Garnys: an underwater riverine site with delayed Neolithisation in the southeastern Baltic

Gytis  Piličiauskas; Elena Pranckėnaitė; Aldas  Matiukas; Grzegorz  Osipowicz; Kęstutis Peseckas; Justina  Kozakaitė; Aldona  Damušytė; Erika  Gál; Giedrė Piličiauskienė; Harry Kenneth Robson

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104232

Garnys: an underwater riverine site with delayed Neolithisation in the southeastern Baltic

Gytis Piličiauskas, Elena Pranckėnaitė, Aldas Matiukas, Grzegorz Osipowicz, Kęstutis Peseckas, Justina Kozakaitė, Aldona Damušytė, Erika Gál, Giedrė Piličiauskienė, Harry Kenneth Robson

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper presents the first results of both dryland and underwater investigations at the multi-period Garnys riverine site situated on the Žeimena River in eastern Lithuania. There, during 2017–2020 a professional diver and amateur archaeologist collected hundreds of Mesolithic-Neolithic archaeological finds made of wood, bone, antler, stone, and ceramic from the riverbed and on its bank. Moreover, in eroded places of the riverbed, the wooden remains of several fish weirs were observed. In 2021 professional archaeologists continued the research, including field investigations followed by various laboratory analyses. These included AMS 14C dating of 16 various ecofacts, artefacts and wooden constructions, wood and animal taxa determinations, and the results of traceological analysis of the flint and osseous artefacts. Our research demonstrates that the site was intensively used for hunting, gathering and fishing during the Mesolithic and subsequent Subneolithic and Neolithic. Intriguingly, there was no evidence for agriculture, while the numerous Neolithic ceramics largely follow the Subneolithic traditions. The Garnys site is therefore unique and a clear example for delayed Neolithisation in a forested and lacustrine area in the eastern Baltic region. During the Metal Ages, the site had been used exclusively for stationary fishing.

Original language	English
Article number	104232
Number of pages	19
Journal	Journal of Archaeological Science Reports
Volume	52
Early online date	21 Oct 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104232
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

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10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104232

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© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the University’s Research Publications and Open Access policy.
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Cite this

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title = "Garnys: an underwater riverine site with delayed Neolithisation in the southeastern Baltic",

abstract = "This paper presents the first results of both dryland and underwater investigations at the multi-period Garnys riverine site situated on the {\v Z}eimena River in eastern Lithuania. There, during 2017–2020 a professional diver and amateur archaeologist collected hundreds of Mesolithic-Neolithic archaeological finds made of wood, bone, antler, stone, and ceramic from the riverbed and on its bank. Moreover, in eroded places of the riverbed, the wooden remains of several fish weirs were observed. In 2021 professional archaeologists continued the research, including field investigations followed by various laboratory analyses. These included AMS 14C dating of 16 various ecofacts, artefacts and wooden constructions, wood and animal taxa determinations, and the results of traceological analysis of the flint and osseous artefacts. Our research demonstrates that the site was intensively used for hunting, gathering and fishing during the Mesolithic and subsequent Subneolithic and Neolithic. Intriguingly, there was no evidence for agriculture, while the numerous Neolithic ceramics largely follow the Subneolithic traditions. The Garnys site is therefore unique and a clear example for delayed Neolithisation in a forested and lacustrine area in the eastern Baltic region. During the Metal Ages, the site had been used exclusively for stationary fishing.",

author = "Gytis Pili{\v c}iauskas and Elena Pranckėnaitė and Aldas Matiukas and Grzegorz Osipowicz and K{\c e}stutis Peseckas and Justina Kozakaitė and Aldona Damu{\v s}ytė and Erika G{\'a}l and Giedrė Pili{\v c}iauskienė and Robson, {Harry Kenneth}",

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AU - Piličiauskas, Gytis

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AU - Matiukas, Aldas

AU - Osipowicz, Grzegorz

AU - Peseckas, Kęstutis

AU - Kozakaitė, Justina

AU - Damušytė, Aldona

AU - Gál, Erika

AU - Piličiauskienė, Giedrė

AU - Robson, Harry Kenneth

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