From the seaside to the inland: comparing Late Bronze Age pottery production and styles in the eastern Baltic

• Leidėjo tinklalapis: knygos tekstas

ENThe study of pottery production is a further step towards understanding the social significance of both stylistic and material patterns. The focus of this paper is on the latter aspect: we will analyse and discuss similarities and differences among LBA groups of eastern Baltic pottery, as well as view pottery as a communication medium. Fortified settlements were mostly widespread on the hilltops and promontories of higher terraces, with concentrated enclosed habitational areas (Graudonis 1967; 1989; Grigalavičienė 1995; Lang 2007; Luchtanas 1992). This kind of site contained most of the communities’ refuse which accumulated due to the prolonged usage of a limited living area. The three archaeological assemblages chosen for this study were acquired from the fortified settlements of Asva (Estonia), Ķivutkalns (Latvia) and Narkūnai (Lithuania), which are among the most representative sites of the eastern Baltic Late Bronze Age in terms of amounts of finds per site. These sites reflect technologies used in three different ecotones: coastal, island along the river c. 25 km from the sea, and inland near a small stream, c. 200 km from the sea. Our paper aims to identify and compare the technological and stylistic traits of pottery production in these three cases as representative of three different ecological and economic environments in the eastern Baltic. [Extract, p. 161-162]