Archaeology and Pre-Christian Religions in Scandinavia Jennbert, Kristina
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Archaeology and pre-Christian religions in Scandinavia Jennbert, Kristina Published in: Current Swedish Archaeology 2000 Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Jennbert, K. (2000). Archaeology and pre-Christian religions in Scandinavia. Current Swedish Archaeology, 8. 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LUND UNIVERSITY PO Box 117 221 00 Lund +46 46-222 00 00 127 Archaeology and Pre-Christian Religion in Scandinavia Kristina Jennbert Archaeological research on pre-Christian religion has increased greatly during the last two decades. Studies of ritual and religion appear frequently in scholarly, popular and antiquarian publications of the 1990s. Selected publications in Scandinaviau archaeology are presented in order to characterise and discuss different approaches. Central theoretical and methodological questions are discussed, as well as the co-operation with other humanistic disciplines. Kristina Jeltltl&ert, tnstit«te ofAtcttaeologi:, Luml U»iversitu Samlgatan t, SE-223 50 Lttnd, Su:eden, INTRODUCTION 1995). Research on religion and ritual of the In the beginning of the 1970s students of past is today a scholarly phenomenon but also archaeology laughed at everything that was a subject of public interest, like the actual called "cultic", a term that could be used situation in earlier archaeological works (e.g. when one had no suggestions for any other Hildebrand 1880:32ff; Muller 1897; Brend- interpretation. Ritual and religion were sted 1938-40; Stenberger 1969). subjects of low scientific value on the archae- In our time, at the very end of the second ological agenda. Today the situation is quite millennium, a kind of nostalgia for past belief di fferent. in the future is evident. A remembrance of The focus on ritual and religion has never the past and of all former transformations in been so intense within archaeology as during all levels of society is perceptible in maga- the last two decades, both internationally and zines and newspapers, broadcasting and tele- within the Nordic countries, in particular in vision. Unfortunately also sectarian activities, Sweden and Norway and lately also in either with nationalistic goals or in connec- Denmark. The interest in religion is notable tion with New Age movements, engage and in scholarly studies as well as in several use the past. Prehistoric symbols and artefacts public events. The exhibitions Viling og are employed for ideological, political or Hvidetrist in Copenhagen, Paris and Berlin religious purposes. (Roesdahl 1993),and Kult, Kraft oclt Kosltlos At the same time, the European modernity (Knape 1996) and the exhibition at the rock- is analysed from an architectural, sociological art museum in Tanum on the Swedish west or political perspective. The Norwegian coast are just a few examples. Exclusive anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen publications have been presented especially emphasises comprehension and significance concerning the ntentalité in the Viking Age of the past (Eriksen 1996).Somehow the past (Steinsland & Meulengracht Serensen 1994) is present, and it seems like archaeology and and the Bronze Age (Kaliff & Skjöldebrand a long-term perspective are relevant in social Cw rent Swedistr Aretraeotogv, tot. tt, 2VVV 128 Kristino Jennhert communication. Archaeology becomes sig- Religion was difficult to interpret and catch nificant in evaluating the use and misuse of in the generalised and neo-evolutionist the past (Hedeager & Schousboe 1989). paradigm with methods of quantitative anal- Following that, the attitude of the Min- ysis in a deductive manner. istry of Education and the Swedish govern- Many of the premises for investigating ment to the state of research in the Human- the past have changed during the last three ities is highly questionable. The government decades in the field of archaeology. In the made a publication on the Holocaust (Bruch- early 1980s it became evident that material feld k Levine 1998), which had a wide culture could have various meanings. Mate- circulation among people in Sweden. The rial expressions were interpreted not as policy towards the Humanities is, however, passive objects but rather as very actively intimidating. Likewise are the priorities at used and with a role in the social process. the universities in Sweden. The publication Symbols in Action (Hodder This article is an outline of a very broad 1982) had an enormous impact on archae- field of research in pre-Christian religion and ology. Instead of being just expressions of sets out from the archaeology in Scandinavia. great economic importance, artefacts also Therefore, selected publications on ritual and could have metaphorical meaning, for ex- religion within archaeology of the late ample the iron slag (Burström 1990) and twentieth century will be presented, in order grinding tools (Lidström Holmberg 1998). to characterise and discuss different ap- New perspectives and potentials of the proaches and angles. After several centuries material culture opened up for critical archae- without any interest in religion, research on ology, but also the interpretative challenge pre-Christian religion is once again estab- of solving the code of remains. lished in archaeology in the 1990s. Both research within the tradition of post- processual archaeology (e.g. Hodder 1982; ARCHAEOLOGY AND RELIGION Shanks 8c Tilley 1987) and later within the All disciplines undergo changes, of course. tradition of cognitive archaeology (Renfrew In earlier archaeological research the interest 8c Zubrow 1994) opened up for questions also in prehistoric religion was a natural com- about ritual and religion in other ways than ponent of the archaeological interpretative before. But it is also intriguing that within framework (e.g. especially Almgren 1927). the earlier post-processual works, studies of ln retrospect the evolutionist paradigm, religion appear very seldom. Instead the focus but also diffusionism, and functionalism have is on symbols in power relations and ideo- been and still are frameworks in archaeology logical structures, and religion is hidden as well as in other disciplines. They are also within these concepts. fundamental in earlier as well as ongoing The Nordic religion had of course been studies associated with religion in prehistory. studied before. It was, however, mainly a Within these theoretical points of departure research field in connection with the history the material culture more often illustrates the of religion and literary studies and the cultural history, rather than being analytical analyses of written sources. Results were in itself. Christopher Hawkes explicitly published both internationally and within the formulated the archaeological limitations of Nordic countries (e.g. de Vries 1956-57; studying past religions in his famous know- Ström, 1961; Dumezil 1973).A wider range ledge of the ladder (Hawkes 1954). And in of sources could, however, be integrated into the 1960s and 1970s in connection with an the study of pre-Christian religion. In short, explicit scientific archaeology, religion was the Nordic material consists of literature as more or less regarded as impossible to study. well as settlement finds, grave finds, votive Cttrrent Swedish Archaeolo~y, Vol. 8, 2000 Archaeology and Pre-Chrisdan Religion in Scandinavia 129 offerings, picture stones, rock art, that is, the material culture, rituals relate to mythology ordinary archaeological material culture. and cosmology as people act according to Until about two decades ago religion was, their conception of the cosmos and their however, of low scientific value in archae- understanding of reality. ology as were the unspoken premises of However, difficulties in grasping the con- material culture. The communication among stitution of ritual and religion are discernible the disciplines that used different sources and in the archaeological debate. The main ques- methods to research Nordic religion, could tions are related to the possibilities of be described as low. And one postulation is studying pre-Christian religions on the basis that, until a few years ago, archaeologists did of texts or material culture. But also the not question enough the various theories on character and role of religion in connection Nordic religion. This was probably a result to political power and ideological preferences of nearly no collaboration between archae- are fundamental controversies (e.g. Finnestad ology and the history of religion or literary 1986; Nordbladh 1986; Schjedt 1986; Dom- studies. Presumably, the apprehension to- masnes 1991;Notelid 1996;Nordström 1997;