable game image which is based on chronologically later principles. The article is devoted in particular to the reconstruction of the most prestigious of board games in Viking Scandinavia – hnefatafl. Boards and iconic presentations of this game are found in the whole area of Scandinavian influence and contacts, from the British Isles to the shores of the Baltic Sea. The game, known probably from the fifth century AD, was very popular in the whole Viking area, and only with the spread of chess did it lose its preeminence as " the game of kings ". However, this was not the end of its career, because, for instance,
Drafts by Michal Sołtysiak
„Paleo-Urban” Studies of northern and western Polish lands in early medieval times in the light ... more „Paleo-Urban” Studies of northern and western Polish lands in early medieval times in the light of archaeological research.
Interdisciplinary research of economic and sociotopographical development of medieval centers of northern and western Polish lands in the light of archaeological sources
So far, archeology often had to settle for the status of an auxiliary science in research of the medieval urbanization, and its findings were regarded as a complement to the image of this phenomenon, and sometimes even as a secondary data. Urban Studies, as a science dealing with the history of urban development generally focuses on the later periods than the Middle Ages. Its range is typically tested modern city, and the inference is focused on references to today's urban infrastructure, with an emphasis on planning analysis, study the relationship of infrastructure and groups of citizens and to protect the natural and cultural environment . So called " Paleo-Urban” Studies would be an attempt to broaden the plane of the research, the enriching of use of archaeological sources in the urban reflection and creation of research techniques and conceptual study of medieval towns of the Polish lands.
New discoveries and publications materials from previous studies led to the constitution of the whole entire department of archeology, dealing with the interdisciplinary study of historic cities. An attempt to adapt the theories and models of the Urban Studies seems to be necessary to enrich the theoretical workshop created for the needs of urban archeology. The result of adapting the concept developed for the urban planning would be the possibility of developing the more complete analysis of the transformation of strongholds in the towns and cities and the observation of the determinants of these changes.
The basic scope of the source for the study of medieval centers in the northern and western Polish lands, that were prepared already to the needs of my doctoral dissertation, will be enriched during query research for the purpose of verification and update of the status of research for the issues analyzed in the period from the tenth to the thirteenth century. This will be the continuation of my research on the phenomenon of urbanization and the development of social and economic centers of existing northern and western Polish lands. I dealt with this subject both in the master thesis (defining the city in West Pomerania), as well as in the doctoral thesis (analysis of the economic development of the city of West Pomerania in the light of archeology)
The concept of interdisciplinary model research workshop for the issue of urban development history, forming the basis for "Paleo-Urban” Studies could fill the gap in the study of the phenomenon of urbanization on Polish territory in the past. Cities of Piast and Pomeranian centers related or subordinate to them, with all their historiography and excellent research results, ideally act as a foundation for such model, to create the conceptual and theoretical workshop for „Paleo-Urban” Studies of northern and western Polish lands in early medieval times.
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Papers by Michal Sołtysiak
Archaeology of things (including also such subjects like “board games”) belongs to the so-called. "New empiricism" (already associated with post-postprocessualism), because is engaged in the extraction of "being of things" and therefore the content of the existence of things in terms of relationships, duration of “things life”, their role and significance in society. It is not only the registration and classification, but tries to show the "closeness of man and things" in the sense of coexistence and interaction, with confirming the inanimate characters of material objects in the same time. Boardgames of the Vikings (especially Hnefatafl) are an invaluable example for such analyzes. We can reliably answer the question of how looks the "existence" of this form of entertainment, not only in practical terms (gameplay), but also symbolic. These games were mentioned in the sagas, shown on rune stones and their "survival" lasted centuries. Forms of pawns, boards and other games elements impress us. Currently also they managed to be reconstructed, all with rules and we can verify that these games still are an attractive way of spending time.
The target of this presentation is not only an analysis on the example of the royal game Hnefatafl, that looked like forms of entertainment among the Vikings and communities in the regions they colonized, but also answer the question: how close is our access to past social reality and symbolism in contemporary archeology (especially one of its thematic units - archeology of things, understood in point of view of Bjorner Olsen, Ian Hodder and other contemporary archaeologists).
Drafts by Michal Sołtysiak
Interdisciplinary research of economic and sociotopographical development of medieval centers of northern and western Polish lands in the light of archaeological sources
So far, archeology often had to settle for the status of an auxiliary science in research of the medieval urbanization, and its findings were regarded as a complement to the image of this phenomenon, and sometimes even as a secondary data. Urban Studies, as a science dealing with the history of urban development generally focuses on the later periods than the Middle Ages. Its range is typically tested modern city, and the inference is focused on references to today's urban infrastructure, with an emphasis on planning analysis, study the relationship of infrastructure and groups of citizens and to protect the natural and cultural environment . So called " Paleo-Urban” Studies would be an attempt to broaden the plane of the research, the enriching of use of archaeological sources in the urban reflection and creation of research techniques and conceptual study of medieval towns of the Polish lands.
New discoveries and publications materials from previous studies led to the constitution of the whole entire department of archeology, dealing with the interdisciplinary study of historic cities. An attempt to adapt the theories and models of the Urban Studies seems to be necessary to enrich the theoretical workshop created for the needs of urban archeology. The result of adapting the concept developed for the urban planning would be the possibility of developing the more complete analysis of the transformation of strongholds in the towns and cities and the observation of the determinants of these changes.
The basic scope of the source for the study of medieval centers in the northern and western Polish lands, that were prepared already to the needs of my doctoral dissertation, will be enriched during query research for the purpose of verification and update of the status of research for the issues analyzed in the period from the tenth to the thirteenth century. This will be the continuation of my research on the phenomenon of urbanization and the development of social and economic centers of existing northern and western Polish lands. I dealt with this subject both in the master thesis (defining the city in West Pomerania), as well as in the doctoral thesis (analysis of the economic development of the city of West Pomerania in the light of archeology)
The concept of interdisciplinary model research workshop for the issue of urban development history, forming the basis for "Paleo-Urban” Studies could fill the gap in the study of the phenomenon of urbanization on Polish territory in the past. Cities of Piast and Pomeranian centers related or subordinate to them, with all their historiography and excellent research results, ideally act as a foundation for such model, to create the conceptual and theoretical workshop for „Paleo-Urban” Studies of northern and western Polish lands in early medieval times.
Archaeology of things (including also such subjects like “board games”) belongs to the so-called. "New empiricism" (already associated with post-postprocessualism), because is engaged in the extraction of "being of things" and therefore the content of the existence of things in terms of relationships, duration of “things life”, their role and significance in society. It is not only the registration and classification, but tries to show the "closeness of man and things" in the sense of coexistence and interaction, with confirming the inanimate characters of material objects in the same time. Boardgames of the Vikings (especially Hnefatafl) are an invaluable example for such analyzes. We can reliably answer the question of how looks the "existence" of this form of entertainment, not only in practical terms (gameplay), but also symbolic. These games were mentioned in the sagas, shown on rune stones and their "survival" lasted centuries. Forms of pawns, boards and other games elements impress us. Currently also they managed to be reconstructed, all with rules and we can verify that these games still are an attractive way of spending time.
The target of this presentation is not only an analysis on the example of the royal game Hnefatafl, that looked like forms of entertainment among the Vikings and communities in the regions they colonized, but also answer the question: how close is our access to past social reality and symbolism in contemporary archeology (especially one of its thematic units - archeology of things, understood in point of view of Bjorner Olsen, Ian Hodder and other contemporary archaeologists).
Interdisciplinary research of economic and sociotopographical development of medieval centers of northern and western Polish lands in the light of archaeological sources
So far, archeology often had to settle for the status of an auxiliary science in research of the medieval urbanization, and its findings were regarded as a complement to the image of this phenomenon, and sometimes even as a secondary data. Urban Studies, as a science dealing with the history of urban development generally focuses on the later periods than the Middle Ages. Its range is typically tested modern city, and the inference is focused on references to today's urban infrastructure, with an emphasis on planning analysis, study the relationship of infrastructure and groups of citizens and to protect the natural and cultural environment . So called " Paleo-Urban” Studies would be an attempt to broaden the plane of the research, the enriching of use of archaeological sources in the urban reflection and creation of research techniques and conceptual study of medieval towns of the Polish lands.
New discoveries and publications materials from previous studies led to the constitution of the whole entire department of archeology, dealing with the interdisciplinary study of historic cities. An attempt to adapt the theories and models of the Urban Studies seems to be necessary to enrich the theoretical workshop created for the needs of urban archeology. The result of adapting the concept developed for the urban planning would be the possibility of developing the more complete analysis of the transformation of strongholds in the towns and cities and the observation of the determinants of these changes.
The basic scope of the source for the study of medieval centers in the northern and western Polish lands, that were prepared already to the needs of my doctoral dissertation, will be enriched during query research for the purpose of verification and update of the status of research for the issues analyzed in the period from the tenth to the thirteenth century. This will be the continuation of my research on the phenomenon of urbanization and the development of social and economic centers of existing northern and western Polish lands. I dealt with this subject both in the master thesis (defining the city in West Pomerania), as well as in the doctoral thesis (analysis of the economic development of the city of West Pomerania in the light of archeology)
The concept of interdisciplinary model research workshop for the issue of urban development history, forming the basis for "Paleo-Urban” Studies could fill the gap in the study of the phenomenon of urbanization on Polish territory in the past. Cities of Piast and Pomeranian centers related or subordinate to them, with all their historiography and excellent research results, ideally act as a foundation for such model, to create the conceptual and theoretical workshop for „Paleo-Urban” Studies of northern and western Polish lands in early medieval times.