Hällristarnas hem - Gårdsbebyggelse och struktur i Pryssgården under bronsålder
(2002) In Skrifter. Riksantikvarieämbetet, Arkeologiska undersökningar 42.- Abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is an attempt to comprehend the society and the ideology of the Bronze Age from the inherent symbolism, shape and structure of buildings. In every society, the smallest social unit is the household. The house and the household are central in the lives of people. They made their choices to organize their existence in a symbiotic cooperation with the general cosmology and ideology. Houses and settlements can, just as graves and cemeteries, be used in the interpretation of values, imaginary worlds and structures of different societies. My work is founded on a microanalysis of the large settlement at Pryssgården.
Pryssgården is one of the largest prehistoric settlements known in Sweden. It was... (More) - The purpose of this thesis is an attempt to comprehend the society and the ideology of the Bronze Age from the inherent symbolism, shape and structure of buildings. In every society, the smallest social unit is the household. The house and the household are central in the lives of people. They made their choices to organize their existence in a symbiotic cooperation with the general cosmology and ideology. Houses and settlements can, just as graves and cemeteries, be used in the interpretation of values, imaginary worlds and structures of different societies. My work is founded on a microanalysis of the large settlement at Pryssgården.
Pryssgården is one of the largest prehistoric settlements known in Sweden. It was discovered during the rerouting of the E4 as a motorway outside Norrköping. Here people have lived and worked for at least 4,000 years; from the end of the Stone Age until today. The archaeological results of this excavation show an extensive settlement, centered on the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. Östergötland is an area peripheral to the central areas of the south Scandinavian Bronze Age culture.
An important source of inspiration for my thesis is Gerritsen's model "The cultural biography of houses". In this model he connects the life-cycle of houses to that of households.
The shapes of houses in the settlement have varied considerably during the Bronze Age. We have been able to identify 21 long-houses and 12 smaller houses, as well as 2 remains of huts, dated to the Bronze Age. The long-houses have varied in size, a variation that seems to be socially conditioned rather than chronological.
At Pryssgården, the farm has been both a social unit and a production unit. The people identified themselves with their farm, which gave them a certain social position. With an agrarian population, it has been of importance to show ones identification with a certain area. In this way one obtained different rights in the society. Traditions would be important, with fertility cults and worship of ancestors as integral parts in the everyday life of people, in order to secure subsistence from the land and the future of the farm.
In my comparative analysis with the settlements in Apalle and Fosie, the existence of stable farm structures is clearly shown. In settlement archaeology, these changes in the use of the physical space are otherwise referred to the Early Iron Age.
People and domestic animals lived in the Bronze Age landscape. The farming of the land, the ancestors and the supernatural were closely knitted in a complex cosmology. During the Late Bronze Age a condensed and stable farm construction existed. The ancestral cult and the fertility cult were integral parts of everyday life, a way of creating a sense of belonging and continuity to a certain area. During the Bronze Age the individual was placed in the centre - it may well be that people had a more private relationship with the land they farmed. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Syftet med avhandlingen har varit att försöka förstå bronsålderns samhälle och ideologi utifrån bebyggelsens inneboende symbolik, utformning och struktur. I alla samhällen utgör hushållet den minsta sociala enheten. Huset och hushållen utgör centrum för människors liv. Hur människorna har valt att organisera sin tillvaro kan ha skett i en samverkan med den övergripande kosmologin och ideologin. Hus och boplatser kan liksom gravar och gravfält användas i tolkningen av olika samhällens värderingar, föreställningsvärld och strukturer. Grunden för avhandlingen baseras på en analys av en stor bosättning i Pryssgården utanför Norrköping i Östergötland.
Norrköpingsbygden har... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Syftet med avhandlingen har varit att försöka förstå bronsålderns samhälle och ideologi utifrån bebyggelsens inneboende symbolik, utformning och struktur. I alla samhällen utgör hushållet den minsta sociala enheten. Huset och hushållen utgör centrum för människors liv. Hur människorna har valt att organisera sin tillvaro kan ha skett i en samverkan med den övergripande kosmologin och ideologin. Hus och boplatser kan liksom gravar och gravfält användas i tolkningen av olika samhällens värderingar, föreställningsvärld och strukturer. Grunden för avhandlingen baseras på en analys av en stor bosättning i Pryssgården utanför Norrköping i Östergötland.
Norrköpingsbygden har förmodligen varit en av Östersjöområdets viktigaste kulturella knutpunkter. Här kunde forntidens människor färdas längs med Motala Ström, Vättern och vattendragen i Västergötland, binda samman Östersjön med Skagerack och Kattegatt. I närheten av Motala ströms forsar finns ett av Sveriges största hällristningsområden. I denna mångkulturella miljö ligger Pryssgården.
Bosättningen i Pryssgården utgör en av Sveriges största kända förhistoriska boplatser. Här har människor bott och levt åtminstone under 4000 år, från slutet av stenålder och till idag. De arkeologiska resultaten visar att det här har funnits en omfattande bosättning, framför allt från yngre bronsålder och järnålder. En sammandragning av bebyggelsen skedde redan under yngre bronsålder, då det fanns en samlad och fast gårdsbebyggelse. Under denna tid sattes individen i centrum och kanske fick människorna ett mera privat förhållningssätt till jorden.
En viktig inspirationskälla i avhandlingsarbetet är Gerritsens modell Husens kulturella biografi. I modellen knyts husens livscykel samman med hushållens. Detta synsätt på husen, både som en social enhet, en produktionsenhet och en symbol ger invånarna en identitet och en social ställning i ett småskaligt samhälle.
På boplatsen har 21 långhus, 12 småhus och två hyddlämningar daterats till bronsålder. Långhusens utformning har varierat i storlek under bronsålder, en variation som förefaller vara socialt betingad.
På bosättningen har det under yngre bronsålder funnits en omfattande och varierande odling. I husen finns inga arkeologiska belägg för att man hade djuren stallade inne under vintern. Bosättningen i Pryssgården har bestått av en jordbrukande befolkning. För dem har det varit viktigt att kunna visa på kontinuitet och rätt till en viss plats. I denna agrara miljö har man förmodligen ägnat sig åt en fruktbarhetskult som utgjort en naturlig beståndsdel i det dagliga livet, där även dyrkan av anfäderna kan ha spelat en betydelsefull roll. I flera av husen fanns bevarade föremål som kan frågan om husoffer.
I avhandlingen görs även en jämförande studie mellan de tre bosättningarna Fosie IV i Skåne, Apalle i Uppland och Pryssgården, på de tre platserna har det redan under yngre bronsålder funnits fasta gårdsstrukturer.
I bronsålderns landskap levde människorna och deras djur, där fanns den uppodlade åkermarken, förfäderna och det övernaturliga intimt sammanflätat i en komplex kosmologi. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/20531
- author
- Borna-Ahlkvist, Hélène LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Ph dr Widholm, Dag
- organization
- publishing date
- 2002
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Antikens och forntidens historia, Ancient history, individual, household, settlement structure, houses, farms, Bronze Age, Östergötland, Pryssgården, Norrköping, Archaeology, Arkeologi, Cultural anthropology, ethnology, Kulturantropologi, etnologi
- in
- Skrifter. Riksantikvarieämbetet, Arkeologiska undersökningar
- volume
- 42
- pages
- 208 pages
- publisher
- Riksantikvarieämbetet
- defense location
- Carolinasalen, Kungshuset, Lund
- defense date
- 2002-03-08 10:15:00
- ISSN
- 1102-187X
- ISBN
- 91-7209-241-6
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- d77220ac-adc7-4c03-a844-b7850aab5415 (old id 20531)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 16:41:17
- date last changed
- 2019-05-23 17:49:25
@phdthesis{d77220ac-adc7-4c03-a844-b7850aab5415,
abstract = {{The purpose of this thesis is an attempt to comprehend the society and the ideology of the Bronze Age from the inherent symbolism, shape and structure of buildings. In every society, the smallest social unit is the household. The house and the household are central in the lives of people. They made their choices to organize their existence in a symbiotic cooperation with the general cosmology and ideology. Houses and settlements can, just as graves and cemeteries, be used in the interpretation of values, imaginary worlds and structures of different societies. My work is founded on a microanalysis of the large settlement at Pryssgården.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Pryssgården is one of the largest prehistoric settlements known in Sweden. It was discovered during the rerouting of the E4 as a motorway outside Norrköping. Here people have lived and worked for at least 4,000 years; from the end of the Stone Age until today. The archaeological results of this excavation show an extensive settlement, centered on the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. Östergötland is an area peripheral to the central areas of the south Scandinavian Bronze Age culture.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
An important source of inspiration for my thesis is Gerritsen's model "The cultural biography of houses". In this model he connects the life-cycle of houses to that of households.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The shapes of houses in the settlement have varied considerably during the Bronze Age. We have been able to identify 21 long-houses and 12 smaller houses, as well as 2 remains of huts, dated to the Bronze Age. The long-houses have varied in size, a variation that seems to be socially conditioned rather than chronological.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
At Pryssgården, the farm has been both a social unit and a production unit. The people identified themselves with their farm, which gave them a certain social position. With an agrarian population, it has been of importance to show ones identification with a certain area. In this way one obtained different rights in the society. Traditions would be important, with fertility cults and worship of ancestors as integral parts in the everyday life of people, in order to secure subsistence from the land and the future of the farm.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
In my comparative analysis with the settlements in Apalle and Fosie, the existence of stable farm structures is clearly shown. In settlement archaeology, these changes in the use of the physical space are otherwise referred to the Early Iron Age.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
People and domestic animals lived in the Bronze Age landscape. The farming of the land, the ancestors and the supernatural were closely knitted in a complex cosmology. During the Late Bronze Age a condensed and stable farm construction existed. The ancestral cult and the fertility cult were integral parts of everyday life, a way of creating a sense of belonging and continuity to a certain area. During the Bronze Age the individual was placed in the centre - it may well be that people had a more private relationship with the land they farmed.}},
author = {{Borna-Ahlkvist, Hélène}},
isbn = {{91-7209-241-6}},
issn = {{1102-187X}},
keywords = {{Antikens och forntidens historia; Ancient history; individual; household; settlement structure; houses; farms; Bronze Age; Östergötland; Pryssgården; Norrköping; Archaeology; Arkeologi; Cultural anthropology; ethnology; Kulturantropologi; etnologi}},
language = {{swe}},
publisher = {{Riksantikvarieämbetet}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Skrifter. Riksantikvarieämbetet, Arkeologiska undersökningar}},
title = {{Hällristarnas hem - Gårdsbebyggelse och struktur i Pryssgården under bronsålder}},
volume = {{42}},
year = {{2002}},
}