Type: Ceremonial Battle Axe
Location: Norrlövsta, Sweden
Age: Late Holocene
Material: Diorite
MoST ID: 1690
Pedestal Link: https://une.pedestal3d.com/r/Ybnuvz379-
Model Author: Historiska
The Alunda Moose is a diorite sculpture discovered in 1920 in Alunda parish, Sweden. The sculpture is a ceremonial version of the battle axes which were common elements of the stone toolkit at the time. It was made by people from the Battle Axe culture, Chalcolithic period, ca. 4300-4800 BP.
The Alunda Moose sculpture is a ceremonial form of utilitarian battle axes. The Alunda Moose was drilled with a hole to receive a handle, but unlike utilitarian battle axes, the hole was not drilled completely through. An artwork was recently installed in Alunda to commemorate the famous find.
The Alunda Moose is curated by the Swedish History Museum.
The Battle Axe people occupied coastal areas of southern Scandinavia during the Chalcolithic, a period of cultural migration and upheaval in Europe following the Neolithic period. The Battle Axe culture was part of a larger archaeological horizon referred to as Corded Ware. A similar culture to Battle Axe is found in Denmark and Northern European Plain, referred to as the Single Grave culture. The Battle Axe culture is thought to have derived from the Yamnaya expansion westwards from the Baltic Sea, as suggested by archaeological and genetic evidence. Analysis of ancient DNA has shown that modern Northern European people are genetically related to people of the Battle Axe culture.