A history of the LBK in the central Polish lowlands
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A new chronological study of the LBK in the central Polish lowlands shows that it emerged later, lasted for a shorter period, and ended sooner than has been supposed up till now. LBK communities emerged, probably in the middle of the 53 rd century cal BC, to form an enclave in the central Polish lowlands, probably as a result of colonisation from loess areas in the south of Poland. Settlement steadily intensified throughout the 52 nd century cal BC, reaching its peak at the beginning of Phase III. In the middle of the 51 st century cal BC there followed an abrupt decline or collapse, and LBK occupation of the lowlands had probably ended completely by the end of that century. There followed an appreciable gap before the re-emergence of settlement in the form of the Late Band Pottery culture (LBPC), characterised by significantly sparser settlement, changed dwelling structures and contacts with hunter-gatherer groups. A start to the wider task of comparing the situation in the central Polish lowlands with other regional sequences is made principally by reviewing similar formal modelling of a post-LBK hiatus in the Rhineland. Possible factors causing the LBK decline are discussed, including climatic downturn, population boom and bust, warfare, cultural malaise, disease and internal social conflict. None of these is overwhelmingly convincing on its own, and one of the many challenges for continuing research in the Polish lowlands and beyond will be to find further specific evidence to decide which of this range of possibilities is most plausible in specific contexts.
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A local decline in settlement signals began around 5050 BCE and lasted until approximately 4800 BCE, coinciding with the disappearance of traces of LBK presence across the entire Lowland.
“This period began around 5050 BCE and lasted until approximately 4800 BCE, coinciding with the disappearance of traces of LBK presence across the entire Lowland (e.g.Marciniak et al., 2022).”
From Construction, Maintenance and Ritual Practices on the Neolithic Rondel at Nowe Objezierze (Northwestern Poland): The chaîne opératoire of Rondel’s Architecture (2025) · cites this paper as Marciniak et al., 2022
The history of rondels may have commenced about 200 years before their appearance, with the collapse of the LBK, which was marked by population decline and migrations.
“This suggests that the history of rondels may have commenced about 200 years before their appearance, with the collapse of the LBK, which was marked by population decline and migrations (affecting the Lowlands the most: Bogucki, 2020; Czerniak et al., 2023;Marciniak et al., 2022), as well as new rituals, the most striking example being the double ditch structure in Herxheim (Zeeb-Lanz, 2019).”
From Construction, Maintenance and Ritual Practices on the Neolithic Rondel at Nowe Objezierze (Northwestern Poland): The chaîne opératoire of Rondel’s Architecture (2025) · cites this paper as Marciniak et al., 2022
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Czerniak, L., Bayliss, A., Goslar, T., Badura, M., Budilová, K., Lisá, L., Marciniak, A., Matuszewska, A., Pędziszewska, A., & Święty-Musznicka, J. (2024) · Journal of Field Archaeology · doi:10.1080/00934690.2024.2306433 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
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“…with the collapse of the LBK, which was marked by population decline and migrations (affecting the Lowlands the most: Bogucki, 2020; Czerniak et al., 2023; Marciniak et al., 2022), as well as new rituals, the most striking example being the double ditch structure in Herxheim (Zeeb-Lanz, 2019).”
- Authors
- Whittle, A., Marciniak, A., Pyzel, J., Krueger, M., Lisowski, M., Ramsey, C. B., Dunbar, E., Barclay, A., Bayliss, A., & Gaydarska, B.
- Affiliations
- Cardiff University (GB)
- Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (PL)
- University of Gdańsk (PL)
- Department of Archaeology Environmental Building, Wentworth Way, University of York, York YO10 5NG York YO10 5NG United Kingdom
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (GB)
- Cotswold Archaeology Building 11, Cotswold Business Park, Cirencester, GL7 6BQ Cirencester, GL7 6BQ United Kingdom
- Historic England (GB)
- Manchester Metropolitan University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Whittle, Alasdair
- ORCID
- Venue
- Praehistorische Zeitschrift
- Publisher
- Walter de Gruyter GmbH
- Published
- 2022-06-16
- Volume
- 97
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 377-408
- ISSN
- 0079-4848 (ISSN-L)
- 1613-0804
- OpenAlex
- W4282983538
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 2.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- eprints.gla.ac.uk
- Licence
- cc-by-sa
- Locations
- Praehistorische Zeitschrift (publishedVersion)
- e-space (Manchester Metropolitan University) (acceptedVersion)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Archaeological and Geological Studies
- Keywords
- chronology, settlement patterns, Rhineland, climate change, war, population dynamics, social conflict, cultural collapse
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