Atrybuty łucznika z depozytów obrzędowych Pucharów Dzwonowatych z Supraśla

In the Late Neolithic, north-eastern Poland, the Kaliningrad Oblast and western Belarus were the westernmost zone of compact settlement by populations who subsisted on hunting, fishing and gathering. Both autochthones and newcomers representing ‘Corded’ and Bell Beaker circles used bows for hunting and combat. Until recently, there weren’t any compact assemblages from this area, pointing unequivocally to archers. This situation has changed in recent years as a few features have been discovered of a funerary (‘Corded’ grave in Drozdy, western Belarus) and ritual character (Bell Beaker deposits in Supraśl, northern Podlassia —Figs. 1 – 3, 6, 7, 9) that included flint arrowheads. The Supraśl deposits included, next to fine fragments of badly burnt bones, potsherds, ‘prestige’ stone, amber and flint goods, also an archer’s tackle. Altogether, in four features, 25 flint arrowheads were recorded belonging to three types (Figs. 5, 8, 10), two stone arrow straighteners (Fig. 4) and a polishing plate (Fig. 11). The number of arrowheads in the deposits varied. In one, there were 17 arrowheads and in the others, from one to three. They differed in the manner they were made and also in size and weight, which can be interpreted as proof for the professionalization of archers. The archer’s tackle found in the ritual features from Supraśl can be considered a peculiar form of offerings, stressing the diversity of solutions in arrow production and pointing to the specialized archers (elite warriors?) in the Bell Beaker community