The New Stone Age (Neolithic) - The first farmers,
monumental tombs, stone battle axes (Late 6th millennium - c. 2300 BC)
The start of the next era, known as the Neolithic, marks the appearance among
groups of hunter-gatherers of new human communities with a totally different
way of life, based entirely on farming. The idea of 'Neolithisation' - a term
often used to denote the adoption of this new lifestyle - arose some 10 000 years
ago in several regions of the Middle East and southern Asia. Neolithic culture
spread gradually, reaching even the more remote parts of Europe. This new way
of life introduced changes in social economy, based on the ability to produce
food through the domestication and cultivation of cereals and other plants, as
well as the domestication and husbandry of animals [ 56].
These major developments brought about changes in social structure and beliefs
and, moreover, imposed a settled way of life. This period saw the emergence of
many new building techniques (permanent houses with functionally divided interiors)
[ 57], [ 58] and household
innovations. The first pottery was produced
[ 27],
[ 28],
[ 29],
[ 30],
[ 31],
[ 32],
[ 33],
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[ 35],
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[ 37],
[ 38],
[ 39],
[ 40],
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[ 47],
new types of flint
[ 08],
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[ 11],
[ 12],
[ 13],
[ 14],
[ 15],
[ 16],
[ 17],
[ 18],
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[ 26]
and stone tools
[ 01],
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[ 06]
were used (e.g., adzes
[ 08],
[ 09], axes
[ 01],
[ 02],
[ 03],
[ 04],
[ 05],
[ 06],
chisels and
sickles) and the craft of weaving was developed.
The first farmers reached the territories of modern-day Poland during the 6th
millennium BC, journeying via the Moravian Gate from cultural centres south of
the Carpathian Mountains. These settlers made their homes in areas such as Little
Poland (Małopolska), Silesia, Kujavia, as well as in the districts of Chełmno
and Pyrzyce, where the land was rich in fertile loess and black soils. Some time
later they also penetrated into Greater Poland, probably via Kujavia and Silesia.
Although numerous traces pointing to the presence of these early farming communities
have been found in the Greater Poland region, the first evidence of permanent
settlement dates from the mid 5th millennium BC. Long-term settlement led to
reciprocal contacts and cultural exchange between farmers and hunter-gatherers,
and hence to the gradual diffusion of Neolithic practices over increasingly larger
areas.
Reconstruction of a settlement of earliest farmers (c. 4500 BC) consisting of
two pairs of houses, located near a river valley (based on excavation results
from Racot , district of Kościan)
[ 57],
[ 58],
[ 59].
Many cultural and social changes took place during the three-thousand-year span
of the Neolithic period. Populations inhabiting Greater Poland formed part of
the first Neolithic cultural community in northern Europe, extending across a
large part of the North European Plain - from Holland to western Ukraine and
from southern Scandinavia to Bohemia. Close interregional contacts resulted in
cultural processes following a similar pattern throughout this area during the
Neolithic. The demand for raw materials such as stone, flint and amber [ 53],
[ 54], were a significant factor in the development
of these links. Cultural stimulus also reached here from beyond the Carpathians,
where contacts with Balkan cultures led to the development of large centres of
ancient metallurgy, processing copper [ 55],
[ 59] and gold.
Cultural influence from various directions
and migrations to Greater Poland of people from neighbouring territories resulted
in agricultural, pastoral and hunter-gatherer communities living in parallel
and exploiting a full range of diverse environments. These communities differed
in their social structures and beliefs, which usually stemmed from their main
form of subsistence economy. This fact is evidenced by the varied nature and
structure of settlements, funerary rituals ( megalithic
tombs [ 58] appeared during this period), and
in pottery production techniques and styles. The Neolithic period also saw
advances in farming technology (the replacement of 'slash and burn' cultivation
with agriculture based on the use of ox-drawn ploughs), the first use of the
cart as a means of transport and the emergence of metallurgy.
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