Nature in society
Reflections over a Mesolithic sculpture of a fossilised shell
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7934796 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Håkon Glørstad (University of Oslo, corresponding author), Hans Arne Nakrem (0000-0002-8024-9281, University of Oslo), Vanja TØrhaug (Directorate for Cultural Heritage) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 95-110 |
| Publication date | 2004-11-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Norwegian Archaeological Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0029-3652 • E-ISSN: 1502-7678 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00293650410014960 |
| OpenAlex | W2066443538 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 3 |
The paper presents a sculpture made of a fossilised shell. It was found during an excavation at the site Torpum 9b in Østfold, south‐eastern Norway. The site and thereby the figure are dated to the late Mesolithic period. The sculpture is interpreted as an essence of female attributes, that is the hips and pelvis of a female human with the genitalia marked. This interpretation requires a discussion of the relations between general principles and actual historical situations. The interest in fossils is presumable universal, but the specific culture‐historical interpretation of the sculpture from Østfold must take the local Mesolithic context as its framework. Through an examination of fossils in folklore and prehistory, and a presentation of the particular fossil's geological origin and context, the universal and non‐historical meaning of the sculpture is presented. This perspective is then discussed in the context of the east Norwegian Mesolithic. Scient Thomas Hansen (University of Oslo), Dr Eckart Håkansson (University of Copenhagen), Dr Paul D. Taylor and Dr Noel Morris (Natural History Museum, London) for help on the identified fossils, and Dr Jørn Hurum and Dr Johan Naterstad (University of Oslo) for fruitful discussions on fossils in folklore. Professor Einar Østmo, University of Oslo, gave valuable comments to an earlier version of this paper. Professor Lars Larsson, University of Lund, and Dr Ingrid Fuglestvedt also gave constructive advises to improve the paper. Thanks to them all
Archaeology · Geography · Mesolithic · Sculpture · Archaeological and Geological Studies · History · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology
| Citations per year | 0.17 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2014 - 2020 (7) |
| Highly cited | No |