Culture Moves Like an Octopus: Aspects on Archaeological Regions and Boundaries

• Published in: Current Swedish Archaeology
• Main Author: Hans Bolin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Svenska Arkeologiska Samfundet 2002
• Subjects: Northern Sweden; Iron Age; region; world-view; check-points; community; Archaeology; CC1-960
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.37718/CSA.2002.01; https://doaj.org/article/c078a972490f4bd6acdb114dceff1c2c

The graves in the interior of central Norrland in northern Sweden exhibit a wide range of forms throughout the Iron Age. Burial mounds and stonesettings of various forms also occur in different environmental contexts. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the spatial and cultural significance of the Iron Age graves in the provinces of Jämtland and Härjedalen. The point at issue is what the distribution of so-called lake graves and burial mounds represent with respect to the general discussion of archaeological regions and cultural traditions. It is here suggested that the concept of region, when it is applied to material culture, represents one of the many aspects of cultural configurations, but as we are dealing here with a longterm perspective the cultural world is continuously in motion, which makes regional boundaries hard to grasp.