Introduction of Corded Ware pottery in Sweden – introduction to a research project

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Sherd of a Battle Axe beaker found in a burial at Rötved, Fjälkinge parish, Skåne.
(Photo: Åsa M Larsson)

I recently received a grant from The Berit Wallenberg Foundation to kick off a project called The Introduction of Battle Axe Pottery in Sweden. Battle Axe culture is a regional version of the Corded Ware culture complex which in the 3rd Millennium BC spans an area from the Netherlands to Finland, Sweden to Ukraine. What this phenomenon, usually manifested in crouched inhumation burials containing finely crafted beakers and/or battle axes, actually represents continues to be debated within archaeology since the early 2oth Century. There are many similarities between regions, but there are also notable differences. Is migration or diffusion of ideas the main means of the spread of the material culture? A combination? How can we tell the difference?

In my dissertation I focused on the relationship between the Battle Axe culture and the Pitted Ware culture which both preceeded it and was contemporary with it in parts of Sweden. One aspect that really caught my attention was that of the pottery traditions which differed in many notable ways, not just superficially as in decorations, but more profoundly in craft choices and social organisation of that craft. Battle Axe pottery represents a technological break with previous traditions and seems to appear as a fully formed craft with little or no variation or learning curve. This is in contrast with the stone technology and settlement patterns which have considerable overlap with the Pitted Ware culture in Eastern Sweden and the Funnel Beaker culture in the South and West.

Arbetsbild

 

Swedish Battle Axe pottery differs in some ways from ”classic” Corded Ware pottery found on the continent, including Denmark. It is remarkably similar to certain regional types of Finnish Corded Ware however. I was therefore very happy to be approached last year by Dr Elisabeth Holmqvist-Saukkonen of the University of Helsinki, who has started a major project called Untangling Corded Ware: Provenancing Battle Axe Culture Pottery of Southern Finland, financed by the Academy of Finland. Elisabeth does laboratory analysis on pottery using scanning electron microscopy (FESEM-EDX), investigating the micro-structure of ceramic fabrics. In the case of corded-ware pottery this is doubly interesting as it is generally tempered with grog: crushed sherds of older pots.

With the backing of the Wallenberg Foundation and the generous permission of the Museum of History as well as the National Heritage Board here in Sweden, I have now selected a number of battle-axe pottery sherds to be analysed by Elisabeth. These will be compared to the Finnish corded-ware sherds she has already analysed. I just finished photographing them and this weekend I’ll bring them to Helsinki.

2 Comments

  • Jeannette Forsén

    11 februari, 2014 at 19:43 Svara

    Hej Åsa,

    Av en slump hittade jag din website, som är mkt intressant för mig på så sätt att jag har en ovanligt stor mängd snörkeramik från Epirus i Grekland utgrävt 2007-2010 och väl daterat till just efter 3000 BC.

    Hur långt har du kommit med proveniens studiet? Ser inget som tyder på grog i min keramik, om jag kommer ihåg rätt, men helt entydigt ”non-local”.

    Hör gärna av dig.

    Mvh

    Jeannette Forsén (AKS i Gbg, docent därstädes sedan 2004, men oavlönad sådan tyvärr)

  • Åsa M Larsson

    13 februari, 2014 at 17:38 Svara

    Hej Jeanette,
    Du har säkert snörornerad keramik men är det verkligen just den typ av keramik som kallas ”Corded Ware”, vilken tillhör ett specifikt kulturkomplex i östra och norra Europa? Den utmärks ju av specifika kärlformer och dekormönster – inte bara av att det är snörornering vilket förekommer i många olika sammanhang. Det skulle vara kul att se bilder. (Du får gärna mejla mig också om du har fler funderingar elelr tips – du hittar min mejadress under Contact)

    Jag och Elisabeth håller just nu på att göra grunden till en artikel som vi ska försöka få in i nån tidskrift under året. Resultaten är faktiskt riktigt kul – långt bättre än jag vågade hoppas. Mycket tack vare att vi kan titta på både leran i kärlen och i grogen som de magrats med.

    Jag hoppas kunna återkomma med en uppdatering på bloggen under våren med lite mer resultat presenterade.

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