Evolution of amber’s status and symbolism between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age: case studies from the Baltic and Adriatic Basins

Abstract Given its limited natural occurrence, amber has the quality of a good indicator of interregional and intersocietal contacts. For these reasons, archaeology has devoted to it much attention. Based on the current knowledge, it can be stated that over the centuries amber has played a decorative role, mainly as a material for jewellery production. However, rarely the studies consider potential changes in the socially constituted status and symbolism of amber from a diachronic perspective, spanning several epochs. In this article, a wide overview of data concerning the use of Baltic amber (succinite) in two European regions is conducted: the Baltic Basin in the Neolithic period (ca. 4000–1700 BCE) and the Adriatic Basin in the Bronze Age (ca. 2150–950 BCE). The first of these areas includes the largest succinite deposits, and is crucial for recognizing the early stages of its exploitation, processing and redistribution. The second area received amber later, but there it became a permanent element of prehistoric and ancient material culture. Although chemical analyses confirm that in both cases it was the same species of fossil resin, archaeological research reveals the evolution of amber in social and symbolic dimensions. This change primarily involved gradual narrowing of the social attribution of amber to women and children, semantic emancipation visible through departure from shaping amber in the likeness of weapons and tools, and commodification of amber in the far-reaching exchange contacts.