The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age, or Scandinavian Bronze Age) is a period of Scandinavian prehistory from .
The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged in the period 2000-1750 BC as a continuation of the Late Neolithic Dagger period, which is rooted in the Battle Axe culture (the Swedish-Norwegian Corded Ware variant), the Single Grave Culture (the north German and Danish Corded Ware variant) and Bell Beaker culture, as well as from influence that came from Central Europe. This influence most likely came from people similar to those of the Únětice culture, since they brought customs that were derived from Únětice or from local interpretations of the Únětice culture located in North Western Germany. The metallurgical influences from Central Europe are especially noticeable. The Bronze Age in Scandinavia can be said to begin shortly after 2000 BC with the introduction and use of bronze tools, followed by a more systematic adoption of bronze metalworking technology from 1750 BC.
The Nordic Bronze Age maintained close trade links with Mycenaean Greece, with whom it shares several striking similarities. Some cultural similarities between the Nordic Bronze Age, the Sintashta/Andronovo culture and peoples of the Rigveda have also been detected. The Nordic Bronze Age region included part of northern Germany, and some scholars also include sites in what is now Estonia, Finland and Pomerania as part of its cultural sphere.
The people of the Nordic Bronze Age were actively engaged in the export of amber, and imported metals in return, becoming expert metalworkers. With respect to the number and density of metal deposits, the Nordic Bronze Age became the richest culture in Europe during its existence.
Iron metallurgy began to be practised in Scandinavia during the later Bronze Age, from at least the 9th century BC. Around the 5th century BC, the Nordic Bronze Age was succeeded by the Pre-Roman Iron Age and the Jastorf culture. The Nordic Bronze Age is often considered ancestral to the Germanic peoples.
History
Origins The Nordic Bronze Age is a successor of the Corded Ware culture in southern Scandinavia and Northern Germany. It appears to represent a fusion of elements from the Corded Ware culture and the preceding Pitted Ware culture. The decisive factor that triggered the change from the Chalcolithic Battle Axe culture into the Nordic Bronze Age is often believed to have been metallurgical influence as well as general cultural influence from Central Europe, similar in custom to those of the Únětice culture.
Chronology
Oscar Montelius, who coined the term used for the period, divided it into six distinct sub-periods in his piece Om tidsbestämning inom bronsåldern med särskilt avseende på Skandinavien ("On Bronze Age dating with particular focus on Scandinavia") published in 1885, which is still in wide use. His relative chronology has held up well against radiocarbon dating, with the exception that the period's start is closer to 1700 BC than 1800 BC, as Montelius suggested. For Central Europe a different system developed by Paul Reinecke is commonly used, as each area has its own artifact types and archaeological periods.
A broader subdivision is the Early Bronze Age, between 1700 BC and 1100 BC, and the Late Bronze Age, 1100 BC to 550 BC. These divisions and periods are followed by the Pre-Roman Iron Age.
Culture
Settlements
Settlement in the Nordic Bronze Age period consisted mainly of single farmsteads, which usually consisted of a longhouse plus additional four-post built structures (helms). Longhouses were initially two aisled, and after three aisled structure became normal. Some longhouses were exceptionally large (up to 10m wide by 50m in length, or 500 m2 in area) and have been described as "chiefly halls", with sitting areas "the size of a megaron in contemporary Mycenean palaces". Larger settlements are also known from the later Bronze Age (such as Hallunda and Apalle in Sweden, and Voldtofte in Denmark), as well as fortified sites, specialist workshops for metalwork and ceramic production, and dedicated cult houses.
Settlements were geographically located on higher ground, and tended to be concentrated near the sea. Certain settlements functioned as regional centres of power, trade, craft production, and ritual activity. The Bronze Age fortified town of Hünenburg bei Watenstedt in northern Germany (12th c. BC) served as a trading post for people from Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea region, as well as a cult centre and the seat of a ruling elite. The settlement was surrounded by a large stone-faced wall in the Late Bronze Age. Another Late Bronze Age settlement at Vistad in Östergötland, Sweden, was surrounded by a substantial wooden fortification pallisade.
The total population in Scandinavia during the Nordic Bronze Age is estimated to have been c. 300,000-500,000 people, with a relatively low population density of c. 12–15 people per km2 in the most densely populated micro-regions and four to six people in less dense areas.
Burials
Associated with Nordic Bronze Age settlements are burial cairns, mounds and cemeteries, with interments including oak coffins and urn burials; other settlement associations include rock carvings, or bronze hoards in wetland sites. Some burial mounds are especially large and, with respect to the amount of gold and bronze in them, extraordinarily rich for this time period. Examples of prominent burial mounds include the Håga mound, Kivik King's Grave and Sagaholm in Sweden, and the Lusehøj, Buskehøj and Skelhøj in Denmark. A minimum of 50,000 burial mounds were constructed between 1500 and 1150 BC in Denmark alone.
Oak coffin burials dating from the 14th–13th centuries BC contained well-preserved clothing and burial goods, though only bones survive of the dead themselves. Notable examples include the Egtved Girl, Skrydstrup Woman, and burials from Borum Eshøj and Trindhoj in Denmark. Oak-coffin burials seem to have been intentionally preserved by watering the burial mounds to create a bog-like, oxygen-free environment within the graves. This practice may have been stimulated by cultural influence from Egypt, as it coincided with the appearance of Egyptian artefacts in Scandinavia and the appearance of Baltic amber in Egypt (e.g. in the tomb of Tutankhamun). However, intentional preservation of oak coffin burials has also been noted in Britain at an earlier date (c. 2300 BC).
A fundamental change in burial customs took place at the turn from the Older to the Younger Bronze Age. After a long period of inhumation burials, people gradually switched to cremation burials. During Period III of the Early Bronze Age (1300-1100 BCE), cremated remains were still buried in the old tradition in elongated pits or tree/oak coffins. With the beginning of the Later Bronze Age (Period IV, 1100-900 BCE), urn burials became established, although for a long time they were still placed in and around barrows. It was not until the seventh century that the first urn fields were created. Researchers used to think that urnfields appeared at the beginning of the Iron Age, around 530 BCE, but new findings from a group of researchers at the Collaborative Research Centre 1266 at Kiel University show that this happened a century earlier than previously thought.
The Late Bronze Age King's Grave of Seddin in northern Germany (9th century BC) has been described as a "Homeric burial" due to its close similarity to contemporary elite burials in Greece and Italy. A large 'king's hall' and an associated settlement were located near to the Seddin grave.
Agriculture
In the Nordic Bronze Age, both agriculture (including cultivation of wheat, millet, and barley) and animal husbandry (keeping of domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs) were practiced. Fishing and hunting were also sources of food, which included shellfish, deer, elk, and other wild animals. There is evidence that oxen were used as draught animals; domesticated dogs were common, but horses were rarer and probably status symbols.
Metalwork
Scandinavian Bronze Age sites present a rich and well-preserved legacy of bronze and gold objects. These valuable metals were all imported, primarily from Central Europe, but they were usually crafted locally and the craftsmanship and metallurgy of the Nordic Bronze Age was of a high standard. The lost-wax casting method was used to produce artefacts such as the Trundholm Sun Chariot and the Langstrup belt plate.
Early examples of bronze artefacts include hoards from Pile in Sweden and Skeldal in Denmark, dating from c. 2000-1700 BC. Copper metallurgy had previously been practised by the Bell Beaker culture in Jutland (Denmark) since c. 2400 BC, including the production of axes and ornaments. During the 15th and 14th centuries BC, southern Scandinavia produced and deposited more elaborate bronzes in graves and hoards than any other region of Europe. With regards to the number and density of metal deposits, the Nordic Bronze Age became the richest culture in Europe. More Bronze Age swords have been found in Denmark than anywhere else in Europe, and uniform crucibles found at metal workshop sites indicate the mass production of certain metal artefacts. According to Kristiansen and Larsson, "Qualitatively the artistic and technical expressions [of the Nordic Bronze Age] are above anything in Europe except Minoan/Mycenaean culture; quantitatively there is no region in Europe with such an accumulation of high-quality weapons and ornaments during the period 1500–1000 BC, and that includes the Minoan/Mycenaean culture."
The archaeological legacy of the Nordic Bronze Age also encompasses locally crafted wool and wooden objects.
Rock carvings
The west coast of Sweden, namely Bohuslän, has the largest concentration of Bronze Age rock carvings in Scandinavia; and Scandinavia has the largest number of Bronze Age rock carvings in Europe. The west coast of Sweden is home to around 1,500 recorded rock engraving sites, with more being discovered every year. When the rock carvings were made, the area was the coastline; but it is now 25 meters above sea level. The engravings in the region depict everyday life, weapons, human figures, fishing nets, ships, chariots, plows, the sun, deer, bulls, horses, and birds. By far, the most dominant theme is human figures and ships, especially ships — 10,000 of which have recorded. The typical ship depicts a crew of six to thirteen. Rock carvings in the late Bronze Age, and even the early Iron Age, often depict conflict, power, and mobility. Important sites of Bronze Age rock art include Tanum in Sweden and Madsebakke in Denmark.
Warrior ethos
The culture of the Nordic Bronze Age was that of a warrior culture, with a strong emphasis on weapons and status. Helle Vandkilde of Aarhus University, in her publications from 1995, describes most men of the period as having followed a warrior ethos. More than 70% of burials dating to the Nordic Bronze Age contain metal objects of various kinds, the most common objects being swords and daggers. It is noted that the people of the Nordic Bronze Age also placed great importance on helmets of intricate design, which they put much effort into making. However, not all of the weapons and armour of the Nordic Bronze Age were used for warfare. Some of them are believed to have been ceremonial, especially the helmets.
Despite the importance of weapons in their society, archaeological discoveries suggest that intrasocietal violence was not particularly common in the Nordic Bronze Age, especially not when compared to contemporary European Bronze Age cultures. The people of the Nordic Bronze Age seem to instead have been directing their military efforts outwards, likely against people of neighbouring cultures, and are believed to have participated in battles along the Amber Road and other trade routes that were important for the continuous prosperity of their society.