Med älgen i huvudrollen : Om fångstgropar, hällbilder och skärvstensvallar i mellersta Norrland
The importance of the elk (Alces alces) in the Stone Age societies of northern Sweden constitutes the major focus of this thesis. The point of departure is a simple but crucial observation: this animal is the common denominator between the three stationary types of remains known in this region from...
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Institutionen för arkeologi och antikens kultur
2011
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ftstockholmuniv:oai:DiVA.org:su-63763 2023-05-15T13:13:50+02:00 Med älgen i huvudrollen : Om fångstgropar, hällbilder och skärvstensvallar i mellersta Norrland Staging the elk : On pitfalls, rock art and mounds of burnt stone in northernmost Sweden Sjöstrand, Ylva 2011 application/pdf http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-63763 swe swe Institutionen för arkeologi och antikens kultur Stockholm : Instutitionen för arkeologi och antikens kultur, Stockholms universitet Stockholm Studies in Archaeology, 0349-4128 55 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-63763 urn:isbn:978-91-7447-396-4 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Stone Age Northern Sweden Nämforsen rock art pit falls mounds of burnt stone affordances James J. Gibsson chronology theories of meaning key symbols neolithisation Archaeology Arkeologi Doctoral thesis, monograph info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis text 2011 ftstockholmuniv 2023-02-23T21:42:06Z The importance of the elk (Alces alces) in the Stone Age societies of northern Sweden constitutes the major focus of this thesis. The point of departure is a simple but crucial observation: this animal is the common denominator between the three stationary types of remains known in this region from the period 4000-1800 BC. Here, I refer to the pit falls, the rock art sites, and the mounds of burnt stone. Pit falls have been used for trapping elks, and can be found on the migration trails that have been used by these animals for thousands of years. On the rock art sites, the elk constitutes the most frequently depicted motif, and the mounds of burnt stones contain extremely large quantities of elk bones. If the elk had not held a central position in the life world of prehistoric people in the northern Swedish region of Norrland, these archaeological materials would certainly have had a different appearance. I claim that it is the significance of this animal that has led to, and shaped, the emergence of these material remains. In this study the overall importance of the elk is investigated. My main question is how the elk’s significance affected the prehistoric societies of Norrland. I found that the elk’s material remains led to a range of consequences. The pit falls, rock art sites and mounds of burnt stone tied the prehistoric people to certain areas in the landscape. However, at the same time, these remains required to be constantly in transformation to be usable. Pit falls, for example, have to be re-digged in order to at all function as traps for big game. The conceptual dichotomy between permanence and change can be traced in the ways in which the elk motif at the rock art site at Nämforsen was altered. The elk figures are depicted with either straight or angled legs. I interpret this variation as an indication of the fact that the elk motif functioned as a key symbol – a motif that is able to express a range of meanings when it becomes altered and varied. The emergence of depicting the opposition between ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Alces alces Northern Sweden Stockholm University: Publications (DiVA) |
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Open Polar |
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Stockholm University: Publications (DiVA) |
op_collection_id |
ftstockholmuniv |
language |
Swedish |
topic |
Stone Age Northern Sweden Nämforsen rock art pit falls mounds of burnt stone affordances James J. Gibsson chronology theories of meaning key symbols neolithisation Archaeology Arkeologi |
spellingShingle |
Stone Age Northern Sweden Nämforsen rock art pit falls mounds of burnt stone affordances James J. Gibsson chronology theories of meaning key symbols neolithisation Archaeology Arkeologi Sjöstrand, Ylva Med älgen i huvudrollen : Om fångstgropar, hällbilder och skärvstensvallar i mellersta Norrland |
topic_facet |
Stone Age Northern Sweden Nämforsen rock art pit falls mounds of burnt stone affordances James J. Gibsson chronology theories of meaning key symbols neolithisation Archaeology Arkeologi |
description |
The importance of the elk (Alces alces) in the Stone Age societies of northern Sweden constitutes the major focus of this thesis. The point of departure is a simple but crucial observation: this animal is the common denominator between the three stationary types of remains known in this region from the period 4000-1800 BC. Here, I refer to the pit falls, the rock art sites, and the mounds of burnt stone. Pit falls have been used for trapping elks, and can be found on the migration trails that have been used by these animals for thousands of years. On the rock art sites, the elk constitutes the most frequently depicted motif, and the mounds of burnt stones contain extremely large quantities of elk bones. If the elk had not held a central position in the life world of prehistoric people in the northern Swedish region of Norrland, these archaeological materials would certainly have had a different appearance. I claim that it is the significance of this animal that has led to, and shaped, the emergence of these material remains. In this study the overall importance of the elk is investigated. My main question is how the elk’s significance affected the prehistoric societies of Norrland. I found that the elk’s material remains led to a range of consequences. The pit falls, rock art sites and mounds of burnt stone tied the prehistoric people to certain areas in the landscape. However, at the same time, these remains required to be constantly in transformation to be usable. Pit falls, for example, have to be re-digged in order to at all function as traps for big game. The conceptual dichotomy between permanence and change can be traced in the ways in which the elk motif at the rock art site at Nämforsen was altered. The elk figures are depicted with either straight or angled legs. I interpret this variation as an indication of the fact that the elk motif functioned as a key symbol – a motif that is able to express a range of meanings when it becomes altered and varied. The emergence of depicting the opposition between ... |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Sjöstrand, Ylva |
author_facet |
Sjöstrand, Ylva |
author_sort |
Sjöstrand, Ylva |
title |
Med älgen i huvudrollen : Om fångstgropar, hällbilder och skärvstensvallar i mellersta Norrland |
title_short |
Med älgen i huvudrollen : Om fångstgropar, hällbilder och skärvstensvallar i mellersta Norrland |
title_full |
Med älgen i huvudrollen : Om fångstgropar, hällbilder och skärvstensvallar i mellersta Norrland |
title_fullStr |
Med älgen i huvudrollen : Om fångstgropar, hällbilder och skärvstensvallar i mellersta Norrland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Med älgen i huvudrollen : Om fångstgropar, hällbilder och skärvstensvallar i mellersta Norrland |
title_sort |
med älgen i huvudrollen : om fångstgropar, hällbilder och skärvstensvallar i mellersta norrland |
publisher |
Institutionen för arkeologi och antikens kultur |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-63763 |
genre |
Alces alces Northern Sweden |
genre_facet |
Alces alces Northern Sweden |
op_relation |
Stockholm Studies in Archaeology, 0349-4128 55 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-63763 urn:isbn:978-91-7447-396-4 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
_version_ |
1766260744897167360 |