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Evocative Imagery at Whose Expense? : Critical Perspectives on Viking Age Mortuary Reconstructions

Back Danielsson, Ing-Marie LU orcid and Ekengren, Fredrik LU orcid (2025) In World Archaeology
Abstract
This article critically examines Viking Age mortuary reconstructions, a genre of archaeological imagery increasingly influential in scholarly and popular contexts. Focusing on Scandinavian examples produced since 2000, the study interrogates the emotive, affective, and ethical dimensions of these visualisations. Employing a visual social semiotic framework, it analyses vantage points, colour schemes, bodily representations, and gender codings to demonstrate how artistic decisions intersect with archaeological interpretation. The study identifies recurring dramatization, sexualisation, and sensationalism, particularly in depictions of women, alongside anthropocentric distinctions in portrayals of humans and animals. Despite claiming... (More)
This article critically examines Viking Age mortuary reconstructions, a genre of archaeological imagery increasingly influential in scholarly and popular contexts. Focusing on Scandinavian examples produced since 2000, the study interrogates the emotive, affective, and ethical dimensions of these visualisations. Employing a visual social semiotic framework, it analyses vantage points, colour schemes, bodily representations, and gender codings to demonstrate how artistic decisions intersect with archaeological interpretation. The study identifies recurring dramatization, sexualisation, and sensationalism, particularly in depictions of women, alongside anthropocentric distinctions in portrayals of humans and animals. Despite claiming naturalistic realism, these images frequently obscure evidential uncertainties, thereby consolidating exceptional cases as normative representations of Viking Age practices. The article calls for increased transparency, ethical reflexivity, and peer review in the production of mortuary reconstructions, contending that such images are ethically consequential acts that shape post-mortem dignity and contemporary engagements with the Viking past. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
in press
subject
keywords
Vikingatid, Rekonstruktioner, Konst, Gravar, Etik, Värdighet efter döden, Genus, Viking Age, Mortuary reconstructions, Art, Graves, Ethics, Post mortem dignity, Gender
in
World Archaeology
publisher
Routledge
ISSN
0043-8243
project
The Archaeology of Death and Burial – Theoretical Perspectives and Methodological Implications
Evocative imagery at whose expense? A discussion of how mortuary reconstructions may impact post-mortem dignity and privacy
The Ordinary Viking Age
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
cfff0b63-40ba-4a6f-8787-fa830b455de8
date added to LUP
2025-12-28 16:50:47
date last changed
2026-01-22 11:54:26
@article{cfff0b63-40ba-4a6f-8787-fa830b455de8,
  abstract     = {{This article critically examines Viking Age mortuary reconstructions, a genre of archaeological imagery increasingly influential in scholarly and popular contexts.  Focusing on Scandinavian examples produced since 2000, the study interrogates the emotive, affective, and ethical dimensions of these visualisations. Employing a visual social semiotic framework, it analyses vantage points, colour schemes, bodily representations, and gender codings to demonstrate how artistic decisions intersect with archaeological interpretation. The study identifies recurring dramatization, sexualisation, and sensationalism, particularly in depictions of women, alongside anthropocentric distinctions in portrayals of humans and animals. Despite claiming naturalistic realism, these images frequently obscure evidential uncertainties, thereby consolidating exceptional cases as normative representations of Viking Age practices. The article calls for increased transparency, ethical reflexivity, and peer review in the production of mortuary reconstructions, contending that such images are ethically consequential acts that shape post-mortem dignity and contemporary engagements with the Viking past.}},
  author       = {{Back Danielsson, Ing-Marie and Ekengren, Fredrik}},
  issn         = {{0043-8243}},
  keywords     = {{Vikingatid; Rekonstruktioner; Konst; Gravar; Etik; Värdighet efter döden; Genus; Viking Age; Mortuary reconstructions; Art; Graves; Ethics; Post mortem dignity; Gender}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  series       = {{World Archaeology}},
  title        = {{Evocative Imagery at Whose Expense? : Critical Perspectives on Viking Age Mortuary Reconstructions}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}