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Atlantic Bronze Age

The Atlantic Bronze Age is a term that has never been formally defined.[1] Some take its meaning to be a label for the period spanning approximately 1300–700 BC in Britain, France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain; that is, the Atlantic coast of Europe. Others assign it to a cultural complex of the Bronze Age period in prehistoric Europe that is defined by the culture prevalent at this time and location.

Atlantic Bronze Age
Geographical rangeWestern Europe
PeriodBronze Age
Datesc. 1300 — c. 700 BC
Preceded byBell Beaker culture, Bronze Age Britain, Armorican Tumulus culture, Wessex culture
Followed byIron Age Britain, Iron Age Ireland, Iron Age France, Iron Age Spain
See also: Bronze Age Europe

Trade

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Main article: Bronze Age Europe

The Atlantic Bronze Age is characterized by economic and cultural exchange between far-flung communities, resulting in a high degree of cultural similarity seen in coastal communities ranging from central Portugal in the south of coastal Europe, through Galicia (Spain), the Atlantic coast of France, including Armorica (Brittany) to Cornwall in southwest England and as far north as Scotland. This is evidenced by the frequent use of stone as chevaux-de-frise, the construction of cliff castles, and a similarity of domestic architecture and living spaces, sometimes characterized by roundhouses. [2] Trade contacts extended northwards and eastwards to Sweden[3] and Denmark and eastwards as far as the Mediterranean.[2]

Metal production

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This Bronze Age culture was characterized by distinct regional centers of metal production, linked by regular maritime trade. The main centers were in southern England and Ireland, northwestern France, and western Iberia (Spain and Portugal).[4] Items associated with this culture are often found in hoards or deposited in ritual areas.[5][6] Metal finds have typically been preserved in watery contexts such as rivers, lakes, and bogs. This cultural complex includes various items, such as socketed and double-ring bronze axes, sometimes found buried in large hoards in Brittany and Galicia. Military equipment such as lunate spearheads, V-notched shields, and a variety of bronze swords, including carp-tongue swords, are usually found buried in lakes, rivers, or rocky outcrops.[7] Elite feasting equipment such as spits, kettles, and meat hooks[6][8] have also been found from central Portugal to Scotland.[2]

Celtic influence

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It is during this period that the Celts rose to prominence in Europe [9] In particular, the Celtic language may have developed as an Atlantic lingua franca.[6] Communities may have adopted elite status markers such as grip-tongue swords and bronze sheet metalwork from the Urnfield period (Bronze D and Hallstatt A)[10] and they must also have acquired the skills for their production, and ritual knowledge about their proper treatment involving deposition.[11] These changes may indicate processes related to language change.[11] The emergence of Celtic languages with a Proto-Celtic homeland in west-central Europe can be explained by elite contact from east to west.[12] However, this view contrasts with the more widely accepted view that Celtic origins are linked to the central European Hallstatt C culture.

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  • A Bronze Age gold hoard: Tesouro de Caldas, Galicia, Spain 
    A Bronze Age gold hoard: Tesouro de Caldas, Galicia, Spain
  • Gold torque from Stretham, England 
    Gold torque from Stretham, England
  • Bronze weapons from Lanzahíta, Spain 
    Bronze weapons from Lanzahíta, Spain
  • Bronze Age swords, France 
    Bronze Age swords, France
  • The Caergwrle Bowl, Wales, c. 1300 BC 
    The Caergwrle Bowl, Wales, c. 1300 BC
  • Casco de Leiro, Galicia, Spain 
    Casco de Leiro, Galicia, Spain
  • Gold bowls from Axtroki, Spain 
    Gold bowls from Axtroki, Spain
  • Gold bracelets and neckrings, England, 1150–750 BC 
    Gold bracelets and neckrings, England, 1150–750 BC
  • Sintra collar, Portugal, c. 10th century BC 
    Sintra collar, Portugal, c. 10th century BC
  • Bronze cauldrons. Left Cabárceno, Spain. Right Chiseldon, England.[13][14] 
    Bronze cauldrons. Left Cabárceno, Spain. Right Chiseldon, England.[13][14]
  • Gold and bronze hoard from Wrexham, Wales, 1300-1150 BC 
    Gold and bronze hoard from Wrexham, Wales, 1300-1150 BC
  • Gold torque or belt from Guînes, France, 1300-1150 BC[15] 
    Gold torque or belt from Guînes, France, 1300-1150 BC[15]
  • Gold torque from Guînes, Pas-de-Calais, France.[16] 
    Gold torque from Guînes, Pas-de-Calais, France.[16]
  • Deposito da Samieira, a hoard of Galician Bronze Age axes. Museo de Pontevedra 
    Deposito da Samieira, a hoard of Galician Bronze Age axes. Museo de Pontevedra
  • Stele of Solana de Cabañas, Spain. 
    Stele of Solana de Cabañas, Spain.
  • Adabrock Hoard, Scotland, c. 1000 BC 
    Adabrock Hoard, Scotland, c. 1000 BC
  • Gold torque from the Treasure of Berzocana, Extremadura, Spain 
    Gold torque from the Treasure of Berzocana, Extremadura, Spain
  • Ceremonial bronze dirk, France, c. 1300 BC 
    Ceremonial bronze dirk, France, c. 1300 BC
  • Dirks from England and France 
    Dirks from England and France
  • Brazalete da Urdiñeira, Spain 
    Brazalete da Urdiñeira, Spain
  • Gold torc, Saint-Jean-Trolimon, France 
    Gold torc, Saint-Jean-Trolimon, France
  • Bronze axes, France 
    Bronze axes, France
  • Gold disk/ring, Extremadura, Spain, c. 1000 BC 
    Gold disk/ring, Extremadura, Spain, c. 1000 BC
  • Dún Aonghasa hillfort, Ireland 
    Dún Aonghasa hillfort, Ireland

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Brandherm, Dirk (2014). Almost lost between the lines: The concept of the Atlantic Bronze Age (PDF). Queen's University Belfast Research Portal. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Cunliffe, Barry (1999). "Atlantic Sea-ways" (PDF). Revista de Guimarães. Especial (I): 93–105. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  3. ^ Ling, Johan; Stos-Gale, Zofia; Grandin, Lena; Billström, Kjell; Hjärthner-Holdar, Eva; Persson, Per-Olof (2014). "Moving metals II: provenancing Scandinavian Bronze Age artefacts by lead isotope and elemental analyses". Journal of Archaeological Science. 41: 106–132. Bibcode:2014JArSc..41..106L. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.07.018.
  4. ^ Europe Before History by Kristian Kristiansen Archived May 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Comendador Rey, Beatriz. "SPACE AND MEMORY AT THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER ULLA (GALICIA, SPAIN)" (PDF). Conceptualising Space and Place: On the role of agency, memory and identity in the construction of space from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Iron Age in Europe. Archaeopress. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  6. ^ a b c Cunliffe, Barry (2008). Europe between the oceans : themes and variations, 9000 BC-AD 1000 (First printed in paperback 2011. ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 254–258. ISBN 978-0-300-17086-3.
  7. ^ Quilliec, Bénédicte T. (2007). "Vida y muerte de una espada atlántica del Bronce Final en Europa: Reconstrucción de los procesos de fabricación, uso y destrucción" [Life and death of an Atlantic sword: Reconstruction of the processes of fabrication, use wear and destruction]. Complutum (in Spanish). 18: 93–107. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  8. ^ Bowman, Sheridan; Stuart Needham (2007). "The Dunaverney and Little Thetford Flesh-Hooks: History, Technology and Their Position within the Later Bronze Age Atlantic Zone Feasting Complex" (PDF). The Antiquaries Journal. 87: 53–108. doi:10.1017/s0003581500000846. S2CID 161084139. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  9. ^ Koch, John (2009). Tartessian: Celtic from the Southwest at the Dawn of History in Acta Palaeohispanica X Palaeohispanica 9 (2009) (PDF). Palaeohispanica. pp. 339–351. ISSN 1578-5386. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  10. ^ Cunliffe, Barry (2008). A Race Apart: Insularity and Connectivity in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 75, 2009, pp. 55–64. The Prehistoric Society. p. 61.
  11. ^ a b Brandherm, Dirk (2013). Celtic from the West 2 - Westward Ho? Sword-bearers and all the rest of it... Oxford: Oxbow Books. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-84217-529-3. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013.
  12. ^ Koch, John T. (2013). Celtic from the West 2 -Prologue: The Earliest Hallstatt Iron Age cannot equal Proto-Celtic. Oxford: Oxbow Books. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-84217-529-3. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013.
  13. ^ Gerloff, Sabine (1986). "Bronze Age Class A Cauldrons: Typology, Origins and Chronology". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 116: 84–115. JSTOR 25508908.
  14. ^ Barrowclough, David (2014). "Bronze Age Feasting Equipment: A contextual discussion of the Salle and East Anglian cauldrons and flesh-hooks". Cambridge: Red Dagger Press. Red Dagger Press, Cambridge: 1–17.
  15. ^ Armbruster, Barbara (2013). "Gold and gold working of the Bronze Age". The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age. pp. 454–468.
  16. ^ Armbruster (2016). "Manufacturing processes of Atlantic Bronze Age annular gold ornaments—A case study of the Guînes gold hard (Pas-de-Calais, France)". Materials and Manufacturing Processes. 32 (7–8): 728–739. doi:10.1080/10426914.2016.1232819. S2CID 114317154.
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