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 Two - Bronze Age Encounters: Violent or Peaceful?
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
We know very well that the peoples of Europe were in regular contact with each other, sometimes across large distances, facilitating major changes in the cultural landscape of Europe: perhaps most significantly, the start of the Urnfield cultures in the 13th century BC. How did this shift in ideology and cultural practice actually take place? Did it see incoming people fighting with, and displacing, existing groups? Or was it a peaceful affair, with innovations simply entering people’s lives?
To answer these questions, we have a range of data sources at our disposal. The paper will bring in information from the site of Velim, Czech Republic, and allude to the battlefield in the Tollense valley, Mecklenburg. Both these sites suggest that there were major episodes of violent activity in the time between ca 1400 and 1200 cal BC, including violent deaths. This does not, however, mean that such activities were the norm; in other areas the transition might have been entirely peaceful. I shall consider to what extent other aspects of the archaeological record from this time might support the idea of embedded violence (“war”), and speculate on the nature of encounters and their potential impact on other aspects of society.
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- Warfare in Bronze Age Society , pp. 16 - 22Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2018
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