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The Nordic razor and the Mycenaean lifestyle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Flemming Kaul
Flemming Kaul*
Affiliation:
*Danish Prehistory, The National Museum of Denmark, Frederiksholms Kanal 12, Copenhagen DK 1220, Denmark (Email: flemming.kaul@natmus.dk)
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Abstract

The bronze razor with the horse-head handle appeared in Scandinavia in the fifteenth century BC. Where did it come from and what did it mean? The author shows that the razor had some antecedents in the Aegean, although none of these objects were imported to the north. He argues that the Scandinavian warrior class consciously adopted elements of the Mycenaean warrior package, including a clean-shaven face. This vividly exposes new aspects of the busy and subtle nature of international communication in the Bronze Age.

Keywords

EuropeScandinaviaAegeanMycenaeanMiddle Bronze Agetrade routesemulationrazorspersonhoodmasculinity
Type
Research article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 87 , Issue 336 , 1 June 2013 , pp. 461 - 472
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2013

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