Verena Leusch

The social role of craftspeople or artisans, and especially of metalworkers, in the society of the Varna population has been a matter of discussion since the site was introduced to the scientific community (Renfrew, 1978; Lichardus, 1988; Marazov, 1988; Chapman, Higham, et al. 2006). It was regarded as common sense to assess metallurgy as the decisive impetus for the increasing social complexity that became evident during the Copper Age in the Balkans (Todorova, 1981; Todorova, 1999). Hitherto, the cemetery Varna I has been regarded as the apogee of this development and as the first record of a hierarchical society. But what was the role of metallurgy, and more precisely of metallurgists and artisans, within these social dynamics? The most recent collaboration between German and Bulgarian institutions yielded new data from the site of Varna and provides a complete analytical account not only of metallurgical and anthropological results, but also of almost the entire
archaeological assemblage. This article outlines important results of these investigations that challenge the hypothesis of the outstanding role of metalworking within the social dynamics.

During the last decade an analytical routine was established that allows determining the composition of gold artifacts for major and trace elements by LA-ICP-MS. This micro-invasive method has proven highly suitable for detailed characterization of prehistoric gold in order to investigate its chaîne opératoire. At the CEZA laboratory (Mannheim, Germany) two different analytical set-ups were developed that yielded accurate and precise results for determining the whole range of matrix components within the gold. They are based upon different calibration strategies — liquid calibration with the ICP-MS operating under wet plasma conditions, and external calibration by solid standard reference materials with the ICP-MS operating under dry plasma conditions—that enable flexible adjustment according to different sample properties. They are described and compared within this paper. An archaeological case study of gold finds from the chalcolithic cemetery of Varna (Bulgaria) demonstrates the applicability of the analytical methods for archaeometallurgical studies. These analyses yielded valuable information for defining and comparing groups of gold artifacts that allude to their distribution within the burial site. However, the comparison of artifact gold with geological gold samples proved problematic, and clear relations between artefacts and specific gold occurrences are difficult to demonstrate.

Studies of trade routes across Southeast Asia in prehistory have hitherto focused largely on archaeological evidence from
Mainland Southeast Asia, particularly the Thai Peninsula and Vietnam. The role of Indonesia and Island Southeast Asia in these networks has been poorly understood, owing to the paucity of evidence from this region. Recent research has begun to fill this void. New excavations at Sembiran and Pacung on the northern coast of Bali have produced new, direct AMS dates from burials, and analytical data from cultural materials
including pottery, glass, bronze, gold and semi-precious stone, as well as evidence of local bronze-casting. This suggests strong  inks with the Indian subcontinent and Mainland Southeast Asia from the late first millennium BC, some 200 years earlier than previously thought.

Studies of trade routes across Southeast Asia in prehistory have hitherto focused largely on archaeological evidence from Mainland Southeast Asia, particularly the Thai Peninsula and Vietnam. The role of Indonesia and Island Southeast Asia in these networks has been poorly understood, owing to the paucity of evidence from this region. Recent research has begun to fill this void. New excavations at Sembiran and Pacung on the northern coast of Bali have produced new, direct AMS dates from burials, and analytical data from cultural materials including pottery, glass, bronze, gold andsemi-precious stone, as well as evidence of local bronze-casting. This suggests strong links with the Indian subcontinent and Mainland Southeast Asia from the late first millennium BC, some 200 years earlier than previously thought.

Sembiran and Pacung on the northern coast of Bali: a strategic crossroads for early trans-Asiatic exchange. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275020269_Sembiran_and_Pacung_on_the_northern_coast_of_Bali_a_strategic_crossroads_for_early_trans-Asiatic_exchange [accessed Apr 26, 2015].

This paper discusses the invention of gold metallurgy within the Southeast European
Chalcolithic on the basis of newly investigated gold objects from the Varna I cemetery
(4550–4450 cal. bc). Comprehensive analyses, including preceding gold finds, shed new
light not only on the technical expertise of the so far earliest known fine metalworkers,
but also on the general context and potential prerequisites in which the invention of gold
metallurgymay be embedded. Here, these structural trajectories as well as the unprecedented
inventions connected to this early gold working will be highlighted in order to contextualize
the apparently sudden appearance and rapid development of this new craft.

When discussing the role of early gold and silver in human history, a single archaeological site is particularly outstanding: the cemetery of Varna I. Dated between c. 455o–445o BC, it is still considered to provide the earliest evidence for the existence of specialised and developed gold metallurgy in combination with a high level of social differentiation. Since 2oo9, intensive reinvestigations of the grave assemblages shed new light on the phenomenon of this earliest gold industry and its impact on society. Extensive analytical work was conducted in order to provide the empirical basis for the reconstruction of the »chaîne opératoire« of gold during the Late Chalcolithic period within the Kodžadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo (KGK) VI cultural complex in the west Pontic region.
This article focuses on the new analytical results and their interpretation related to production techniques and workflows as well as the intra-site distribution of the gold objects from Varna. Furthermore, in addition to the investigation of the gold artefacts, placer gold occurrences in eastern Bulgaria were prospected in search for gold resources that possibly have been used in the Chalcolithic. Finally, other grave goods from the cemetery were considered, aiming to provide insights on the wider economic networks and social structures within Varna’s society. This comprehensive approach represents a novelty in the research history of this site. The following article presents selected highlights of this study.