The Demise of the Únĕtice Culture due to the Reduced Availability of Natural Resources for Bronze Production

Abstract : After a long period of prosperity, the Únĕtice (2300-1600 B.C.) – a Central European Early Bronze Age culture – collapsed in few decades without obvious reason. Since Únĕtice was the first bronze metalworkers of Central Europe, we examine whether the reduced availability of bronze could have triggered this social collapse. We claim that it could have been so and provide a detailed analysis of two complementary reasons related to shortages of inputs - placer tin and fuel wood - used to produce bronze which could explain the demise of bronze production and the social collapse of the Únĕtice culture.