No open-access location is known for this record yet.
No open-access location is known for this record yet.
There is a long-lasting research tradition around Bronze Age swords, with many publications since the beginning of the 20th century, for example in the framework of the Prähistorische Bronzefunde project. Most studies focus on the evolution of swords’ morphological and ornamental features to build typo-chronological systems. Questions related to craftsmen’s identities, production organisation and exchange networks were mostly addressed thanks to these typological classifications, as stylistic variations have been used to identify products from different workshops. However, we believe this approach is flawed as our knowledge of production organisation is not good enough to assert that the aspect of the swords was determined by craftsmen. Other scenarios where shapes and ornaments are chosen by users, for example if swords are made to order, can be imagined. On the other hand, it seems likely that craftsmen were the only ones involved in the choice of production techniques used to transform a piece of metal into a sword. Studying the variations within the chaîne opératoire of Bronze Age swords therefore appears like a reliable method to address questions related to craftsmen and production groups, and ultimately to discuss production organisation and exchange networks on a sound basis.Although Bronze Age swords’ production techniques were investigated from the end of the 1950s to the 1970s with the development of X-Ray radiography in archaeology, for example in Mainz or in Bonn, there have been a lack of data on the way swords were made. In the last two decades, the development of new techniques such as digital radiography and tomography (CT-scan) enabled a breakthrough in our knowledge of production techniques (fig. 1). Thanks to technological data currently available, we propose the creation of a new tool in addition to the existing typological framework: a techno-typology. This new classification system is purely based on the variations observed at different steps of the chaîne opératoire. Thanks to this tool, we can evaluate the technological homogeneity of swords at the scale of a type, a region or a period, giving us an insight into the organisation of production and the number of production groups providing swords to the users.This new classification based on technological features gives us the opportunity to revisit to history of swords production in Europe during the Bronze Age. Three main phases can be identified:1. Experimental phase (1800-1450 BC): swords are produced in small-scaled and versatile production units experimenting various techniques and processes.2. “Monopoly” phase (1450-900 BC): the few types of swords form a very homogenous technological group; the important standardisation probably corresponds to a centralised production in a few highly specialised workshops.3. Break phase (900-800 BC): major shift in the aspect of the swords coming along with the development of various technological traditions corresponding to the development of many versatile production groups.Each of these phases correspond to cultural variations among both users and craftsmen that can be connected to socio-economic and political changes within Bronze Age societies.
Loading…
Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.