NOTES ON DEVELOPMENT OF THE LUSATIAN CULTURE IN SLOVAKIA

Thye author provides a brief summary of the historical development of the Lusatian settlement in Slovakia. Following from the published results of archaeological investigations and surveys of settlements and burial grounds of the Lusatian culture, he uses information related to the burial rite, economic background and material expressions of social relations to suggest division of the development of individual stages. In the second part of the article, he specifies the material content of suggested individual stages of historical development using elements typical for the relevant period. The beginnings of the Lusatian settlement have been discussed by experts for decades. Analysing the cultural base from which it was created, the author has come to a conclusion that the origin of the studied culture in Slovakia can be dated back as early as the Middle Bronze Age. He does not doubt the importance of the Tumulus culture in crystallization of the Lusatian culture. However, he points to the fact, that it was only one of the elements in this process in the north of Slovakia. He monitors gradual territorial expansion of the Lusatian culture, its relations to the neighbouring cultures. He deals only marginally with the generally accepted significant status of the Lusatian culture in production of bronze artefacts in its prime period in the Later and Final Bronze ages in Slovakia. For chronological conclusions, he uses the shapes and decorative motifs on pottery more frequently. In his article, the author presents his opinion of gradual extinction of the Lusatian settlement in Slovakia in the Hallstatt period. He deals with the causes of this development and its possible regional results, without an attempt to provide a detailed analysis of its expressions. More exact conclusions regarding development of the Lusatian culture in individual Slovak regions in the Hallstatt period require extensive, mainly field, archaeological investigation.