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Prehistoric Obsidian Trade Between Central Europe and Croatia

A portable, non-destructive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF) was used to analyze 30 obsidian artifacts from 3 prehistoric sites in the northeastern part of Croatia, near Đakovo and Osijek (Samatovci, Ivandvor, Pajtenica). This instrument provides quantitative trace element data which is successful in distinguishing between each of the central European, Anatolian, and Mediterranean island sources, and expands considerably the number of artifacts tested prior to this study, which also included many artifacts from sites along the Adriatic coast. Overall, it was found that obsidian from the sites tested in northeastern Croatia all came from Carpathian sources, while those sites in Istria and at Danilo and Pokrovnik in southeastern Croatia had just small percentages with most obsidian coming from the small island of Lipari (just north of Sicily). These results are combined with other studies for the European/ Mediterranean Neolithic to evaluate the patterns observed, and integrates the data for obsidian trade with other materials including ceramics. Overall, this study exemplifies the importance of analyzing a significant number of artifacts in order to make strong interpretations about ancient cultures and their socioeconomic systems.

: obsidian; trade; Croatia; central Europe; Carpathian sources; pXRF analysis

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