Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: Through a multi-scalar approach using archaeological and statistical methods this paper investigates identity through a comparative study of 270 female gendered burials from Jutland, Funen, Bornholm and Northern Germany. The understanding of the societal structure in the Bronze Age is based on a binary gender system and the variation within these gender categories is emphasised as highly significant for our understanding of gendered social roles in the Early Nordic Bronze Age (NBA). This paper demonstrates that elite women in Early NBA (c.1600–1100 BCE) held high social standing as well as holding multi-facetted social roles, reflecting both status and identity but with a change in status observed from NBA period II to III (c. 1300 BCE onwards). Network investigations of the female graves revealed that one armring in particular was dominant in the material and is seen a key identity marker for Early Nordic Bronze Age women. Further, it is concluded that analyses of object-type combinations can point towards potential dual identities of some of these women.
Source: Praehistorische Zeitschrift
DOI: 10.1515/pz-2020-0029
Author: Louise Felding
Institution: Aarhus University
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Gender equality
Open Access status: green
Funder: Kulturministeriet
OpenAlex ID: W3093910195