34966 P1060316

ISO JANUSZ OSTOJa-ZAGOrSKI

fonu of scttlcmcnts). and a dcconoontration of scttiemcnts (Oitoja-Zagórski, 1976). Micr.-uions ofparticulor groups of peoplc into ncw, not yct oxploitcd and comidormbly richcr biocoeaoses should olso bc takcn into aocount. This hypothcsis i» supported . by the lace of abandomnent of fortified scttlcmcnts (Biskupin. Jankowo) rcflcctcd in histoncal souroes.

Adaptaticm possibilities of the Lusatian culture population to unfavourable natural conditions

Proccsscs of adaptational transformations of buman populations havc been—for iome yean now-one of the Icading rescarch problcms in biological sci cnota*. It would dc difficult to summarire all opmions on this subjcct herc. I would li ko onJy to stres* that the coursc of transformations of populations and environmcnt may be brtcfly defined as a constanf pursuing of an cquilibrium in the suooessively changin lcvel. Chan ges oocurrmg both in the natural cnvironmcnt and in socio-economio structures in particular pcriods in prehistory, transformed the environmcnt in an unlorsceabJc way causing ncw threats. The population responded to this by further chan ges orientated towards the ncw optinuJ system.

The above mentioncd unfavourab!c—for liuman populations—changc of natural conditions took place m the declinc phases of tbe Hallstatt period. Lei us consider what were tbe consequcnces of these changcs and what was the reaction of tbe populations of particular fortified scttiemcnts of the Biskupin type. The abovc mentioncd shrmking of zones of direct coonomio activity caused by deteriorating dimatic conditions must havc led to systematie lowcrmg of the output of agriculture of ihrnc Limes. This caused—despite the growing significancc of non-farming oocupa-tions -a constant augmcntation of the dcficiency of food. We can thcrcforc frame a hypothcsis that in ecumens of particular scttiemcnts of the Biskupin type a constant-Jy growing dcficiency of food components, indispcnsible for the regular dcvelopment of the human orgonism appeared. The most popular and—at the same timc—most anponanl in this period, was the dcficiency of protein. The insuflicicnt amount of assćoulable protein, the mapproprialc proportions of amino-acids were presumably Imked tńth the dcficiency of calories in the food. We may assumc, therefore, that in the ezamined zones of the Odcr and Vistula rivcr basins a dcficiency of protein-calories, i.c. the so-caUed kwashiorkor appeared. The insuflicicnt amount of plant Products could not be fulły replaccd — in tbe long run—by food obtaincd from non-farming occupations. The comparative!y Iow standard of the cattłe-brecding (Ostoja-Zagórski. 1973), mainly limited possibilities of making fuli us© of the cattlo bred and d/d not satisfy the constantly growing dcmand for the organie protein. Let uK discuu tbe oomcquenocs ofthis stale of aflairs. The dcficiency of protein and mainly iiw appropriatc N^l*^niv‘ of amino-acids must havc led to considerable infant mortahty. to poor physicml devdopment in adults. and—at the same timc—was the cause of numerous aUments. The lack of qualitaiivc food (dcficiency of indispensible nourish-meot components) dercloped into long pcriods of faminc. Thcy appeared though periodicaUy (cenie pUgue, had crops) and in certain particularly cxploitcd micro-

rcgions turncd gradually into a constant form. Admhtcdły numcrous spccialistic studics conflnn the food-adaptalional possibilities in man (Gourou, 1969), bot at the samo timc it has becn stated that the ncccssity of multiple rcactioos to certain substancet in bigger quanthies than thosc the tissues are adapłcd to, may casily lead to considcrablc physiologic disturbanoes.

To apprcciatc fully the significanco of food in the development of the eaamined prehistorie populations attempts should be madę to answer three-to my mind— basie ąuestions: 1) what was the production of food, 2) to what degree was it suffięient for the group, and 3) to what extcnt it was uscd by some—competmg with man— animal populations. It is impossiblc today to answer comprchensively the above qucstions as thero is a lack of wide-plane spccialistic studics. It does not, however, cxempt us from the ncccssity of discussing thosc vcry cssential rescarch problcms.

I would like to present my point of view conocming the above mentioncd ąuestions.

The previously stressed demographic density in particular settlement ccumcns, considcrablc dimatic transformations and the shrinking of arabie land, caused a dcficiency of food. We may assumc that a further deselopmeht of human groups associated with the fortified settłements of the Biskupin type was restrained duć to the limited possibilities of food production (Ostoja-Zagórski, 1976), and the still high demographic pressure. Marginally we should add herc that the demographic pressure was one of the cssential reasons of the collapsc of settlement structurcs and of tho migration of human groups in search of food (Cippola, 1964). Some scholars regard dcmography as a basie motive power of progress and dcvetopmcnt of civiIisation, at the same timo considcring that primitivo sociclics would show a violcnt demographic dcvelopment had they not bccn bound with the production of food (Boserup, 1970).

Rcturning to our basie dclibcrations wc should givo some thought to the dircct causcs of the previously signalled cconomic transformations. Thcorctically, we may concoivo that in tho Hallstatt period, mainly in its dedining phase the demographic density of tho Lusatian culture population linked with particular fortified settłements of the Biskupin type, was out of proportion with their tcchnical abilitios of controlling crops both in abundanco pcriods and natural calnmitics as well as the rcsulting cconomic conscąuencos. This must have led to considcrablc insufiidency in food. The dircct cause was prcsumably the exhaustion of ccologic capacity of the acccssiblo natural environmcnt, duo to the Iow standard of cconomy of thosc limes. The ccolo-gically devastated micro-rcgions could not provido food for the growing number of the population. The constantly inereasing dcficiency of food products constrained particular groups, linked with the Biskupin type settłements, to soek rcserves in ncw, not yet exploited biocoenoses.

Together with the deficiency of food an cssential problem appeared—not oftat takon into account—the discases toimcnling tho Lusatian culture population. Though the depondency betwcen tho State of nourishmont and the spreading of disooses (mainly epidomic) is very complex it may be assumed that both phenomena were caused by lack ofadaptation to unfavourablecnvironmcntal conditions (Górnicki, 1975).