Weapons, fighters and combat: spears and swords in Early Bronze Age Scandinavia

This article deals with the use-wear analysis of 204 weapons of Period I of the Early Nordic Bronze Age. The analysed sample contained 154 spearheads and 50 swords and was made up of approximately one-third of the contemporaneous weapons in Southern Scandinavia. The use-wear analysis was undertaken with a source critical view on corrosion and other taphonomic processes. The information obtained was used to see how use-wear and taphonomic processes influence each other. Use-wear analysis was employed to evaluate statements regarding the functionality, or rather non-functionality, of Early Bronze Age weaponry. According to the results, spears and swords were not only functional but also very frequently used. Further deductions can be made from the material. Despite a difference in the scale of fighting, spears and swords show essentially the same kind of combat wear. It is argued that this relates to essentially similar styles of fighting that employ both cutting and stabbing movements and are perhaps most appropriately termed ‘fencing’. This style of fighting possibly emerged from frequent encounters of sword and spear fighters in the closely interconnected world of Southern Scandinavia during Period I of the Early Bronze Age. In these engagements, a partial homogenising effect of warfare and fighting becomes visible. Yet, it is not the only effect that accompanies combat and war. Diversification and homogenisation are not mutually exclusive or contradictive. Accordingly, they took place simultaneously and helped develop fighting styles and weapon technologies