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National History, Non‐national Archaeology: The Case of Denmark
Author(s) -
Randsborg Klavs
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
oxford journal of archaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1468-0092
pISSN - 0262-5253
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0092.00107
Subject(s) - danish , confusion , archaeology , perspective (graphical) , historical archaeology , landscape archaeology , history , national identity , anthropology , geography , sociology , political science , art , linguistics , engineering , visual arts , psychology , law , civil engineering , philosophy , landscape design , psychoanalysis , politics
The early development of Danish archaeology (including the centuries before AD 1800) is discussed in terms of its relationship with national history, and with various ideas about regional phenomena and concepts of cultural identity. Danish archaeologists followed a dual strategy, by subscribing both to national sentiment, but also to the ‘un‐national’ notion of close culture‐historical links between regions. Confusion of text‐based historical aims, and those of archaeology, caused problems. The main strengths of archaeology – its unique material perspective and concepts, historical, spatial, and contextual (including social and mental dimensions) – are stressed.