VYBRANÉ DOKLADY REMESELNEJ ČINNOSTI NA OPEVNENOM SÍDLISKU II V NIŽNEJ MYŠLI

Nižná Myšľa is well known to the expert as well as general public, as an archaeological site, mainly in association with a burial ground and fortified settlement from the Early and Middle Bronze Age. Fortified settlements are one of the specific features of the northern enclave of the Otomani-Füzesabony cultural complex and they represented production, trade, religious and later also power centres. The article deals with the fortified settlement II from the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age. The archaeological excavation in Nižná Myšľa has been conducted since 1977. Based on the current knowledge, we can state that intense craft activities took place at fortified settlement II. With regard to the extent of craft activities, the article focuses on activities associated with metallurgy and lithic industry. These two topics are partly interconnected, since evidence of metallurgy contains mainly lithic casting moulds. Final finish of metal objects is associated with various tools for grinding, smoothing and polishing which are frequent at the site. Metallurgy was the moving power of the economy in the Bronze Age and Nižná Myšľa was one of its centres. Lithic industry, on the other hand, played an important role in people’s everyday life and was used in almost all types of industry. Therefore, its location in the area of fortified settlement II offers us an opportunity to partly locate craft districts and reconstruct the economic-production model of the settlement itself.