Horné Srnie: Emulation of Carpathian insignia during the Urnfield inflation

Abstract

Double-armed insigniae of the Carpathian type are mysterious ceremonial symbols of the Urnfields representing the connection between ideological principles in the Western Carpathians. The Horné Srnie metal hoard shows that early Lusatian mountain communities developed an emulation strategy c.1325 BCE that shifts the origins of Lusatian metallurgy roughly by one century, using the elite style of the technologically advanced Piliny culture to represent their social status. The reproduction was motivated by the effort of Lusatian warrior-priests to maintain their authority during the period of Urnfield societal reorganization and grew into the ‘homemade’ production of low-quality cast specimens from recycled materials or metallurgical residues.