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

© 2019, The Author(s). 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 (Špania Dolina–Banská 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 (Kałdus, 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 Kałdus, 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.

Jaar van publicatie:2019

BOF-keylabel:ja

IOF-keylabel:ja

BOF-publication weight:10

CSS-citation score:1

Auteurs:International

Authors from:Higher Education

Toegankelijkheid:Open