In my article published in the Proceedings for 1950, I mentioned the settlement at Nowosiółka Kostiukowa in West Podolia belonging to the final period of the Tripolye culture. Recently, during my visit to Poland, I was able to recover some of my pre-war notes which escaped destruction, thanks to Professor R. Jamka, Cracow; among these was also a short report on investigation of the settlement above and a sketch plan.

A field known as ‘Petrynskie’ lay c. 3 kilometres east of the village of Nowosiółka Kostiukowa, over 4 kilometres from the river Seret, a tributary of the Dniester, in the valley of a small stream which ultimately joins the river. On the southern slopes of this valley, north of a narrow lane cut deep in the loess and on the surface of the field lay a large mass of potsherds, lumps of fired clay plaster (of ‘ploščadka’ huts), stones, flints, etc. This was mostly Tripolyan painted ware of Koszyłowce type, belonging to T. S. Passek's period C-1, although wrongly considered to be of period C-2. However, many black, highly polished potsherds were also found, of what is known as the ‘Thracian Hallstatt’ ware, mainly in the lower part of the field. All these remains formed small concentrations marking the sites of ancient huts situated at a small distance from each other.

Many branches of learning are concerned with the establishment of the earliest seats of the Indo-Europeans and with their ancient culture. An early book by Professor V. G. Childe was devoted to this theme, and these problems still hold an important position in his later works.

I have no intention of embarking here on a detailed study of the various questions involved in this theme. My main concern is a particular type of vessel, the so-called ‘Thuringian amphora’, characteristic of several groups of the Battle-Axe culture, a culture which is usually considered to be an archaeological equivalent of the early Aryans. I hope that the few comments submitted in this article will, to some extent, contribute to the settlement of the disagreements concerning the cradle of the Indo-Europeans and bring nearer their proper solution.

The archaeology of the Pontic lands conceals several unsolved problems, and the puzzle of the sudden breakdown and disappearance of the Tripolye culture ranks as one among the most striking of these. Several scholars who have dealt with Tripolye culture have expressed views, but none of them has proposed a really satisfactory solution.

In the twenties of this century the commonest view was that the Tripolye population simply left their native country at the end of the late Stone Age. E. v. Stern was of the opinion that the fact that the Tripolye culture disappeared suddenly at the summit of its development, and that another culture very akin to it appeared simultaneously on the Aegean territory, is clear proof of a great movement which brought the Tripolye population from the Pontic steppes down to their new homeland in the Aegean.

Among the archaeological remains of central Europe there are some of quite distinct Scythian character. They testify the presence of the Scythian nomads on that territory in the period about 500 B.C. Besides, the fact that the dating of those remains is quite well established should provide a basis for the proper dating of those central European cultures which came into contact with the Scythians.

The Scythian remains in central Europe are divided into two groups. To the first group belong the remains found in limited areas, with Scythian graves among them; those remains enable us to establish local groups of Scythian culture. The other group occurs among the remains of other, non-Scythian, cultures where they arrived either by way of peaceable trade exchange or were brought there by the Scythians themselves during their invasions or inroads into those territories.

In this short article I do not intend to give any detailed description of the Scythian remains in central Europe or to give an appreciation of their artistic value. They do interest me, but only as evidence of certain historical happenings, and I refer to the works of Professor E. H. Minns, Professor M. Rostovtzeff, Dr. N. Fettich, and others for their dating.