Medieval cemeteries, dated back to the 11th to 13th centuries, located in the Polish Mazowieckie and Podlasie regions are being researched by scientists led by Prof. Andrzej Buko from the Institute of Archeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN).
The question of the ethnic origin of the people who lived in the Mazovia region and buried their dead in specific graves with stone settings remains the great mystery of medieval Poland.
Polish scientists are trying to determine who were the “first” Christians in the Mazovia region. So far, two views have clashed. Some scientists advocate the local origin of the people, while others believe that foreigners were the ones buried in the Masovian graves.
In order to verify the existing hypotheses, Polish scientists will conduct interdisciplinary research. Employing palaeogenetic and isotope analyzes will help identify the origin of the people who used those cemeteries. Anthropological research will allow to evaluate physical characteristics of the analyzed populations and their changes over time. The analysis of the diet will reveal the eating habits of people buried in these cemeteries of Mazovia. The task of archaeologists will also be to distinguish the cultural features of the studied populations.
