The hand that makes the pot... : craft traditions in South Sweden in the third millennium BC

The archaeological evidence of the Middle Neolithic (3rd mill. BC) in South Sweden presents an interesting dichotomy between coastal and inland material culture. The coastal Pitted Ware hunting-gathering sites with large quantities of pottery can be contrasted with the inland long-houses of the Battle Axe culture, with small-scale farming and animal husbandry. The potential ethnic meaning of this patterning has been intensely debated in Scandinavian archaeology: are the differences due to ritual and social stratification within one society, or were there two distinct societies co-existing for centuries? By studying pottery in relation to style, function, and context, but most especially craft traditions and technology, I suggest there was a profound difference between the two groups that can only be understood in the context of separate cultural identities. The appearance of hybrid forms only towards the very end of the period highlights that choices in technology and decoration were highly conscious.