Ambiguous truths? : people and animals in pre-christian Scandinavia
Author
Editor
- Jostein Bergstøl
Summary, in English
Abstract in Undetermined
In our modern society peoples attitudes towards animals are inconsistent, to say the least. Behind these heterogeneous attitudes there are several economic and cultural aspects. What possibilities do we have of studying relations between humans and animal, between nature and culture, in the distant past? What are our starting-points? How do we understand realities that differ from our own? What are our challenges?
In pre-Christian society animals were of great importance not only for the food supply and practical matters but also
in religious cults. In the course of time human's views of animals and nature has changed, and both animals and nature have increasingly been subjected to human's devices. The traditional nature-culture dichotomy is problematic, and gives rise to intense discussion. This is a challenge to the archaeologists, who are forced to depart from their traditional trains of thought and their accustomed archaeological classifications.
In our modern society peoples attitudes towards animals are inconsistent, to say the least. Behind these heterogeneous attitudes there are several economic and cultural aspects. What possibilities do we have of studying relations between humans and animal, between nature and culture, in the distant past? What are our starting-points? How do we understand realities that differ from our own? What are our challenges?
In pre-Christian society animals were of great importance not only for the food supply and practical matters but also
in religious cults. In the course of time human's views of animals and nature has changed, and both animals and nature have increasingly been subjected to human's devices. The traditional nature-culture dichotomy is problematic, and gives rise to intense discussion. This is a challenge to the archaeologists, who are forced to depart from their traditional trains of thought and their accustomed archaeological classifications.
Department/s
Publishing year
2003
Language
English
Pages
212-230
Publication/Series
Scandinavian archaeological practice - in theory : proceedings from the 6th Nordic TAG, Oslo 2001
Full text
Document type
Book chapter
Publisher
Oslo : Institutt for arkeologi, kunsthistorie og konservering, Universitetet i Oslo
Topic
- Archaeology
Keywords
- animals
- archaeological interpretations
- sexuality
- animals ethics
- the concept of burial
- classification
- attitudes to humans and animals
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1503-4089