THE ORIGINS OF THE CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SUCCINITE AND OTHER FOSSIL RESINS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN ZONE: THE STATE OF RESEARCH, FIRST INTERPRETATIONS AND QUESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

This article presents the first overview of the origins of the cultural significance of fossil resins throughout the Mediterranean zone. In particular, it focuses on one type of fossil resin – succinite, also called Baltic amber. However, it presents succinite in the context of other types, especially those whose deposits we register in the studied area. The article covers the several millennia from the beginnings of amber use in the Palaeolithic to the turn of the second and first millennia BC. The main analytical categories are space, shown by the presence of fossil resins in individual regions of the Mediterranean; time; raw material, as represented by the varieties of fossil resins; and cultural context, understood as the presence of artefacts from fossil resins in particular eras. Thanks to geology, we know the location of many fossil resin deposits, especially in Europe. The richest and most important deposits for the period under consideration, especially those of succinite, lay outside the Mediterranean zone, so succinite found there must have arrived through exchange. In recent years, methodological progress in recognising individual varieties of fossil resins, in which the Fourier transformation infrared spectrometry (FTIR) method is crucial, allows us to distinguish the basic varieties of fossil resins used in ancient times. This article is based on a new database of artefacts made of fossil resins from the Mediterranean area, and shows their diversity in terms of geography, time, and raw materials. The image that emerges is not simple; it shows a large degree of variability in all analytical categories. Nevertheless, it also reveals the growing interest in fossil resins by the increasing number of communities living in the Mediterranean and characterised by different cultural backgrounds. The author’s intention with this article is to create a starting point for further research and discussion on the cultural significance of fossil resins in the Mediterranean zone. This is an important issue in (pre-)history, not only for the geographical zone analysed, but for our entire continent.