Less than 100 settlements are known, and their remains are negligible as they are located on continually used farmland, and have consequently been plowed away.Īrchaeological remains of southern Sweden reveal close spatial relations between houses and graves, indicating that farms were central to social and economic activity in the Battle Axe culture. Battle Axe culture settlements are, however, not located directly on the coastline, which was rather occupied by the Pitted Ware culture.
Most of them are located inland, but some are located in coastal areas. Settlementsįew settlements of the Battle Axe culture have been uncovered. It is the earliest find of cremation in Scandinavia and it shows close contacts with Central Europe. There were also the cremated remains of at least six people. Along the once heavily timbered walls were found the remains of about twenty clay vessels, six work axes and a battle axe, which all came from the last period of the culture. Faunal remains from burials include red deer, sheep, and goat.Ī new aspect was given to the Battle Axe culture in 1993, when a death house in Turinge, in Södermanland was excavated. Other grave goods include arrowheads, weapons of antler, amber beads, and polished flint axes and chisels. They were usually placed near the head or feet. Corded Ware ceramics were also common grave goods in Battle Axe burials. The polished flint axes of the Battle Axe culture and the Pitted Ware culture trace a common origin in southwest Scania and Denmark. About 3000 battle axes have been found, in sites distributed over all of Scandinavia, but they are sparse in Norrland and northern Norway. These battle axes appear to have been status symbols, and it is from them that the culture is named. Battle axes are placed with males close to the head. Axes of flint are found in both male and female burials. As regards both objects and placement, the grave goods are quite standardized. Men were placed on their left sides, while women were placed on their right sides. Graves were typically oriented north-south, with the body in a flexed position facing towards the east. In the Battle Axe culture, the deceased were usually placed in a single flat grave with no barrow. They are quite different from those found in the Single Grave culture of Denmark. Around 250 Battle Axe burials have been found in Sweden. The Battle Axe culture is mostly known for its burials. It was eventually succeeded by the Nordic Bronze Age, which appears to be a fusion of elements from the Battle Axe culture and the Pitted Ware culture.īoat-shaped battle axe, characteristic of Scandinavian and coastal-German Corded Ware. The Battle Axe culture ended around 2300 BC. Einar Østmo reports sites of the Battle Axe culture inside the Norwegian Arctic Circle in the Lofoten, and as far north as the present city of Tromsø. Throughout its existence, the Battle Axe culture appears to have expanded into coastal Norway, accompanied by dramatic cultural changes. By 2300 BC, the Battle Axe culture had absorbed the Pitted Ware culture. The immediate coastline was, however, occupied by the Pitted Ware culture. Sites of the Battle Axe culture have been found throughout the coastal areas of southern Scandinavia and southwest Finland. The concentration of the Battle Axe culture was in Scania. The Battle Axe culture initially absorbed the agricultural Funnelbeaker culture. Modern genetic studies show that its emergence was accompanied by large-scale migrations and genetic displacement. It was an offshoot of the Corded Ware culture, which was itself largely an offshoot of the Yamnaya culture of the Pontic–Caspian steppe. The Battle Axe culture emerged in the south of the Scandinavian Peninsula about 2800 BC. The Nordic Bronze Age has, in turn, been considered ancestral to the Germanic peoples. It co-existed for a time with the hunter-gatherer Pitted Ware culture, which it eventually absorbed, developing into the Nordic Bronze Age. It is thought to have been responsible for spreading Indo-European languages and other elements of Indo-European culture to the region. The Battle Axe culture was an offshoot of the Corded Ware culture, and replaced the Funnelbeaker culture in southern Scandinavia, probably through a process of mass migration and population replacement. Southern Scandinavian Peninsula and southwest Finland.Ĭorded Ware culture, Funnelbeaker culture, Pitted Ware culture
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