- Homo Sapiens have existed in the area of modern-day Poland for a long time. The earliest humans to set foot in Poland were Neanderthal hunters over 100,000 years ago. These nomadic tribes first came to the region for the water resources offered by the Oder and Vistula rivers. The locations of these rivers are pictured above with respect to modern political boundaries.
- The earliest known settlements of human civilization in Poland occurred in the Mesolithic Age (approximately 8000 BC - 5500 BC). The people who first settled in Poland around this time were transient settlers, originating from outside Poland. They originally belonged to the Danubian Basin Culture which had developed near the Danube River, south of modern-day Poland. Depicted above is the location of various early culture hearths in Europe. The yellow area above depicts the Danubian Basin Culture, which began in the Neolithic Age and spread into Poland from the south.
- Although today Poland is heavily associated with Slavic peoples, Slavonic tribes did not appear in Poland until the 6th Century AD. Before several Slavonic peoples came to inhabit and dominate the basins of the Oder and Vistula river, Poland was the target of raids from many different groups. Peoples from both the east and the west would invade the earliest Polish settlements, including Germanic and Celtic tribes traveling from the west, and Samartian and Scythian tribes from the east. These invaders would mix with the local natives and create the foundation for a unique society, until the Slavonic tribes showed up in the 6th century. Some of these Slavonic tribes included the Goplanians, the Dziadoszanians, the Silesians, the Bobrzanians, the Opolanians, the Vislanians, and the Ledzianians. The Polanian tribe would eventually come to dominate and unite all of these Slavonic tribes in the 10th century, starting the "beginning" of the earliest true Polish state. Thus, the reason for the name, "Poland."
History of Poland on Dipity.
These two graphs show the population of Poland in 1950 and in 2010. From the data, one can see that over the last 60+ years Poland's population has become significantly older. In 1950, the majority of the population was under the age of 40. Now, there is a slight majority over the age of 40. This signifies increasing development in Poland, along with an increase in quality of life and life expectancy.