Collecting curiosities : Eighteenth-century Museum Stobaeanum and the development of ethnographic collections in the nineteenth century

In 1735, professor Kilian Stobaeus donated his collections to Lund University laying the foundation for the university’s first museum. The ”Museum Stobaeanum” contained over 3000 natural history, historical and ethnographic objects typical of the cabinets of curiosity. This richly illustrated book is the first comprehensive history of these collections.Eighteen chapters, written by an interdisciplinary group of scholars, explore Stobaeus as a researcher and collector; the concept, organization and development of the museum through time; as well as the culture of collecting, including its scientific and symbolic meaning. The authors also investigate specific examples of museum objects: fossils, plants enclosed in a herbarium, a crocodile, seashells and insects, North American artefacts, an Egyptian mummy, coins and medals, the skull of Descartes, Guyana war clubs and ethnographic objects from the South Pacific.The book contributes to a better understanding of Stobaeus and his peers in their pursuit of knowledge through collecting as well as the complex processes that enabled early modern museums. On a broader level, it illuminates the global connections and intellectual environment of eighteenth-century Lund and Sweden

Isotopic investigation of human provenience at the eleventh century cemetery of Ndr. Grødbygård, Bornholm, Denmark

Bornholm is a Danish island almost in the center of the southern Baltic Sea. The strategic location of the island, its rich archeology, and its complex geology make it an intriguing location for the isotopic study of past human mobility. The focus of this study is on the large cemetery of Ndr. Grødbygård in the southern part of the island, which dates to the eleventh century AD and contains 553 individuals in 516 graves. The majority of the burials were in a supine position oriented west–east, with the heads to the west, following the tradition of that time. In contrast to the Christian traditions, however, the graves at Grødbygård were richly equipped by Scandinavian standards and some of the burial practices more closely resembled those from the Western Slavic region of the south (present day northeastern Germany and Poland). We have used isotopic analyses to examine the external relations and potential places of origin of the inhabitants of the cemetery. Strontium and oxygen isotope ratios in human tooth enamel provide a signature of place of origin and can be compared to the ratios of the place of burial to determine local or non-local origins. In the case of Bornholm, the local geology is quite complex, with a variety of rocks of different age and composition, resulting in a wide range of strontium isotope sources on the island, complicating the issue of identifying migrants. At the same time, Grødbygård provides an important example of the application of such methods in less than ideal conditions

Homelands Lost and Gained : Slavic Migration and Settlement on Bornholm in the Early Middle Ages

This doctoral thesis examines early medieval Slavic migration to the island of Bornholm (Denmark). With a combination of interdisciplinary theories and approaches, which focus on human translocation and memory and identity construction, a holistic approach to the studies of migration in archaeology is proposed. It is argued that in order to address cases of migration it is necessary to consider the historical and social context that preceded such movements as well as to pay attention to the processes ensuing migration. Thus in this study attention is given to the contemporaneous historical events in the western parts of the Baltic Sea, which is followed by archaeological analyses of remains of household activities, burial rituals and objects related to female and male dress. These analyses form the basis for a discussion on the possible effects of resettlement on the creation of immigrant identity, immigrants’ perception of themselves, and their positioning between the homelands that they have recently lost and the new landscapes that they found themselves in. This thesis addresses several fundamental questions related to archaeological research on migration as well as to the processes that follow human translocations. The study considers how to approach prehistoric and early historical migrations in archaeology to account for the complexity of the subject. Inspired by the theory of practice and phenomenological thinking questions related to the role and the nature of routines, habits and everyday interactions with material things in human life and the way they might have been affected by translocation are touched upon. The process of “translation” of a foreign landscape into a homeland is also explored in the dissertation

Memories, practice and identity. A case of early medieval migration

The paper is exploring a role of memory in the formation of cultural identity in the circumstances of migration. In particular, the attention is directed towards ritual practices and the role of such collective actions for reinforcing the ontological questions about selfhood, belonging to a group and identity of the immigrants. It will be put forward that the proper conduct of funerary practices served not only as a means of defining, controlling and domesticating death of a community member but participation in the rituals had a powerful socializing and bonding outcome for the mourners. For immigrants these collective memories and sharing of common knowledge rooted in cultural memory and the past might have worked as a solidification factor strengthening their feeling of identity. The paper is also aiming at examining the effect of migration on funerary practices and efforts and solutions developed by the immigrants to communicate their otherness and cultural identity. Theoretical approaches to collective memory and collective practice are combined and exemplified by a case study of funerary rituals of early medieval Slavic immigrants on the Danish island of Bornholm

Theory of practice and archaeology of culture contact: case study of early medieval Bornholm

In present study I am investigating situation of culture contact between inhabitants of early medieval island of Bornholm and Western Slavic (Wendish) immigrants to the island. I am arguing for a possibility of existence of different goals and networks among both immigrants and local population. Such circumstances lead to differences in practice and to understand how practice is constituted and to comprehend the duality of relation between practices and social and cultural settings in which these practices were conducted it is useful to refer to some of the concepts elaborated by Bourdieu in his framework of practice theory. I am focusing on both ritual practice (burials) and everyday conduct (making and use of pottery and practice of dress)

Re-emerging Frontiers: Postcolonial Theory and Historical Archaeology of the Borderlands

The article considers the importance of frontier studies in historical archaeology and discusses applicability of some of the concepts deriving from postcolonial theories for a better understanding of human relationships in the frontier zones. The conditions of frontiers and borderlands are compared with the characteristics of the “Third Space” described by Homi Bhabha as a realm of negotiation, translation and remaking. It is argued that concepts developed in postcolonial theories, such as “Third Space,” “in-betweeness” or hybridity, are useful not only to address cultural and social processes in borderlands that were created by colonial empires. They are also an apt way to conceptualize relationships in frontiers that lacked colonial stigma. To illustrate this point, two different historical examples of borderlands are scrutinized in this paper: the medieval frontier region that emerged between Denmark and the Northwestern Slavic area and the creation of the colonial frontier in Northeastern America through the establishment of the Praying Indian Towns

Premodern Translocals: German Merchant Diaspora Between Kalmar and Northern German Towns (1250-1500)

This article explores translocal practices of German merchants settled in the late medieval town of Kalmar, Sweden. It focuses on the dual life of migrants, their simultaneous attachments to their places of origin and residence, and the significance of this splitting for the internal dynamics of diaspora. This case study also illustrates the importance of engagement with the material world for maintaining such dual relationships and prompts general exploration of the importance of material culture in diasporic and translocal lives. It discusses how things are used to fill the spaces of physical absence in the nodal points of translocal movement

Material Culture and Diasporic Experiences : A Case of Medieval Hanse Merchants in the Baltic

The Hanseatic League, a late medieval merchant association with roots in northern German towns, is credited with the establishment of extensive economic and geographic connections and considerable impact on the development of urban culture around the Baltic and the North Sea. Its merchants, regularly crossing the Seas and settling in foreign ports, created a network of diasporic communities often maintaining close physical and emotional connections with their home towns. This chapter focuses on the late medieval German diaspora in Kalmar (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia) and examines cultural and material practices of these communities. It theorizes about the role and meaning of everyday material culture for Hanseatic merchants and their families, and investigates how the material objects figured in the experience of relocation. It discusses the centrality of everyday things in rebuilding the migrants’ lives after relocation, constructing a sense of diaspora community and maintaining connections with families they left behind