Papers by Mirosław Masojć
Sprawozdania Archeologiczne, 1999
Multiculture site 3/14 at Malnie was examined by E. Matuszczak and K. Jarosz, both MA, during the... more Multiculture site 3/14 at Malnie was examined by E. Matuszczak and K. Jarosz, both MA, during the rescue excavations on the area of freeway A4 under construction, in Opole province. The authors of the paper have made on the place a specific research aiming at the Stone Age settlement. The site is located on the bank of a high Pleistocene terrace of the Odra River, in that particular place being the westernmost part of the Chelm Hills range (Fig. 1). In the course of the research 1415 flint artifacts has been recovered. Most of them were concentrated on the area of ca. 14 sq. meters (Fig. 2). The place, besides increased frequency of artifacts, was distinguished by a specific color and fraction of the sediments. Distribution of artifacts (indicaticting a flint-processing workshop) and their technological and typological similarities sugest that the material represent a homogenous assemblage associated with the Mesolithic Komornica-Duvensee complex. Such an inference is based mainly on a set of segmental blades, (Fig. 5, Table II) that includs the backed blades of the Stawinoga type and equilateral and also inequilateral triangles. The Malnie site is characteristic by lack of semi-backed blades of the Komornice type. This feature places it close to nearby sites Dzierzno 1 and 3, where the artifacts in question are rare. In the scope of chronology, lack of technological elements related to small-blade core chipping (Fig. 3) and rarity of trapezes, allows to associate the Malnie assemblage with the end of the Boreal period or the beginning the Atlantic period.
Sprawozdania Archeologiczne, 1999
Śląskie Sprawozdania Archeologiczne, 1999
Sprawozdania archeologiczne, 2000
Résumé/Abstract Site Wysoka 57 was discovered by Jaroslaw Bronowicki during an archaeological sur... more Résumé/Abstract Site Wysoka 57 was discovered by Jaroslaw Bronowicki during an archaeological survey of the construction of freeway A4 in the Opole province, in the area of the St. Anna Mountain (Fig. 1). The rescue excavation of the site has been conducted by the Wroclaw Branch of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences. Archaeological artifacts were found scattered over an easy southeastern slope of a no-name hill. The summit of the hill crowned by limestone rocks is immediately above the site. The ...
Comptes Rendus Palevol, 2023
This paper presents a case study from the Hiem cave (Hoà Bình province, North Vietnam) showing ho... more This paper presents a case study from the Hiem cave (Hoà Bình province, North Vietnam) showing how a multidisciplinary approach in archaeological research can develop knowledge on the everyday life of the hunter-gatherer Hoabinhian groups occupying the cave during the early Holocene (8500-8200 cal BC). The archaeological analysis presents the characteristic Hoabinhian artefacts and their usage, while archeozoological, malacological and archaeobotanical research throw light on the way of life, including plant and animal elements of a daily diet as well as the settlement seasonality of the cave.
Journal of Field Archaeology, 2021
This paper presents the results of the analysis of a late Acheulean horizon from the EDAR 135 sit... more This paper presents the results of the analysis of a late Acheulean horizon from the EDAR 135 site, which was discovered in the Eastern Desert, Sudan, in an area heavily transformed by modern mining activity. A lithic assemblage was discovered there, within a layer of gravel sediments formed by a paleostream in a humid period of the Middle Pleistocene. This layer is OSL dated between 220 ± 12 and 145 ± 20 ka (MIS 7a/6). These dates indicate that the assemblage could be the youngest trace of the Acheulean in northeastern Africa. Technological analysis of the lithics reveals different core reduction strategies, including not only ad hoc ones based on multiplatform cores, but also discoidal and prepared cores. The use of prepared core reduction methods has already been confirmed at other Late Acheulean sites in Africa and the Middle East. Microwear traces observed on lithic artifacts could relate to on-site butchering activities.
Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 2015
ABSTRACT Further Neolithic encampments and settlements have been explored by the Combined Prehist... more ABSTRACT Further Neolithic encampments and settlements have been explored by the Combined Prehistoric Expedition in the Nabta Playa Basin on the southern border of Egypt's Western Desert around 100 km west of the Nile Valley. Site E-08-2 in Nabta Playa, excavated in 2008-2009, provided considerable new information on the El Adam settlement, which functioned in the younger phase of the El Adam horizon, sometime between 9000 and 8800 BP (c. 8200-8000 cal. BC). This new evidence facilitates the understanding of the direction of the site's development and shows how the discovery of new sources of raw material that are situated several dozen kilometres to the north affected flint working there.
Plos One, 2021
Although essential for reconstructing hominin behaviour during the Early Palaeolithic, only a han... more Although essential for reconstructing hominin behaviour during the Early Palaeolithic, only a handful of Acheulean sites have been dated in the Eastern Sahara region. This is due to the scarcity of sites for this time period and the lack of datable material. However, recent excavations in the Atbara region (Sudan) have provided unique opportunities to analyse and date Acheulean stone tools. We report here on EDAR 7, part of a cluster of Acheulean and Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites that were recently discovered in the Eastern Desert Atbara River (EDAR) region, located in the Eastern Desert (Sudan) far from the Nile valley. At EDAR 7, a 3.5 metre sedimentary sequence was excavated, allowing an Acheulean assemblage to be investigated using a combination of sedimentology, stone tool studies and optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL). The site has delivered a complete Acheu-lean knapping chaine opé ratoire, providing new information about the Saharan Acheulean. The EDAR 7 site is interpreted as a remnant of a campsite based on the co-occurrence of two reduction modes: one geared towards the production of Large Cutting Tools (LCTs), and the other based on the flaking of small debitage and production of flake tools. Particularly notable in the EDAR 7 assemblage is the abundance of cleavers, most of which display evidence of flake production. Implementation of giant Kombewa flakes was also observed. A geometric morphometric analysis of hand-axes was conducted to verify a possible Late Acheulean assemblage standardisation in the Nubian Sahara. In addition, the analysis of micro-traces and wear on the artefacts has provided information on the use history of the Acheulean stone tools. Sediment analyses and OSL dating show that the EDAR 7 sequence PLOS ONE
Journal of Human Evolution, 2019
The Sahara Desert episodically became a space available for hominins in the Pleistocene. Mostly, ... more The Sahara Desert episodically became a space available for hominins in the Pleistocene. Mostly, desert conditions prevailed during the interpluvial periods, which were only periodically interrupted by enhanced precipitation during pluvial or interglacial periods. Responding to Quaternary climatic changes, hominin dispersal was channeled through vegetated corridors. This manuscript introduces a recently discovered group of Acheulean and Middle Stone Age sites far from the Nile Valley in the Eastern Desert (Sudan), referred to as Eastern Desert Atbara River (EDAR). The ~5 m stratigraphy of the area is divided into three units (Units IeIII) bounded by erosion surfaces. Each contains archaeological horizons.
The EDAR area has rich surface sites with Acheulean horizons under the surface, singular finds of handaxes
within stratigraphic context in exposures, and large Acheulean sites partly exposed and destroyed
by the gold mining activity. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of Acheulean and MSA horizons
from the EDAR 135 site indicates that the sedimentary deposits with stone artifacts were formed
during the Middle Pleistocene between Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 7 (pluvial) and 6 (interpluvial).
Based on the OSL dating from the top of Unit IB, Acheulean artifact-bearing sedimentary deposits from
overlying Unit IIA are younger than ca. 231 ka. Unit IA is the oldest Acheulean horizon in the EDAR area,
not yet dated but definitively older than ca. 231 ka. An MSA horizon found in fluvial sediment was dated
to be between 156 and 181 ka by OSL. The EDAR Pleistocene archaeological sites provide evidence for the
presence of additional corridor(s) across Nubia, which connects the early hominin dispersals from the
Nile and Atbara River systems to the Red Sea coast.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2017
Comptes Rendus Palevol, 2019
A Pleistocene deposit of jasper cores was discovered in the Gobi Altai Mountains, within the Arts... more A Pleistocene deposit of jasper cores was discovered in the Gobi Altai Mountains, within the Arts Bogdyn Nuruu massif in southern Mongolia. It was situated on a mountain ridge above the Khutul Usny valley at a height of ca. 1500 m a.s.l., away from human settlement. Examination of traces of the artefacts’ use proved that at least some of them display evidence of working. Technological analysis of the artefacts revealed that the find should be related to the Levallois-Mousterian population of the central Asian Middle Palaeolithic. The cache from Arts Bogdyn Nuruu is the first discovery of this type recorded within the Gobi Desert. It is a potential source of information contributing to the discussion of the specific nature of raw material exploitation, the dynamics of settlement and hunting strategies in the Altai region.
In: J. Kabaciński, M. Chłodnicki, M. Kobusiewicz, M. Winiarska-Kabacińska (Eds.) Desert and the Nile. Prehistory of the Nile Basin and the Sahara. Poznań Archaeological Museum. Poznań, 2018
This article discusses the pottery material from two early to middle Holocene sites from the west... more This article discusses the pottery material from two early to middle Holocene sites from the western part of the Bayuda desert: BP133 and BP424. The sites are situated at a distance of ca. 60 km from each other in very different geological contexts. The site situated closer to the Nile – BP133, is located in the area of volcanic culminations (Basement Complex), while site BP424 is located within sedimentary deposits (Cretaceous Nubian Sandstone Formation). In both sites a small area was excavated.
The article informs about the survey carried out by the Polish-Mongolian Archaeological Expeditio... more The article informs about the survey carried out by the Polish-Mongolian Archaeological Expedition within the Gobi Altai and its piedmont, in the area comprising the borderland between the aimags of Ömnögovi and Övorkhangai . Abundant archaeological sites situated around the so-called Flint Valley were recorded during the prospections, most of which are connected with the Middle Palaeolithic and the Neolithic. Especially significant is the deposit of jasper artefacts excavated in the Arts Bogdyn Nuruu massif, possibly originating from the latest stages of the Middle Palaeolithic.
The material acquired during the survey to date contributes to the picture of intense settling of the researched area around the Flint Valley. It proves intensive use of environmental resources around the open-air quarry-workshops of rock raw material in the Flint Valley, situated both in the mountainous and steppe-desert areas.
STUDIA ARCHAEOLOGICA INSTITUTI ARCHAEOLOGICI ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARIUM MONGOLICAE, 2019
The article discusses participation of Polish researchers in the archaeological investigations in... more The article discusses participation of Polish researchers in the archaeological investigations in Mongolia and their contribution to the discovery of the region’s past. While mentioning selected excavations and recording work concerning the period when the statehood of contemporary Mongolia formed, it discusses most extensively the investigations focusing on the Palaeolithic and Neolithic in Mongolia.
Lohwasser A., Karberg T., Auenmüller J. (Eds.), Bayuda Studies. Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Archaeology of the Bayuda Desert in Sudan, Meroitica 27 , 2018
While carrying out field studies in the Bayuda desert in 1976–1978, a German-Sudanese geological ... more While carrying out field studies in the Bayuda desert in 1976–1978, a German-Sudanese geological expedition came across rich evidence of human activity dispersed on the surface at numerous sites. The collected stone artefacts, pottery, human remains and photographed rock carvings were catalogued by Klaus-Dieter Meinhold and handed over to the Museum August Kestner in Hanover, Germany. In 2012, the artefact collection from the Bayuda was made available for study to a team of researchers from the University of Wrocław and the Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk.
https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/Bayuda_Studies/titel_5677.ahtml
(in:) Sanne Boddum, Niels Terkildsen (eds.) Status og samfundsstruktur i yngre bronzealders kulturlandskab, Yngre bronzealders kulturlandskab 6, Viborg Museum & Holstebro Museum
(in:) D.H. Werra, M. Woźny (eds.) Between History and Archaeology. Papers in honour of Jacek Lech, Archaeopress Archaeology, Archaeopress Publishing LTD, Oxford
The article presents the Late Bronze Age flint assemblage from Hammerstadt 06 (HAS-06) – site sit... more The article presents the Late Bronze Age flint assemblage from Hammerstadt 06 (HAS-06) – site situated in an open-pit
mine Reichwalde (Tagebau Reichwalde) in Saxony, Germany. The material constitutes a good basis for comparison with Hallstatt
flint assemblages known from Poland so it was compared with a little smaller collection from the remains of a stronghold from
Lusatian culture in Wicina in Poland, situated ca. 40 km to the north-east from Reichwalde. Both sites are placed into a broader
context of European Late Bronze Age flint knapping phenomenon.
(in:) Sharon Gonen and Avraham Ronen (eds.) Suyanggae And Her Neighbours In Haifa, Israel. Proceedings Of The 20th (1) Congress, June 21–28, 2015, Archaeopress Publishing LTD, Gordon House, Oxford.
Beside Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites, lithic materials which could be described as post-Stone ... more Beside Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites, lithic materials which could be described as post-Stone Age stone knapping are often found in the Bayuda Desert in Sudan. Unfortunately, we have almost never been able to prove it. Most of the findings are either loose finds or those deposited in secondary positions. The exception is site BP722 situated within huge volcanic massif interior, where homogenous remains of a campsite with several knapped stone workshops representing very simple flake technology was investigated.
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Papers by Mirosław Masojć
The EDAR area has rich surface sites with Acheulean horizons under the surface, singular finds of handaxes
within stratigraphic context in exposures, and large Acheulean sites partly exposed and destroyed
by the gold mining activity. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of Acheulean and MSA horizons
from the EDAR 135 site indicates that the sedimentary deposits with stone artifacts were formed
during the Middle Pleistocene between Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 7 (pluvial) and 6 (interpluvial).
Based on the OSL dating from the top of Unit IB, Acheulean artifact-bearing sedimentary deposits from
overlying Unit IIA are younger than ca. 231 ka. Unit IA is the oldest Acheulean horizon in the EDAR area,
not yet dated but definitively older than ca. 231 ka. An MSA horizon found in fluvial sediment was dated
to be between 156 and 181 ka by OSL. The EDAR Pleistocene archaeological sites provide evidence for the
presence of additional corridor(s) across Nubia, which connects the early hominin dispersals from the
Nile and Atbara River systems to the Red Sea coast.
The material acquired during the survey to date contributes to the picture of intense settling of the researched area around the Flint Valley. It proves intensive use of environmental resources around the open-air quarry-workshops of rock raw material in the Flint Valley, situated both in the mountainous and steppe-desert areas.
https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/Bayuda_Studies/titel_5677.ahtml
mine Reichwalde (Tagebau Reichwalde) in Saxony, Germany. The material constitutes a good basis for comparison with Hallstatt
flint assemblages known from Poland so it was compared with a little smaller collection from the remains of a stronghold from
Lusatian culture in Wicina in Poland, situated ca. 40 km to the north-east from Reichwalde. Both sites are placed into a broader
context of European Late Bronze Age flint knapping phenomenon.
The EDAR area has rich surface sites with Acheulean horizons under the surface, singular finds of handaxes
within stratigraphic context in exposures, and large Acheulean sites partly exposed and destroyed
by the gold mining activity. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of Acheulean and MSA horizons
from the EDAR 135 site indicates that the sedimentary deposits with stone artifacts were formed
during the Middle Pleistocene between Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 7 (pluvial) and 6 (interpluvial).
Based on the OSL dating from the top of Unit IB, Acheulean artifact-bearing sedimentary deposits from
overlying Unit IIA are younger than ca. 231 ka. Unit IA is the oldest Acheulean horizon in the EDAR area,
not yet dated but definitively older than ca. 231 ka. An MSA horizon found in fluvial sediment was dated
to be between 156 and 181 ka by OSL. The EDAR Pleistocene archaeological sites provide evidence for the
presence of additional corridor(s) across Nubia, which connects the early hominin dispersals from the
Nile and Atbara River systems to the Red Sea coast.
The material acquired during the survey to date contributes to the picture of intense settling of the researched area around the Flint Valley. It proves intensive use of environmental resources around the open-air quarry-workshops of rock raw material in the Flint Valley, situated both in the mountainous and steppe-desert areas.
https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/Bayuda_Studies/titel_5677.ahtml
mine Reichwalde (Tagebau Reichwalde) in Saxony, Germany. The material constitutes a good basis for comparison with Hallstatt
flint assemblages known from Poland so it was compared with a little smaller collection from the remains of a stronghold from
Lusatian culture in Wicina in Poland, situated ca. 40 km to the north-east from Reichwalde. Both sites are placed into a broader
context of European Late Bronze Age flint knapping phenomenon.
Księga abstraktów / Conference proceedings.
ISBN: 978-83-61416-42-5