Abstract
The article outlines the origin and later transformation of Medieval Archaeology to Historical Archaeology, both as an antiquarian practice and as an academic subject, focusing on the development in Sweden since the 18th C. Where the concept of the Middle Ages defined the former subject, both its opportunities and its limitations, now Modernity has turned up as a new challenging concept. Archaeology has already seen a number of studies into Modernity or the process of modernization going right up to present. However, the Middle Ages and Modernity are both metaphors creating simplified images in our minds, which contribute to preserve the divide between different periods. When I have to choose between an archaeology of the Middle Ages and an archaeology of Modernity, I prefer Historical Archaeology with a rather open definition – the methodological meeting between objects, texts and images.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Medieval Archaeology in Scandinavia and Beyond |
| Subtitle of host publication | History, trends and tomorrow. Proceedings of a conference to celebrate 40 years of medieval archaeology at Aarhus University, 26-27 October 2011 |
| Editors | Mette Svart Kristiansen, Else Roesdahl, James Graham-Campbell |
| Place of Publication | Aarhus |
| Publisher | Aarhus Universitetsforlag |
| Pages | 155-174 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978 87 7124 378 9, 877124378X |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Archaeology
Free keywords
- Historical Archaeology
- Middle Ages
- Modernity
- Romanticism