A warrior’s journey? Some recent taxonomic, trace element and lead isotope analyses of Mediterranean later Bronze Age metalwork in the Central and West Balkans

Abstract

The question of mobility between the different geographic and cultural regions of the Balkans, Aegean and Central Mediterranean remains an issue of crucial importance for understanding the development of Bronze Age societies in each region. While mobility can take many forms, in this paper we are particularly concerned with the movement of personal objects as a means to explore personal mobility. To do this, the paper brings together typological, trace element and lead isotope analyses and the role of portable XRF in this process is explored. It is concluded that a multiproxy analyses that includes typologies can offer valuable insights into the nature and directionality of mobility.