Indigenous Time, Colonial History

Sami Conceptions of Time and Ancestry and the Role of Relics in Cultural Reproduction

Bibliographic Data

ID5832039
AuthorsIngela Bergman (corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume39
Issue2
Pages151-161
Publication date2006-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueNorwegian Archaeological Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0029-3652 • E-ISSN: 1502-7678
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00293650601030024
OpenAlexW1973534055
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited13

The role of the past in prehistoric societies is a frequently occurring topic in recent archaeological literature. It is proposed that prehistoric societies were concerned with the construction of an ancient past, and that relics were actively used as mnemonic devices in recalling the past. This paper comments on the significance of historicity in cultural reproduction on the basis of indigenous Sami conceptions of time and ancestry. It is a personal reflection from an archaeologist's point of view. The indigenous Sami concept of time, life and death implies that distances in the past were not ascribed any significant value and that there was no chronological or genealogical scale against which events in the past were measured. It is argued that relics were not ascribed a discursive value, and that they were not used as mnemonic devices in recalling an ancient past. By the example of Sami conceptions of time and ancestry, the author advocates great caution in promoting relics as carriers of collective memories in ancient societies

Historicity (philosophy · Mnemonic · Value (mathematics · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub