Social symbols in the Bronze Age. Antler and bone scepters

The present study discusses the antler and bone scepters specific for the Romanian Bronze Age. This type of objects have been found since the Neolithic period, they are frequently encountered during the Bronze Age and rarely discovered in the first period of the Iron Age. The majority of the pieces are made of antler and only a couple of them are made of bone. Some of the pieces, beautifully decorated have a central perforation in order to fix it in a wooden handle. Concerning the archaeological context of the findings, the majority of the objects were discovered inside the settlements and only one piece is part of the inventory of a tomb. The antler and bone scepters have been discovered in different archaeological cultures since the Early Bronze Age, but the majority of the pieces are attributed to the Middle Bronze Age (the Monteoru, Wietenberg, Costişa, Otomani, Verbicioara cultures). For the Late Bronze Age we only know one item. The signification of such items is primarily related to the social symbolism, but they can also be interpreted as cult objects in the case of their utilization during religious rituals.