Current Swedish Archaeology

Editorial

Sophie Bergerbrant — 2020-12-20

Recent Excavations at Slussen in Stockholm

Kenneth Svensson — 2020-12-20

Crossroads – Archaeology Before and After #excavationinprogress

Ingrid Berg — 2020-12-20

Human-animal Relationships from a Long-Term Perspective

Kristin Armstrong Oma — 2020-12-20

Humans, like other animals, are inextricably bound to their local complex web-of-life and cannot exist outside of relationally interwoven ecosystems. Humans are, as such, rooted in a multispecies universe. Human and non-human animals in their variety of forms and abilities have been commensal, companions, prey, and hunters, and archaeology must take this fundamental fact – the cohabiting of the world – to heart. Human societies are, therefore, not so much human as web-of-species societies. Recently, anthropological theory has explored non-modern societies from the perspective of an anthropology of life which incorporates relationality of local humans and non-human animals (Kohn 2013), a pursuit that is significant for the diverse contributions in this special section of Current Swedish Archaeology (CSA): a themed section which deals with past multispecies intra-actions in a long-term perspective.

Tracing the Materiality of Feathers in Stone Age North-Eastern Europe

Kristiina Mannermaa — 2020-12-20

The use of feathers in ritual costumes and everyday clothing is well described in ethnographic sources throughout the world. From the same sources we know that bird wings and feathers were loaded with meaning in traditional societies worldwide. However, direct archaeological evidence of prehistoric use of feathers is still extremely scarce. Hence, feathers belong to the ‘missing majority’: items that are absent from the archaeological record but which we can assume to have been of importance. Here we present microscopic analysis of soil samples from hunter-gatherer burial contexts which reveal the first direct evidence of the use of feathers in the Mesolithic period of north-eastern Europe.

To Bring Back some Eagleness to Eagles: On Bird Worldings in the Bronze Age

Joakim Goldhahn — 2020-12-20

This paper explores multispecies relations in the Bronze Age in northern Europe in general, and in particular some of the intra-actions between humans and eagles. The paper is a call to embrace eagles as co-actors in unfolding human worldings. It demonstrates that more than one relationship and intra-action unfolded between humans and eagles during the Bronze Age; some were male-gendered and others were revealed as significant for females and children. It is argued that to be able to detect these and similar complex relationships between humans and others-than-humans in the past, we need to try to seek more enmeshed ways to assemble data which combine, contrast, and explore the complexity of different strands of evidence.

Horses, Fish and Humans: Interspecies Relationships in the Nordic Bronze Age

Jacob Kveiborg — 2020-12-20

In this article, we identify and discuss Nordic Bronze Age interspecies relationships through a relational approach that is open to ontologies that differ from our own. Drawing on bronze objects, faunal remains and rock art recovered from a multitude of Nordic Bronze Age sites (1700–500 BC), we outline the complex evolution and interactions of significant socioeconomic and cosmological elements such as the horse, the sun, the warrior, the sea and fish, and their relationships to life and death. We suggest that these elements may be seen as interconnected parts of an entangled whole, which represents a specific Nordic Bronze Age cosmology, which developed between 1600 and 1400 BC, and combined local, archaic world views and foreign influences.

On the Fringe: Sheepdogs and their Status within Bronze Age Ontologies in Scandinavia

Kristin Armstrong Oma — 2020-12-20

This contribution draws mainly on images of dogs, humans and sheep from Nordic Bronze Age rock art sources, but living arrangements within the household and depositional patterns of dog bones on settlements are also considered to extrapolate an understanding of the physical reality and ontological role of sheepdogs within the social aspects of the practice of herding. I use theories from the interdisciplinary field of human-animal studies to understand how socialisation, habituation and trust create a seamless choreography between human, dog and sheep.

Scenes of Human Control of Reindeer in the Alta Rock Art. An Event of Early Domestication in the far North?

Ingrid Fuglestvedt — 2020-12-20

This article focuses on some evident differences between Phase 1 and Phase 2 rock art at Alta in western Finnmark in northern Norway. The earliest period (Phase 1, 5200–4200 cal BC) of rock art production shows numerous scenes in which humans seem to take control of wild game. The compositions of corrals with reindeer inside may be indications of forms of early domestication suggested to have occurred within a context marked by the authority of successful hunters and the influence of emerging inequality. This element of control correlates with an apparent totemic influence in the expressions of rock art. The rock art produced in the succeeding period (Phase 2, 4200-3000 cal BC), however, entirely lacks scenes communicating control of reindeer. This article suggests that this selective absence is an expression of a regained egalitarian social form and a reappraisal of an original animism.

Retrieving, Curating and Depositing Skulls at Pitted Ware Culture Sites

Tobias Lindström — 2020-12-20

At many Middle Neolithic sites in south-central Scandinavia associated with the hunter-gatherer complex known as the Pitted Ware culture, the skulls of humans and animals seem to have been treated differently from other skeletal elements. This is evident, for example, in inhumation graves lacking crania or entire skulls as well as numerous finds of cranial and mandibular fragments scattered in cultural layers or deposited in hearths and pits. Despite parallels in overall treatment and find contexts, the selective handling of human skulls has generally been regarded as a mortuary practice and thus qualitatively different from the handling of animal skulls. Focusing primarily on the head bones themselves and relating their treatment to the wider use of skeletal remains allows us to consider a more complex system of retrieving, modifying, curating and depositing crania and mandibles. Drawing on the overlapping general treatment of human and animal remains, it is suggested that head bones from both humans and animals were efficacious objects that could be used in depositional acts.

Ritual Slaughter through the Eyes of the Butcher: Perspectives on a Complex Practice

Bettina Stolle — 2020-12-20

Ritual slaughter has long been recognised as a significant custom in the archaeological record of Iron Age Scandinavia, but the practice itself has often been treated hastily. This paper aims for a more thorough approach by focusing on the butcher as a craftsperson. It draws on evidence from literary sources and implement use, as well as the zooarchaeological record, which shows specific butchery practices in ritual contexts. The results suggest that ritual slaughter needs to be understood as a collective undertaking with multiple stages. The role of the chieftain as potential performer should be toned down. Instead, the process probably incorporated skilled people from various segments of society.

Ritualized Mesolithic Hoarding in Southern Scandinavia: An under-recognised Phenomenon

Mathias Bjørnevad-Ahlqvist — 2020-12-20

Intentionally deposited groups of artefacts, here classified as hoards, form a relatively understudied aspect of the southern Scandinavian Mesolithic. Here analysis of 124 southern Scandinavian Mesolithic hoards is used to further the concept of ritualization, applying a holistic approach to the observed variability and patterning in their biographies. Contrary to the common assertion that hoarding began in the Neolithic, the results indicate that hoarding practices can be traced back to at least the Early Maglemose and extend throughout the Mesolithic. A catalogue of studied hoards is included in the supplementary material, as well as a separate catalogue of use-wear analysis findings from a subset of the hoards.

A Treasured Persona: Re-interpreting the Eketorp Precious Metal Deposition

Nanouschka M. Burström — 2020-12-20

The theory and practice of the object-biographical approach is the backdrop for this re-interpretation of the celebrated precious metal deposition from Eketorp in central Sweden. This example serves to demonstrate the potential of the approach for assemblages as well as single objects. The Eketorp hoard is one of a category of thematically composed Viking-Age precious metal depositions and contains an exceptional number of miniatures and pendants, jewellery, and some unusual coins. This paper presents new findings from excavations in 2017 and 2019, contextualises the hoard, reinterprets a number of the artefacts and points towards possibilities for further interpretation.

Making Heritage. A Case Study on the Impact of Contract Archaeology on Museum Collecting in Sweden

Vivian Smits — 2020-12-20

Since taking off as an industry in Sweden in the 1980s, contract archaeology has changed not only the role of field archaeologists but also that of museums and the formation of collections. This paper discusses some of the effects of the commercialization of archaeological services through a case study of past and present collection practices. Data records are compared from three different archaeological investigations at the site Nya Lödöse (1473-1621) in Gothenburg. Each excavation represents a particular era in archaeological practice. The data are used to compare and analyse collecting practices within contemporary contract archaeology. Separately, a survey among contract archaeology units examines the implementation of legislative guidelines and day-to-day practices and suggests several causes for anomalies in the selection and discarding of finds in the case study. Combined, the findings of the case study and the survey results, suggest that contract archaeology leaves a specific imprint on collections in archaeological museums, impacting their compilation, and therefore influencing future research as well as the experience of the public.

Joakim Goldhahn Birds in the Bronze Age: A North European Perspective

Richard Bradley — 2020-12-20

The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia

Colleen Batey — 2021-06-17

Alexandra Pesch & Michaela Helmbrecht (eds) Gold Foil Figures in Focus: A Scandinavian Find Group and Related Objects and Images from Ancient and Medieval Europe

Neil Price — 2020-12-20