Corded Ware Culture (CWC) Genetics

1 Corded Ware cultural complexity uncovered using genomic and isotopic analysis from
2 south-eastern Poland
3
4 Anna Linderholm1, *, Gülşah Merve Kılınç2, Anita Szczepanek3,4, Piotr Włodarczak3, Paweł
5 Jarosz5, Zdzislaw Belka6, Jolanta Dopieralska7, Karolina Werens4, Jacek Górski8, Mirosław
6 Mazurek9, Monika Hozer10, Małgorzata Rybicka11, Mikołaj Ostrowski12, Jolanta
7 Bagińska13, Wiesław Koman14, Ricardo Rodríguez-Varela2, Jan Storå15, Anders
8 Götherström2, Maja Krzewińska2, *

14 Supplementary Information
15
16 1. The Corded Ware and the Bell Beaker societies in the Małopolska Uplands
17
18 Introduction
19 In the perspective of the analysis of archaeogenetic materials, the following remarks are initially
20 the outline of prehistoric studies concerning the origin of the Małopolska (Lesser Poland) Final
21 Eneolithic communities, and especially the contrast of autochthonic ideas and models assuming
22 the important role of migrating mobile groups of pastoralists from the Eastern European steppe.
23 Studies conducted on the Małopolska Final Eneolithic, from the Interwar Time corresponded
24 with the most important European studies concerning this period. It was connected with the
25 research procedure considering the tendencies in the approach to finds of Corded Ware culture
26 (CWC) and Bell Beaker culture (BBC) developed in other countries. The consequence of this
27 was that research efforts firstly were aimed to search for supraregional cultural and
28 chronological determinants, which were primarily defined find types of mostly ceramic vessels
29 and stone battle-axes. This was common in many countries (see e.g. [1] for a review)
30
31 Accordingly, the chronologically oldest find from Małopolska were considered to belong to the
32 oldest Pan European CWC horizon (= horizon A, see [2-4]). This phase was followed by a
33 phase of local CWC groups (see [5]) and, finally, in the last phase the appearance of BBC
34 manifestations. The Final Eneolithic was treated primarily in a Central European perspective.
35 However, still in the Interwar Period, further to the east, the shifted Polish borders resulted in
36 research of finds from Małopolska together with materials from the forest-steppe zone of the
37 North-Pontic area [6], which actually blurred the boundaries between the CWC and steppe
38 cultures. The changed post-war situation resulted in the treatment of CWC and BBC as closed
39 phenomena in a realm of a Central European world (eg., [7-9]). The "northern model" was
40 usually used in the terminology labelling the period described here as the "late Neolithic", and
41 less often as the "Final Neolithic", i.e. repeating the term often appearing in German literature.
42 The term "Final Eneolithic" used here considers the intent of researchers from the southern
43 regions of Central Europe (including the Czech and Moravian CWC). The term is better
44 synchronized with the terminology used for the Eastern European zone. Furthermore, the term
45 is not only a determinant of the period, but also denotes a socio-cultural aspect (CWC and
46 BBC), clearly distinguishable from the late Eneolithic system (in Małopolska: the Baden
47 culture, the Globular Amphorae culture – GAC, and Złota type). The Małopolska finds from
48 the Final Eneolithic are mainly graves. They were connected with CWC barrows and megalithic
49 tombs (related to the TRB burial custom), as well as sometimes also to small, flat cemeteries.
50
51 The vast majority of sites are located on uplands covered with loess soils. This zone is clearly
52 delimited from the north and west by lowland areas and from the south by the Carpathian chain.
53 On the other hand, there is no clear border to the east: the loess-covered upland areas form the
54 core of Volhynia and Podolia located in western Ukraine. The consequence of this is the
55 presence of CWC cemeteries with features similar to those in the Małopolska province.
56 However, most of them are discoveries from the beginning of 20th century and the knowledge
57 about them is limited (inc. [6]). In the Małopolska region, the CWC graves are relatively
58 numerous (currently: over 400), while the BBC graves are rare (in total: 32). The area studied
59 here presents the most numerous and best-recognized group of Final Eneolithic finds in the
60 eastern part of Central Europe. However, these data are clearly poorer than the richest
61 agglomerations found in the western and southern parts (Bohemia, Moravia, Central Germany).
62 The scientific value of the Małopolska finds has been enhanced by the increased number graves
63 discovered during planned archaeological research, a relatively good preservation of skeletons
64 - enabling the application of many types of specialist analyses, and the exceptionally rich grave
65 equipment. The particular features of the funeral rituals included finds from various regions. In
66 the case of Małopolska, however, their distinctive connection with the rituality of the
67 communities living in the North-Pontic steppe/forest-steppe zone is noteworthy and of special
68 significance for the present study.
69
70 Overview of the main stages of cultural development
71 Based on cemetery research, three stages of the Final Eneolithic are clearly distinguished. The
72 oldest period (around 2800-2600/2550 BCE) is connected with the appearance of mounds of
73 the older phase of the CWC. This period also includes the youngest GAC cemeteries and graves
74 with transitional features of the Late/Final Eneolithic, called the "Złota type". The burial
75 mounds of the older phase of the CWC are usually treated as an allochthonous phenomenon,
76 and related to a migration of Final Eneolithic communities from the Eastern European zone
77 (inc. [7, 10, 11]. The general idea of a central barrow grave - a chamber built most often with
78 the use of wooden elements, and features of burial (such as the head orientation to the west, the
79 crouched position on the back) finds analogies in the ideology of the steppe communities,
80 including the Yamnaya culture. On the other hand, the details of the grave constructions, the
81 lack of ochre application in the funeral ritual, equipment, technological and stylistic features of
82 the finds were usually considered as local - Central European features (e.g., [7, 12].
83 Accordingly, it was assumed that all known CWC barrow graves from Małopolska did not
84 represent the stage of migration, but probably were a consequence of that. At the same time,
85 the possibility that steppe communities dispersed into Małopolska regions was indicated -
86 starting from the turn of the fourth and third millennium BCE. This phenomenon, called the
87 "CWC-X horizon" [10, 13, 14], would precede the rather static formalisation of the CWC
88 barrow ritual, i.e. the A horizon. Until recently, this was only a theoretical idea. Recently, this
89 has been confirmed with the discovery of graves with skeletons coloured with ochre in burials
90 at site 2 in Hubinek, dated to 3000-2900 BCE [15]: supplement; see also [16]. The barrow
91 burials of the older phase of the CWC - both from Małopolska and from other regions of Europe
92 - have not been the subject of archaeogenetic research so far. This is mainly due to the small
93 number but also poor quality of bone materials that may be used to perform such analyses. The
94 lack of archaeogenomic information hinders the interpretations of the demographic
95 development and possible changes at the beginning of the Final Eneolithic period and the issue
96 of the relations and developments between the CWC and the Yamnaya complexes.
97
98 Around 2600/2550 BCE new elements appeared in the funeral ritual of the Małopolska CWC
99 societies, indicating contacts with the rites and practices of the Eastern European communities.
100 The most important expression is the niche (catacomb) form of the grave construction. The idea
101 – or analogies - of such a structure in the graves was already present in the earlier period in the
102 Złota type cemeteries – ca. 2900-2600 BCE. In this phase specific types of constructions
103 appeared with good analogies in the features of the Catacombnaya culture in the North-Pontic
104 zone. Along with the new constructions, modifications of the burial arrangement, the
105 orientation of the body and the burial equipment were made. Single graves dominate, although
106 the number of double and multiple burials is noteworthy. In comparison with other regions of
107 Central Europe, the Małopolska burials are equipped with particularly rich sets of gifts.
108 Particularly specific is the nature of the equipment in some graves of adult men, which include
109 ceramic vessels (the main type is a large beaker with a distinct neck), weaponry (stone battle110 axes and arrowheads), sets of flint tools (mainly axes, knife inserts and strikers), bone, antler
111 implements, stone implements (whetstones and grinding discs), copper tools and ornaments
112 (including characteristic copper hair-rings), as well as “half-finished” items implements of flint.
113 Thus, such burials emphasize the role of a man as a warrior, as well as a craftsman-specialist,
114 whereas in the Małopolska materials the specialization in the field of flint making is especially
115 emphasized. Unlike in other Central European CWC groups, at Małopolska there are numerous
116 burials of men equipped with triangular arrowheads (up to 30 pieces). In other areas, the archery
117 sets as an important element of the burial equipment of the deceased appears about 100-200
118 years later associated with the appearance and spread of the BBC ritual. Until recently, the
119 researchers of the Małopolska Final Eneolithic have emphasized the differences between the
120 older (with barrows) and the younger (with niche graves) CWC phases. In the latter, a
121 significant interaction between the local cultural groups (such as TRB, Baden, GAC and Złota)
122 has been noted, which is a contrast to the model of the older CWC phase (e.g., [7, 9, 12, 17,
123 18]. At the same time, the possibility of a local origin of the niche graves was acceptable [12],
124 although in the 1960s there were voices emphasizing the importance of the eastern connections
125 of these structures [19]. In the 1990s, as a result of the discovery at the site in Młodów-Zakącie
126 [20] of an exceptional grave, renew attention was paid to the presence of the Middle Dnieper
127 culture traits in the Małopolska graves [21]. Firstly, ceramic vessels such as the typical biconical
128 beakers of "eastern" origin were identified. Then, also similarities between the equipment of
129 the deceased in the Małopolska zone and those in the basin of the upper and middle Dnieper
130 River was found. It concerned the presence of flint arrowheads in the male burials and rich tool
131 equipment that highlighted the association of the flint technology and techniques of the
132 deceased. Based on the new observations, it was assumed that the migration of the Middle
133 Dnieper culture communities to the Małopolska was an impulse that shaped and changed the
134 nature of the funeral ritual and creating thus, created the differences seen in the burial rites of
135 other regions of Central Europe.