Lietuvos istorijos institutas

Freshwater shells appear repeatedly in animal bone assemblages at Late Bronze Age settlements. This is not only the case in the inland, but also in regions fairly close to the Baltic Sea shore. Significant amounts of freshwater mussels are known especially from Polish and Northeastern German fortified settlements as well as in the Lithuanian lowlands. Several large shell finds from Late Bronze Age fortified settlements in these regions have been published recently, shedding new light on the use of aquatic resources. The majority of the freshwater mussels found belong to the Unio type, whose occurrence is particularly common in contexts of the Lusatian culture. Apparently, these mussels were intentionally selected for certain purposes. However, new excavations in Lithuania show that these selection processes can be observed over a much larger area than previously assumed. This article aims to present a brief overview of freshwater mussel gathering and consumption, analyzing such behavior in a wider context, with a focus on the consumption of mussels by Late Bronze Age communities in specific regions of Northeastern Europe. The significance of mussels as a resource is placed in a larger spatial context based on analogue finds.

In this paper, we present the main results of interdisciplinary project that allowed us to formulate a new perspective on the economy of the Late Bronze Age in the Eastern Baltic region. New excavations at the Late Bronze Age fortified settlements of Garniai 1 (Utena district municipality) and Mineikiškės (Zarasai district municipality) lead us to analyse the economy of the communities in much greater detail and to formulate a more reliable economical model than before. This paper reviews the new results of archaeobotanical investigations of these fortified settlements, as well as δ13C and δ15N data of food remains in Late Bronze Age pottery, grains and animal bone collagen samples. These analyses allowed us to refine and clarify the likely dietary practices of consumers of certain products in the Eastern Baltic region. The paper also publishes new data on the elemental composition and lead isotopes of metalware, thereby adding to our earlier findings These studies show that metallurgy as a specialized activity did not play a significant role in the Late Bronze Age economy, but its emergence was driven by the economic changes of the period. In contrast, the production of high-level bone-antler artifacts reflects the activity of specialized craftsmen in Late Bronze Age settlements.