Vardagslivets aktiva oförändring : En studie av kultur genom arkeologi och stenåldersboplatser

• The study of the Mesolithic has a long tradition. Two central areas of this tradition are: the spatial organisation of sites as an archaeological category, and hunter-gatherers as a theoretical concept. The thesis addresses tradition, both regarding the history of archaeology itself, and as a way to enable a link between cultural process and space as an archaeological source: Spatial patterns can thus be understood as materialized normative behaviour, where day-to-day action has been repeated because it was carried by historically conditioned institutions. Concepts such as everyday routines, institutions and disciplinary technology form the basis of four case studies where they meet the archaeological record by studying the relationship between autonomous units. The first case study uses correspondence analysis to examine whether and how, sites with a normative spatial pattern, differs from other types of sites in the landscape. The second case-study utilizes the concept of disciplinary technology, which implies the power of materiality to create and conserve structures over time. The excavations of Lasse's hut in Vuollerim and the detailed documentation of the parallel Norpan 2, gave the opportunity to explore specific topics about the house as a template for social practice. In the third case, a long-term perspective is applied on the relationship between units. The primal idea is that usually inarticulate norms, in situations of uncertainty, such as shifts between epochs, require reinforcement in order to survive and therefore also leave visible material traces. The topic for the fourth case-study is whether the material remains structured in space is relevant for more specific questions about the relationship between units. With the concept of “value”, the sites in Vuollerim are investigated as arenas for social negotiation, through a study of quartz-scrapers.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi -- Arkeologi (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology -- Archaeology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Mesolithic

Spatial organization

Hunter-gatherers

Cultural process

Social relations

Archaeology

Arkeologi

Archaeology

Arkeologi

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

dok (subject category)