Bronze Age swords from Bohemia. Experimental use and formation of combat traces
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| Year of publication | 2020 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | How the bronze weapons were used is still a valid question in European archaeology of Bronze Age. Plentiful findings of various traces of use on weapons demonstrate not only their practical use, but also the diversity of their use in combat. Warfare was a crucial part of society and was involved in forming structures in prehistoric Europe. The way and form of combat is, therefore, an important aspect of recognition of this social interaction. The use-wear analysis methods are becoming an independent/separate field of study in Czech Republic and are more frequently involved in studying bronze artefacts. The aim of this poster is to illustrate the potential and results of experimental archaeology in combination with use-wear analysis for understanding the Bronze Age swordsmanship. Bronze swords from Bohemia wear traces of practical use, and our interests were mainly to find out the approximate method of their practical use and attempt to interpret the different types of traces. Based on metallographic analysis, replicas of bronze swords were made then used in a controlled environment (the origin of every trace was recorded) and later on in the swordfight simulation experiment. This poster presents the progress and preliminary results of our experiment, and above all discusses the relationship between specific combat movements and types of traces. |