Seaways to complexity : a study of sociopolitical organisation along the coast of northwestern Scandinavia in the late Neolithic and early Bronze age / Knut Ivar Austvoll.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Austvoll, Knut Ivar, 1987- author.

Contributor:

• George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Series:

• New directions in anthropological archaeology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Neolithic period--Scandinavia.
• Neolithic period.
• Coastal archaeology.
• Social archaeology.
• Social structure.
• History.
• Bronze age.
• Scandinavia.
• Bronze age--Scandinavia.
• Social structure--Scandinavia--History.
• Social archaeology--Scandinavia.
• Coastal archaeology--Scandinavia.

Genre:

• History.

Physical Description:

xiv, 264 pages : illustrations (color) ; 26 cm.

Place of Publication:

Sheffield, UK ; Bristol, CT : Equinox Publishing Ltd, 2021.

Summary:

"This book focuses on the sociopolitical development and the organisational differences between societies in northwestern Scandinavia in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (2350-1100 BCE). With a foundation in a political economy approach, a theoretical model is presented that emphases a dialectic negotiation between societies exercising coercive or cooperative strategies through processes of categorisation. With a developed theoretical basis, the archaeological material is studied using a two-tiered approach. First, an extensive archaeological corpus, consisting of settlement and burial patterns, lithics, metal, and rock art is investigated comparatively for patterns of diachronic, regional and societal differences. Second, patterns from the first-tier are scrutinised and three case studies are selected, each expressing different organisational patterns based on local ecological advantages and/or restrictions. These aspects are then discussed on an interregional level, suggesting that utilisation of the seaway was one of the primary movers of increased complexity along the coast. In conclusion, the book presents the first big synthesis of the sociopolitical development in northwestern Scandinavia. The synthesis is advanced through a modelled approach, contributing to building a sociohistorical basis for northwestern Scandinavia in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, as well as outlining a theoretical model for concurrent but contrasting sociopolitical strategies that can be applied cross-culturally"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

• Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction: Towards A Theory Of Sociopolitical Complexity
• Introduction
• The LN and EBA in Northwestern Scandinavia: The Current Interpretation
• Political Economy in Archaeology
• Social Evolution and the Emergence of Sociopolitical Institutions
• A Northern European Research Discourse in Archaeology
• A `New Structural Functionalism'
• Framing a Theoretical Model
• A Comparator: Political Economy and `Cycling' Chiefdoms in Southeast Asia
• A Northwestern Scandinavian Research Discourse
• A Preliminary Outlook
• Merging Paths
• 2. Modelling Changing Regional Complexity
• Five Find Categories
• A Comparative Approach
• Regional Divisions
• Concluding Remarks
• 3. Regional Variations I The Archaeology Of Settlements
• Vest-Agder
• Rogaland
• Hordaland
• Sogn og Fjordane
• Møre og Romsdal
• Trondelag
• Nordland/Troms
• A Synthesis of Settlement Archaeology
• 4. Regional Variations 2: Burial Patterns
• Source-Critical Issues
• More og Romsdal
• A Synthesis of Burial Patterns
• 5. Regional Variations 3: Lithics, Metal And Ship Motifs In Rock Art
• Flint Daggers
• Simple Shaft-Hole Axes
• Flint Sickles
• Spoon-Shaped Scrapers
• Metal
• Rock Art
• Ship Motifs
• 6. Regional And Chronological Variation: Overview And Case Studies
• Overview
• Case Studies
• Conclusion
• 7. Seaways To Complexity
• Communication Beyond Northwestern Scandinavia
• The Organisational Structure of Northwestern Societies
• Sociopolitical Development in Northwestern Scandinavia
• Concluding Remarks.

Notes:

• Revision of author's thesis (doctoral)--Universitetet i Oslo, 2018.
• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Austvoll, Knut Ivar, 1987- Seaways to complexity.

ISBN:

• 9781781798782
• 1781798788

OCLC:

1110659324

Publisher Number:

99990015460

Online:

The George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund Home Page