This paper analyses and re-evaluates current explanations and interpretations of the origins, development and societal context of metallurgy in the Balkans (c. 6200–3700 BC). The early metallurgy in this region encompasses the production, distribution and consumption of copper, gold, tin bronze, lead and silver. The paper draws upon a wide range of existing archaeometallurgical and archaeological data, the diversity and depth of which make the Balkans one of the most intensively investigated of all early metallurgical heartlands across the world. We focus specifically on the ongoing debates relating to (1) the independent invention and innovation of different metals and metal production techniques; (2) the analysis and interpretation of early metallurgical production cores and peripheries, and their collapses; and (3) the relationships between metals, metallurgy and society. We argue that metal production in the Balkans throughout this period reflects changes in the organisation of communities and their patterns of cooperation, rather than being the fundamental basis for the emergence of elites in an increasingly hierarchical society.

本文分析并重新评估了当前对巴尔干地区（约公元前 6200-3700 年）冶金术的起源、发展和社会背景的解释和解释。该地区的早期冶金包括铜、金、锡青铜、铅和银的生产、分配和消费。本文广泛利用了现有的考古冶金和考古数据，这些数据的多样性和深度使巴尔干地区成为世界上所有早期冶金中心地区中研究最深入的地区之一。我们特别关注正在进行的有关以下方面的争论：（1）不同金属和金属生产技术的独立发明和创新； （2）早期冶金生产核心区和周边地区及其塌陷的分析和解释； (3)金属、冶金与社会的关系。我们认为，这一时期巴尔干地区的金属生产反映了社区组织及其合作模式的变化，而不是等级制度日益加深的社会中精英出现的根本基础。