Universität zu Köln

Chabai, Victor ORCID: 0000-0002-1066-3137 and Maier, Andreas ORCID: 0000-0002-5021-3341, eds. (2025). Barmaky. Epigravettian in Volhynia. Köln:

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Abstract

Despite the relatively long history of investigations of Palaeolithic sites in the eastern part of Volhynia, a comprehensive archaeological and environmental analysis was conspicuously missing. About one hundred years ago, the materials from the pioneering excavations by Ludwik Sawicki at the site of Gorodok were published in preliminary fashion, initiating long debates regarding their chronological position and cultural affiliation. Subsequent investigations by Myhailo Ostrovskyi, Volodymyr Savych, Evgen Lupenko, and Dmytro Nuzhnyi focused on artefact descriptions and the definition of taxonomic cultural units. Meanwhile, Valery Piasetsky presented an extensive analysis of the site’s topography and geology, but paid little attention to artefacts (Chapter 1). To date, the here-presented site of Barmaky, dated to roughly 19 ka and thus shortly after the Last Glacial Maximum, is certainly among the most important sites to understand the Palaeolithic settlement processes in the region. Its importance results from the decent preservation of lithic and organic materials, as well as its geographical position at the western fringe of the high-density site cluster of the mid- Dnieper basin, closest to the neighbouring site cluster in the Dniester basin to the south. The book at hand unites the results of archaeological and environmental analyses carried out on recently and previously excavated material from Barmaky in a comprehensive way. It comprises information on the accumulation of the lithological and archaeological sequence (Chapter 2), age estimates of the cultural deposits (Chapter 3), the mollusc as well as mammal and bird assemblages (Chapters 4 and 5), food web reconstructions based on isotope analyses of faunal remains (Chapter 6), lithic raw materials (Chapter 7), and extensive studies on lithic and organic artefacts as well as fossil shells (Chapters 8 and 9). Against this background, we out forward inferences about the subsistence strategy of hunter-gatherers at Barmaky (Chapter 10) and explore the potential role of Barmaky during the earliest resettlement of the periglacial landscapes of the Eastern European Plain north of 50° latitude after the Last Glacial Maximum and in the wider chorological context (Chapter 11). Since the start of this project in 2018, not everything that was initially been planned could be done. During the last five years, the COVID pandemic and Russian missiles have affected field- and lab-work alike, for instance by hampering the transportation of both samples and specialists between countries and labs. Nevertheless, thanks to the immense personal commitment of the people excavating and analysing the artefacts and those writing up the results, we are eventually able to present our findings.

Item Type:	Book, conference item or legal commentary
Editors:	Editors Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Chabai, Victor v.p.chabai@gmail.com orcid.org/0000-0002-1066-3137 UNSPECIFIED Maier, Andreas a.maier@uni-koeln.de orcid.org/0000-0002-5021-3341 UNSPECIFIED
Contributors:	Contribution Name Email Book designer Rüschmann, Anja UNSPECIFIED Bookjacket designer Duwe, Anja UNSPECIFIED Bookjacket designer Sauer, Florian UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-786086
DOI:	10.18716/kups/78608
Series Name at the University of Cologne:	The Cologne Prehistory Series
Number of Pages:	409
Date:	2025
Place of Publication:	Köln
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Fächergruppe 2: Archäologie, Altertumskunde und Kulturen des Mittelmeerraums > Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte > Abteilung A - Ältere Steinzeit
Subjects:	History of ancient world
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Palaeolithic English Lithic artefacts English Organic Artefacts English Fauna English Isotopes English Ukraine English UNSPECIFIED English
Funders:	DFG-392605832 - “Between East and West. Social networks and environmental conditions before, during and after Last Glacial Maximum in Volhynia, Western Ukraine”
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/78608