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History of
Jewelry: Paleolithic through Roman times
The oldest
surviving archeological artefacts from Slovakia date back to 270,000
BCE, the Early Paleolithic Era, and were found near Nov Mesto nad
Vhom. These ancient tools were made by the Clactonian technique and
are a potent reminder of the ancient inhabiation of the geographical
regions known today as Slovakia.
Venus
Other stone
tools from the Middle Paleolithic Era (200,000 - 80,000 BCE) were
discovered in the Prvt cave near Bojnice and other nearby sites.
Artefacts were discovered dating back to the Paleolithic Stage,
include the famous Cranium Mold of a Neanderthal, discovered near
Gnovec, a village in Northern Slovakia.
Homo sapien
skeletons were also discovered on in this region. Numerous objects
and vestiges of the era of the Gravettian culture have also been
found, principally in the river valleys of Nitra, Hron, Ipel, Vh and
as far as the city of Zilina, and near the foot of the Virhorlat,
Inovec and Trbec mountains and the Myjava Mountains. Among the most
well-known find is the oldest female statue made of mammoth bone,
discovered in the commune of Moravany nad Vhom, near Pieštany, a
spa resort known worldwide. Numerous necklaces made of shells from
Cypraca thermophile gastropods of the Tertiary Period have been
discovered at the sites of Zkovsk, Podkovice, Hubina, and
Radošinaare These findings are the most ancient evidence of
commercial exchanges carried out between the Mediterranean and
Central Europe.
From an
archeological standpoint, the discovery of different instruments and
objects made of pottery in several archeological digs and burial
places scattered across the Slovakian Territory, and even more
surprising, in the northern regions at relatively high altitudes,
give evidence to human habitation in the Neolithic period. The
pottery of Zeliezovce, that of Gemer and of the Massif Bukov hory is
characterized by remarkable modelling and by delicate linear
decoration, revealing the first attempts at coloring. These shapes
reveal a developed of aesthetic sense.
Several caves
have also been discovered in Slovakian territory. One is the famous
Domnica cave, almost 6000 meters long, which was inhabited down to a
depth of 700 meters. This cave is one of the biggest Neolithic
deposits in Europe and was inhabited continuously for more than 800
years by the same tribes who created the pottery from the Massif
Bukov hory. A witness to the Pre-Neolithic era is the Luzianky group,
found near Nitra and also the Lengyel pottery and the group of Bolerz pottery.
The transition
towards the Neolithic Era in Central Europe was characterized by the
arrival of Indo-European peoples, by the settling of populations, the
development of agriculture and the clearing of pastures, the first
transformation of metals at the local level, by the "Retz"
style pottery and also by fluted pottery. During the 'fluted-pottery'
era, several fortified sites were built and some vestiges remain
today, especially in high-altitude areas. The most well-known being
the Nitriansky Hrdok site, which is surrounded by pits. Starting in
the Neolithic Era, the geographic location of present-day Slovakia
was dense trade network for goods such as shells, amber, jewels and
weapons. As a result, it became an important crossroads of European
trade routes.
The Bronze Age
in Slovakia went through three stages of development, which stretched
from 2000-800 BCE. The most well-known culture of that era was the
funeral culture of the Carpathians and that of the middle Danube.
During the later Neolithic Age, a considerable growth in cultural
regions took place in Slovakia. This phenomena was linked to a large
development in local copper manufacturing, especially in Central
Slovakia and North-West Slovakia. This metal became a permanent
source of enrichment for the local population. After the
disappearance of the Cakany and Velatice civilizations, it was the
Lusacian people who expanded the building of strong and complex
fortifications, the appearance of large permanent buildings and
administrative centers, a large growth in trades and agricultural
technologies.
The richness
and the diversity of the sepulchers increased considerably. Arms,
shields, jewelry, dishes and statues were manufactured. Life for the
people of Calenderberg who lived in the hamlets located in the plain
(Sered) and also in the fortresses located on the summits (Smolenice,
Molpr) was disturbed by the arrival of community tribes from the
Thrace. The local power of the "Princes" of Hallstatt
disappeared in Slovakia during the last period of the Iron Age after
the battles which took place between the Scytho-Thracian people and
the Celtic tribes, advancing from the South towards the North,
following the Slovakian rivers. The victory of the Celts marked the
beginning of the later Iron Age. Their reign then disappeared with
the Germanic incursions, the victory of Dacia near the Nezider Lake
and the expansion of the Roman Empire.
The Roman
epoch began in Slovakia in 6 CE., inaugurated by the arrival of Roman
legions on this territory which led to a war against the Markoman and
Quadi tribes. The Romans and their armies occupied only a thin strip
of the right bank of the Danube and a very small part of South-West
Slovakia. It was not until 174 CE that Marcus Aurelius penetrated
deeper into the river valleys of Vh, Nitra and Hron. It was on the
banks of the Hron that he wrote his philosophical work "Meditations."
In 179 CE, the
Roman Legion engraved on the rock of the Trencn Castle: Laugaritio,
the Roman inscription marking the furthest northern point in Europe.
After the fall
of the Roman Empire, this region remained open and was raided by
aggressive troops from different peoples, a phenomenon which
historiography called the migration of people. The last ethnic groups
in Slovakia before the Slavs arrived were the Germanic Goth tribes,
pushed to the East by the Huns and the Lombards. |
