Perspective Glob J Arch & Anthropol Volume 4 Issue 1 - May 2018 DOI: 10.19080/GJAA.2018.04.555628 Copyright © All rights are reserved by Davide Delfino Bronze Age Warfare in Barbaric Europe - Current Trends and Perspectives in the Future Davide Delfino* Center for Geosciences of the University of Coimbra, Instituto Terra e Memória, Portugal Submission: February 02, 2018; Published: May 11, 2018 *Corresponding author: Davide Delfino, Center for Geosciences of the University of Coimbra, Instituto Terra e Memória, Portugal, Email: Abstract Research on prehistoric warfare is in progress since 60 years. But investigation specifically on Bronze Age period, when some tools are exclusively created for fight and the warrior societies are emerging, is always young. Scholars there were mainly interested on the origins of violence in mankind, on the fighting in the Neolithic or, if Bronze Age, on the wars in the empires of the Near East or in the Minoan civilization. But the warfare in the European Bronze Age up to a decade ago, it was dealt marginally. Violence and warfare in Bronze Age in “barbarian Europe”, to use an expression by Jaques Briard, can be defined as a “fashion” since the mid-2000s. Recent trends are analyzed according to various perspectives: generals, theoretical, study of material cultures and context, and interpretative tendencies. So will be discuss what the commonly acceptedKeywords: theories and what also remain subject of doubt and debate to draw a perspective for the future. European Bronze Age; Warfare; Literature review; New perspectives; Fashion; Barbaric Europe; Protohistoric; Perspective; Aegean civilizations; Archeology; Anthropology; Paleopathology; Primatological; Paleodemographic; Ethnography; Psychology Introduction so, Gulaine & Zammit [7] which extend the investigation, Object of the present work will be the review of the work, the iconography in rock art and cultural anthropology; Haas [8] state of the art and future research horizons on the warfare in the analyze the connection between warfare and social evolution; Bronze Age in the parts of Europe not affected by State-owned Parker Pearson & Thorpe [9], who coordinated multidisciplinary societies such as the Aegean civilizations: these include all the work on violence and the warfare between early prehistory European regions that between the end of the third millennium and protostory under archaeological, primatological, and the first quarter of the first millennium BC know a chiefdom (1976). paleodemographic and paleopathological aspects; Otto, Thrane societies and that Jaques Briard has defined “barbaric Europe” & Vandkilde [10] which in a general and multidisciplinary analysis of the relationship between the warfare and the human Violence and warfare in the pre and protohistoric societies society, gives a certain space to the pre and protohistoric period; are topics dealt with over several decades and under various Ralph [11] which together with other authors makes a panorama perspectives. A first approach on prehistoric war had been by of the archaeological traces of violence from prehistory to Childe [1] in which we doubt the peaceful nature of primitive medieval age; Fry (2013), who together with other authors populations and the war as a factor linked to the most advanced takes into account the violent or peaceful nature of mankind in societies. But the beginning of what will be the great debate on an evolutionary context; Hallen & Jones [12] who examine with the nature of the prehistoric war, or ritual or real, coincides with other authors the origin of violence in mankind by analyzing the the first two real works focused on the violence in prehistoric communities of today’s hunter-gatherers, and Vander worker society, by is theory by Clastres [2] who denied the real violence & Wilson [13] who in a work with other authors deal with the in the prehistoric societies, as Leroi Gourán [3], where hunting theme of the relationship between the archeology of warfare and violence was linked to violence of the war, and the reply to tinted of food in daily, cultural, ritual and technical aspects but only in out by Lehoerff [4]. Also in 60’s appears the first paper on war in anthropological data on today traditional societies. European prehistoric societies [5]. Specifically on the warfare in Bronze Age Europe, a vision In the general topic on war in the prehistory, we will quote will be made on studies concerning in particular the weapons, only main works after Keeley [6] which created a break with the the defensive architectures, the warrior figure and the social related theories. ‘70s and’ 80s, combining archeology and anthropology beyond aspects and all that it composes the “warfare”, on data and the Neolithic to the Bronze Age and combine archaeological data with paleopathology in the theme of the prehistoric warfare: Glob J Arch & Anthropol 4(1): GJAA.MS.ID.555628 (2018) 0012 Global Journal of Archaeology & Anthropology Warfare in European Bronze Age a State of Question from social dynamics, again from the point of view of the study of raiding warrior graves [61], or from the point of view of the Until 2000’s, papers, books and other works have mainly interpretation of the increase in weaponry that can be related dealt about experimental archaeology on Bronze Age weapons not with the increase of the conflict but with ideological need of [14-16]; inventory, distribution and chronology of Bronze Ages status symbol by elites [62]. weapons [17-25]. There is an immediate interest for the Bronze Age weapons in the UK for several volumes of the monumental In reverse, in a previous work, Kristiansenn [63] series “Prahistorische Bronzefunde” [26], for the volumes demonstrates, after technical analysis on swords, that the belonging tothe “Typologie des objects de l’ Âge du Bronze en weapons are effectively produced and used to fight. The first France” [27], as well as for other single works [28] on circulation work ever dedicated exclusively to Bronze Age warfare in and development of the weapons [29-32] on regional context Europe, excluding the Aegean area, by Harding [64] describes [33,34]: work by Osgood didn’t have much information on the the development of weapons, defensive systems and the impact use of weapons and has been criticized for a too enthusiastic of war on the non-warlike population in the Bronze Age in interpretation in start of the British hill forts and some Europe, focusing all the contexts that can give data on the war: inconsistencies in interpretation of the Early Bronze Age social he consider warfare to be very local and delimited , carried out aspect of warfare [35] ( l’ultimo period non si capisce). Other by small warriors groups (few dozen) and defines the warfare as works have been or in specific chapters on Bronze Age within “the organized conflict between two peoples or groups with the works about more general chronologies or trans-chronological purposeful intention of inflicting harm”, which seems to be the topics (anche qui non si capisce il period) [36-39], or within most accepted definition for the warfare in the Bronze Age [65]. archaeometric studies dedicated to weapon technique [40-47], or On the other hand they appear to reproduce the old in function analysis [48,49] or in a interpretative use of weapons utilitarian approach more refined and multidisciplinary, like the [50-52], or in symbolism of the weapons or of the warrior [53], work coordinated by Uckelmann & Moedlinger [66], which can or, though the context of a more general chronological context, in be considered the main and more recent work on use and on social and cultural dimension of violent acts [54]. In the late 90’s the technological development of the weapons along the Bronze the warfare in prehistory was defined a “young and brave field” Age, covering several parts of Europe. Bronze Age warfare is [55]. An important initial work on that “young and brave field” also entered into national works about the military history is the one by Osgood, Monks and Toms [56] where for the first [67], witch, that while dedicating a brief chapter on the military time the problem of warfare in “barbaric Europe” Bronze Age history of Spain, brings out the warfare in III- II millennium BC. has been dealt with in a work entirely dedicated to it. , above all from anonymity also in historical discipline. A work edited by in the theoretic issues: what was the warfare in the Bronze Age Jaeger, Czbreszuk & Fischl [68] traces an overview of the fortified like? How was the fighting mode and for what purposes were the settlements along the Bronze Age and its connection to regional fortified structures built? and interregional trade networks, but taking in account only After 2000’s works on warfare in Bronze Age they seem more the central Europe and Baltic regions interested by the amber systematic. An initial work by Vandkilde [57] draws attention network. In a work exclusively dedicated to a regional analysis to a more rational study of war, especially during the Bronze of the prehistoric warfare [69], Bronze Age covers an important Age, which breaks away from the two paradigms which have part, divided in two shares (Bell Beaker/ Early Bronze Age and perhaps misinterpreted this aspect during the XX century: the Later Bronze Age) and interpretations are discussed about the excessive pacifism of prehistoric people and the “celebration” cause of the destruction with the fire of some Bell Beaker/ Early of the war along the millennia. On the one hand, not exclusively Bronze Ages palisades (by attackers or for ritual), the early dedicated to the warfare, the work by Kristiansen & Larsson [58] presence of swords and shields in Ireland and Great Britain and illustrates the iconography, the heroic idealization of warriors the percolation of territory and consequent violent competition and transmission of power symbols related to weapons and between human groups in Late Bronze Age.