EARLY COPPER USE IN NEOLITHIC NORTH-EASTERN EUROPE: AN OVERVIEW

Copper finds from Neolithic contexts in eastern Fennoscandia represent the earliest phase of metal use in northern Europe. Currently some 30 sites, which have produced approximately 180 copper finds, are known. The finds consist mainly of nuggets and indeterminate lumps of copper, but a number of personal adornments and small tools are also present. The centre of copper use is located on the northern and western coasts of Lake Onega, where native copper deposits are available. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the early copper finds and metal use in north-eastern Europe between 4000 and 2000 BC. It is argued that Neolithic metal use in the research area can be divided in two phases. The adoption of metal during the first phase, associated with Rhomb-Pit and Typical Comb Ware pottery, was most likely a local innovation. The second phase, attributed to the Asbestos- and Organic-tempered Wares, saw the introduction of more advanced metallurgy that emerged as a result of external influences. We further propose that the reasons for adopting copper are not reducible to purely practical considerations, but had to do with symbolic or metaphysical concepts associated with the metal: the early adoption of copper was related to the wider Neolithisation process of the area, during which the relationships between people and the surrounding world faced profound changes.