Katakombnaja Culture

This study explores a Subcarpathian assemblage of Corded Ware funeral materials as evidence obtained over the last decade, with a focus on their research value for studies of the transmission of civilization models embraced by Final Eneolithic/Early Bronze communities settling the border zone between eastern and western Europe. Results of studies on the correspondence among ceremonial traditions that existed in the area between the Dnieper and the Vistula in the third millennium BC are presented, with two stages of adaptation of Black Sea or 'barrow' thanatological belief systems by Corded Ware groups in Lesser Poland being highlighted. Chronometric determinations relating to the development of ceremonial centres of the Rzeszów Foothills (Szczytna) and Lower San Valley (Święte) in the context of 'western intrusions' of late Yamnaya and Catacomb cultures are considered significant, providing the date range of ca. 2550-2400 BC.

The rescue excavations at site 11 in Święte, Radymno Commune, Jarosław District, were conducted prior to the construction of the A4 motorway. thirteen Corded Ware culture (CWC) features, including eleven graves, were discovered. the Final Eneolithic cemetery was placed in the neighbourhood of FBC graves, possibly at megalithic tombs. Most of the CwC graves have a niche construction-typical of the Lesser Poland funerary rite. the furnishings found in these features are characteristic of Subcarpathia as are inventories from nearby sites in the Lower San Valley and Rzeszów Foothills. their ty-po-chronological assessments point to the younger phase of the CWC. Ceramic artefacts include vessels finding analogies in the assemblages of the Middle Dnieper culture and the cultures of the steppe/for-est-steppe of the Northwestern Black Sea Area. Among the latter is the spectacular find of a round-base pot from Feature 1149B. A series of five dates estimate the origins of the Święte cemetery graves at the interval of 2530-2375 BC.

A set of sources embodied by features 1149A and 1149B at Święte 11, Jarosław District, Podkarpackie Province, is one of a kind in Lesser Poland as it includes a vessel associated with steppe cultures of the Northwest Black Sea Coast. The vessel has been discovered in a stratigraphic context that is not fully clear. It probably constituted an offering (trizna) connected with the male burial identified in the niche grave underneath. The vessel appears to be linked to the late Yamnaya/early Catacomb horizon. Such chronological attribution is further supported by an absolute date of the 2nd half of the third millennium BC established for bones. The vessel sits alongside other finds that provide corroboration for connections the population of the younger Corded Ware phase in Lesser Poland had with eastern European regions.

A set of sources embodied by features 1149A and 1149B at Święte 11, Jarosław District, Podkarpackie Province, is one of a kind in Lesser Poland as it includes a vessel associated with steppe cultures of the Northwest Black Sea Coast. The vessel has been discovered in a stratigraphic context that is not fully clear. It probably constituted an offering (trizna) connected with the male burial identified in the niche grave underneath. The vessel appears to be linked to the late Yamnaya/early Catacomb horizon. Such chronological attribution is further supported by an absolute date of the 2nd half of the third millennium BC established for bones. The vessel sits alongside other finds that provide corroboration for connections the population of the younger Corded Ware phase in Lesser Poland had with eastern European regions.