New data about the provenance of the Early Eneolithic copper artefacts from western Lesser Poland

Abstract The Early Eneolithic period in Lesser Poland is represented by the Lublin-Volhynian culture and the Wyciąże-Złotniki group. For both of them, the main cultural references were the Middle Copper Age groups from the Carpathian Basin (the Bodrogkeresztúr, the Hunyadihalom-Lažňany, the Balaton-Lasinja cultures, as well as the Ludanice, and the Bajč-Retz-Gajary groups). One of the most important indicators of the Transcarpathian influence was the use of various copper objects by local communities and their deposition in graves. A set of seventeen objects, mostly from well-dated grave contexts, was analysed to establish the provenance of the copper artefacts used in western Lesser Poland. This set included artefacts discovered in Złota Grodzisko I and Grodzisko II, Książnice 2, Koniecmosty, Kraków-Wyciąże 5 and Kraków-Cło 7. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis was used to study the chemical compositions, while lead isotope ratios were determined using a inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (HR-MC-ICP-MS). In addition, some of the objects were visually inspected under a digital microscope to determine how they were made and used. As a result of this analytical programme, it was possible to establish that both Lesser Poland groups used the same copper distribution networks. Initially (c. 4050–3950 BC), the copper originated from the mines in Serbia that at the time were controlled, as suggested in the literature, by the peoples of the Bodrogkeresztúr culture, and also from the mines in the Slovak ore Mountains, linked to the Ludanice group. It appears, however, that from c. 3950 BC onwards, the only source of metal for the production of copper objects used by the inhabitants of western Lesser Poland were the mines located in the Slovak Ore Mountains. This research also suggested that, while around 3950–3800 BC, there was a marked regression in the production and use of copper artefacts in the Carpathian Basin, in the area of western Lesser Poland there was an increase in the use and, most likely, local production of original copper jewellery.