Bronze Age identities : costume, conflict and contact in Northern Europe 1600-1300 BC

237 Pages·2007·11.375 MB·English

by  Sophie Bergerbrant

Bronze Age Identities:
Costume, Conflict and Contact in
Northern Europe 1600–1300 BC
Sophie Bergerbrant

Bronze Age Identities:
Costume, Conflict and Contact in Northern Europe
1600–1300 BC
This dissertation deals with male and female social identities during the Middle Bronze
Age (1600-1300 BC) in southern Scandinavia and northern Germany. South Scandinavian
Bronze Age research has traditionally focused on the male sphere, while women have seldom
been seriously considered or analysed in terms of their roles, power or influences on society.
This study addresses the imbalance through discussing the evidence for gender relations, so-
cial structures and identity. The topic has been approached using case studies from different
areas of northern Europe and from a variety of angles (e.g. costume and appearance, age, vio-
lence, long distance contacts), always drawing on the rich material from burials.
How people presented themselves varied not only between different areas, but also over time.
Groups that treated material culture in a fairly similar way during Period IB (c. 1600-1500 BC)
start treating it in different ways during Period II (c. 1500-1300 BC). In southern Scandinavia
during Period II the material culture is fairly similar on the whole, but the different geograph-
ical groups use the artefacts in different ways. The level of violence seems to have fluctuated
in the area during the Middle Bronze Age, with some areas showing more signs of violence at
certain times. On the other hand the view on ageing seems to have been fairly similar over a
large part of central and northern Europe, and from age 14 one seems to have been regarded
as an adult. The dissertation also shows that long distance contacts were important and wide-
ranging, and people seem to have moved across large areas of Europe, even if the visible ex-
ISBN
ISSN 0349-4128
Bronze Age Identities:
Costume, Conflict and Contact in
Northern Europe 1600–1300 BC
Sophie Bergerbrant
Stockholm Studies in Archaelogy no 43
ISBN 91-85411-03-05
ISSN 0349-4128 43
Bricoleur Press
Staviksvägen 2
437 92 Lindome
[email protected]
http://www.bricoleurpress.com/
Design: Per Mellberg
Print: Elanders Tofters, May 2007
Content
Preface /5 The man’s outfit /50
The woman’s outfit /54
1. Social identity and social structure The traces of clothing and costume on the Lüneburg Heath /60
– a gender approach /6 Costume /62
Aims /6 The men’s costume /62
Gender and archaeological research /6 The women’s costume /63
Archaeological versus osteological sexing /8 Appearance in the local perspective /65
Terminology /9 Case study north of Copenhagen /66
Bronze Age culture and chronology /9 Case study south-eastern Funen /71
The south Scandinavian Bronze Age /9 Case study southern Schleswig /75
The Lüneburg culture /11 Case study: Lüneburg Culture /80
Source material /11 Local or shared dress /85
Oak log coffins /12 Male /85
Theoretical framework /14 Female /87
Burials, society and wealth /16 Conclusion /89
Outline of a less gender biased framework /17
Concluding remarks /19 5. Male identity: united or separated? /92
War and warfare /92
2. Chronology and time /20 Case study: Ars district, Holbĺk County and Gram district,
Scandinavian chronology /20 Haderslev County /93
The Sögel – Wohlde debate /20 Case study: The Lüneburg Heath /94
The early Middle Bronze Age chronology /25 Case study: The threefold frontier /95
The female objects /26 Women and warfare /98
Conclusions /27 Evidence of warfare in northern Europe /102
Central European chronology /27 Concluding discussion /104
Lüneburg culture chronology /28
The male phases /28 6. Ageing in the Bronze Age /107
Phase I /28 Age and archaeology /107
Phase II /29 Case study: south-eastern Scania /109
The female phases /30 The human life course in southern Scandinavia /112
Phase I /30 Conclusions: Growing up and ageing in Bronze Age
Phase IIa /31 Europe /115
Phase IIb /31
Phase III /32 7. Valued as exchange? Exchange, networks
Conclusions /32 and movement /118
Women’s travels /118
3. Period IB: A time of social differences and Foreign women /119
the construction of gendered identities /33 Women with both local and foreign objects /121
The gender background /33 Conclusion /123
Background to Period IB /33 Men’s journeys /124
Are there any females buried with metal during Period IB? /34 Foreign men /124
Valsømagle region /38 Men with both local and foreign artefacts /126
Conclusion /40 Conclusion /126
Sögel-Wohlde region /41 A society in movement? /126
Conclusion /42
Ending and starting an era /42 8. Conclusion /130
4. Gendered burial traditions: an analysis of Summary /132
local and regional patterns /44 Deutsch zusammenfattnung /137
Dress, appearance and cultural change /44 Dansk Resumé /143
Body, sex, gender and clothing /44
Textiles, dress ornaments, and cultural belonging /46 Literature list /148
History of textiles and clothing /46 Appendices 1-12 /158
Clothing /49
4 Bronze Age Identities: Costume, Conflict and Contact in Northern Europe 1600–1300 BC
5
Sophie Bergerbrant 2007.
Preface
Writing a Ph.D. is a long process and many people have and insights my Ph.D. would have many more errors than it
passed my way and provided inspiration during this time. does now; all remaining mistakes in the book are, of course,
It is not possible to name them all. I am grateful for many entirely my own fault.
things, both small and great, in the course of this journey. I am also indebted to Dr Kristin Bornholdt Collins who
I am especially grateful to my supervisor, Professor Kris- commented on my text and helped me transform it into
tian Kristiansen, who has shown a genuine interest in my good academic English. Thanks are also due to Jeanette Var-
work from an early point and who has helped me with berg and Dr Jutta Kneisel for translating my summary into
many questions and different aspects of my research over Danish and German.
the years. This journey has demanded many trips to museums and
I would also like to thank the faculty, staff and Ph.D. stu- archives to look at material and related documentation. I
dents (past and present) at the Department of Archaeol- am grateful to the staff at: Prehistoric department at the Na-
ogy and Classical Studies for the support they have giv- tional Museum Copenhagen, The archaeology department
en me through the years. Particular thanks go to Dr Ing- at Stiftung, Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesmuseen Schloß
mar Jansson and Professor Anders Andrén for providing a Gottorf, Department of Prehistory at Niedersächsisches
desk at which I could work for the last two and half years. Landesmuseum Hannover and The Museum of National
I am also very grateful to Ingmar Jansson for all the time Antiquities in Stockholm, all of whom deserve many thanks
he spent writing references for me; they have surely been a for making my time at their respective institution pleasant
great help. I also wish to thank some of my fellow Ph.D. stu- and interesting. A special thank you goes to the staff at the
dents (past or present) in Stockholm and elsewhere: Anna Library of the Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiq-
Arnberg, Lena Berg Nilsson, Dr Christina Fredengren, Ulf uities for always being kind and for taking the time to help
Fransson, Dr Joakim Goldhahn, Dr Cecilia von Heijne, Jo- me find the books I needed to write this dissertation.
han Ling, Petra Molnar, Anne Monikander, Dr Elisabet Reg- I would also like to thank the following institutions, since
ner, Serena Sabatini, Dr Ylva Stenqvist Millde, Marie Svedin, without their generous financial help this Ph.D. would not
Dr Susanne Thedéen and Dr Helena Victor. have been possible: Birgit och Gad Rausings Stiftelse för Hu-
I am most grateful to Dr Marie Louise Stig Sørensen for manistisk Forskning; DAAD Deutscher Akademischer Aus-
helping me set the foundations for this work during my tauschdienst; Ebbe Kocks stiftelse; Fonden for Dansk-Sven-
year as an M.Phil. student in Cambridge (1995/6). Thanks sk Samarbejde; Greta Arwidssons fond; Gunvor och Josef
should also go to all my Cambridge friends for making the Anérs stiftelse; Helge Ax:son Johnsons Stiftelse; Kungliga
experience so enjoyable despite all the hard work. Gustav Adolfs Akademin; Hildebrandsfonden; Letterstedt-
For encouraging my gender interests, I wish to thank Dr ska föreningen; Rosa och Viktor Tengborgs resestipendium;
Elisabeth Arwill-Nordbladh, Dr Tove Hjørungdal and Dr Stiftelen Konung Gustav VI Adolf fond för svensk kultur;
Kristina Jennbert. I am especially indebted to Dr Elisabeth Stiftelsen Montelius Minnesfond; Stiftelsen Syskonen Will-
Arwill-Nordbladh who took the time to help me overcome a ers donationsfond; STINT; and Wallenbergsstiftelsens jubi-
difficult phase in my Ph.D. work. leumsfond.
I would also like to thank Professor Henrik Thrane, Pro- Another thank you should go to Dr Håkan Karlsson and
fessor Helle Vandkilde, Dr Mads Kähler Holst, Dr Elisabeth Anna-Carin Andersson for letting me publish this book at
Barford Carlsen and many more for making my six months Bricoleur Press.
in Aarhus (2001) so enjoyable and enlightening. I am equal- Finally, my family should be thanked for supporting me
ly grateful to Professor Bernhard Hänsel, as well as the rest through the years and for not letting it show if they ever
of the staff and students at the Institut für Prähistorische gave up on this large project.
Archäologie, Freie Universität, Berlin, for making me feel at
home there during my eight-month stay in Berlin (2002/3). Stockholm April 2007
The directors of the Skelhøj project should also be Sophie Bergerbrant
thanked for letting me excavate with them, which not on-
ly improved my excavations skills, but also enabled me to
get practical, hands-on experience of Bronze Age mounds
and their structures. For this invaluable experience especial
thanks are owed to Professor Hennrik Breunning-Madsen,
Dr Mads Kähler Holst and Marianne Rasmussen.
I am very grateful to Professor Lise Bender Jørgensen,
Professor Kristian Kristiansen, Dr Neil Price, Marianne Ras-
mussen, Dr Joanna Sofaer, Professor Märta Strömberg and
Professor Henrik Thrane for reading either my complete
Ph.D. manuscript or parts of it. Without their comments
6 Bronze Age Identities: Costume, Conflict and Contact in Northern Europe 1600–1300 BC

1. Social identity and social
structure – a gender approach
This dissertation deals with male and female so-
Gender and archaeological
cial identities during the Middle Bronze Age in
research
southern Scandinavia and northern Germany.
South Scandinavian Bronze Age research has The most commonly used definition of gender
traditionally focused on the male sphere, while in archaeology is that given by Conkey and Gero
women have seldom been seriously considered or (1991:8), who say that gender should be conceptu-
analysed in terms of their roles and possible pow- alized as: “…culturally and socially constructed, as
er or influences on society. This study addresses historically and culturally contingent, recognizing
the imbalance through discussing the evidence that gender roles and relations are constituted and
for gender relations and the manifestation of this given meaning in historically and culturally specif-
in terms of social structures and identity. The top- ic ways”. For a detailed discussion about biological
ic will be approached from a variety of angles, al- sex and gender see chapter 4.
ways drawing on the rich material from burials. Sørensen (2000:20) claims that gender archaeol-
ogy has a ‘mythical’ past (genealogy). She claims
Aims that for strategic reasons the sub-discipline, i.e. gen-
The aim of this dissertation is to study social identi- der archaeology, has simplified its origins and rea-
ties and social structure in the south Scandinavian sons for existing. She argues that the sub-discipline
Bronze Age from a gender perspective. The analy- should accept the complexity and many different
ses are mainly based on grave material from differ- motivations for engaging in gender archaeology.
ent Northern European areas from the period be- Inspired by this argument, my focus has been on
tween c. 1600 – c. 1300 BC. The focus will be on ar- contributions in gender archaeology which are rel-
tefacts from burials which are associated with the evant to the Bronze Age and the objectives of my re-
body and clothing as well as objects indicative of search. This means that literature that does not nor-
communication between different areas. mally occur in gender archaeological presentations
will be brought into the discussion, while some
More specifically, some of the questions that are ‘classical’ works in gender archaeology will be left
asked of the material are: out. I have discussed many of these ‘classical’ stud-
ies elsewhere (Bergerbrant 1994, 1995, 1996 & 1999),
• What can the early burial material tell us about while Gilchrist (2000) has published the genealo-
the creation of the so-called Nordic Bronze Age gy of gender archaeology, including an overview
culture? of the literature belonging to the sub-discipline’s
• What gender differences can be read from the ‘mythical’ past. Although it omits some important
clothing outfits and metal wealth in burials from Scandinavian research, readers who are interested
the south Scandinavian Bronze Age and the in the topic should consult Gilchrist’s book.
Lüneburg group? Writing the history of one’s research topic is seen
• What does the burial record tell us about the role by many as unproblematic. However, Sørensen has
of the warrior and the level of violence? pointed out that:
• In what ways was age differentiated in the Bronze
Age and how can this be detected in the archaeo- “From a historiographic point of view the re-
logical record? sult is that the disciplinary past often becomes
• Can one see differences in communication be- a travesty. Information is presented that is not
tween groups through time and space? used in the arguments, and at its best the past,
reduced to a stage-setting, is reproduced as it
is now agreed upon rather than through a crit-
ical engagement with it. At its worst, through
thoughtless selections and the lack of critical
awareness, such references become partner to a
transformation of that past which results in var-
ious misrepresentations and misunderstanding