THE LOWER REACHES OF THE DAUGAVA IN THE BRONZE AND THE EARLIEST IRON AGE (1800-500 TO THE 1ST CENTURY BC)

The lower reaches of the Daugava in the Mesolithic and Neolithic were sparsely populated until the second half of the Early Bronze Age (1800-1100 BC). The situation began to change from the 14th century BC, when the process of Neolithisation was over, and the local communities switched completely to animal husbandry and agriculture. In terms of social and economic relations, the area reached its highest level of development in the Late Bronze Age (1100-500 BC), which continued, albeit with a downward trend, in the Earliest Iron Age (500-1 BC). The article discusses the conditions that promoted the economic prosperity and social development of societies in the lower reaches of the Daugava in the direction of differentiation. The most important condition for this development was the involvement of lower Daugava societies in the long-distance exchange network between Scandinavia and the Volga-Kama region, where the main object of exchange was bronze, and the related focus on the processing of it in downstream centres. These metal products, weapons and jewellery, and their limited availability, were elements in the demonstration of social prestige. With the spread of local iron metallurgy in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, the long-distance exchange of bronze lost its former importance. Consequently, the main bronze processing centres in the lower reaches of the Daugava also declined, and a collapse occurred in the existing socio-economic system.