This dissertation investigates how a symmetrical approach to archaeology can be applied to identify the properties and effects of the non-living, abiotic materials. And to reconfigure the relationship between humans and non-human objects, bridging the divide between what has been termed ‘cultural’ and ‘natural’ and thus placed in different ontological realms. This is examined by studying the practices surrounding “boulder graves”, from the Late Bronze Age - Early Iron Age (approx. 1000 – 0 BC) in Kättsta, Ärentuna parish in Uppland, Sweden. The boulders tend to be studied from an anthropocentric point of view, in which they are seen primarily as passive objects, interpreted only for what they represent. The objective of this research, however, is to gain new insights into the agency of boulders, and how they contributed to the practices carried out adjacent to them. The dissertation is based on a case study where a thematic analysis is performed, focusing on the properties and characteristics of boulders, their affordances, the distribution of finds and their interrelations, and the effects their relations generated. The results show that the boulders themselves contributed in human-stone relations and were vital in the formation of the grave-like features they became part of. It is argued that a symmetrical, non-anthropocentric approach to these features will broaden our view on materialities in the past, affording ontological as well as ecological implications.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-131868 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Bergström, Philip |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antikens kultur |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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