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Jaskinia Obłazowa | |
 Entrance to the cave | |
  Obłazowa Cave Location in Poland | |
| Coordinates | 49°25′43.27″N20°7′32.71″E / 49.4286861°N 20.1257528°E /49.4286861; 20.1257528 |
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Obłazowa Cave is acave situated in the nature reserve ofPrzełom Białki atNowa Biała nearKrempachy,Gmina Nowy Targ inLesser Poland Voivodeship, southernPoland. The cave has a 9 m-long (30 ft) chamber to which a short corridor leads. It is one of the most importantPaleolithic sites in Poland.
Excavations at the Obłazowa Cave started in 1985 by a team of archaeologists led by professor Paweł Valde-Nowak of the Institute of Archaeology at theJagiellonian University inKraków. Research has shown that Obłazowa Cave was inhabited by humans at several periods. Scientists distinguished ten layers of occupation, six associated with the presence ofNeanderthals and the remaining four showing activities of modern humans. In the upper layers an iron arrowhead, a crossbow and pieces of ceramics from the late Middle Ages were found.
The most important artifacts were discovered in layer VIII, associated with modernHomo sapiens and dated to about 30,000 BP. From this layer scientists excavated the oldestboomerang in the world, made from a mammoth tusk and the oldest bones ofHomo sapiens in Poland (two finger bones). The layer also contained two antler wedges, pendants made of perforatedcanine teeth offox orarctic fox, bone beads, a pendant of unknown purpose, possibly a whistle, made of a perforatedcone snail shell on which traces ofochre were found. The tool inventory of layer VIII contained a wide range of raw material: Jurassic Krakówflint, chocolate flint, both imported from northern regions, localradiolarite, androck crystal probably from northernSlovakia. Some of the stone tools were made of raw material imported from a great distance. The most impressive findings like the boomerang and human bones were located in a circle made ofgranite andquartzite pebbles. Because of the arrangement of the artifacts and their great value this is interpreted as a place of some cult or ritual. The presence of human bones may suggest a partial or symbolic burial or some kind of sacrifice.
The site contains a number of other important archaeological findings as well as a rich and diversified fauna ofmollusks,amphibians,reptiles,birds and small and largemammals of the LatePleistocene Age.
Before the discoveries in the Obłazowa Cave allCarpathian Paleolithic sites were dated to theLate Paleolithic. No traces of earlier settlements were apparent. This situation has changed with the discovery of theMiddle Paleolithic sequence in the Obłazowa Cave.
The cave is open to visitors, but in the near future it will be secured with bars to protect the archaeological layers. In 2017 the Nowy Targ commune office started working on a project whose goal is to create an Obłazowa Cave Archaeological Park to present the results of years of research to the public.
