EXCHANGE OF AMBER IN NORTHERN EUROPE IN THE III MILLENNIUM BC AS A FACTOR OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS

Abstract

The article discusses the driving forces and mechanisms of the massive spread of amber in the forested zone of eastern Europe in the III millennium BC. Study of spatial-chronological aspects of this phenomenon has allowed proposing that the increase of exchange of prestigious items at the end of the Neolithic period was caused by an increase of the role of social interaction in adaptive strategies of hunter-gatherers in the forested zone of eastern Europe.