Society and Violence in the Early Bronze Age: An Analysis of Human Skeletons from Nord-Trøndelag, Norway

Male symbols or warrior identities? The ‘archery burials’ of the Danish Bell Beaker Culture

“…Another example is the multiple burial from Nord-Trøndelag, Norway, dated to the Early Bronze Age. It contained between 20 and 30 individuals, many of whom showed traces of having suVered a violent death (Fyllingen, 2003). Old and healed injuries on some of the skeletons indicated that violence was an integrated part of life.…”

An experimental investigation of sharp force skeletal trauma with replica Bronze Age weapons

“…Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the prevalence of violence and warfare during the Bronze Age period has been a topic of considerable debate during the last several decades (Mödlinger et al, 2011). Notwithstanding the numerous weapon finds and the centrality of metalworking typologies in the assignment of chronology in the period, the Bronze Age was for many years understood to be a relatively peaceful period in human history in which weapon finds have been interpreted to be ceremonial rather than functional objects (Fyllingen, 2003;Mödlinger, 2011;Thrane, 2006). In recent years, some scholars have challenged this interpretation of the period andargued instead that BA weapons could have been functional and efficient (e.g.…”

“…Studies that do mention SFT in the BA generally do not diagnose injuries to a specific weapon class (e.g. Erdal, 2012;Fyllingen, 2003;Louwe-Koojimans, 1993;Smith, 2009).…”

Care and consequences of traumatic brain injury in Neolithic Sweden: A case study of ante mortem skull trauma and brain injury addressed through the bioarchaeology of care

“…Violence and skull traumas have been reported in North European skeletal assemblages dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Age (Fibiger et al, ; Fyllingen, ; Jantzen et al, ). Fibiger et al () report frequencies of skull trauma (including the mandible) of 9.4% and 16.9% in 378 individuals in Neolithic Sweden and Denmark, respectively, where ante mortem traumas were more frequently occurring among males.…”

“…Skull traumas are reported as frequently occurring in Middle Neolithic contexts in Sweden and Denmark (Fibiger, Ahlström, Bennike, & Schulting, ) and Bronze Age contexts in central Norway (Fyllingen, ) and northern Germany (Jantzen et al, ). A majority of traumas have occurred ante mortem and show different degrees of healing in the assemblages.…”