Aspects of metalworking and society from the black sea to the baltic sea from the fifth to the second millennium BC

Abstract

This chapter reviews the early evidence for metallurgy in south-eastern and central Europe from the fifth to the second millennium BC. This encompasses the use of copper minerals and ores through copper smelting, copper working and the development of different types of copper-based alloys. The development of metallurgy in this region was the result of technological choices drawing upon the cultural and social context of actors and communities connected through kinship-based networks of communication and decision-taking.