2024 Issue №3

The article presents the results of an interdisciplinary study of ceramics from the Neolithic settlements of Pribrezhnoe and Ushakovo-3, the earliest among the coastal culture complexes with corded ware. Using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, ceramics from various stages of the coastal culture, as well as from the Funnel Beaker culture, whose seasonal settlements preceded them in approximately the same locations, were analyzed. The main objectives of the study were to identify the characteristics and common features of ceramic production from these Neolithic settlements and to determine the locations of the primary raw material sources. A significant difference in the trace element composition between the corded ware and Funnel Beaker culture ceramics was established. Moreover, it was found that most of the Funnel Beaker pottery was made from non-local clays, suggesting that a substantial portion of the ceramics may have been brought by the settlers, likely reflecting the seasonal nature of the settlements and the specific activities of the migrants. In contrast, the results of the analysis of pottery fragments from the coastal culture at the two settlements revealed a clear similarity, which can be attributed to the use of the same clay sources. However, at Ushakovo-3, there appears to have been a stronger preference for clays from nearby deposits that, while geographically close, exhibited local differences in trace element composition, impacting the technological characteristics of the ceramics. Additionally, rare instances of foreign ceramics were identified, indicating some external connections. Thus, the results of these interdisciplinary studies, which sometimes yield unexpected and significant insights that are difficult or even impossible to obtain using traditional methods, demonstrate the clear potential for further research in this field.

The social institution of locators, alongside the feudal land tenure system, was one of the main methods for land development in the Teutonic Order’s state. The position of a locator entailed establishing a settlement, attracting residents to its territory, and managing the social life of the new community. The formation of this group from the local population during the period of 1300-1370 raises the question of their status within the new social system, the key characteristics of which include their composition and functions. These aspects have been defined using typological and historical-comparative methods based on the records of the Warmian Episcopate. The records document land grants to a total of 190 locators, the majority of whom fall into two groups: those obligated to provide service and pay taxes, and those exempt from service but required to pay dues. Representatives of both groups had the right to build mills and taverns on their lands and were also responsible for allocating plots for the construction of parish churches. Their jurisdiction included both minor and major judicial powers. Throughout the period under review, the locators experienced processes of socio-economic stratification, exacerbated by the shrinking availability of free land and Lithuanian invasions. Measures to support locators (such as inheritance of their position and property through both male and female lines, as well as rights to fishing and hunting) were applied according to the situation in each estate, ensuring stable land development within the episcopate’s territory.

Based on archival documents, materials from regional and national German press, and personal sources, the article examines the reactions in East Prussia to the Kapp Putsch of 1920, which aimed to overthrow the legitimate government of the Weimar Republic. Unlike most other German territories, the putschists in East Prussia were supported by many representatives of the regional political elite and bureaucracy. The article attempts to explain the reasons for this anomaly and to identify the consequences of the support for the putsch by part of the local political actors on the further development of the province. The article concludes that the putsch had a significant impact on East Prussia, serving as a manifestation of the growing conflict between the regional elite and the central authorities in Berlin. The defeat of the putschists and the changes in the composition of the East Prussian bureaucracy made by the republican government marked the beginning of a new phase in the relations between the state capital and the East Prussian province.