Europe Before HistoryThe societies of the European Bronze Age produced elaborate artifacts and were drawn into a wide trade network extending over the whole of Europe, even though they were economically and politically undiversified. Kristian Kristansen attempts to explain this paradox using a world-systems analysis, and in particular tries to acount for the absence of state formation. He presents his case with a powerful marshalling of the evidence across the whole of Europe and over two millennia. The result is the most coherent overview of this period of European prehistory since the writings of Gordon Childe and Christopher Hawkes. A great strength of this book is the broad European perspective, which allows the author to address some of the larger questions that have been raised in the study of the Bronze Age. It captures the complexity of a prehistorical world at different levels of integration and interaction from local to global. |
Contents
Background to the inquiry | 1 |
12 European origins | 7 |
Background to the archaeology | 18 |
22 Geographical and chronological framework | 27 |
Theoretical context | 36 |
32 Systems of social evolution | 44 |
33 Societies as organised networks | 54 |
Regional systems the social and cultural landscape in Europe in the Late Bronze Age 1100750 BC | 63 |
The new economic axis Central Europe and the Mediterranean 750450 BC | 208 |
62 The royal dynasties | 247 |
63 Transformation and decline | 288 |
Transformation and expansion the Celtic movement 450150 BC | 312 |
72 The social and historical context of Celtic population movements | 318 |
The emergence of the European world system in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Europe in the 1st and 2nd millennia BC | 357 |
82 Some social and cultural regularities | 392 |
83 Some evolutionary regularities | 405 |
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Common terms and phrases
6th century BC 8th century Alps amber archaeological archaic Atlantic Balkans barrows Bouzek Bronze Age societies Celtic cemeteries Central Europe centre-periphery relations century BC characterised chiefdoms chiefly centres chiefs civilisation complex defined demonstrated deposition distribution dominant Early Iron Age Early La Tène eastern Hallstatt ethnic Etruscan European exchange expansion farming Figure formation fortified settlements framework graves Greek groups Hallstatt culture Hallstatt residences Heuneburg hillforts historical hoards Iberia ideology interaction internal Italy Kossack Kristiansen La Tène culture Late Bronze Age later Lausitz Lausitz culture linked lowland material culture Mediterranean metal metalwork migrations Mycenaean networks Nordic Nordic Bronze Age northern Europe oppida pastoral period periphery phase Phoenician political pottery prehistory prestige production reflected regional traditions represented royal Scythian social and economic social organisation strategies structure suggest swords Thraco-Cimmerian tion trade transformation tribal Tumulus Tumulus culture types Urnfield culture warfare warrior elites wealth weapons western