The Scottish Bronze Age Flashcards
Was there potentially a Copper Age in Scotland?
-2500-2250BC, copper and gold was in circulation in Scotland (perhaps from Ireland)
-No bronze was being made at this time
-Copper ore arrived the same time as copper objects and more exotic items arrived (but how?…)
Describe the Cremation Burials found in Scotland from the Bronze Age
-Dramatic public ceremonies
-Cremation deposits were placed in urns (called cinerary urns)
-These urns were found inverted in pits as secondary burials at neolithic monuments and cemetary enclosures (perhaps suggesting continuity in their cultural importance?)
Describe the Henges that were converted into Burial Monuments
-E.g. Cairnpapple hill, which is a late neolithic henge with BA cairns inside
-Burials were now located closer to settlements
-Development of cremation cemetaries began at this time
-Metalwork was found less often with the dead (perhaps used as a status indicator?)
What are Recumbent Stone Circles?
-Recumbent stone = a large stone lying on it’s side
-These monuments were restricted to Aberdeenshire, where there are more than 100 sites
-Most start with a cairn and then a stone circle
-Some are aligned with the moon which could suggest their use in ritual/ religious practices?
-Recent excavations by Richard Bradley proved that they are from the Bronze Age
Describe Standing Stones and their Potential Purpose
-E.g. Hill o’ many Stanes
-Solar/ lunar alignment?
-Gathering places?
-Territorial markers?
-Routeway markers?
-Standing stones are very difficult to devise meaning from
Explain the Importance of the arrival of Beakers to Scotland
-Beaker-style pottery has been found across Europe and North Africa in the late neolithic
-They first appeared in Scotland around 2500BC
-Mostly found in single-inhumation graves
-They were perhaps brought by ‘invaders’ from the continent (the Beaker People)
-These “Beaker People” were the population that replaced 90% of the British people’s DNA around 4500 years ago
What are Beaker burials?
-In-sunken, stone-lined coffins (cists)
-Bodies were placed in a crouched position along with items such as beakers (of course), archery items, stone tools and organics
-1 person was given 1 beaker each
Describe the Importance of the arrival of Bronze
-Bronze = alloy of tin and copper
-Bronze was first smelted in SE Europe around 5000BC (when Scotland was still in the Mesolithic!)
-The main sources of copper in Britain come from Wales and Ireland, whereas tin came from Cornwall
-This means trading/ long journeys were required to allow for the arrival of bronze to Scotland
-This perhaps suggests that Bronze became a status-indicator due to it’s rarity
-The Bronze Age gave rise to ‘hoarding’; weapons and tools are sometimes found in ritual contexts, suggesting the importance of bronze in both life and death
Describe the Cultural Development occurring in Bronze Age Scotland
-Bronze age allows us to see more evidence for everyday life, less so for death and monumentality
-Monuments were stat within farming landscapes, as permanent settlement became the norm from 2000BC onwards
-Start of climate deterioration and over-farming
-Settlements in middle Bronze Age are associated with better land and extensive field/ farming systems
How did Society Evolve through the Bronze Age in Scotland?
-Agrarian societies = enclosed land, field systems, farmsteads, clearance cairns, landscape of boundaries and roundhouses
-Domesticity = Roundhouses dominate the archaeological record, more visible domestic architecture, greater evidence for everyday tasks and life
-Metallurgy = New types of artefacts, changes in sources of ore (trading?)
-Wealth = arrival of Gold (perhaps from Ireland)
-Violence = enclosed settlements (e.g. hill forts), metal weapons, intentionally broken artefacts (could suggest interpersonal violence?), advancement of weaponry perhaps gave rise to coercive power and therefore hierarchical community structures?
Explain the significance of the Amesbury Archer
-Found near Stone Henge
-High status individual (around 35-45 years old)
-Buried with weapons, tools, clothes and exotic items
-Strontium analysis suggests he originally came from the Alps/ Northern Italy
-This suggests the arrival of new people, therefore new ideas which may have accelerated Britain’s technological and cultural development
