Bloody slaughter: Ritual decapitation and display at the Viking settlement of Hofstaðir, Iceland
This article attempts an interpretation of an unusual assemblage of cattle skulls recovered from recent excavations at the Viking Age monumental hall of Hofstaðir in Iceland. Osteological analysis of the skulls indicates ritual decapitation and display of cattle heads, and this article seeks to expl...
Published in: | European Journal of Archaeology |
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2007
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461957108091480 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1461957100012687 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1177/1461957108091480 2024-06-23T07:53:56+00:00 Bloody slaughter: Ritual decapitation and display at the Viking settlement of Hofstaðir, Iceland Lucas, Gavin McGovern, Thomas 2007 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461957108091480 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1461957100012687 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms European Journal of Archaeology volume 10, issue 1, page 7-30 ISSN 1461-9571 1741-2722 journal-article 2007 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1177/1461957108091480 2024-06-05T04:03:56Z This article attempts an interpretation of an unusual assemblage of cattle skulls recovered from recent excavations at the Viking Age monumental hall of Hofstaðir in Iceland. Osteological analysis of the skulls indicates ritual decapitation and display of cattle heads, and this article seeks to explore the meanings of this practice in relation to the context of the site and the wider historical and ethnographic literature. It is argued that the beheading of cattle and display of their heads was a part of sacrificial acts conducted on a seasonal basis at the site, and primarily in the context of feasting and socio-political gatherings. The gatherings acted simultaneously as a means of both dissipating social tension and enhancing political status. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Cambridge University Press Hofstaðir ENVELOPE(-21.917,-21.917,64.083,64.083) Slaughter ENVELOPE(-85.633,-85.633,-78.617,-78.617) European Journal of Archaeology 10 1 7 30 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
This article attempts an interpretation of an unusual assemblage of cattle skulls recovered from recent excavations at the Viking Age monumental hall of Hofstaðir in Iceland. Osteological analysis of the skulls indicates ritual decapitation and display of cattle heads, and this article seeks to explore the meanings of this practice in relation to the context of the site and the wider historical and ethnographic literature. It is argued that the beheading of cattle and display of their heads was a part of sacrificial acts conducted on a seasonal basis at the site, and primarily in the context of feasting and socio-political gatherings. The gatherings acted simultaneously as a means of both dissipating social tension and enhancing political status. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lucas, Gavin McGovern, Thomas |
spellingShingle |
Lucas, Gavin McGovern, Thomas Bloody slaughter: Ritual decapitation and display at the Viking settlement of Hofstaðir, Iceland |
author_facet |
Lucas, Gavin McGovern, Thomas |
author_sort |
Lucas, Gavin |
title |
Bloody slaughter: Ritual decapitation and display at the Viking settlement of Hofstaðir, Iceland |
title_short |
Bloody slaughter: Ritual decapitation and display at the Viking settlement of Hofstaðir, Iceland |
title_full |
Bloody slaughter: Ritual decapitation and display at the Viking settlement of Hofstaðir, Iceland |
title_fullStr |
Bloody slaughter: Ritual decapitation and display at the Viking settlement of Hofstaðir, Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Bloody slaughter: Ritual decapitation and display at the Viking settlement of Hofstaðir, Iceland |
title_sort |
bloody slaughter: ritual decapitation and display at the viking settlement of hofstaðir, iceland |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461957108091480 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1461957100012687 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-21.917,-21.917,64.083,64.083) ENVELOPE(-85.633,-85.633,-78.617,-78.617) |
geographic |
Hofstaðir Slaughter |
geographic_facet |
Hofstaðir Slaughter |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
European Journal of Archaeology volume 10, issue 1, page 7-30 ISSN 1461-9571 1741-2722 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1461957108091480 |
container_title |
European Journal of Archaeology |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
7 |
op_container_end_page |
30 |
_version_ |
1802645842764496896 |