Branding the Copper Age. A new framework for interpreting depictions of copper daggers on anthropomorphic stelae and rock art in the Alpine region.

The scarce evidence of copper daggers from the third millennium BC in the Alpine region clashes with the numerous representation of metal daggers on anthropomorphic statue-menhirs and other forms of megalithic art. The identification of a particular recurring type of copper daggers in these representations has led to their attribution to those produced in the context of the Remedello Culture in the central area of the Po’ plain, Italy. How was it possible that this type of dagger appeared over such a vast region during the considerable time-span comprised from 3000 and 2500 BCE? Why was the Remedello-dagger specifically employed? In order to tackle these questions a framework based on branding has been theorised. Following the steps of David Wengrow (2008) and Samuel Becker (2015), the concept of branding has been used to explain the repetition of standardised design conveying some underlying information and its application in different contexts. The establishment of a prototype of...Show moreThe scarce evidence of copper daggers from the third millennium BC in the Alpine region clashes with the numerous representation of metal daggers on anthropomorphic statue-menhirs and other forms of megalithic art. The identification of a particular recurring type of copper daggers in these representations has led to their attribution to those produced in the context of the Remedello Culture in the central area of the Po’ plain, Italy. How was it possible that this type of dagger appeared over such a vast region during the considerable time-span comprised from 3000 and 2500 BCE? Why was the Remedello-dagger specifically employed? In order to tackle these questions a framework based on branding has been theorised. Following the steps of David Wengrow (2008) and Samuel Becker (2015), the concept of branding has been used to explain the repetition of standardised design conveying some underlying information and its application in different contexts. The establishment of a prototype of the Remedello-dagger brand has been followed by its identification in the archaeological record of the Alpine region. The analysis of the evidence comprised statue-menhirs alignments in Trentino, Lunigiana and Valle Camonica and Valtellina. The evidence of funerary megalithic sites at Saint-Martin-de-Corléans (Aosta) and Petit-Chassuer (Sion), together with the rock-art complexes of Chastel- Arnaud and Mont Bégo. These contexts have been seen as representative of different employments of the Remedellian brand, which marked human (male) bodies, funerary contexts and the landscapes of rock-art complexes. The reason behind this long-lasting form of religious branding has been connected to its link to the newly introduced technology of metallurgy. Copper metalwork through the Remedellian brand was the base of a shared, cross-cultural identity in the Alpine region in the first half of the third millennium BCE.Show less

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Branding the Copper Age. A new framework for interpreting depictions of copper daggers on anthropomorphic stelae and rock art in the Alpine region.