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Apel, J. & Knutsson, K., 2006. Skilled Production and Social Reproduction. SAU Stone Studies 2. Uppsala.
Anders Högberg
Continuity of place: actions and
narratives
Abstract
of Scania in the southern part of Sweden. Large amounts of tool preforms,
three sites along this beach ridge. The several thousand preforms represent
tool types from the Early Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. The three sites
have not been much noticed in recent archaeological research. With a basis
in a discussion of action and technology these three places are analysed and
interpreted as representing traditions involving repeated actions over a long
period of time. It is suggested that the production and deposition of the
preforms can be seen as an investment for the future.
Introduction
In recent years, several archaeological studies in Sweden and elsewhere have
focused on the continuity of place and on phenomena that extend over long
periods of time (e.g., Karsten 1994; Burström 1999; Rudebeck & Ödman
2000; Högberg 2002; Bergren & Celin 2004). In these studies, the analysis
of activities according to the traditional archaeological periods is replaced by
an emphasis on traditions that have persisted over a much longer time. The
focus has often been on the “conspatiality” rather than on the contempora
neity (Burström 1999).
This perspective creates dynamics between separate and individual events
and the overall impression of all these events, i.e. between individual ac
tion and general patterns. Since the archaeological understanding of general
patterns is built on traces of individual actions, intentionality is important.
In this text, intentionality is not seen only in relation to the creativity and
choices of the individual, but also in relation to the accessibility, i.e. what is
available to allow action to take place (Hodder 2000:22 pp). Historical and
material conditions create possibilities and establish limits. It is within social
life that individual creativity has the chance to prosper. This creativity, the
intentions of individuals, is part of the interaction between the individual
study of conspatiality, and ideas concerning the relationship between indi
vidual actions and the general context of these actions.
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