Marble as a Material for the Production of Bracelets in Neolithic Central Europe

Abstract

Marble as a Material for the Production of Bracelets in Neolithic Central Europe

Marble bracelets are a characteristic artefact of the Stroked Pottery culture (5100/5000-4500/4400 BC) in Central Bohemia, and they also occur in the same period in the sphere of the Rössen culture around the River Saale in Germany. These finds began to attract interest in the 19^th century and the issue of the origin of their material had been considered resolved for several decades. However, a new mineralogical study has shown that the main source of material was located elsewhere and that the overall number of sources used was higher. The article presents the results of the study of the actual artefacts and the results of a terrain survey of the most promising natural sources of the material in the Czech Republic. The combination of the two approaches led to the discovery of the main potential source.