Early Bronze Age amber in Slovakia. Chronology, mechanisms of exchange and acceptance of the new raw material.

Thanks to a long history of research on the origins, tracing distribution networks and assessing the cultural significance of amber, the pool of information on the complexity of exchange networks in Bronze Age Europe is steadily growing. The present study represents the next stage in the development of research on this issue. It presents a synthesis of previous knowledge on the presence of amber in the Early Bronze Age in the territory of present-day Slovakia, as well as new findings on the provenance of the raw material and the absolute chronology of the finds from selected three different sites located in the eastern part of the country. On the basis of the information obtained, key issues related to the provenance of amber, the context of its deposition and the chronological mechanisms of its spread in the studied area are discussed. The results obtained are encouraging enough to compare and clarify the initiation of amber acceptance, its further perception and valuation by exchange strategies, where amber seems to be provided rather as a by-product of a more complex trade system, focused primarily on metal exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]