Early Metallurgy in Scandinavia

Continuity or discontinuity?

Abstract

There are now good reasons for assuming that metalworking did take place in Scandinavia during the period of theTRB culture. However, it has also been argued that this period of metalworking only represented a comparatively brief period without continuity to the Scandinavian Middle Neolithic. This idea contradicts previously presented theories claiming that the introduction of metals in Scandinavia was related to the Middle Neolithic Battle Axe culture. A discussion of the problems concerning these contradictions in interpretation stands in focus in this article. It is argued that the Scandinavian Middle Neolithic was been fully "metal-rejecting". Our perspective on these matters becomes different if we consider the find material from Denmark/Scania and from central Sweden. Yet, it is also argued that a transformation in the comprehension of metals did take place during this phase.