Warfare in Bronze Age Society

This book takes a fresh look at warfare and its role in reshaping Bronze Age society from the Mediterranean to northern Europe.

Christian Horn (Edited by), Kristian Kristiansen (Edited by)

9781107185562, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 April 2018

262 pages, 71 b/w illus. 2 maps 1 table
26.1 x 18.3 x 1.8 cm, 0.73 kg

Warfare in Bronze Age Society takes a fresh look at warfare and its role in reshaping Bronze Age society. The Bronze Age represents the global emergence of a militarized society with a martial culture, materialized in a package of new efficient weapons that remained in use for millennia to come. Warfare became institutionalized and professionalized during the Bronze Age, and a new class of warriors made their appearance. Evidence for this development is reflected in the ostentatious display of weapons in burials and hoards, and in iconography, from rock art to palace frescoes. These new manifestations of martial culture constructed the warrior as a 'Hero' and warfare as 'Heroic'. The case studies, written by an international team of scholars, discuss these and other new aspects of Bronze Age warfare. Moreover, the essays show that warriors also facilitated mobility and innovation as new weapons would have quickly spread from the Mediterranean to northern Europe.

1. Introducing Bronze Age warfare Christian Horn and Kristian Kristiansen
2. Bronze Age encounters – violent or peaceful? Anthony Harding
3. Warfare and the political economy: Europe 1500–1100 BC Kristian Kristiansen
4. Warfare vs exchange? – thoughts on an integrative approach Christian Horn
5. Maritime warfare in Scandinavian rock art Johan Ling and Andreas Toreld
6. Bronze weaponry and cultural mobility in Late Bronze Age Southeast Europe Barry Molloy
7. The emergence of specialized combat weapons in the Levantine Bronze Age Florian Klimscha
8. Beyond the grave – crafting identities in the Middle Bronze Age Southern Trans Urals Derek Pitman and Roger Doonan
9. Carp's tongue swords and their use: functional, technological, and morphological aspects Marc Gener
10. Warfare or sacrifice? Archaeological research on the Bronze Age site in the Tollense Valley, Northeast Germany Gundula Lidke, Ute Brinker, Detlef Jantzen, Anne Dombrowsky, Jana Dräger, Joachim Krüger and Thomas Terberger
11. Violence and ritual in Late Bronze Age Britain: weapon depositions and their interpretation Tobias Mörtz
12. 'Warrior graves' vs warrior graves in the Bronze Age Aegean Ioannis Georganas
13. The Chief and his sword? Some thoughts on the swordbearer's rank in the Early Nordic Bronze Age Jan-Heinrich Bunnefeld
14. Becoming the warrior: constructed identity or functional identity? Kate Anderson
15. Body aesthetics, fraternity, and warfare in the long European Bronze Age – postscriptum Helle Vandkilde.

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], European history [HBJD]