Where are the missing boatyards? Steaming pits as boat building sites in the Nordic Bronze Age
(2024) In Praehistorische Zeitschrift p.1-26- Abstract
- The boat stands out as a prominent symbol of the Nordic Bronze Age, depicted at thousands of rock art sites and on several metal objects throughout Scandinavia. Paradoxically, direct evidence of these boats is scarce, and the locations where boats were constructed remain largely elusive. In this paper, we put forth the proposition that many ostensibly mislabelled cooking pits along the coast might actually be remnants of steaming pits employed in boat building. By drawing on analogous parallels from ethnography and examining three Bronze Age cases from the western coast of Sweden and Eastern Norway, we hypothesize that sizable pits near the sea, characterized by firecracked stones and charcoal, are indicative of prehistoric boat building... (More)
- The boat stands out as a prominent symbol of the Nordic Bronze Age, depicted at thousands of rock art sites and on several metal objects throughout Scandinavia. Paradoxically, direct evidence of these boats is scarce, and the locations where boats were constructed remain largely elusive. In this paper, we put forth the proposition that many ostensibly mislabelled cooking pits along the coast might actually be remnants of steaming pits employed in boat building. By drawing on analogous parallels from ethnography and examining three Bronze Age cases from the western coast of Sweden and Eastern Norway, we hypothesize that sizable pits near the sea, characterized by firecracked stones and charcoal, are indicative of prehistoric boat building sites. Additionally, these results align with
a broader objective of our paper, aiming to challenge the prevailing terrestrial narrative in archaeology, which has impeded the interpretive potential for comprehending maritime societies throughout prehistory. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Abstract in German
Das Boot gilt als ein herausragendes
Symbol der nordischen Bronzezeit, dargestellt in Tausenden
von Felsbildern und auf vielen Metallgegenständen in ganz
Skandinavien. Paradoxerweise sind direkte Hinweise auf
diese Boote rar, und die Orte, an denen Boote gebaut wurden,
bleiben größtenteils schwer fassbar. In diesem Artikel schla-
gen wir vor, dass die sogenannten Kochgruben entlang der
Küste tatsächlich eher Überreste von Dämpfgruben sein
könnten, die beim Bootsbau verwendet wurden. Indem wir
auf Analogien aus der Ethnografie zurückgreifen und drei
bronzezeitliche Fallstudien von der Westküste Schwedens
und Ostnorwegens untersuchen, stellen wir die... (More) - Abstract in German
Das Boot gilt als ein herausragendes
Symbol der nordischen Bronzezeit, dargestellt in Tausenden
von Felsbildern und auf vielen Metallgegenständen in ganz
Skandinavien. Paradoxerweise sind direkte Hinweise auf
diese Boote rar, und die Orte, an denen Boote gebaut wurden,
bleiben größtenteils schwer fassbar. In diesem Artikel schla-
gen wir vor, dass die sogenannten Kochgruben entlang der
Küste tatsächlich eher Überreste von Dämpfgruben sein
könnten, die beim Bootsbau verwendet wurden. Indem wir
auf Analogien aus der Ethnografie zurückgreifen und drei
bronzezeitliche Fallstudien von der Westküste Schwedens
und Ostnorwegens untersuchen, stellen wir die Hypothese
auf, dass große, küstennahe Gruben, die durch Feuerein-
wirkung gerissene Steine und Holzkohle gekennzeich-
net sind, auf prähistorische Bootsbau-Stätten hinweisen
könnten. Zusätzlich stehen diese Ergebnisse im Einklang
mit dem weitergreifenden Ziel unseres Artikels, nämlich
das vorherrschende aufs Festland fixierte archäologische
Narrativ zu kritisieren, welches interpretative Möglich-
keiten einschränkt, mit denen man maritime Gesellschaften
in der Vorgeschichte besser verstehen kann (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/8705bf98-2afc-4092-9968-0c4e128a40f3
- author
- Ling, Johan ; Fauvelle, Mikael LU ; Ivar Austvoll, Knut ; Bengtsson, Boel ; Nordvall, Linn and Horn, Christian
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- keywords
- Bronze Age, Watercraft, Boat Building, Scandinavia, Coastal Societies, båtbygge, nordisk bronsålder, ånggropar, kustsamhällen
- in
- Praehistorische Zeitschrift
- pages
- 26 pages
- publisher
- De Gruyter
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85193602689
- ISSN
- 0079-4848
- DOI
- 10.1515/pz-2024-2005
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 8705bf98-2afc-4092-9968-0c4e128a40f3
- date added to LUP
- 2024-05-14 20:56:05
- date last changed
- 2024-06-05 04:01:16
@article{8705bf98-2afc-4092-9968-0c4e128a40f3, abstract = {{The boat stands out as a prominent symbol of the Nordic Bronze Age, depicted at thousands of rock art sites and on several metal objects throughout Scandinavia. Paradoxically, direct evidence of these boats is scarce, and the locations where boats were constructed remain largely elusive. In this paper, we put forth the proposition that many ostensibly mislabelled cooking pits along the coast might actually be remnants of steaming pits employed in boat building. By drawing on analogous parallels from ethnography and examining three Bronze Age cases from the western coast of Sweden and Eastern Norway, we hypothesize that sizable pits near the sea, characterized by firecracked stones and charcoal, are indicative of prehistoric boat building sites. Additionally, these results align with<br/>a broader objective of our paper, aiming to challenge the prevailing terrestrial narrative in archaeology, which has impeded the interpretive potential for comprehending maritime societies throughout prehistory.}}, author = {{Ling, Johan and Fauvelle, Mikael and Ivar Austvoll, Knut and Bengtsson, Boel and Nordvall, Linn and Horn, Christian}}, issn = {{0079-4848}}, keywords = {{Bronze Age; Watercraft; Boat Building; Scandinavia; Coastal Societies; båtbygge; nordisk bronsålder; ånggropar; kustsamhällen}}, language = {{eng}}, pages = {{1--26}}, publisher = {{De Gruyter}}, series = {{Praehistorische Zeitschrift}}, title = {{Where are the missing boatyards? Steaming pits as boat building sites in the Nordic Bronze Age}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/pz-2024-2005}}, doi = {{10.1515/pz-2024-2005}}, year = {{2024}}, }