Mellan artefakt och geofakt. Glättstenar i samiska kontexter från 1700- och 1800-talen

Abstract

Smoothing stones from Sami contexts in the 18th and 19th centuries. Smoothing stones of green stone/field stone are sometimes found in both Sámi and non-Sámi contexts from the Iron age and the Medieval period. Usually they are associated with leather or textile production. This paper discusses the findings of natural smoothing stones at three Sámi dwellings in Hälsingland and Gästrikland, central Sweden, dated from the end of the 18th to mid-19th centuries. The stones are interpreted as used in leather and textile production but also that they played a significant role for the maintaining, and development of Sámi traditions, in a time of forced sedentary habitation and assimilation.