Jarrujen

Jarrujen is a fictional Bronze Age culture described in speculative encyclopedias and in fantasy literature set in the world of Norovia. It is attributed to a community said to have inhabited a broad highland and riverine landscape in the northern part of the continent, dating roughly to the mid-2nd to early-1st millennium BCE. The name is thought to derive from a Jarru word for edge or stone, though no primary texts survive.

Settlements are imagined as hillforts and planned villages along the Jarru River and its tributaries. Archaeological patterns include circular enclosures, storage pits, and cairn burials. The material culture features combed and impressed pottery, along with bronze tools and ceremonial objects.

Social organization is described as kin-based, with clan chiefs and a council of elders. Public life centers on seasonal feasts, ancestor remembrance, and the distribution of surplus grain through communal granaries. Religion blends animism with ancestor cults, venerating rivers, hills, and natural features.

Language and writing: Jarruic is the hypothetical language of the Jarrujen, likely related to a broader Jarric family in the fictional world. No deciphered script is known, but carved symbols on bronze and bone objects are depicted in some sources as funerary or ritual signs.

Economy and technology: The Jarrujen economy combines agriculture, pastoralism, and bronze metallurgy. Trade networks connect inland sites to coastal settlements for tin, copper, and crafted ornaments. Technologies include wheel-made pottery, shovels, and metalworking that influence neighboring cultures within Norovia.

Legacy: Jarrujen appears in modern speculative fiction and role-playing settings as a vivid backdrop for world-building. It serves as an example of how imagined cultures are constructed and studied rather than a historical culture.