Archaeologia Baltica

This paper discusses one of the most characteristic hunter-gatherer osseous implements — the

This paper focuses on an issue that was, and still remains, unsolved in Baltic Stone Age archaeology: the dating of the very end of the period of Swiderian culture. This time, the questions raised are what cultural unit (or units) should be considered as the last Swiderians, and who were the last tanged point users in general? In addition, the latest AMS 14C dates from the Mesolithic Pabartoniai 1 site in central Lithuania are taken into consideration within the archaeological context recorded during excavations in 2014–2016. Several archaeological objects – flint artefacts, knapped sandstone pebbles, burnt material and a few archaeological features – that were eliminated from the Late Mesolithic horizon and hypothetically interpreted as preexistant, are discussed as maybe belonging to the Late Swiderian archaeological horizon. This data suggests some alternative insights into what was previously declared about the chronology of the last Swiderians: it brings up the very slight possibility that this culture could have lasted as long as up to the early Boreal period, or around 400 years later than the formerly agreed dating. However, this study should be seen as the very first step in the discussion, which still needs argumentation and other case studies to be carried out until the hypothesis is proven.

The article presents the latest data on ships sunk in Lithuanian territorial waters of the Baltic Sea obtained during archaeological research conducted by the Underwater Archaeology Group of Klaipėda University. The article contains detailed descriptions of the ways these ships were wrecked as found in historical sources from the 14th to the early 20th century, the localisation of newly found remains of wooden ships, data of their study and possibilities for dating them.

Freshwater fish could provide the stable resource base that made possible permanent settlement in lake basins during the Mesolithic and Neolithic in the eastern Baltic region, but the utilisation of this resource required the development of a body of cultural knowledge and techniques for fishing in different seasons, corresponding to the changes in environmental conditions and the behaviour of fish. This paper examines Stone Age fishing techniques from a seasonal aspect, in the light of ethnographic accounts of traditional fishing.

The cult of the deer was widespread in traditional societies of deer hunters. This cult was connected with the worship of the deer or man-deer, the ancestor of people and deer, and a cultural hero, the teacher of deer hunting. The most important evidence supporting a deer cult in traditional societies are the totemistic mysteries connected with the reproduction of the deer, and magic hunting rituals. The most important participant in these rituals is the shaman.