Leiden University Student Repository

Dijk, Casper van 2020

Feeling a Bronze Spear: A Phenomenological Approach for Understanding the Combative Use of Bronze Spears (1800-600 BC) during Formalised Fights

Master thesis | Archaeology (MA/MSc)

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Archaeological material dating to the Bronze Age (BA) suggest that violence was a reoccurring phenomenon in the period. This evidence includes the amass deposition in hoards of the newly emerged...Show moreArchaeological material dating to the Bronze Age (BA) suggest that violence was a reoccurring phenomenon in the period. This evidence includes the amass deposition in hoards of the newly emerged bronze weapons. Brück and Fontijn (2013) have explained this deposition as reflecting the end of the life-path of bronze objects. They assume that object during the BA were imbued with power and meaning through the actions done with the object, i.e. its life-history. Through the interaction between objects and individuals, the social fabric of the BA was formed. This model explains the selective depositions of bronze objects, but it does not delineate why precisely weapons were deposited. While weapons have a clear social context where they could have derived meaning and power from, in the form of combat. Therefore, within this thesis the intended combative use of bronze weapons is explored, in particular bronze spears, in order to examine if a specif type of combat could have imbued bronze weapons with meaning. One of the martial contexts were bronze spears could have been used in is formalised combats. These are combats fought with highly specific norms, called combat capital, for a large array of socio-political and -cultural reasons, named societal capital. Formalised fights act as a safe and controlled manner of violence expression in society. The highly specific combat capital with which the fights are fought, manifest itself in various combat styles that can be linked to a weapon design. The two primary combat styles are binding, whereby contact between the weapons of two fighters is continuously maintained to feel the actions of an opponent, and striking, whereby hitting an opponents weapon is used as the manner for gaining control. Binding is more associated with formalised combat, due to necessity of only combating one opponent, while striking combat can be used in all types of combat. In order to examine for which combat style bronze spears were intended for, a weapons design analysis (WDA) method was used. This method analysis weapons according to five elements, to form a framework of limitations wherein the weapon could have been used. This WDA relies on a different epistemic dimension than conscious deliberation. A knowledge dimensions that is largely unconscious and comes to individuals as feelings and sensations. The WDA thus must be performed by expert-users, that pose a minimum level of skill, i.e. knowledge, in this unconscious dimensions. A WDA, composing of four phenomenological archaeological experiments, was performed by two expert users on two replica bronze spears to gain insight into the combative use of BA spears in general. This WDA concluded, especially based on damage sustained by the spears during the experiments, that bronze spears were probably primarily intended for formalised fights, but with the potential to be used for other martial contexts. Other weapons, however, were probably more optimised 122 for these other types of fights. These formalised fights could have been one of the events wherein the social fabric of Bronze Age society was negotiated, and weapon could procure their power and meaning from.Show less