Northern Archaeology and Cosmology

In its analysis of the archaeologies and histories of the northern fringe of Europe, this book provides a focus on animistic–shamanistic cosmologies and the associated human–environment relations from the Neolithic to modern times. The North has fascinated Europeans throughout history, as an enchanted world of natural and supernatural marvels: a land of light and dark, of northern lights and the midnight sun, of witches and magic and of riches ranging from amber to oil. Northern lands conflate fantasies and realities. Rich archaeological, historical, ethnographic and folkloric materials combine in this book with cutting-edge theoretical perspectives drawn from relational ontologies and epistemologies, producing a fresh approach to the prehistory and history of a region that is pivotal to understanding Europe-wide processes, such as Neolithization and modernization. This book examines the mythical and actual northern worlds, with northern relational modes of perceiving and engaging with the world on the one hand and the ‘place’ of the North in European culture on the other. This book is an indispensable read for scholars of archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies and folklore in northern Europe, as well as researchers interested in how the North is intertwined with developments in the broader European and Eurasian world. It provides a deep-time understanding of globally topical issues and conflicting interests, as expressed by debates and controversies around Arctic resources, nature preservation and indigenous rights

'Sotaromua' ja kulttuuriperintöä: Näkökulmia saksalaisten toisen maailmansodan aikaiseen materiaaliseen kulttuuriin Suomen Lapissa

Non peer reviewe

Northern Archaeology and Cosmology

In its analysis of the archaeologies and histories of the northern fringe of Europe, this book provides a focus on animistic–shamanistic cosmologies and the associated human–environment relations from the Neolithic to modern times. The North has fascinated Europeans throughout history, as an enchanted world of natural and supernatural marvels: a land of light and dark, of northern lights and the midnight sun, of witches and magic and of riches ranging from amber to oil. Northern lands conflate fantasies and realities. Rich archaeological, historical, ethnographic and folkloric materials combine in this book with cutting-edge theoretical perspectives drawn from relational ontologies and epistemologies, producing a fresh approach to the prehistory and history of a region that is pivotal to understanding Europe-wide processes, such as Neolithization and modernization. This book examines the mythical and actual northern worlds, with northern relational modes of perceiving and engaging with the world on the one hand and the ‘place’ of the North in European culture on the other. This book is an indispensable read for scholars of archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies and folklore in northern Europe, as well as researchers interested in how the North is intertwined with developments in the broader European and Eurasian world. It provides a deep-time understanding of globally topical issues and conflicting interests, as expressed by debates and controversies around Arctic resources, nature preservation and indigenous rights

An odessay to golden mica – contextualising the burial of a Bronze Age “Odysseus”

Peer reviewe

Northern Archaeology and Cosmology : A Relational View

The real and imaginary North has fascinated Europeans throughout history, from classical antiquity to the present day. The North has been seen as an exotic and enchanted world of natural and supernatural marvels: a land of light and dark, of northern lights and the midnight sun, of witches and magic, and of riches ranging from amber to oil. Northern lands conflate fantasies and realities in a particularly prominent manner. This book analyses the archaeologies and histories of the northern fringe of Europe, with a focus on animistic-shamanistic cosmologies and the associated human-environment relations from the Neolithic to modern times. It employs rich but poorly known archaeological, historical, ethnographic and folklore materials, combined with cutting-edge theoretical perspectives drawn from relational ontologies and epistemologies, to present a fresh approach on the prehistory and history of a region that is in many ways pivotal to understanding Europe-wide processes, such as Neolithization and modernization. The book engages with northern relational modes of perceiving and engaging with the world on the one hand and the ‘place’ of the North in European culture on the other. It examines the mythical and actual northern worlds which are intertwined in many curious and sometimes surprising ways, contributing to a deep-time understanding of the globally topical issue and conflicting interests in the North, as expressed by debates and controversies around Arctic resources, nature preservation, and indigenous rights.In its analysis of the archaeologies and histories of the northern fringe of Europe, this book provides a focus on animistic–shamanistic cosmologies and the associated human–environment relations from the Neolithic to modern times. The North has fascinated Europeans throughout history, as an enchanted world of natural and supernatural marvels: a land of light and dark, of northern lights and the midnight sun, of witches and magic and of riches ranging from amber to oil. Northern lands conflate fantasies and realities. Rich archaeological, historical, ethnographic and folkloric materials combine in this book with cutting-edge theoretical perspectives drawn from relational ontologies and epistemologies, producing a fresh approach to the prehistory and history of a region that is pivotal to understanding Europe-wide processes, such as Neolithization and modernization. This book examines the mythical and actual northern worlds, with northern relational modes of perceiving and engaging with the world on the one hand and the ‘place’ of the North in European culture on the other. This book is an indispensable read for scholars of archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies and folklore in northern Europe, as well as researchers interested in how the North is intertwined with developments in the broader European and Eurasian world. It provides a deep-time understanding of globally topical issues and conflicting interests, as expressed by debates and controversies around Arctic resources, nature preservation and indigenous rights.Peer reviewe

An odessay to golden mica – contextualising the burial of a Bronze Age “Odysseus”

Peer reviewe

Nazi memorabilia, dark heritage and treasure hunting as “alternative” tourism : Understanding the fascination with the material remains of World War II in Northern Finland

Peer reviewe

Encountering/thinking mosquitos

The essay maps and reflects on some dimensions of human-mosquito interaction in the context of the Arctic and inspired by fieldwork in Finnish Lapland. Rather than developing any particular argument, we seek to document this thinking mosquito as a collection of glimpses, fragments and musings. This impressionistic approach was inspired by conversations among the authors and with environmental humanities scholarship about the roles non-humans play in human worlds, and about how one might engage with mosquitos in thinking about scientific fieldwork, about everyday life in various environments, and about the Arctic more generally. The essay does not provide answers but rather questions, hoping as it does to offer some insights into the complexity of issues that connect mosquito worlds to human worlds. As a mirror to these reflections, we dialogue with excerpts from our own creative written thoughts from the field and from the diaries of German soldiers based in Lapland during the Second World War.Peer reviewe