Unfinished, broken and discarded: an analysis of the Neolithic amber processing techniques in the eastern Baltic (Latvia)

In the archaeological record from the Eastern Baltic region amber occurs most prominently throughout the Middle and Late Neolithic (4th-3rd mill. BC). It was collected along the Baltic coast and worked into jewellery and figurines, traveling far inland but being worked where amber raw material was abundant. Three major Neolithic amber processing centers are known in present-day Latvia: Siliņupe, Sārnate and Lake Lubāns basin. So far, collections have been researched mainly typologically, less by a technological approach related to the methods and materials used in modifying the material. This study focuses on combining experiments and microscopic analysis to examine amber rough-outs, broken artefacts and final products. The results reveal that amber working traditions can be traced back to the processing of the most common local and imported materials. Depending on the characteristics of the amber, the intended form of the jewellery, the complexity of the manufacture, the availability of resources and the skill of the maker, the techniques used varied. Amber jewellery was made using tools made from both locally available material (antler, sandstone, Silurian flint) and imported Cretaceous flint, while the processing techniques identified provide insight into the interactions between the most common materials