During the Early European Bronze Age many axes fabricated out of metal were exchanged over great distances. When an exchange takes place, the value of the object that is subject to the exchange has...Show moreDuring the Early European Bronze Age many axes fabricated out of metal were exchanged over great distances. When an exchange takes place, the value of the object that is subject to the exchange has to be determined in order to get something that is equally valuable in return. This research focuses on the question whether Early Bronze Age axes contain specific perceptible characteristics that could have functioned as a recognisable marker for a specific value. Metric data of 447 axes that were deposited in twelve Early- and Middle Bronze Age hoards in Austria, Germany, Poland and Switzerland (central Europe) are used to see if there are patterns observable in metric characteristics of the axes that could have been used to establish value. By using Weber’s Law, a law in the field of psychophysics that can be used to calculate the perceptible difference or equality of objects, it will be possible to establish whether differences in weight and length between different axes are perceptibly observable or not, and whether the weights of the axes can conforms to metrological systems based on different units of weight. The statistic visualisation programme SPSS is used to visualize the collected data in the shape of boxplots and histograms. The data is compared with known metrological systems dated in later periods in different regions. Patterns in weight distribution of axes based on metrological units of 10 g and 25 g have been recognized in hoards dated at the end of the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age. Based on these results it is possible to state that the attitude towards the value of axes changed. Axes did not longer only contain exchange- and utility value (Early Bronze Age), but also commodity value (Middle Bronze Age).Show less
In this research, 269 Bronze Age sherds are being investigated, originating from house ditches of 16 houses from the site of Bovenkarspel-Het Valkje, which was excavated between 1974 and 1978. The...Show moreIn this research, 269 Bronze Age sherds are being investigated, originating from house ditches of 16 houses from the site of Bovenkarspel-Het Valkje, which was excavated between 1974 and 1978. The sherds were investigated based on eleven steps of the chaîne opératoire. All sherds were divided into fabric groups in a ‘category list’ and examined carefully. Although there are differences in aspect like forming, shaping and surface treatment, there are a lot of similarities as well. The conclusion is that the type of temper alone does not determine the differences between the houses, but the size and the amount of temper added do. A set of pottery is visible in multiple houses. This set contains various kind of vessels that have each their own kind of tempering. A lot of houses have vessels that were not seen elsewhere. It was assumed that houses which occupied longer have more sherds. Finally, an XRF analysis found that three different sources of clay were used. Furthermore, the inside and outside of sherds differs, so it is likely that a different clay was used for the inside and the outside of the vessels or that a chalky clay layer was added.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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During the Bronze Age (BA), in the Southern Netherlands, swords have been systematically surrendered into main rivers for hundreds of years while they are completely absent in coeval burials. Such...Show moreDuring the Bronze Age (BA), in the Southern Netherlands, swords have been systematically surrendered into main rivers for hundreds of years while they are completely absent in coeval burials. Such a sharp pattern was extensively used as a platform to develop hypotheses on the social organization of the communities that performed the rite both at regional and at European level. Being a warrior is considered to have been a threat for the social cohesion of the small and egalitarian BA communities of the Low Countries: therefore, warriorhood must have been a temporary identity which was ‘worn’ when necessary, and then dismissed through the ritual deposition of certain martial paraphernalia (the swords). However, the above-mentioned model does not explain entirely why not all the swords in circulation, but only a few specimens (roughly one every 10 years), were deposited. In order to better understand the selection mechanics, I propose to analyze the possible value-giving events in which these selected items might have been through. Given the nature of the objects, combat constitutes a probable factor governing the selection of these tools for deposition. This thesis aims to illustrate a methodology for the investigation of combat practices, as well as to propose an interpretative framework suitable for gaining insights about socio-cultural aspects drawing upon data on objects’use. Through a combined approach which envisaged an experimental investigation of combat that conciliates realism and control over the variables, and an in-depth analysis of usewear traces on ancient specimens, it was possible to assess the use in combat of archaeological swords. The presence of fresh combat marks together with possible signs of ancient repairs on the swords analyzed suggests that swords have been through more than one cycles of use before being deposited. Furthermore, the incidence and the type of combat traces documented on the archaeological swords analyzed support the thesis of a skillful use of these objects in the past. By interpreting the data through a framework based on practice theory and the related conception of value-through-action, it has been possible to gain alternative perspectives on the phenomenon of deposition and on the social identity of the warrior. Drawing upon the evidence of skillful and continued use of the deposited swords, a multidisciplinary exploration of warriorhood as a practice resulted in a more fixed and socially-structuring picture of this social identity than the one proposed by previous literature providing points of discussion which question the current discourses regarding European Bronze Age society.Show less
