The
Nordic Bronze Age (also
Northern Bronze Age) is the name given by
Oscar Montelius to a period and a
Bronze Age culture in
Scandinavian pre-history, ca
1800 BCE -
500 BCE, with sites that reached as far east as Estonia.
[1] Succeeding the
Corded Ware culture, it is generally considered to be the direct predecessor and origin of the
Proto-Germanic culture of the
Pre-Roman Iron Age.
Even though Scandinavians joined the European Bronze Age cultures fairly late through trade, Scandinavian sites present rich and well-preserved objects made of wool, wood and imported Central European bronze and gold. The Scandinavians adopted many important European and Mediterranean symbols while adapting these to create a unique Nordic style. Mycenaean Greece, the Villanovan culture, Phoenicia and Ancient Egypt have all been identified as possible sources of influence for Scandinavian artwork from this period. The foreign influence is believed to have been due to the amber trade. Amber found in Mycenaean graves from this period originates from the Baltic Sea, so it is reasonable to assume that the culture that arose in the Nordic Bronze Age constituted one supply end of the so-called Amber Road. Many petroglyphs depict ships, and the large stone formations known as stone ships suggest that shipping played an important role. Several petroglyphs depict ships that have been identified as plausibly Mediterranean.
There are many mounds and fields of petroglyphs from the period, but their significance has long since been lost. Numerous artifacts of bronze and gold have also been found. The rather crude appearance of the petroglyphs compared to the bronze workings have given rise to the theory that they were produced by different cultures or different social groups. No written language existed in the Nordic countries during the Bronze Age. The petroglyphs have been dated as belonging to the Nordic Bronze Age by comparing depicted artifacts with archaeological finds, for example bronze axes are often portrayed in petroglyphs. The first archaeologist to make this connection was Oscar Montelius. (There are also numerous Nordic Stone Age petroglyphs, mostly portraying elk.)
These six periods are then followed by the Pre-Roman Iron Age. Another, broader subdivision is the "Early Bronze Age" between 1800 BC and 1100 BC and the "Late Bronze Age" 1100 BC to 550 BC.
