Bell Beaker Communities in Thy: The First Bronze Age Society in Denmark

Abstract

This article presents the conclusions of a study of pottery from an open‐air Bell Beaker settlement in Thy, northern Jutland, Denmark. The formal characteristics of all of the pottery documented from the site, a total of 140 vessels, are provided. Sherds from the Bell Beaker tradition are accorded particular interest. A study of the distribution of the pottery at the site is presented. Finally, taking into account data from publications in Denmark, the interpretation focuses on characterizing the ceramic style of Bell Beaker contexts, verifying if domestic and funerary contexts respond to the same formal pattern, as well as their possible relationship with neighbouring regions in Europe. It would seem that the Bell Beaker period was a time of such intense social transformation that the pattern of rationality was transformed to the point that we may speak of the first Bronze Age societies in Denmark. This situation is not only reflected in the general material culture, and the Bell Beaker pottery in particular, but also in the results of human activity seen in the available archaeological record. Furthermore, although this study focuses on Denmark, it may be seen that the processes found are not particular to specific geographic circumstances. Instead, they form part of a broad, European dynamic, a change on a European scale. Power over things became power over people. (Kristiansen 2004:267)