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- The Mesolithic period
- The Neolithic period
- The Bronze Age
- The Early Iron Age
- The Late Iron Age
- The Viking Age
Magical patterns?
Incised decoration can be seen on amber jewellery and personal objects like bone knives and antler axes. Some patterns are deeply cut into the material and must have aroused feelings of admiration and wonder. Other patterns are so faint in appearance that only the object’s owner knew they were there. The ornamentation may have functioned by magically protecting the object and its owner.
- Apparently these antler axes are battle axes, which may also have had a magical or ritual function. The decoration was not made at one time; often a number of motifs were added along the way. Some motifs were rubbed off and later replaced with new ones.
