Salt in the Neolithic of Central Europe: production and distribution
Book information
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In book: V. Nikolov & K. Bacvarov (eds). Salz und Gold: die Rolle des Salzes im prähistorischen Europa / Salt and Gold: The Role of Salt in Prehistoric Europe. — Provadia & Veliko Tarnovo, 2012. — pp. 225-238.The high value of salt in prehistoric Central Europe was based on its value as a physiological and nutritional necessity and its numerous possibilities of application. With regard to the methods of obtaining salt, evaporation of salt from inland sources originated earlier than rock salt mining, which in turn preceded the rise of sea-salt extraction on the coasts of the North Sea and the English Channel. The earliest evidence of salt evaporation is documented in western Galicja (Barycz) during the Middle Neolithic (Lengyel culture) and in Central Germany (Halle) in the later Neolithic (Bernburg culture).