In the year of 2012 a unique three dimensional figurine was found in Hårby, Denmark depicting what seems to be a woman holding a sword and a shield. Immediately it was defined as a Valkyrie, a female servant of the Viking god Odin. However, this is most likely a simplified interpretation since most female figurines from the Viking age is interpreted in this way. This thesis questions this interpretation, creating an identity crisis for the Valkyries due to their interpretation no longer being obvious and simple. Instead this thesis recognizes the gender ambiguous features of the Hårbyfigurine and tries to determine what it can tell about the perception of gender during the Viking Age. The purpose of this thesis is thus to present how gender theory, queer theory and a comparative method can be used to interpret a gender ambiguous object from the Viking Age. This is done based on the Hårbyfigurine and its different attributes and concludes that the arguments against that female figurines from the Viking Age depicts Valkyries are more numerous than the arguments that support this identification. Alternative interpretations for the figurine is therefore suggested. The thesis also shows that the interpretations gender theory, queer theory and comparative method can produce differs in its complexity and in how they handle the gender ambiguous qualities of the Hårbyfigurine. The conclusion drawn from this is that gender ambiguous objects cannot be interpreted in one single way but must be tackled with a variety of theories and methods to be able to tell something about the worldview of the people who lived in the Viking Age. The term gender ambiguous is also re-evaluated throughout the thesis and turns out to be an interpretation applied to objects based on a modern way of defining gender and sex and is not a trait of the object itself. This means that gender is not defined in the same way today as it was in the Viking Age. Gender is thus strongly connected to the ruling culture and not stable, but ever changing.

Figurines with a human shape have been created in almost every culture all throughout human history. In this thesis one such group of figurines is under investigation, Viking age female figurines. These figurines are most often interpreted as representations of the Valkyries – shieldmaidens of the god Odin – or as the goddess Fröja. Interpretations made through comparative studies with the medieval written sources. However, these interpretations always privileges some attributes of the figurines over others, creating simplified and general interpretations. The purpose of this thesis is to (re)interpret the figurines beyond the concept of representation, and instead focus on what the figurines, through their various attributes (size, motive, material), do and how they influence human actions. This is realized through the creation of a catalogue of all currently known female figurines from the Viking age (53 pieces), a correspondence analysis and through the use of symmetrical archaeology and embodiment theory. The result shows that the most important attributes of the figurines is their physical bodies, through which they can interact with the world, trigger emotions, hold memory, become animated and be part of the performative practice of upholding individual identity as well as upholding both the social- and cosmological worlds.

This thesis presents how a non-destructive method allows for analysis of archeological material, using three Neolithic anthropomorphic figurines attributed to the Pitted Ware Culture. Anthropomorphic figurines from this period are rare in Sweden and traditional destructive methods, such as thin section petrography is therefore not an option. Using µCT – Micro-Computed tomography as an archaeological method, information can be produced regarding the ceramic composition, forming technique and ornamentation of these figurines. Furthermore, this thesis shows how new advancements in computer imaging technology, such as 3D volume rendering of µCT-data, allows for the reconstruction of organic inclusions.