This paper is an investigation of four selected archaeological reconstructions of Iron Age milieus in Sweden. The paper explores the concepts of time travel, authenticity and of romanticizing the prehistoric ages. Four interviews of staff actively engaged and working with time travel experiences at reconstructed Iron Age milieus present the foundation of this study; also surveys of the archaeological material from each milieu has produced interesting insight into the perspectives which said milieus present to their visitors. The results have shown that the material culture of the milieus are often well executed, for instance the houses are often built using archaeological finds as their template and artefacts used during the time travel experiences are often replicas from accurate periods and used correctly in regards of their believed original function. However, the social structures presented during the time travel experiences appear to be one-dimensional and occasionally even scientifically outdated. Where the archaeological artefacts provide excellent educational value, the roles which the visitors play during their experience are not as carefully assembled. This phenomenon might be the result of poor communication between academia and the public, which is highly unfortunate, but can possibly also be a remnant of past cherished glorifications of prehistoric times. Regardless of why updates on research do not make it to the milieus, the problem of misrepresentation is real. Not only is it an unintended act of historical falsification, but as this study shows, the romanticized misconceptions of prehistoric Sweden are passed on to the next generation. As it is part of the Swedish curriculum for third graders to study the prehistoric ages, a vast number of children will at some point during their education make a trip to a reconstructed milieu, as it is a popular and effective pedagogical instrument. There is a great opportunity to educate children with updated research, and there is also a great responsibility to do so, as these time travels are regarded as authentic experiences by not only the children but the teachers as well. A reconstructed milieu advertises itself as an authentic presentation of the past and should therefore consider it their responsibility to keep updated and true to current archaeological knowledge.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-164859 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Puhakka Frejvall, Nina |
| 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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