Bronzization and the people : Bioarchaeological perspectives on Bronze Age individuals and populations in Southern Sweden
Tornberg, Anna LU
(2025)
p.65-77
- Abstract
- Globalisation is characterised not only by long-distance exchange by commodities and people, but also by a microbial unification of the world (une unification microbienne du monde), as was described by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie in the 1970s. Proof of microbial unification can be seen through the dramatic consequences of the Black Death in the 14th century CE as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, which is still fresh in our memories. Contemporary globalisation which pushed forward and was boosted by industrialisation in the 19th century, resulted in modernisation and scientific advances. It also increased socioeconomic differences within and between states and populations. Countries that pushed industrial development generally represent today’s... (More)
- Globalisation is characterised not only by long-distance exchange by commodities and people, but also by a microbial unification of the world (une unification microbienne du monde), as was described by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie in the 1970s. Proof of microbial unification can be seen through the dramatic consequences of the Black Death in the 14th century CE as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, which is still fresh in our memories. Contemporary globalisation which pushed forward and was boosted by industrialisation in the 19th century, resulted in modernisation and scientific advances. It also increased socioeconomic differences within and between states and populations. Countries that pushed industrial development generally represent today’s strongest economies, which also exhibit the highest life expectancies at birth. For Sweden, the phenomenon resulted in a drastic decrease in infant mortality and a simultaneous increase in average adult male statures (180.5 cm) as Sweden transformed from a poor agricultural to an industrialised society with one of the world’s highest income rates per capita (GDP) today. At the same time, Malawi, a country with one of the lowest GDP in the world, has average adult male statures 15 cm lower than those in Sweden. Thus, globalisation has substantially affected several different parameters of health and lifeways, both for individuals as well as for overall populations. Although on a lesser scale, the intercommunity contact and development associated with the transition to the Bronze Age share many traits with contemporary globalisation. This phenomenon – which Helle Vandkilde coined ‘bronzization’ – is, thus, potentially cojoined with several changes in living conditions for both single individuals as well as for populations throughout Europe. Through recent advances in biomolecular archaeology and osteological analyses of pathological lesions, demography and stature, in the following I explore how bronzization affected health and lifeways in southern Scandinavia over the transition of the 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c9a3cc86-252d-45a2-b295-c0ecf26884d7
- author
- Tornberg, Anna
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-02-21
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Bronzization : Essays in Bronze Age Archaeology - Essays in Bronze Age Archaeology
- editor
- Nørgaard, Heide W. and Reiter, Samantha S.
- pages
- 65 - 77
- publisher
- Archaeopress
- ISBN
- 9781803279220
- 9781803279213
- DOI
- 10.32028/9781803279213
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- c9a3cc86-252d-45a2-b295-c0ecf26884d7
- alternative location
- https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/download/9781803279213#page=97
- date added to LUP
- 2025-02-21 23:04:00
- date last changed
- 2025-03-04 02:56:05
@inbook{c9a3cc86-252d-45a2-b295-c0ecf26884d7,
abstract = {{Globalisation is characterised not only by long-distance exchange by commodities and people, but also by a microbial unification of the world (une unification microbienne du monde), as was described by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie in the 1970s. Proof of microbial unification can be seen through the dramatic consequences of the Black Death in the 14th century CE as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, which is still fresh in our memories. Contemporary globalisation which pushed forward and was boosted by industrialisation in the 19th century, resulted in modernisation and scientific advances. It also increased socioeconomic differences within and between states and populations. Countries that pushed industrial development generally represent today’s strongest economies, which also exhibit the highest life expectancies at birth. For Sweden, the phenomenon resulted in a drastic decrease in infant mortality and a simultaneous increase in average adult male statures (180.5 cm) as Sweden transformed from a poor agricultural to an industrialised society with one of the world’s highest income rates per capita (GDP) today. At the same time, Malawi, a country with one of the lowest GDP in the world, has average adult male statures 15 cm lower than those in Sweden. Thus, globalisation has substantially affected several different parameters of health and lifeways, both for individuals as well as for overall populations. Although on a lesser scale, the intercommunity contact and development associated with the transition to the Bronze Age share many traits with contemporary globalisation. This phenomenon – which Helle Vandkilde coined ‘bronzization’ – is, thus, potentially cojoined with several changes in living conditions for both single individuals as well as for populations throughout Europe. Through recent advances in biomolecular archaeology and osteological analyses of pathological lesions, demography and stature, in the following I explore how bronzization affected health and lifeways in southern Scandinavia over the transition of the 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE.}},
author = {{Tornberg, Anna}},
booktitle = {{Bronzization : Essays in Bronze Age Archaeology}},
editor = {{Nørgaard, Heide W. and Reiter, Samantha S.}},
isbn = {{9781803279220}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{02}},
pages = {{65--77}},
publisher = {{Archaeopress}},
title = {{Bronzization and the people : Bioarchaeological perspectives on Bronze Age individuals and populations in Southern Sweden}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.32028/9781803279213}},
doi = {{10.32028/9781803279213}},
year = {{2025}},
}