Social networks around the Orońsko flint mining area (Central-Southern Poland) during the Late Palaeolithic

Orońsko site 2 is a Palaeolithic shaft mine located in the area of chocolate flint deposits in Central-Southern Poland. This raw material was highly valued by Stone Age communities and widely distributed during the Late Palaeolithic. The mine is associated with the Arch-Backed Pieces (Federmesser) and Tanged Point Technocomplexes. This article aims to explore the connections between artefacts made of chocolate flint found at various Late Palaeolithic sites located outside the chocolate flint deposits (Całowanie and ochre quarry at Rydno) with the Orońsko mine and to investigate a possible connection between the ochre found in the Orońsko mining shaft with the Rydno quarry. Macroscopic and SEM-EDS analyses were conducted on selected samples of these raw materials and artefacts from the Orońsko mine, the Orońsko workshop, Rydno, and Całowanie, all of which can be chronologically linked to one another. The results suggest that some of the flint may have been transported from the Orońsko mining area to Rydno or Całowanie. However, the reverse transport of ochre from Rydno to Orońsko remains unclear and requires further research, including a broader range of analytical methods.