Dirk Brandherm – författare

The papers gathered in this volume explore the economic and social roles of exchange systems in past societies from a variety of different perspectives. Based on a broad range of individual case studies, the authors tackle problems surrounding the identification of (pre-monetary) currencies in the archaeological record. These concern the part played by weight measurement systems in their development, the changing role of objects as they shift between different spheres of exchange, e.g. from gifts to commodities, as well as wider issues regarding the role of exchange networks as agents of social and economic change. Among the specific questions the papers address is what happens when new objects of value are introduced into a system, or when existing objects go out of use, as well as how exchange systems react to events such as crises or the emergence of new polities and social constellations. One theme that unites most of the papers is the tension between what is introduced from the outside and changes that are driven by social transformations within a given group.

Aspects of the Bronze Age in the Atlantic Archipelago and Beyond presents twenty-one contributions, mostly originating from the Belfast Bronze Age Forum of 2013, supplemented with new research to create an unusually coherent collection of peer-reviewed studies. Far more than typical conference proceedings, this volume offers a benchmark exploration of the Bronze Age in Ireland, Britain, and its wider European context.Organised into three thematic sections—Concepts, Chronologies and Connections; Mining, Metalworking and Artefact Studies; and Landscape, Settlement and Rock Art—the book traces the threads of technology, exchange, and identity that ran throughout Atlantic Europe. In the introductory contribution, the editor revisits the influential notion of the ‘Atlantic Bronze Age’, charting how this concept evolved and morphed over time, while also questioning models such as the ‘Celtic from the West’ hypothesis. Other contributions highlight the significance of local dynamics within this broader zone: the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man, and Ireland’s western reaches emerge as striking case studies of communities negotiating contact, isolation, and innovation.The volume also showcases cutting-edge archaeological science, from tracing copper sources at the Great Orme and at Derrycarhoon, to analyses of cauldrons, razors, halberds and sword moulds, revealing both technological sophistication and ritual dimensions of material culture. Papers on hillforts, burnt mounds, and reused rock art further illuminate places of gathering, memory, and transformation in the Bronze Age landscape.Praised by one of its reviewers as ‘a vital reference point for Atlantic Bronze Age studies’, this volume combines breadth with depth, presenting fresh discoveries alongside critical reflections on old debates. Reissued here in a new edition, it remains indispensable for students, researchers, and anyone interested in the social and cultural worlds of Bronze Age Europe.