Fig 1.
Map of East-Central Europe with location of Kuyavia (green) and Nida Basin (red), and the location of cemeteries in Gustorzyn and Żerniki Górne.
Black frames correspond to the ranges of maps shown on Figs 4 and 5. Inset shows location of the study area in Europe. The map was produced with the QGIS 3.26.0 software, using elevation data downloaded from https://www.usgs.gov/.
Fig 2.
Simplified outlines of graves nos.
69 (A) and 99 (B) in Żerniki Górne (after [51]) and nos. 4 (C) and 5 (D) in Gustorzyn (after [48], simplified). Human and animal bones are marked in yellow. In Gustorzyn darker shade marks bones described by excavators as belonging to human skulls, in Żerniki Górne human skulls were solely recognised basing on published figures; stone constructions were omitted.
Table 1.
Detailed context information, strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18OP-VSMOW) isotope data, AMS radiocarbon ages and bone bulk collagen carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic data for humans from cemeteries in Gustorzyn and Żerniki Górne.
Anthropological data for Gustorzyn after [48, 56]. All 14C dates were calibrated with OxCal 4.4 [123] using the IntCal 2020 curve [124].
Table 2.
Descriptive statistics of isotopic data for humans from Gustorzyn and Żerniki Górne.
Fig 3.
Strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18OP-VSMOW) isotope composition in tooth enamel of humans from cemeteries in Gustorzyn and Żerniki Górne.
Fig 4.
Geological map of Kuyavia with location of the Gustorzyn site, other cemeteries and settlements of the Trzciniec cultural circle societies, and other sites mentioned in this study.
The map was produced with the QGIS 3.26.0 software, based on data from the Geological Map of Poland [129], and on data downloaded from https://www.hydrosheds.org/products/hydrorivers (License Agreement) and https://geoportal.gov.pl. Borders of Kuyavia and at the same time the area systematically surveyed by archaeologists is marked by grey dashed line.
Fig 5.
Geological map of southern Nida Basin with location of Żerniki Górne, other cemeteries and settlements of the Trzciniec cultural circle societies, and other sites mentioned in this study.
The map was produced with the QGIS 3.26.0 software, based on data from the Geological Map of Poland [129], and on data downloaded from https://www.hydrosheds.org/products/hydrorivers (License Agreement) and https://geoportal.gov.pl/. Note that area systematically surveyed by archaeologists is marked by grey dashed line and it does not include the surroundings of Żerniki Górne.
Table 3.
Annual δ18ODW-VSMOW values estimated using Online Isotopes in Precipitation Calculator (OIPC [115]) and δ18OP-VSMOW ratios measured for skeletal tissues of humans from prehistoric and early historic sites in Poland and north-eastern Germany discussed in this study (reported as δ18OP-VSMOW or calculated from δ18OC-VPDB values).
δ18ODW values for humans calculated from measured δ18OP-VSMOW and δ18OC-VPDB values. In case of humans O isotope composition was measured in single samples of enamel, except the individual from Kowal, for whom enamel, dentin and bones samples were analysed. Location of Tollense after [145], simplified.
Fig 6.
Map of estimated annual δ18O isotope ratios in precipitation in East-Central Europe.
The map was produced with the QGIS 3.26.0 software, based on data from Online Isotopes in Precipitation Calculator (OIPC) database (v3.2, waterisotopes.org). Measured and/or estimated (in brackets) mean δ18ODW values for humans from selected sites based on data from Table 3. Inset shows location of the study area in Europe.
Fig 7.
Strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18OP-VSMOW) isotope composition in human remains from Gustorzyn and Żerniki Górne (this study), and from Middle-Late Bronze Age sites in Górzyca [39] and Tollense [14].