Bronze Age water burials and metal deposits reveal ritual practices of Lusatian Helmo group. Over 550 bronze artifacts recovered from Papava Biscopier dried lake bed in Poland Human skeletal remains from at least 33 individuals including infants, children, adolescents, and adults Radiocarbon dating shows bones from 1,400-780 BCE
550+ bronze artifacts recovered from a dried lake bed in Poland alongside 33+ individuals! The Chełmno group of the Lusatian culture buried metal jewelry including glass beads from the eastern Mediterranean at what researchers call an extraordinary scale of metal ritual consumption.
Key facts:
- Over 550 bronze artifacts recovered from Papowo Biskupie dried lake bed in north-central Poland
- Human skeletal remains from at least 33 individuals including infants, children, adolescents, and adults
- Radiocarbon dating shows bones from 1,400-780 BCE
- Site occupied by Chełmno group, one of the northernmost communities of the Lusatian culture
- Active during late Bronze Age and early Iron Age
Key Facts
- Over 550 bronze artifacts recovered from Papava Biscopier dried lake bed in Poland
- Human skeletal remains from at least 33 individuals including infants, children, adolescents, and adults
- Radiocarbon dating shows bones from 1,400-780 BCE
- Site occupied by Helmo group, faction of larger Lusatian population
- Active during late Bronze Age and early Iron Age
- Artifacts include arm and neck accessories, oval and tube-shaped beads, swallowtail pendants
- Glass bead from necklace sourced from eastern Mediterranean region
- Low magnesium glass indicates long-distance trade participation
- Metal jewelry buried in lake sometime after bodies
- Evidence of cultural shift with adoption of new traditions
- Helmo group previously not thought to engage in metal ritualistic practices
- Scale of metal consumption at site described as extraordinary
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