MATERIAL, TECHNOLOGY AND MEANING: ANTLER ARTEFACTS AND ANTLER WORKING ON THE EASTERN SHORE OF THE BALTIC SEA IN THE LATE BRONZE AGE
MATERIAL, TECHNOLOGY AND MEANING: ANTLER ARTEFACTS AND ANTLER WORKING ON THE EASTERN SHORE OF THE BALTIC SEA IN THE LATE BRONZE AGE

Summary/Abstract: The paper deals with antler working and antler artefacts in the Late Bronze Age fortified settlements on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The reasons behind the ancient craftsmen’s choice of material may be functional, economical or depend on cultural traditions. Concerning skeletal materials artefacts were usually made from the bones of the species occurring also among faunal remains. Functional choice depends on the suitability of a bone for an artefact. At the same time, traditions could exist concerning the suitability of certain skeletal element for making a certain tool or artefact. Antler could be preferred as a material for making artefacts because of its dimensions and properties. Antler is tougher and more elastic than bone, therefore it was preferred to bone especially for artefacts or details requiring greater toughness. In the paper an overview of antler working technologies and antler artefacts most typical for the Late Bonze Age fortified settlements in the eastern Baltic region is given. Antler artefacts and traces of antler working in the Late Bronze Age fortified settlements are compared with other contemporaneous sites – open settlements and stone graves, and also with the use of antler in the long run, from the Neolithic until the Viking Age.

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