88130 P1060314

146 JANUSZ OSTOJA-ZAOORSKI

Iboai 60 sq. km. Within this ant several basie (from the point of view of eon (cm po* rancous economy) cxp!oitation zonet havc bcen distinguished. The conocntration of archacological finds permit the assumption that intensivc eoonomie acłivity was perccpiibic both in the flood plam zono (II) and the zonę abovo it (III), constanlly deforested. wherc brown and humic soils prevailcd. casy in tillagc. Zonę IV comprisod the higher parts of the highlands with prevailing oocupations other than forming, such as grazmg of caftle, gaihcring or hunting. Periodically intcnsivcly exploited was also zonę I (ftshing).

In view of all these obserations we may acccpt. as highly probabJe the faot that regions of direet economic cxploitation werc decidcdly smaller than the arcas of ccumens determmed by individual fortified sctUemcnts of the Biskupin type. At the same tizne we may assume that basie limitalions in enlarging zones of economic ezplottatśon werc imposcd by tbe already mentioned — impossibl o to cxceed—(con-sadertng thelcvel of oootcmporaneous eoonomy) ecological barriers. These were form-cd by the higher parts of the highlands with podzolic soils. difiicult in tillagc. We sbould also keep m mind economic factors, climmating exploitation zones situated far from the fortified scttlcment.

In theestimation of efllciency of food economy in the Hallstatt period the correla-bon of these data with tbe estimation of population is—apart from the sizc of the czploitcd zones—of essential significance.

Studies of these problems only recendy cvoked some interest in the circlcs of Polish archucologists. Thcrc appeared also the first atlempts at defining the density of population in the cconomically exploiicd territorics m the Early Middle Ages (Kur* natowski, 1972). Also for the Hallstatt period, we noticed the first attempts of pałaeodcmographic studies. started for the scttled micro-region at Sobiojucby ncar Żnin (Ostoja-Zagórski, Strzałko, 1980).

AU the abovc mentioned studies conccming the estimation of the size of humąn groups active in ccumens of the Biskupin type should be treated—for the time being— as hdtial and oricntational. Of the same oharactcr is the below mentioned altempt at a provisional estimation of the size of human groups against the surface of terri-tories cconomically intcnsively cxpłoitcd. If we oonsider only the fioodplain and first terraces (on the ayerage a belt of S00 m castwards and westwnrds from the border linę of the water basin. of a radiut of 6-8 km away from tho settlcmcnt, fit both for cultivation of papilionaocous and ccreals, we obtain an arcu of about 16 sq.km. Comparing these data with the hypothctically accepted — for the fortified set-fiement of the Biskupin type—num ber of mhabitants (about 1000 pcoplc) we obtain:

4 to 5 people to I sq.km for tbe oocupational zonę, 16 to 17 poople to 1 sq.km for the eoonomicalły exploitcd zonę, and 62 to 63 pcoplc to I sq.km for cultivated regions.

Havmg at our disposal results of the above mentioned, oricntational—as I liavc stressed—estimations conccming sizes of human groups we can try to define an approxhnaie norm of the dcmand for calorics. Studies on the history of food, ospe-aalky che reUttkm of fcedmg to the devclopmcnt of tho most import oni branches of economy, have a long-standing tradition and rieh achievemenu in historiography

(Barthes. 1961), whercai in prcłustory thłs crtmndy important problem b treated— at a nile—margmally. Rcasons for ihis stale of aflairs arc divcrse, and—Ithink—ono of tbe most fundamenta! is tbe lack of currently acccssiblo materials. At tbe moment we may only bavc on tbe resuhs of spccialistic studies induding—at tbe same time— generał achievemenU of the science of nutrłtion and ettimations of eon tempo rary othnologic studies, and try to establiih oricntational norms of the calorie domand for the population of the Oder and Yistula rivcr basins in the Hallstatt period.

One of the truisms of today, is the asoertahunent that despite considerabło dilforences in feeding habits in various pcoplc and social groups there exntx a certam basie physiological demand ra man as spccies, considering prindpal componentei of food (Dubos, 1965). Hus b reflcctcd cspcdally m norms of demand for bioło-gically highly valuablc protein mdbpansible for the nitrogen balance in an aduh. Studies conductcd m modern medicrae have sbown that the lack of protein, espeaalły tbesctback in the prooess of synthesis in tbe ocfanism.cainoaconsiderabłewcahcn-ing of the organism resistanoe and an incrcase of smceptibility towards acuto infcctions, frequcntly lethal. On the base of numerous oomparative studies conductcd for various pcoplc and human groups it Ims been established that the mdispcnsible norm of protein for the human organism U 25 g which is sufficicnt, as the calorio demand is simultancously satisfied. Lot us rcflcct now what werc the norms of calorio demand for tho inhabitants of the fortified scltlcmcnts of the Biskupin type. We have to consult horo the estimntions of modem principlos of feeding as woli as rosilils of othnologic studies. Howcvcr. we should kcep in mmd that the structure of nourishment economy and the kmd of food is tbe resultant of dimatic influenco, cultural relations and religious habits of tbe given socicty. Therefore esthnations of contcmporary feeding principlcs and tbe resuhs of ethnographic studies, should be treated only as mitial, orientational data.

Modern feeding principlcs have established a minimum of eocrgy demand for human populations, which is 2500 kcal to 2700 kcal for womca and 3200 kcal for men. Ecsscntial in these cstaMishmcnts is the rdation of basie oompooeats of food which prenrides that one part of protein and one part of fal conespond to four parts of carbohydratcs. Oricntational comparatrre data in cthnology show the possibility of cnergy demand by two populations on different lercls of socśo-coonomic dcvclopmcnt. Euminations of Bushmen from the Kung groups reveakd that the minimum cnergy demand for one aduh was, in this population, 2140 kcal which m terms of food is about 630 g. The composition of particułar oomponentt m the assl-milatcd biomass was uncvcn, and the basie calorio valuc was obtamed from plants, whilc mcat constituted only about 39% of the assimilated food (Lee, 1973). In the Bem ba population in Zambia the daily ration for an aduh man did not exoeed 1700 kcal (Richards, 1939).

Havmg at our disposal—on the one hand— resuhs of modem studies and, on the other-comparatiw ethnołogic data, we may consider the question of the demand for calories, for one member of the population living— m the Hallstatt period—in Central Europę. Tak ing rato aocount both. dimatic ditfcrtnocs and certain cuharal di\tinctivcncs$ we cen assume—with greet circumspection—thel the norm was