Current Swedish Archaeology

Beyond Entanglement

Christina Fredengren — 2021-12-09

This keynote discusses how human-animal relationships can be studied as entanglements to understand more of the situatedness of human and animal bodies and lives. It provides a selection of thinking tools from critical posthumanist feminism and new materialism which should prove useful for studying more-than-human worldmaking through archaeology. These tools can be used to study how humanity and animality are produced, how to recognise animal agentiality, and to highlight challenges on the way. Key issues are identified in concepts such as taxonomies, hybridity, othering and killability. Examples are drawn from recently published research on human-animal relations in archaeology on rock art, depositions, sacrifices, burial practices and more. The paper also tests how speculative methods can be a way of approaching more-than-human exposedness, situatedness and agentiality. It makes an argument that while it is important to study the entanglement of bodies as material-semiotic phenomena, it is of equal importance to also address questions on inequalities and injustices, and who carries the burden in particular situated entanglements and thereby move beyond the study of entanglement on its own.

Editorial

Alison Klevnäs — 2021-12-09

The Golden Trowel

Sven Kalmring — 2021-12-09

First Ladies

Ingunn M. Røstad — 2021-12-09

From the fifth century to the Viking Age in present-day Norway, certain women belonging to the upper strata of society were buried with high-quality ornamental bow-brooches. Although adjusting to changing styles of decoration, the practical function and basic form of the brooches - rectangular headplate, bow and rhomboidal footplate – remained more or less the same throughout the centuries they were in use. By exploring burials which include these ornamental accessories, I argue that the brooches functioned as an important factor in reproducing and continuously negotiating identity shared by certain women within the Scandinavian Iron Age elite.

Social Transformations and Resilience

Alexandra Pesch — 2021-12-09

The amazing goblet known as the ‘Tassilo Liutpirc Chalice’ is one of the most significant archaeological objects from the eighth century AD. Surprisingly, the animal figures that adorn it have close parallels with the creatures of the Germanic Animal styles from the fifth century onwards. This paper explores the deeply-rooted traditions behind this, and the social, cultural and political mechanisms that sustained its continuity, transcending the boundaries of epochs and religions. It is argued that a supra-regional network of workshops was the driving force in the development of this sophisticated imagery.

Affective Interventions and ‘the Hegemonic Other’ in Runestones from Västergötland and Södermanland, Sweden

Elisabeth Arwill-Nordbladh — 2021-12-09

In the eleventh century AD, the Scandinavian countries were in the final stage of the process of conversion to Christianity. Local and regional processes of negotiations towards a Christian hegemony took various courses in different parts of Scandinavia. There are few substantial indications that social tensions resulted in violence. Rather, archaeological evidence indicates a gradual change. This paper highlights how these processes of negotiations were expressed by counter-hegemonic groups that took advantage of the affective affordances of runestones. By raising specific runestones, these non-Christian groups were part of an agonistic political process, as described by the political philosopher Chantal Mouffe.

Landslides vs Archaeology

Anton Larsson — 2021-12-09

Landslides are one of the few types of natural hazards that have affected Sweden regularly in the recent past. We can expect that this geological phenomenon will only increase in frequency in the near future given the ongoing processes of anthropogenic climate change, and this likelihood motivates some historical retrospection. This paper explores how landslides have impacted archaeological sites in Västra Götaland, the country’s most landslide-prone region, from the mid-twentieth century onwards, and how, in turn, archaeologists have had to respond to these disasters. The 1957 Göta, 1973 Fröland, 1977 Tuve and 2006 Småröd landslides are highlighted in particular, as is the landslide-impacted site Hjälpesten. Connections are made to other different but related archaeologies of hazard and disaster, providing insights into the impact that climate change has had and will have on the discipline. While the paper showcases a set of local case studies, it is further argued that its findings have relevance for other areas as well, calling for the attention of the cultural heritage sector.

Multispecies Futures

Adrienne C. Frie — 2021-12-09

Disentangling Entanglement

Andrew Meirion Jones — 2021-12-09

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Post-humanistic Approaches in Archaeology

Kristina Jennbert — 2021-12-09

More Than

Richard Bradley — 2021-12-09

Power and Othering

Nerissa Russell — 2021-12-09

Herding Cats

László Bartosiewicz — 2021-12-09

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The View from the Cheap Seats

Kristin Armstrong-Oma — 2021-12-09

Training the Mind to go Visiting

Christina Fredengren — 2021-12-09

Markus Fjellström (2020)

Marianne Skandfer — 2021-12-09