Bronze and Iron Age Amber Artifacts in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina

Abstract

The question as to whether or not Yugoslavia played a role in the Bronze Age amber trade to Greece has traditionally been answered negatively because of the scarcity of amber finds in that country. Amber finds that have come to light as a result of more intensive exploration after World War II have been thought to be of local origin by some Yugoslav scholars. Spectroscopic analysis of 35 archaeological amber artifacts from the Yugoslav provinces of Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina of the Bronze and Iron Age shows 31 of them to be of imported Baltic amber. The finds are discussed in their archaeological and geographic contexts as a first step towards re-assessing the place of the Eastern Adriatic area in the southward movement of amber.