Neolithic Pottery and Obsidian Uncovered in Poland

KRAKÓW, POLAND—Science in Poland reports that a fragment of a pottery bowl decorated with a human face has been found within the 7,000-year-old remains of a dwelling in southern Poland. The four-inch piece of pottery shows eyes, nose, and bumps on the forehead resembling horns, according to archaeologist Marta Korczyńska of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The Neolithic settlement where the object was unearthed belongs to the Linear Pottery culture, she added. Pieces of obsidian were also recovered from the site. Marek Nowak of Jagiellonian University explained that the style of the pottery and the presence of obsidian, which does not occur naturally in the region, suggests the inhabitants of the settlement had contact with people who lived in what are now Hungary and Slovakia, where obsidian and similar pottery objects have also been recovered. To read about sieving vessels unearthed in Poland that were likely used in the production of cheese in the sixth millennium B.C., go to "A Prehistoric Cocktail Party."