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Chapter Three - Warfare and the Political Economy: Europe 1500–1100 bc

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2018

Christian Horn
Affiliation:
Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Germany
Kristian Kristiansen
Affiliation:
Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden
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Summary

The emergence of the full Bronze Age after 1500 BC was a time of profound changes throughout Europe: new offensive and defensive weapon technologies appeared as well as chariots, and with that new forms of warfare and settlements. It is argued that mobile warrior groups were important in the spread of these innovations, organising and controlling trade. During this phase warfare became (semi-) professionalized. It is suggested in this chapter that the transformations were in part violent and led to migrations and the rise of new forms of centralized and decentralized forms of political economies.
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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