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Brozio JP, Stos-Gale Z, Müller J, Müller-Scheeßel N, Schultrich S, Fritsch B, Jürgens F, Skorna H. The origin of Neolithic copper on the central Northern European plain and in Southern Scandinavia: Connectivities on a European scale. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0283007. [PMID: 37163484 PMCID: PMC10171686 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The production, distribution and use of copper objects and the development of metallurgical skills in Neolithic Northern Central Europe and Southern Scandinavia are linked to early centres of copper metallurgy of South East Central Europe and Southeast Europe. A total of 45 Neolithic copper objects, until now the largest sample of Early Neolithic objects from the Northern Central European Plain and Southern Scandinavia, were selected for new lead isotope analyses. They aided in the identification of the origin of the copper: These new analyses indicate that the copper ore deposits in Southeastern Europe, especially from the Serbian mining areas, were used for the Early Neolithic northern artefacts (ca. 4100-3300 BC). The most likely sources of copper for the few Middle Neolithic artefacts (ca. 3300-2800 BC) seem to be from the Slovak Ore Mountains, the Serbian mining areas and the Eastern Alps, whereas deposits of the Slovak Ore Mountains and the Alpine region were used for the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2300-1700 BC) artefacts. For the artefacts dated after 2000 BC, the Great Orme mine in Wales also appears to have been the source of copper for the analysed metals. The use of copper from different regions of Europe probably reflects changing social and cultural connectivities on a European scale and the changing chronology of copper exploitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Piet Brozio
- Collaborative Research Center 1266, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
- Institute of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Zofia Stos-Gale
- Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Johannes Müller
- Collaborative Research Center 1266, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
- Institute of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ROOTS, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Sebastian Schultrich
- Collaborative Research Center 1266, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
- Institute of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Barbara Fritsch
- Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Halle (Saale), Halle, Germany
| | - Fritz Jürgens
- Institute of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Henry Skorna
- Collaborative Research Center 1266, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ROOTS, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
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Gavranović M, Mehofer M, Kapuran A, Koledin J, Mitrović J, Papazovska A, Pravidur A, Đorđević A, Jacanović D. Emergence of monopoly-Copper exchange networks during the Late Bronze Age in the western and central Balkans. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263823. [PMID: 35275905 PMCID: PMC8916627 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In this paper we present the first results of an interdisciplinary research project focused on Late Bronze Age metallurgy in the western and central Balkans. The comprehensive chemical and lead isotope analysis, and a strict consideration of archaeological criteria, has provided a deeper insight into supra regional metal exchange networks between the 14th and 9th century BC in this part of Europe. Particularly interesting and surprising are results regarding the provenance of raw materials for copper production, which have a chemical composition and lead isotope ratios that closely correspond to ore deposits in the southern Alps (North Italy). Based on the examination of 57 objects of different functions, chronology and distribution, it becomes apparent that copper from the southern Alps was almost an omnipresent raw material in the territories of the western and central Balkans with only a few finds from North Macedonia to indicate alternative sources. The analyses demonstrate that the reuse of fahlore-based copper is attested for the first time in the regions under study. The remarkable fact that other archaeological parameters do not indicate such an intensive connection between the Balkan area and Northern Italy raises a number of questions. The sustained and long-lasting networks of raw material procurement stand in contrast to the expected cultural interaction between metal producing and metal consuming prehistoric societies. The results of this work also highlight the currently underestimated role of the southern Alps as one of the main copper producing areas in Bronze Age Europe, and demonstrate for the first time that the region of western and central Balkans was one of the major recipients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Gavranović
- Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Science, Vienna, Austria
| | - Mathias Mehofer
- VIAS-Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science, University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | - Jovan Mitrović
- Department of Archaeology, National Museum Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | | | - Andrijana Pravidur
- National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Aca Đorđević
- Department of Archaeology, National Museum Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
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Trading and weighing metals in Bronze Age Western Eurasia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2110552118. [PMID: 34301879 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2110552118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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