The Prehistory of Denmark

350 Pages·1983·5.857 MB·English

by  Jørgen Jensen

The Prehistory
of Denmark

JØRGEN JENSEN
The Prehistory of
Denmark
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published in 1982 by
Methuen & Co. Ltd
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003.
© 1982 Jørgen Jensen
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Jensen, Jørgen
The prehistory of Denmark.
1. Denmark—History—to 1241
I. Title
936.3 DL161
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Jensen, Jørgen, 1936 July 30–
The prehistory of Denmark.
Translation of: Dansk socialhistorie. v.1.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Man, Prehistoric—Denmark. 2. Denmark—Antiquities.
I. Title.
GN826.J4613 1982 948.9’01 82–24885
ISBN 0-203-43067-0 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-73891-8 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-11957-X (Print Edition)
To my wife Barbara

Contents
List of figures xi
Preface xvii
Introduction
Archaeology in Denmark 1
Denmark, the bridge to the north 5
PART I THE HUNTERS AND GATHERERS 11,000–4200 BC 9
1 A changing environment 11
After the last Ice Age 11
The first continuous forest 15
A new forest scene: the hazel-pine forest 16
The stable primeval forest 17
Man and the ecosystem 22
2 The hunting population 24
Fertility and mortality 24
How many were there? 29
3 Subsistence and settlement 33
Mobility and territory 33
Reindeer hunters 35
Hunters and gatherers of the Boreal period 38
Hunters and gatherers of the Atlantic period 42
A population crisis at the end of the fifth millennium BC? 50
Economy of the hunters and gatherers 52
4 Social structure of the hunters and gatherers 54
5 Finds and interpretations 59
vii
viii The Prehistory of Denmark
PART II THE FIRST FARMERS c. 4200–2800 BC 67
6 The introduction of farming in Denmark 69
Introduction 69
The moving frontier 71
The farming communities and their environment 73
The evidence of pollen analysis 75
7 Population growth and food production 78
The growth potential of the agrarian society 78
A theory of agricultural development under
population pressure 79
Fertility and mortality in the early agrarian society 81
8 Subsistence and settlement 84
Introduction 84
Land use of the early farming communities 85
Settlement 90
Subsistence patterns 98
The circulation of goods 103
Economy of the farming communities 107
9 Social patterns in the early farming communities 109
10 Finds and interpretations 117
PART III TOWARDS A NEW ERA 2800–500 BC 129
11 A changing environment 131
Farming communities in transition 131
The changing land 132
The changing climate 134
12 Subsistence and settlement 138
Towards a new settlement pattern 138
Villages and farmsteads 146
Towards more productive agricultural forms 151
The exchange of goods and raw materials 155
Concepts of exchange 157
The case of amber 161
External and internal exchange up to 500 BC 163
13 Social patterns from 2800 to 500 BC 168
14 Finds and interpretations 179
PART IV THE CHIEFDOMS OF THE IRON AGE 500 BC–800 AD 191
15 Environmental changes 193
The development of the open, man-made landscape 193
The development of the climate during the Iron Age 196
Contents ix
16 Subsistence and settlement 198
Expansion of the farming communities 198
Villages and farmsteads around the birth of Christ 204
Farming communities in transition 214
Subsistence patterns during the Iron Age 222
Iron 228
17 The development of economic institutions 232
Exchange systems 232
Exchange until 800 AD 235
18 Political and social development 255
Economy and social development 255
Political and economic power concentrations 257
Processes towards the early Danish state 267
19 Finds and interpretations 275
Bibliography 287
Index 322