K-type flint in Final Eneolithic Lesser Poland

Abstract

Studies of artefacts from Corded Ware culture graves in western Lesser Poland have demonstrated that raw materials originating from the eastern Świętokrzyskie region take a leading role: Świeciechów flint (for the production of axes), and chocolate flint (for making flake and blade tools). New data obtained through the study of settlement sites in the vicinity of Kraków have highlighted the significant role of another hitherto little-noticed raw material: K-type flint (otherwise known as the Wielka Wieś type). This raw material was used mainly for the production of core tools. Workshops producing axes from this flint were discovered on the right bank of the Vistula River in the area between Kraków-Bieżanow and Zakrzów. Tools made from K-type flint appear in Final Eneolithic graves north of Kraków as well, and another production centre is known from this region, near Ojców. The provenance of the raw materials used in the vicinity of Ojców and in the Kraków-Bieżanów - Zakrzów area remains undetermined. Hypothetically, two deposits with different locations were used. In light of new discoveries made during large-scale rescue research projects, the raw material preferences in Final Eneolithic Lesser Poland seem more complex than previously believed, and they varied from micro-region to micro-region.