Comparative Perspectives on Colonisation, Maritime Interaction and Cultural Integration - Lene Melheim

Comparative Perspectives on Colonisation, Maritime Interaction and Cultural Integration - Lene Melheim

9. Bronze Age Vikings? A Comparative Analysis of Deep Historical Structures and Their Dynamics

Comparative Perspectives on Colonisation, Maritime Interaction and Cultural Integration - Lene Melheim

Kristian Kristiansen [+-]
University of Gothenburg
Kristian Kristiansen has been Professor of Archaeology at the University of Gothenburg since 1994. His main publications include Europe Before History (Cambridge University Press, 1998); with Michael Rowlands, Social Transformations in Archaeology: Global and Local Perspectives (Routledge, 1998); with Thomas Larsson, The Rise of Bronze Age Society: Travels, Transmissions and Transformations (Cambridge University Press, 2005—received the SAA best book award 2007); and, with Timothy Earle, Organizing Bronze Age Societies: The Mediterranean, Central Europe and Scandinavia (Cambridge University Press, 2010). Address for correspondence: Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg, SE Box 200, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden. Email: [email protected]

Description

The concept of piracy is treated in several papers in this volume as a possible model also for Bronze Age seafaring—some even explicitly comparing the sea ventures of Bronze Age mariners with those of the Vikings. This is reflected in Christian Horn’s work but most explicitly stated by Kristian Kristiansen in this article. Kristiansen observes deep structural correspondences between the Bronze Age and the Viking Age. These, he argues, were based on new maritime technologies that allowed the expansion of trade networks and the formation of semi-independent maritime economies. Kristiansen argues that population pressure led to the formation of war-bands of young warriors or sons without property, who used the maritime economy as an outlet and engaged in seasonal raiding, trading or piracy. This evolved over time into more massive colonising ventures and migrations.

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Citation

Kristiansen, Kristian . 9. Bronze Age Vikings? A Comparative Analysis of Deep Historical Structures and Their Dynamics. Comparative Perspectives on Colonisation, Maritime Interaction and Cultural Integration. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 177-186 Dec 2016. ISBN 9781781790489. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=24610. Date accessed: 28 Mar 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.24610. Dec 2016

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