Anthony Harding Bronze Age Lives Münchner Vorlesungen zu Antiken Welten Herausgegeben vom Münchner Zentrum für Antike Welten (MZAW) Band 6 Anthony Harding Bronze Age Lives ISBN 978-3-11-070570-6 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-070580-5 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-070586-7 ISSN 2198-9664 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial NoDerivatives 4.0 License. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licens-es/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Library of Congress Control Number: 2020947207 Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2021 Anthony Harding, published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com Prefaceand acknowledgements This book is the written version of aseries of lecturesdelivered in Munich in the academic year 2015–16 to members of the MünchnerZentrumfür Antike Welten (MZAW) when Iwas Gastprofessor für Kulturgeschichte des AltertumsinLudwig- Maximilians-Universität München. The lectureshavebeen turned into awritten text rather thanaspoken lecture, with bibliography, and have been significantly updated – something that was essential giventhe huge amount of publishedma- terial thathas emergedinthe last few years and continues to emerge,inpartic- ular the highlynovel and important developments in archaeogenetics. In No- vember 2015,when the first lecture was given, there wereonlyacouple of relevant papers available dealing with the genetic origin of Bronze Agepeople; since then, three or four papers ayear have appeared, shedding light on the whole area in ways that were scarcelyimaginable adecade ago. The book is aseries of reflections on the livesofdifferent aspects of the Bronze Agearchaeology of Europe. The examples used are inevitablyapersonal choice which makes no claim to completeness or systematic coverage. They re- flect personal interests, which Ihope maybeinteresting for awider audience – such as was present at the original lectures.There, the audience consisted mainlyofstaff and studentsofthe MZAW and more particularlyofthe Graduate School “Distant Worlds”.These organisations cover awide rangeofdisciplines covering multiple aspects of the ancient world, from classicalphilologyto New Testament studies, from prehistoric archaeology to Roman law, from Egyp- tology to Byzantine art and Sinology. While everyone had an interest in the an- cient world in some manner, the specifics of Bronze Agearchaeology were of course mostlyunfamiliar to them; hence an approach which sought to provide interesting elements thatcould find aresonancefor scholars from these widely differing disciplines. It is apleasure to be able to offer my deep thanks to anumber of people who invited me to Munich and make my stayprofitable and enjoyable. Prof. Dr Carola Metzner-Nebelsick was the initiator of the invitation, which was subsequentlyis- sued by Prof. Dr Walther Sallaberger. By the time of my arrival, the Chairman (Sprecher)ofthe MZAW wasProf. Dr Friedhelm Hartenstein, whose kindness and helpfulness Iacknowledge with gratitude. In daytoday matters, however, Ioffer special thanks to Dr Caroline Veit and AnnaWaldschütz, MA, for their care of me during my stay. Others who helped in various ways wereEmer. Prof. Dr Michael Roaf, Prof. Dr Friedhelm Hoffmann, Prof. Dr Susanne Gödde, Dr Caroline vonNicolai, and all the (then) Masters and doctoral students of VI Preface and acknowledgements my seminar classes, among whom Iwould particularlymention Leo Geisweid, Fabian Heil and Anahita Mittertrainer. Aboveall, though,itwas Carola Metzner-Nebelsick who made my stay, and that of my wife, particularlypleasant and fruitful. Although usuallyoverbur- dened with her own work, she always found time to talk to me over apot of tea, as well as,togetherwith her husband Louis,toindulge us in the comforts of her flat.Our gratitude to bothofthem is immense. In the revision and preparation of this book,Ihave benefited enormously from the critical eyes of Dr Matthew Knight (now Edinburgh) and Dr Peter Leem- ing (Exeter). Dr Gundula Lidke (Greifswald/Berlin)twice criticallyreviewed my section on the Tollensevalley sites and made many helpful suggestions, most of them incorporated into the final text; she is not responsible for my interpre- tation of the dating evidence.For the provision of advice, articles and illustra- tions Ithank(in alphabetical order)DrHelmut Becker,Professor Richard Bevins, Professor KarinFrei, Professor Dennis Harding, Dr Bernhard Heeb, Dr Ken Massy,DrKristina Mihovilić,Roger Miket,DrDalia Pokutta, Professor Jo Sofaer, Prof. Dr Philipp Stockhammer,Emer.Prof. Dr Biba Teržan, Dr Inga Ullén, and Dr Magdolna Vicze. In the preparation of the book for publication, Ithank Anett Rehner and the team from De Gruyter for their speedyand professional work. Exeter,October 2019 Contents List of figures IX The life of the BronzeAge 1 The Bronze Age as an object of study 1 Coda 5 The life of people 7 Introduction 7 Who werethe people of the BronzeAge? 10 Archaeogenetics 11 Language 17 Health and longevity 19 Food and diet 22 Identities and occupations 24 Tradersand travellers 30 Status and role 34 The end of life 35 The life of objects 40 Object biographies 41 Objects of personal use 51 Destruction and fragmentation 57 Objects and persons 62 Coda 63 The LifeofPlaces 65 Space to place 65 Changing places 68 Villages and houses 75 Villageplans 75 Houses 82 The lifeofahouse 88 The life of societies 91 Movement of people and artefacts 92 Personpower and population 92 Settlement size 95 VIII Contents Cemeterysizeasanindicator of population 97 Interactions, peaceful and warlike 98 Forts and territories 112 Type of warfare 112 The wider world: interconnections and systems 115 Society and economy 117 World Systems: a(nother) critique 119 Coda 120 The afterlifeofthe BronzeAge 122 The Bronze Age as ancestor to the Iron Age 124 Bibliography 127 Index 150 List of figures Fig.2.1 Bronze Agepeople as shown on bronze figurines and rock art.a)Grævensvænge war- rior; b) Sardinian warrior with helmet and bow;c)warriors fromFossum, Sweden. Fig.2.2 Hairstyles in Bronze Agepeople. Left: Bleckmar;right,Lüneburg. Fig.2.3 Late Bronze AgegravesfromGermanycontainingmetalworkingequipment. Fig.2.4 Late Bronze AgegravesfromGermanycontainingbriquetage. Fig.2.5 Gravemarkers (“statue-menhirs”)showingmen bearingweaponry.Left: Filitosa, Cor- sica; right: Magacela, Badajoz, Spain. Fig.2.6 Late Bronze Ageswords,asformerlydisplayedbythe Archäologische Staatssamm- lung,Munich. Fig.2.7 The gold cone fromSchifferstadt, Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis. Fig.2.8 The head of the woman from the Skrydstrup barrow,asfound. Fig.2.9 Double burial from the Jätchenbergbei Westerhausen, Quedlinburg district,Sachsen- Anhalt. Fig.2.10 Rattles fromLausitz culture sites in Poland. Fig.2.11 The graveslabs from the massive grave-mound known as Bredarör,Kivik, Scania. Fig.3.1 The cult “drum” from Balkåkra, Scania, Sweden. Fig.3.2 Bronze Agestorage vessel in the Vlastivedné Múzeum Trebišov. Fig.3.3 Vessel with depictionoftwo-wheeled vehicle drawn by horses,fromVel’ké Raškovce, district Trebišov,inZemplínské Múzeum, Michalovce. Fig.3.4 The horses of St Mark’s, Venice (reproductions on the cathedral façade). Fig.3.5 Fragmentary swordfromRumin, Croatia, showingancient repairs. Fig.3.6 The Perşinari hoard with gold sword. Fig.3.7 Sword from north-east Bulgaria in Varna Museum. Fig.3.8 Sword from Boğazköy bearinganAkkadian inscription. Fig.3.9 Sword from Ugarit bearingthe cartouche of Merneptah. Fig.3.10 Bronze spearhead with decoration, perhapsindicatingthe personal characteristics or identity of the weapon. Fig.3.11 Swords of Mycenaean type fromNorth Macedonia and Kosovo. Fig.3.12 Antenna swordsfromBritain. Fig.3.13 Swords fromthe riverLabe(Elbe) at Porta Bohemica, Velké Žernoseky,Czech Repub- lic. Fig.3.14 Shields from Fröslunda, central Sweden, as discovered. Fig.3.15 Distributionofcertain razor types,indicatingspecific areas where particular types wereathome. Fig.3.16 The oversize swordfromOmmerschans, Overijssel (Netherlands). Fig.3.17 Twofragments of the same sword, from sites on different sides of the RiverTrent, Staffordshire. Fig.3.18 Matthew Knight experimenting with heatingand breakingbronze objects. Fig.4.1 Dod Law, Northumberland, one of the rock art panels. Fig.4.2 a) Carn Goedog; b) CraigRhos-y-Felin, Preseli Mountains, South Wales. Fig.4.3 Stonehenge environs,showingall prehistoric monuments. Fig.4.4 Stonehenge environs,showingthe barrows(tumuli) in the area. OpenAccess. ©2021Harding, published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110705805-001 X List of figures Fig.4.5 Marlborough Downs,showingfield systems, “ranch boundaries” and Barbury Castle hillfort. Fig.4.6 Feudvar,Vojvodina (Serbia): plan of excavated houses. Fig.4.7 Caesium magnetometer plot of Smuszewo, district Damasławek, Poland. Fig.4.8 Sobiejuchy: gradiometer plan of the site. Fig.4.9 Százhalombatta,aerial view of the site, showing its position on aterraceabovethe Danube. Fig.4.10 Százhalombatta,view of two excavated houses. Fig.4.11 Successive plans of the Forschner site, Federseemoor,Baden-Würrtemberg. The den- dro datesshow arapidlychanginglayout,evenwithin Phase 1ofthe site. Fig.4.12 Round houses on the EarlyBronze AgesettlementofCapoGraziano, Filicudi (Aeolian Islands).