Introduction: Nordic Bronze Age

The Nordic Bronze Age covers a period in the prehistory of Scandinavia from approximately 2000 - 500 BC. This period followed cultures such as the Proto-Indo-European Battle Axe Culture (Corded Ware Culture), the Bell Beaker Culture, the Funnelbeaker Culture and the Nordic Stone Age. In this blog, we discover the identity of these distant ancestors of the Vikings. 

In archaeology, we speak of many different cultures. Sometimes these overlap with ethnic cultures but often they do not. At the same time, the transition of cultures should not be considered an abrupt historical event. In many cases, people simply experienced a change of customs while the old custom continued to exist alongside for a while.

The Germanic Copper Age cultures and Bronze Age cultures developed from the Proto-Indo-European steppe herders who moved westward around 3,500 BC from the Pontic steppes. Along the way, they mixed with Neolithic farmers. This resulted in mixed cultures, such as the Corded Ware culture. DNA research on bodies from the Corded Ware culture shows that in some cases up to 90% of the patriarchal haplogroups refer to Steppe DNA from the paternal line.

In Scandinavia (particularly Jutland), an archaeological offshoot of the Corded Ware culture developed, the Boat Axe culture (2,800 - 2,300 BC), known for their distinctive type of battle axes. Additionally, from the Corded Ware culture, the Bell Beaker culture (2500 - 2000 BC) developed. These were not genetically unique peoples; pots and battle axes are not people, but archaeological features.

Genetic research shows that the population of the Nordic Bronze Age was genetically related to that of the Corded Ware, Bell Beaker, and Únětice cultures. They had the highest level of lactose tolerance among all European Bronze Age peoples. The development of the Nordic Bronze Age around 1750 BC was the result of a mixture of the Battle Axe culture and the Bell Beaker culture, with significant influence from Central Europe, particularly from the Proto-Indo-European Únětice culture. This influence brought innovations such as bronze working, which became systematically spread from 1750 BC, although bronze was already in use around 2000 BC. Migrations from the north and east contributed to further genetic and cultural diversity in the region.

The region of the Nordic bronze Age extended from Scandinavia to parts of Northern Germany, and some researchers also consider parts of Estonia, Finland, and Pomerania as part of this cultural sphere. During the Nordic Bronze Age, there were close trade relations with Mycenaean Greece. The people of the Nordic Bronze Age were experts in processing metal and traded amber for metals. As a result, this culture became one of the wealthiest in Europe.

Most people lived on small farms, often consisting of a longhouse and a few outbuildings. From around 1300 BC, it became common to build three-aisled longhouses, some of which were very large. These large buildings may have been used as leadership centers. There were also fortified settlements, workshops for metal and pottery production, and special cult buildings. Settlements were often located on higher ground and close to the sea, which promoted trade and rituals.

A remarkable example is the fortified settlement Hünenburg bei Watenstedt in northern Germany. This site functioned as a trade center, cult site, and power center.

The religion of the Nordic Bronze Age was Indo-European in nature and is seen as the precursor of the Germanic mythology. The sun played a central role due to agriculture. People were dependent on the sun for crop growth. The sun is depicted in symbols such as the sun cross, the triskelion, and spiral motifs . The sky father, cosmic twin, and sun goddess were central. Rituals included offerings of animals, weapons, jewelry, and sometimes humans, often in waters such as lakes and bogs. Ceremonial objects, such as bronze lurs, were used in religious ceremonies and have been found mainly in Denmark and Western Sweden. The religion was dharmic in nature and centered around the cosmic order and societal oath-bound reciprocity. 

Ships played a significant role in this society. This is evident from thousands of rock carvings and the large stone ship graves. These ships were suitable for trade, fishing, and warfare. The maritime tradition of the Norse Bronze Age laid the basic for the famous sea culture of the Viking Age.

The climate during the early Norse Bronze Age was warmer than now and comparable to that of present-day Central Germany. This favorable climate allowed for intensive agriculture, including the cultivation of grapes. Around 850 BC, however, the climate began to become wetter and colder, making life more difficult and causing migration.