| 1. |
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Arctic Anthropology
- 2015
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Proceedings (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)abstract
- While researchers within Sámi archaeology have dealt with issues closely related to postcolonial theory and critique since the 1970s onwards, this has rarely been done with explicit mention or coherent use of this theoretical complex. This somewhat paradoxical situation was addressed in a session at the 14th conference of the Nordic Theoretical Archaeology Group at Stockholm University in April 2014, an initiative that eventually resulted in the present collection of articles. In this introduction we briefly present the historiographical and discursive background for the debates that are outlined in the following contributions.
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| 2. |
- Spangen, Marte, 1977-
(författare)
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Circling Concepts : A Critical Archaeological Analysis of the Notion of Stone Circles as Sami Offering Sites
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The thesis discusses a category of cultural heritage that has been labelled "Sami circular offering sites", aiming to establish some basic facts about their origin, distribution and use, as well as their cultural and socio-political context and influence. The stone enclosures in question have been interpreted as Sami offering sites since the mid-19th century, but a discourse analysis of the research history indicates that this may have been based on a scholarly hypothesis rather than ethnographic or archaeological evidence. Furthermore it is questioned if all the structures that are currently included in this category are in fact remains of the same cultural practice. This is investigated through surveys of 81 suggested circular offering sites in Norway, two excavations and analyses of the find material. The large stone enclosures in counties Finnmark and Troms that were first categorised in this way prove to have quite consistent builds and measurements and a find material mainly dating between the 13th and 17th centuries. These structures are here labelled type 1. In contrast, constructions that have later been added to the category, particularly in other areas, have other and less consistent characteristics and seem to include remains of a range of different activities. They are here divided into two generic types 2 and 3. The thesis further discusses alternative interpretations for the type 1 structures, concluding that their materiality, construction, location, topography and finds are consistent with archaeological, historical and ethnographic evidence for wolf traps. Their distribution indicates a regional Sami cultural practice related to inland winter habitation and travel routes, while also apparently coinciding with the Russian/Karelian taxation area in northern Norway in the Middle Ages. Thus the builds may have been inspired by the fur trade or other activities of the latter groups. It is uncertain when exactly the installations fell into disuse, as datings are calibrated to AD 1450-1650. The abandonment could be related to the decline of Novgorod as a fur trade centre, Russian loss of taxation rights in northern Norway, increased Swedish impact in the inland areas and Norwegian activity along the coasts, which all led to changes in administration, taxation, trade patterns and demand for furs. The contemporary decimation of the wild reindeer population, increased reindeer herding and introduction of new weapons like crossbows, guns and foothold traps, may all have made permanent trapping installations less useful. The sites may, however, have gone out of use at different times. Certain finds of marrow split bones, very recent coins and other objects suggest a later reconceptualisation of some structures as offering sites, whether as a local explanation or inspired by the later scholarly definition. Throughout the thesis, the construction and distribution of the archaeological category and the preference for the ritual or religious interpretation are discussed as results of specific socio-political contexts, where stereotypical notions about Sami identity and culture have had a strong impact. The thesis explores how academic and other narratives influence each other within certain discourses of power and indigenous "rights and rites", and the continuous mutual impact on individual actions and emotions through networks of people, power and things. The present reinterpretation challenges existing academic and local narratives. It is based on the materiality of the structures, but the offering site explanation is not positively refuted. Yet, as part of an authorised heritage discourse, the present statement is more likely to impact future categorisation and practices than other narratives within other discourses, expressing a persistent and inherent power inequality. This may be ethically problematic in the context of an indigenous minority, but it may also be argued that the role of the archaeologist expert is precisely to expose the insisting materiality of the past and the power/knowledge networks that promote specific narratives about it.
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| 3. |
- Spangen, Marte, 1977-
(författare)
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"It could be one thing or another" - on the construction of an archaeological category
- 2013
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Ingår i: Fennoscandia Archaeologica. - Helsinki : Archaeological Society of Finland. - 0781-7126. ; XXX, s. 67-80
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article explores the history of the archaeological category Sámi circular offering sites, which refers to certain dry wall structures in Finnmark and Troms in northern Norway. In recent years the term has been used more frequently outside this geographical area too, at times to refer to structures vastly different from those originally labelled as circular offering sites. Such interpretations may be questioned, but perhaps it is the category itself that needs to be re-evaluated; a study ofthe research history suggests that the term is a result of a mid-19th century hypothesis that was established due to a lack of other plausible explanations rather than based on indicative finds or on local traditions. This interpretation has later been adopted by key researchers and has never really been challenged by any alternative hypothesis. This article proposes that the stone structures in question could represent other cultural phenomena, and that this needs further investigation.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Spangen, Marte, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Sámi Archaeology and Postcolonial Theory - An Introduction
- 2015
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Ingår i: Arctic Anthropology. - : University of Wisconsin Press. - 0066-6939 .- 1933-8139. ; 52:2, s. 1-5
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- While researchers within Sámi archaeology have dealt with issues closely related to postcolonial theory and critique since the 1970s onwards, this has rarely been done with explicit mention or coherent use of this theoretical complex. This somewhat paradoxical situation was addressed in a session at the 14th conference of the Nordic Theoretical Archaeology Group at Stockholm University in April 2014, an initiative that eventually resulted in the present collection of articles. In this introduction we briefly present the historiographical and discursive background for the debates that are outlined in the following contributions.
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| 6. |
- Spangen, Marte, 1977-
(författare)
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Without a trace? The Sámi in the Swedish History Museum
- 2015
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Ingår i: Nordisk Museologi. - : University of Oslo Library. - 1103-8152 .- 2002-0503. ; :2, s. 17-32
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Around 2005, the Swedish History Museum (SHM) in Stockholm reworked their Vikings exhibition, aiming to question simplistic and erroneous understandings of past group identities. In the process, all references to the Sámi were removed from the exhibition texts. This decision has been criticised by experts on Sámi pasts. In this article, it is argued that we can talk about a Sámi ethnic identity from the Early Iron Age onwards. The removal of references to the Sámi in the exhibition texts is discussed accordingly, as well as the implicit misrepresentations, stereotypes and majority attitudes that are conveyed through spatial distribution, choice of illustrations, lighting, colour schemes and the exhibition texts. Finally, some socio-political reasons for the avoidance of Sámi issues in Sweden are suggested, including an enduring colonialist relation to this minority.
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| 7. |
- Äikäs, Tiina, et al.
(författare)
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New Users and Changing Traditions—(Re)Defining Sami Offering Sites
- 2016
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Ingår i: European Journal of Archaeology. - 1461-9571 .- 1741-2722. ; 19:1, s. 95-121
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sami are indigenous people of Northern Fennoscandia. Some Sami offering sites have been used for over a thousand years. During this time, the offering traditions have changed and various people have started using the places based on different motivations. Present day archaeological finds give evidence of both continuing traditions and new meanings attached to these sites, as well as to sites that were probably not originally used for rituals in the Sami ethnic religion. In some cases, the authenticity of the place seems to lie in the stories and current beliefs more than in a historical continuity or any specifically sacred aspects of the topography or nature it is situated in. Today's new users include, for example, local (Sami) people, tourists, and neo-pagans. This paper discusses what informs these users, what identifies certain locations as offering sites, and what current users believe their relationship to these places should be. What roles do scholarly traditions, heritage tourism, and internal culture have in (re)defining Sami offering sites and similarly what roles do ‘appropriate’ rituals have in ascribing meaning to particular places? How do we mediate wishes for multivocality with our professional opinions when it comes to defining sacredness?
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