Forget the weapon, meet the tool! rethinking the corded ware battle-axe for the third millennium BCE

Abstract

The battle-axe is one of the most iconic artefacts of the Corded Ware complex in Europe (c. 2900–2100 BCE). Long regarded as a hallmark of an emerging ‘warrior elite’ in European prehistory, its interpretation as a weapon is still used in narratives explaining both the rapid spread of new cultural practices (e.g. Corded Ware burial rites) and the drastic genetic shifts linked to the expansion of so-called ‘Steppe ancestry’. These changes have consistently been envisioned as the result of fierce male ‘warrior groups’ roaming through Europe, while the ‘warrior’ concept itself is largely rooted in the assumption that these axes were weapons.

Whether these objects truly functioned as weapons, however, remains doubtful. Building on a small-scale use-wear study by Wentink (2020), which suggested a more utilitarian role, we tested this hypothesis by conducting the largest use-wear study of Corded Ware battle-axes to date. A total of 126 specimens from the Netherlands, Germany, and the Czech Republic were examined to reconstruct their histories of use. The results reveal extensive traces of practical wear but little evidence for combat. These axes appear to have been versatile tools and personal possessions with long biographies, rather than symbols of ‘warriorhood’ and violence.

These findings invite us to reconsider the role and function of the Corded Ware battle-axe in the third millennium BCE. In this talk, we will present evidence from our use-wear study and discuss an intriguing ethnographic parallel that may help us better understand the spread of Corded Ware-associated groups across Europe.