Late Eneolithic/Early Bronze Age projectiles comparative use-wear analysis
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| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Citation | |
| Description | The end of Copper Age and the beginning of Bronze Age is a crucial period in social transformation of prehistoric societies in Central Europe. Substrate of Baden Culture (app 3.400 – 3.000 BC) and consequent Jevisovice Culture (app 3.000 – 2.700 BC) with weak archaeological information on society differentiation was strongly impacted by Corded Ware (CWC; app. 2.800 – 2.400 BC) and Bell Beaker (BBC; app. 2.500 – 2.100 BC) Cultures with a clearly defined warrior social class. Members of this class are connected by standardized situation of “warrior graves” with battle-axes (CWC) or arrowheads and wrist guards (BBC), accompanied by special grave treatment (mounds, stone rims, ditches) and equipment (jewels, copper industry) in archaeological sources. Traditional interpretation of Late Copper Age and Early Bronze Age projectiles as warrior equipment is confronted with use-wear analysis results recently. The discussion was opened by Dan Sosna in Central Europe (Sosna 2012) with use-wear analysis of Bell beaker projectiles from Hostice I cemetery. New results for early Bronze Age projectiles of Nitra-Group (Epi – Corded Ware complex; app 2.300 – 1.800 BC) and Unetice Culture (app. 2.100 – 1.700 BC) bring wider information on their practical versus symbolical or social function in this key period of social stratification (app. 2.300 – 1.700 BC). Projectiles use-wear reflects quite different situation in Nitra-Group and Unetice Culture context. While Sosna identified low presence of real functional and hafting use-wear (including point macro-fractures) and noted mostly social function regarding representation or tradition; appreciable part of our analysed projectiles shows marks of practical shooting and hafting. The most important information rises from comparison of different use/position of projectiles in social patterns of different populations at the end of Eneolithic and at the beginning of Bronze Age. |
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