Exploring Prehistoric Identity in Europe by Victoria Ginn Rebecca Crozier Rebecca Enlander

Author:Victoria Ginn, Rebecca Crozier, Rebecca Enlander [Victoria Ginn, Rebecca Crozier, Rebecca Enlander]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Archaeology, History, European General
ISBN: 9781842177471
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Published: 2014-03-19T04:00:00+00:00

9

THE BRONZE AGE SMITH AS INDIVIDUAL

Heide Wrobel Nørgaard

Introduction

This chapter draws upon the personal observations of a trained goldsmith to detail how individual markers in working sequences can be interpreted, and also examines the motivation behind technological choices. Every step in a working sequence leaves ‘traces’ behind. These signatures of individuality can be the result of mistakes during crafting, the imprint of tools or the result of individual ‘motor habits’. Today’s research concentrates on the individual in prehistory. However, the archaeologist’s only tool to investigate these individuals is the material culture they have used. The traces documented on bronze ornaments in the area of the Nordic Bronze Age can reveal much more than just the sequence of the tasks involved in their crafting: they can show the individuality of the metalworker. The residues of the crafting process of high quality objects can be used as a tool to investigate such intimate individual characteristics as the thoughts and ideas of the craftsman, the way in which they used their tools or transferred specific ideas onto objects. In this chapter, the different traces and their related actions are summarised under specific headlines in relation to diverse aspects of individuality. When several items with identical individual traces appear it might be possible to sketch out the craftsman behind them, or, in a broader sense, to define the characteristics of a singular workshop.

Actions of the mind

A working sequence is the thought process which accompanies the crafting of a piece. Knowledge about the specific order of steps is fundamental to the successful completion of the object. This knowledge is developed through experience, and is in many cases learned and adapted. On many prehistoric metal objects, single steps of a complete sequence can be documented by means of traces. The collar from Weitgendorf, Kr. Priegnitz in Mecklenburg dated to 1550–1300 BC and crafted by lost-wax casting1 reveals at least two successive working steps. When interpreting the marks left in the wax model, it can be assumed that the decoration on the ribs was placed following that of the spirals and that the connecting dot-lines are punched after the spirals (Figure 9.1). However, the best means of creating repetitive patterns is exemplified by the collar from Annebjerg Skov, Holbæk Amt (Aner and Kersten 1976; Nørgaard 2011a) dated to 1300–1100 BC. The technique for the creation of recurrent patterns is still under debate (Berger et al. 2010; Rønne 1989). However, this collar shows traces which can be connected to a starting point in the punch line or the recurring imprint of a stamp.

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