The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Life on the cutting edge: interpreting patterns of wear on Scottish Early Bronze Age axes

Life on the cutting edge: interpreting patterns of wear on Scottish Early Bronze Age axes
Life on the cutting edge: interpreting patterns of wear on Scottish Early Bronze Age axes
Traditional approaches to Bronze Age metalwork have very often been framed within a series of dichotomous relationships often concerning either an objects production or ultimate deposition. In contrast, this thesis utilises a 'biographical approach' to material culture to illuminate what happened to objects during their often varied lifetimes, and importantly how this may have related to their deposition. A physical re-examination of wear, damage and states of fragmentation exhibited by a number of Early Bronze Age axes from Scotland (c. 2,400 to c. 1,700 cal B.C) is undertaken against a concurrent a program of experimental work. It is suggested that the physical appearance and condition of these objects were held to be indicative of both the object and its owner’s biography. It is shown that axes deposited together in hoards show recurring patterns of use wear and damage relating to both the longevity and intensity of use seen during their individual lifetimes. Moreover, it is argued that decoration may have been carried out over extended periods of time rather than in one event, or even after an object was no longer useable.
Moyler, Shaun
762d754f-fb32-4b97-8955-87981d7c7268
Moyler, Shaun
762d754f-fb32-4b97-8955-87981d7c7268
Champion, Timothy
42a175cf-70ac-40fd-9a84-f544296f15df

Moyler, Shaun (2007) Life on the cutting edge: interpreting patterns of wear on Scottish Early Bronze Age axes. University of Southampton, Faculty of Humanities, Doctoral Thesis, 159pp.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

Traditional approaches to Bronze Age metalwork have very often been framed within a series of dichotomous relationships often concerning either an objects production or ultimate deposition. In contrast, this thesis utilises a 'biographical approach' to material culture to illuminate what happened to objects during their often varied lifetimes, and importantly how this may have related to their deposition. A physical re-examination of wear, damage and states of fragmentation exhibited by a number of Early Bronze Age axes from Scotland (c. 2,400 to c. 1,700 cal B.C) is undertaken against a concurrent a program of experimental work. It is suggested that the physical appearance and condition of these objects were held to be indicative of both the object and its owner’s biography. It is shown that axes deposited together in hoards show recurring patterns of use wear and damage relating to both the longevity and intensity of use seen during their individual lifetimes. Moreover, it is argued that decoration may have been carried out over extended periods of time rather than in one event, or even after an object was no longer useable.

Text
Moyler_Life on the cutting edge_PHD_2007.pdf - Other
Download (14MB)

More information

Published date: 1 September 2007
Organisations: University of Southampton, Archaeology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 367868
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/367868
PURE UUID: 89900518-9d0e-4248-830b-60a9306e9966

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 23 Oct 2014 12:55
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 17:37

Export record

Contributors

Author: Shaun Moyler
Thesis advisor: Timothy Champion

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×