Book contents
- Warfare in Bronze Age Society
- Warfare in Bronze Age Society
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Chapter One Introducing Bronze Age Warfare
- Chapter Two Bronze Age Encounters: Violent or Peaceful?
- Chapter Three Warfare and the Political Economy: Europe 1500–1100 bc
- Chapter Four Warfare vs. Exchange? Thoughts on an Integrative Approach
- Chapter Five Maritime Warfare in Scandinavian Rock Art
- Chapter Six Bronze Weaponry and Cultural Mobility in Late Bronze Age Southeast Europe
- Chapter Seven The Emergence of Specialized Combat Weapons in the Levantine Bronze Age
- Chapter Eight Beyond the Grave: Crafting Identities in the Middle Bronze Age Southern Trans Urals
- Chapter Nine Carp’s-Tongue Swords and Their Use: Functional, Technological and Morphological Aspects
- Chapter Ten Warfare or Sacrifice? Archaeological Research on the Bronze Age Site in the Tollense Valley, Northeast Germany
- Chapter Eleven Violence and Ritual in Late Bronze Age Britain: Weapon Depositions and Their Interpretation
- Chapter Twelve ‘Warrior Graves’ vs. Warrior Graves in the Bronze Age Aegean
- Chapter Thirteen The Chief and His Sword? Some Thoughts on the Swordbearer’s Rank in the Early Nordic Bronze Age
- Chapter Fourteen Becoming the Warrior: Constructed Identity or Functional Identity?
- Chapter Fifteen Body Aesthetics, Fraternity and Warfare in the Long European Bronze Age: Postscriptum
- Index
- References
Chapter Fourteen - Becoming the Warrior: Constructed Identity or Functional Identity?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 April 2018
Book contents
- Warfare in Bronze Age Society
- Warfare in Bronze Age Society
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Chapter One Introducing Bronze Age Warfare
- Chapter Two Bronze Age Encounters: Violent or Peaceful?
- Chapter Three Warfare and the Political Economy: Europe 1500–1100 bc
- Chapter Four Warfare vs. Exchange? Thoughts on an Integrative Approach
- Chapter Five Maritime Warfare in Scandinavian Rock Art
- Chapter Six Bronze Weaponry and Cultural Mobility in Late Bronze Age Southeast Europe
- Chapter Seven The Emergence of Specialized Combat Weapons in the Levantine Bronze Age
- Chapter Eight Beyond the Grave: Crafting Identities in the Middle Bronze Age Southern Trans Urals
- Chapter Nine Carp’s-Tongue Swords and Their Use: Functional, Technological and Morphological Aspects
- Chapter Ten Warfare or Sacrifice? Archaeological Research on the Bronze Age Site in the Tollense Valley, Northeast Germany
- Chapter Eleven Violence and Ritual in Late Bronze Age Britain: Weapon Depositions and Their Interpretation
- Chapter Twelve ‘Warrior Graves’ vs. Warrior Graves in the Bronze Age Aegean
- Chapter Thirteen The Chief and His Sword? Some Thoughts on the Swordbearer’s Rank in the Early Nordic Bronze Age
- Chapter Fourteen Becoming the Warrior: Constructed Identity or Functional Identity?
- Chapter Fifteen Body Aesthetics, Fraternity and Warfare in the Long European Bronze Age: Postscriptum
- Index
- References
Summary
The warrior' is often presented as an unproblematic concept, yet the ideas and interpretations behind it are seldom fully examined. What is meant and understood by the term is subject to considerable variation – ranging anywhere between describing those engaging in combat to indicating the symbolic role. Several key assumptions are often made, explicitly or implicitly, of the 'warrior': most frequently, that this person is male, of an elite social class, and that this is their sole or dominant identity.
Research into the weapons of northern Britain during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1250 – 750 BC) indicates that this might not be an accurate representation, and has often been subject to oversimplification. This paper will discuss the construction of a warrior identity: who might create one and why, and how it might be developed and expressed. The possibility is presented that this identity is not necessarily related to functional activity, and is one of many identities an individual could adopt. Some of the most visible Late Bronze Age phenomena, primarily weapon hoard deposition and the 'killing' of weapons, may partially have served as a mechanism to balance multiple identities in both the public and private domains.
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- Warfare in Bronze Age Society , pp. 213 - 228Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2018
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