Back to the Eneolithic: Exploring the Rudki-type ornaments from Poland

For a long time, the Eneolithic attribution of the Rudki-type double spiral ornaments was contested by a wide academic audience, and therefore, this new and extraordinary category of the copper metalwork seemed to have fallen into scientific oblivion. In this paper, we contribute to the debate about cultural attribution of the Rudki-type double spiral ornaments considering their chemical and isotope characteristics (using ED XRF and MC-ICP-MS) and the manufacturing technology (OM, X-ray, CT). Noticeably, this study represents the first documented implementation of the lead isotope analysis (LIA) for the Eneolithic metalwork from Poland. The new scientific analyses give ground to the hypothesis that the Rudki-type double spiral ornaments were produced by the Baden culture metalworker(s) who practiced somewhere in the Carpathian Basin and who have used copper ore mined in the Slovak Ore Mountains (Spania Dolina-Banska Bystrica-Kremnica mine complex). These ornaments were redistributed towards the northern ecumene of the Baden culture complex. The new owners, the Funnel Beaker (TRB) culture communities from the region of modern Poland, deposited the ornaments in hoards (Kaldus, Przeuszyn and Rudki) during the mid-4th millennium BC. The results, furthermore, indicate that the so-called Baden spiral metalwork package must be now complemented by the Rudki-type double spiral ornaments. Remarkably, this package also found an echo in pottery decoration, as documented by a narrative scene incised on an amphora from Kaldus, which could be also interpreted as one of the earliest known proofs for the wagon transport in Europe, alongside the famous ones reported from Bronocice or Flintbek.Material Culture Studie

Moving metals IV: Swords, metal sources and trade networks in Bronze Age Europe

European Bronze Age swords had high functional and symbolic value, and therefore they are an interesting case for approaching questions of provenance and trade in Bronze Age Europe. It is often assumed that there is a strong affinity between metal supplies and artefact type. However, this study demonstrates that metal supply and sword types are mostly unrelated. In this paper we present a comparative provenance study of 118 Bronze Age swords, which includes lead isotope and trace elemental data for swords from Scandinavia, Germany and Italy dated between 1600 and 1100 BCE. About 70% of the swords have been analysed and published before while about 30% have been sampled and analysed for this study. The chronology and geography of the deposited swords indicate that the different regions relied on different metal trade routes which changed during the course of the Bronze Age. The analytical data indicates that the largest variation of the origin of copper is in the period of 1600\u20131500 BCE, when copper ores from Wales, Austria and Slovakia constituted the major copper sources for the swords. There is a visible change around 1500 BCE, when copper mines in the Italian Alps become the main suppliers for Scandinavian and Italian swords, while swords from Germany were foremost based on copper from Slovakia and Austria. Further, in the period 1300\u20131100 BCE the sources in the Italian Alps became the dominant supplier of copper for the swords in all regions discussed here