Author Description

The volume is a collection of the papers read at the conference "Contribution of East European nomadic groups to shaping the cultural-historical development of Slovakia in the Hallstatt period" held as part of the VEGA 02/0051/12 project in Kassa/Kosice, Slovakia, in December 2014.<br>Most of the papers cover new advances in regional and chronological research on the Hallstatt period in the northern Carpathian Basin, with a focus on Slovakia, western Pannonia and the eastern Alpine region, the main distribution of the eastern Hallstatt culture. The period was characterised by a colourful patchwork of small-scale communities differing in many respects, but also sharing many similarities, for example in burial practices, settlement patterns and material culture.<br>Several papers focus on the current state of Hallstatt studies, on the history of the period's earlier research and the many publications in this field. Others discuss various aspects of the period's social organisation and the emergence of an elite culture as reflected by burials and funerary customs as well as by the magnificent finds and architectural remains brought to light on settlements.<br>Another central theme of the volume is iron metallurgy, the perhaps most significant innovation of the Hallstatt period, which is set in its historical context, from its earliest appearance to its introduction to and spread in Europe.<br>This collection of papers is an important and useful volume for all those active or interested in the field.