Bone and shell beads from the Bronze Age necropolis at Mokrin (northern Serbia)

The Bronze Age cemetery at the site of Mokrin is situated in the northern Banat region, near the town of Kikinda, in northeast Serbia. Necropolis belonging to the Bronze Age Moriš (Maros) culture was first noted in the nineteenth century, and extensive excavations were carried out in the 1960s revealing over 300 graves. The burials at Mokrin contained rich archaeological material: ceramic vessels, jewelry and clothing accessories made from bronze, gold, osseous and lithic raw materials, copper and stone tools and weapons, and animal bones. The rich data provided by this necropolis, especially the diversity and richness of offerings and/or funerary equipment were used for assessing and analyzing the stratification and social organization of the communities buried at the Mokrin necropolis. Personal ornaments made from osseous raw materials were recorded at almost one third of the graves, and the most common among them were different beads made from bones and mollusk shells. This paper presents the results of the analyses of technological traits, manufacturing procedure, and use wear traces. Traces of use and their position in graves showed that some beads were used as part of composite jewelry (necklaces, bracelets), but others were part of clothing items, probably attached to belts, head dressings, etc. Also, numerous beads display intensive use wear traces, meaning they were used for a long time, and were probably highly valued.