Svetlana V. Oshibkina^a,#

^a Institute of Archaeology RAS, Moscow, Russia

^#E-mail: ra@iaran.ru

Keywords: amber products, the Neolithic – Eneolithic, the Baltics, the north of Eastern Europe.

The reason for the wide spreading of amber jewellery in the forest zone of Eastern Europe during the Neolithic – Eneolithic remains an open question. Normally, there is no amber raw material at the sites; traces of refinement or repair of objects are recorded occasionally. Perhaps an active exchange of amber products for furs or some types of stone took place as early as in ancient times. Indirect evidence of this may be a sharp increase in hunting for marten at hunter-gatherer sites at the end of the Mesolithic and, especially, in the Neolithic, which can be observed in the range of faunal remains at the sites of the Upper Volga region and the North. On the burial grounds of that period in the forest zone of Eastern Europe, there is a noticeable difference in the distribution of amber products and other prestigious items. Moreover, especially rich burials emerged, which can be explained by the social stratification of communities and the separation of rich or especially respected hunters. The emergence of amber products did not change the traditions of local ethnic and cultural formations (cultures) anywhere.

DOI: 10.31857/S0869606322040134