Weapon and tool use during the Nordic Bronze Age

Abstract

The article is based on wear analysis carried out on 101 bladed objects including swords, spears, daggers, and knives. They are dating mostly to the Early Nordic Bronze Age. Wear marks vary over time and for each object category. The data are discussed to investigate the implications of the variation in the wear patterns. It is argued that a true specialization of the combat roles of swords and spears occurs first during the advanced Early Bronze Age. This may lead to the gradual loss of the role daggers had in combat. This is interpreted as evidence that the design and use of bladed objects inform each other and cause gradual changes.

Male Social Roles and Mobility in the Early Nordic Bronze Age. A Perspective from SE Jutland

“…Differences in their weaponry suggest that a minimum of three kinds of warriors were distinguished. Moreover, this observation is supported by research on the use of swords and spears from both earlier and contemporary contexts (Horn 2013;Horn and Karck 2019;Kristiansen 1984Kristiansen , 2002. These differences surely related to their disparate though coordinated roles in war but likely also permeated the household and other social domains.…”

There's Method in the Fragments: A Damage Ranking System for Bronze Age Metalwork

“…Overall, it should be stressed that the DRS is a working methodology, subject to alteration and refinement as new research and analyses are conducted on Bronze Age metalwork. One can envisage incorporating the use of high-powered microscopy and 3D modelling, for example, to enhance our understanding of observed damage (see Horn & Karck, 2019). The DRS offers a starting point for the classification and interpretation of damage that does not rely on assumptions about the material based from its form or presumed social role, but on knowledge of material properties, trends in the archaeological data, and integrating the increasing body of experimental archaeology involving bronze objects.…”

“…Such information would be most useful for spearheads, which often present bent tips and, for earlier forms, bent tangs (see examples in Davis, 2012, 2015). Christian Horn (2013: 13; Horn & Karck, 2019) suggests that spearheads, like swords, might bend from force exerted on the tip. This may occur if the spear was thrust or used for stabbing, but the action failed or was deflected (Bridgford, 2000: 145).…”

“…It is reasonable to consider bent and broken weapons in a hoard to be the result of intentional action, but this is less clear when an isolated fragment of an axehead is found. Moreover, studies focused on the deliberate damage of metal objects rarely draw upon wear-analysis that could indicate how different types of damage were sustained (though see Horn & Karck, 2019). A more cohesive approach is, therefore, desirable, as well as a system of identification and classification building on past studies.…”

Narrative Aspects of Images of Spear Use in Scandinavian Rock Carvings

“…Swords are predominantly depicted in their sheaths hanging passively from the waistline, bar a few local exceptions (Toreld, 2015), and they are not shown in combat, although combat would be a frequent real-life scenario. Use-wear analyses of Scandinavian Bronze Age swords demonstrate that many swords were used in combat and warfare (Kristiansen, 2002; Horn, 2013; Horn & Karck, 2019). In Scandinavia, swords are occasionally recovered in hoards, but typically they are found in graves, usually placed close to the inhumed body (Boye, 1896).…”