Original Article
SLAVES IN BRONZE AGE SOUTHERN SCANDINAVIA?
Martin Mikkelsen,
Corresponding Author
Martin Mikkelsen
Viborg Museum, Hjultorvet 4, DK-8800 Viborg, Denmark
Martin Mikkelsen Viborg Museum Hjultorvet 4, DK-8800 Viborg Denmark e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorMartin Mikkelsen,
Corresponding Author
Martin Mikkelsen
Viborg Museum, Hjultorvet 4, DK-8800 Viborg, Denmark
Martin Mikkelsen Viborg Museum Hjultorvet 4, DK-8800 Viborg Denmark e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 12 June 2020
ABSTRACT
The article proposes that unfree labour was an integral part of Bronze Age society. The presence of the unfree (thralls or even slaves) in prehistoric societies has rarely been discussed and never in the light of archaeological evidence. The article is based on empirical material from 333 fully excavated house remains from 120 sites in the Viborg area in northwest Jutland, Denmark. Based on the reconstructed size of these longhouses, the location of fireplaces, entrances and the subdivision of space, it is suggested that farmsteads, in general, had two, often clearly separated habitation units. In the Early Bronze Age, a longhouse was usually subdivided into two parts, and during the Late Bronze Age, this subdivision manifested in the construction of two longhouses. After a thorough analysis of the archaeological record, it is suggested that the owner of the land had occupied one habitation unit, while the other was reserved for the unfree.
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