[gothic-l] Gothic connections

[Tore Gannholm]

I can recommend a new book "Gothic connections, Contacts between eastern
Scandinavia and the southern Baltic coast 1000 BC - 500 AD" by Anders
Kaliff   ISBN 91-506-1482-7 Department of Archaeology and Ancient History,
Uppsala University  Uppsala 2001

"The subject of contacts between Scandinavia and the surrounding world
during the Bronze Age has often been discussed in archaeological research
of later years. Such contacts can be traced in different phenomena and
objects: the urn-burial custom, imported bronzes and the bronze import in
general, certain types of pottery, certain house types as well as more
outstanding und unique objects. The evidence of contacts especially with
the Lusatian (Lausitz) culture has been generally observed and is the
matter for an ongoing discussion...................The contacts between
Bronze Age Gotland and the Lusatian culture were noticed already by H.
Hansson in Gotlands bronsålder (1927). There is also evidence of much more
long distant contacts, for instance between Scandinavia and south-east
Europe, and with the eastern Mediterranean and Anatolia. Other contacts
could be shown with the Villanova culture of Italy and cultural groups in
central Europe. This cultural exchange has been interpreted as the result
of a well established network of contacts, probably held together by
members of certain influential social groups in different cultures (e.g.
Larsson 1997; Kristiansen 1998)"
..............
"The ethnic affinities of the Lusatian people have long been of dispute and
the ethnic interpretation of the Lusatian culture has varied much over
time. Germanic, Thracian, Illyrian and Slavic people have been seen as
carriers of the Lusatian material culture."
...........
"The Lusatian culture in general is characterized especially by its burial
custom, with cremation burials in urns, often with deposited vessels beside
the urn, and pottery with special design. Even if it is not possible to
find an overall definiton in general, it is nevertheless possible to find
elements that distinguish it from other Urnfield groups. For the typical
Lusatian pottery Jan Dabrowski has suggested the term "Pottery of Lusatian
style" ("Stil der Lausitzer Keramik"), in the same manner as the term
"Hallstatt-style" is used. Cultural groups, with pottery fitting into this
defintion are found within the South Scandinavian Bronze Age culture, as
well as within the so called Knoviz-Milavce and Wysocko cultures, in the
eastern Lusatian periphery of Pomerania. (Dabrowski 1988, p.89) One
possible interpretation of the Lusatian culture is an overall regional
culture, characterized by local traditons at the border between the
continental Urnfield culture and the South Scnadinavian Bronze Age culture
(Bukowski 1988, p.15f, Gediga 1988, +.41f;Kristiansen 1998,p.73. The
Wysocko culture was located just west of the lower part of the Vistula
basin, in the same area where the Wielbark culture is formed centuries
later."
............

"The Late Bronze Age cemeteries of south Scandinavia have many elements in
common with the Lusatian area and are interpreted as places with a broader
meaning than simply as burial grounds."
..............

"The trade and exchange network of the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age"
.............
"Goldsmith's work illutrates contacts between Öland-Gotland and south-east
Europe as early as the Pre-Roman Iron Age (e.g. Nylén 1972,p.188 ff)."
..........
"Some finds of outstanding quality, such as the Danish Gundestrup cauldron
and the manificient gold neck-rings from Havor on Gotland and from Danish
Dronninglund, have been interpreted as objects imported from south-east
Europe (Kaul 1995; Kaul &Martens 1995). The Scandinavians rings have
parallells in the torque from Smejla south of Kiev and Olbia on the Black
Sea coast. The rings of Havor and Dronninglund type have been interpreted
as import from Black Sea area but also the opposite idea, that they could
have been manufactured in Scandinavia, has been put forward (Nylén 1992)."
..............

"Erik Nylén points at close and frequent contacts between Scandinavia and
south-east Europe, during the last centuries BC and the first centuries AD."
.............
"What Nylén points out, in opposition to the standpoint that real migration
of people was rare in prehistory is that many archaeological finds point at
close interaction and also  movements for groups of people."
...........
"The Bronze Age contact routes, across the Baltic and further towards the
south-east, fit well into the pattern visible also during the Pre-Roman and
Roman Iron Age. Curltural groups settled in the Pomeranian coastal area
could have served as communicators in a transition zone between Scandianvia
and areas in southeastern Europe. This could have been going on for several
hundred years, with a continuous cultural development in the differnet
areas, but not necessarily with any major break in important contact routes
or alliances. Hypothetically the Bronze Age alliances could, over time,
have developed into close relations between élite groups in some
geographical areas. If so, the close contact could in the long run have
generated oveall cultural similarities between such groups, and possibly
also an ethnical identification. The kinship and consanguinity between such
élite groups in different areas could then have been stronger than with
"ordinary" people in the local environment. Regardless of other points of
comparison, this could be compared with the scenario of the European
nobility during later priods, for instance the 18th century, when a
nobleman of Sweden probably found it easier to hold a conversation with a
German or Polish equal in the French language than to talk with a farmer
from the neighbourhood of his own manor.
The élite contacts between parts of Scnadinavia and the Lusatian culture
during the Broze Age could have created such a pattern.  This élite, or
possibly larger groups of people, in both Pomeranian area and in
Scandinavia could have developed a similar language and used the same
cultural codes and customs. On an individual basis, exchanges of persons
are likely to be interpreted as intermarriage or as travelling artisans or
traders. Dynastic marriages between high ranking or royal groups in
different geographic areas are a phenomenon with parallells throughout
history. Alliances involving marriage exchange among the élite have been
interpreted as important elements also of the interaction systems in Bronze
Age Europe (Kristiansen 1998,p.91)"
....................

"Conclusions
The question concerning possible connections between Scandinavia and the
early Goths of present-day Poland is a complex problem, which exists on
different levels. The infected historical dimension of different ideas
concerning the origin of the Goths makes this matter very sensitive indeed.
The historical misuse of research concerning the Goths casts a shadow even
on serious attempts. The opening line of Herwig Wolfram in his History of
the Goths shows this problem. "Anyone in the field of Gothic history must
expect to be misunderstood" (Wolfram 1990, p1). The unfortunate interaction
between facts, fiction and wishful thinking makes this subject a difficult
task indeed.
Even though the Gothic tradition of a Scandinavian origin could have been
invented by Cassiodorus or Jordanes or by someone else, I consider it far
more probable that these stories had a long background as  oral tradition.
Although this history could have been formed out of fragments of different
oral traditions as well as from learned constructions, it can nevertheless
hold a core of truth concerning real relations with people living in
Scandianvia."

Tore



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