The metallurgists from Nižná Myšľa (okr. Košice-okolie/SK)

A contribution to the discussion on the metallurgy in defensive settlements of the Otomani-Füzesabony culture

Abstract

The metallurgists from Nižná Myšľa (okr. Košice-okolie/SK). A contribution to the discussion on the metallurgy in defensive settlements of the Otomani-Füzesabony culture

Without a doubt, Nižná Myšľa is one of the more significant sites of the European Bronze Age. The excavations, which have been carried out in the location since the 1970s, revealed hundreds of graves associated with one of the defensive settlements of the Otomani-Füzesabony culture. This paper presents a discussion relying on the recent 14C-based dating of very well-known burials of metallurgists from Nižná Myšľa. The determination of their absolute age provided a starting point in devising an interpretative model for the assessment of the significance of bronze metallurgy in the defensive settlements and for the hypothesis presupposing the existence of a specific craft specialisation within the community of the Otomani-Füzesabony culture.