Hunting and fishing implements from the Bronze Age site of Popov Salaš (northern Serbia)

Hunting and fishing had relatively small role in the subsistence of the Bronze Age communities in the southern Carpathian basin; however, they were not entirely abandoned. The evidence is rather scarce, especially for the sites excavated in the mid-20th century, when faunal remains were only selectively collected and the soil was not sieved. Some indirect evidence may be obtained from the hunting and fishing gear. In particular, toggle harpoons produced from red deer antler were rather common and widespread in the Late Eneolithic and the Bronze Age in the southern Carpathian basin, although certain differences in technology and morphology may be noted. In this paper will be presented hunting and fishing implements from the Bronze age Vatin culture site of Popov Salaš – Kać. The site is situated in southern Bačka region, in vicinity of Novi Sad, in Vojvodina, northern Serbia. The site was near the modern course of the Danube river, and presumably surrounded by the marshy areas in prehistoric times. The excavations carried out in 1960’s yielded certain amount of osseous tools, including several well-preserved toggle harpoons. These items were made from red deer antler, carefully crafted, and presumably used for fishing. In addition, one possible arrow head was found, also made from red deer antler. In this paper will be discussed technological and typological traits of these objects, as well as their possible mode of use.