Male Social Roles and Mobility in the Early Nordic Bronze Age. A Perspective from SE Jutland

Abstract

This paper provides a discussion of the increasing amount of mobility data from the Early Nordic Bronze Age (Early NBA), c. 1600-1100 BCE with particular focus on NBA II and III (c. 1500-1100 BCE). As a male-oriented study, the intent is to develop current perspectives on gender roles in the Early NBA in relation to mobility. In order to achieve our aim, we conducted strontium isotope analyses and radiocarbon dating combined with an in-depth archaeological investigation of grave goods obtained from two male burials from the Vejle region, SE Jutland. To contextualise the case study results, we also conducted network analyses of male gear from burials and ritual deposits on a regional scale, which reveal differentiated roles among men in the upper social echelon. The warrior emerged as an overall identity for high-ranking males whilst differences in male weaponry interestingly suggest that a minimum of three kinds of warriors were distinguished, reflecting social roles in war and society. The results suggest that one of the individuals was local while the other might have moved. The overall aim is to demonstrate that robust results regarding gendered mobilities will depend on the combination of several methods, datasets and scales of inquiry.

visiting the Roman Iron Age Hoby chieftain burial after 100 years of its discovery - adding the strontium isotopic perspective

“…In Denmark, strontium isotope analyses on human remains have been conducted on individuals dating from the Mesolithic to the Middle Ages, with strong focus on the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and the Viking Age (e.g. Croix et al 2020;Felding et al 2020;Frei et al 2019;Frei et al 2015;Frei et al 2017;Nielsen et al 2020a;Nielsen et al 2020b;Price et al 2011;Reiter et al 2019). However, relatively few individuals from the Iron Age have been investigated using this technique thus far.…”

Homogeneous Glacial Landscapes Can Have High Local Variability of Strontium Isotope Signatures: Implications for Prehistoric Migration Studies

“…In 2019, Thomsen and Andreasen found high values in several pristine water bodies in the vicinity of the two burial sites indicating that the high values measured in their remains could have been obtained locally, thus challenging the interpretation that they originated from elsewhere. Felding et al (2020) analyzed the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios in six teeth from two Bronze age males buried in eastern Jutland, Denmark. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values of the three teeth from the eastern-most skeleton were all within the baseline range of Frei and Frei (2011) and the individual was determined to be of local origin.…”

“…The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values of the three teeth from the eastern-most skeleton were all within the baseline range of Frei and Frei (2011) and the individual was determined to be of local origin. The inhabitant of the western-most grave (VKH 3418) near Jelling, (see Study area S3 in Figures 1, 6, 7) was determined to be different, as two of the three molars yielded values (0.71151 and 0.71128) above the isoscape of Frei and Frei (2011), indicating that this male may be of non-local origin and may have moved from a place outside present-day Denmark to the region of Jelling during his youth (Felding et al, 2020). However, these ratios are well below the values we have obtained from pristine waters in the Jelling area, which have 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios up to 0.71556 (Figures 6, 7).…”

“…For example, the Danish isoscape of Frei and Frei (2011) is based on close to 200 water samples covering an area of 43,000 km 2 , and in 2013, Frei and Frei published a baseline for the Danish island of Bornholm (588 km 2 ) based on 51 samples. The isoscape for mainland Denmark has subsequently served as a reference map in several studies of prehistoric provenance and mobility ranging in time from the Neolithic to the early Middle age (e.g., Frei et al, 2015Frei et al, , 2017aFelding et al, 2020;Van der Sluis et al, 2020). In practice, these large-scale isoscapes are typically combined withor replaced by local isoscapes developed for specific mobility studies in the areas surrounding the archaeological sites under study (Price et al, 2002;Bentley, 2006;Slovak and Paytan, 2011;Maurer et al, 2012).…”

Into the fire: Investigating the introduction of cremation to Nordic Bronze Age Denmark: A comparative study between different regions applying strontium isotope analyses and archaeological methods

“…Given the mounting evidence underscoring Neolithic and Bronze Age mobility throughout Europe [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27], it seems tempting to imagine a scenario in which the avant garde trendsetters who introduced cremation would have been non-locals. (Within this context, we consider locals to be persons whose 87 Sr/ 86 Sr lies within the strontium isotope baseline range for present-day Denmark of 0.7081-0.71111.…”