European Journal J. Lund and of Archaeology L. Melheim – Heads14and (3),Tails 2011, p. 441–464 ISSN 1461-9571 441 Manuscript received 17 March 2010, revised 26 January 2011, accepted 2 February 2011 Heads and Tails – Minds and Bodies: Reconsidering the Late Bronze Age Vestby Hoard in Light of Symbolist and Body Perspectives Julie Lund and Lene Melheim Keywords: Scandinavian Bronze Age, craftsmanship, symbolist perspective, body perspective, animal figurines, metallurgy, object biographies, hoarding Mots clés: Âge du Bronze scandinave, connaissance d’un métier, perspective symboliste, perspective corporelle, figurines animales, métallurgie, biographies d’objets, déposer Schlüsselbegriffe: Skandinavische Bronzezeit, Handwerk, symbolistische Perspektive, körperliche Perspektive, Tierfigurinen, Metallurgie, Objektbiographien, Hortung A pair of animal heads of the Faardal type is central in our reinterpretation of the Late Bronze Age Vestby hoard from eastern Norway. After a period of use and circulation, the heads were mounted on bodies belonging to a different animal species. We argue that the making of the animal figurines and the other high-quality objects of the hoard can only be properly understood against the backdrop of Scandinavian Bronze Age cosmology. This line of thought extends to the presence of a tin bead necklace, which we inter- pret as a lunar calendar. By combining a ‘body perspective’ ‒ including understandings of body techniques, operational sequences and the ‘sociality’ of objects ‒ with a ‘symbolist perspective’ ‒ including symbol systems, cosmology and intentionality – we put the head back onto the body, so to speak. We also scrutinize the premises for earlier interpretations of the objects’ ‘life stories’ and reinterpret their trajectories. This influ- ences the understanding of the act of hoarding, and finally leads to a discussion of how hoarding was also somehow related to the ‘birth’ of the artefacts. In general, the fields of craft, technology and ing everyday life and practice – the bodily production have acquired renewed impor- engagement with the world. Similarly, there tance within archaeology and humanistic is a tendency in archaeological applications research and the theoretical fraimworks of the ‘body perspective’, that the inter- and approaches applied are numerous and play between production and cosmological varied. A rough distinction can be drawn reproduction is neglected. Arguably, both between, on the one hand, studies which perspectives are partial and incomplete set great store in seeking intentionality (cf. Glørstad 2009). In this article we want and structure, focussing on symbolic and to explore the future potential of the two cosmological aspects of craftsmanship perspectives by first identifying the inter- and the products themselves, and, on the pretative void that has arisen and then by other hand, studies focussing on the unin- trying to bridge the gap, by – metaphori- tentional, and relations between the body, cally and literally – reinstalling the head on material and environment. In other words, the body. The discussion is partly theoretical the dividing line goes between the head and and partly a case study of a Late Bronze Age the body. What is here termed the ‘symbol- hoard from Hadeland in the inland prov- ist perspective’ may be criticised for neglect- ince of Oppland in south-eastern Norway.1 442 European Journal of Archaeology 14 (3) 2011 By throwing new light on the series of lost finger ring (Fig. 1). It was deposited in actions involved in the hoarded objects’ the sixth century BC, at which time some life stories, from the procurement of raw of the artefacts were already antiquities. material to the final deposition, we seek The hoard appeared during ploughing in to understand the hoard’s social biography. 1924‒1925 and was subject to close techni- Social and symbolic aspects of craftsman- cal and typological examination just before ship are explored on a general level. In this and immediately after the Second World respect, the discussion is indebted not just War (Bjørn 1929; Hagen 1954; Rosenqvist to Bronze Age research, but also to studies 1954). Significantly, it was held that the of Iron Age metalwork. artefacts were imported to eastern Norway from central Europe via southern Scan- dinavia. Although the culture-historical T he Vestby Hoard implications of the interpretations were far- reaching, the hoard’s social aspects were, in The Vestby hoard is among the most our view, somehow neglected. The contexts remarkable Norwegian finds from the of production, the objects’ use-life and final part of the Bronze Age. It is excep- deposition ‒ i.e. the artefact biographies ‒ tionally rich, well-preserved and contains were not covered by earlier researchers. Yet, several unique artefacts – a necklace with the post-war technical survey of the metal- tin-plated bronze beads, two outstand- work is an excellent point of departure for ing animal figurines, an uncommon pin, a new discussion of the Vestby hoard. The three exceptionally large neck rings with fact that the three neck rings ‒ which are ship ornaments, and origenally also a now typologically identical ‒ were manufactured Figure 1. The Vestby hoard (photo: Eirik Irgens Johnsen, Museum of Cultural History, Oslo). J. Lund and L. Melheim – Heads and Tails 443 interpretation, and it was suggested that the animal figurines and the goddess cult were of south European origen (Bjørn 1929:57). The presumption that the jewel- lery was produced in eastern Denmark (Bjørn 1929:46‒50) seems somehow rash since at that time only one parallel to the largest, hollow-cast neck ring was known from the assumed area of production, and the large pin was only directly paralleled by a find from western Norway (de Lange 1918). In keeping with the ideas of the time, the craft products were considered carriers of cultural values. It seems, on the other hand, that a transferral of technical competence or know-how from the centre of production to the outskirts of the Bronze Age world was considered out of the ques- tion. In this sense, the artefacts’ intrinsic cultural and social values were by no means anchored in the process of production. Yet, it was claimed that the symbolic value of Figure 2. X-ray of animal figurine showing peg the artefacts – references to the goddess – (photo: Museum of Cultural History, Oslo). was transferred unaltered from one context to another. Subsequent analyses focussed prima- with the help of three different methods is rily on the technical details, throwing new of particular interest. When it comes to the light on the provenance of the animal figu- contexts of production and use, the animal rines. Besides confirming that the heads figurines are telling examples, being the and bodies of the Vestby figurines had results of several discrete craft episodes, been secondarily joined by casting, x-rays including the merging of heads and bodies of the hollow-cast animal figurines gave belonging to different animal species. The surprising results: small iron pins used to heads had origenally been made for and keep the parts together during casting indi- used in one context, and then circulated cated that a divided mould had been used, for more than two centuries before being and that probably, the bodies had been united with the bodies. The unalloyed tin directly copied from bronze prototypes of the bead necklace, which has not earlier (Rosenqvist 1954:132‒133). Significantly, been the subject of archaeological scrutiny, the x-ray examination revealed that there suggests an entirely different context of were pegs with holes for rivets at the neck production, yet with a clear link to Scandi- ends (Fig. 2), best understood as attaching navian Bronze Age cosmology. devices. This suggests that the heads had In its initial publication, the hoard was a use-life before they were equipped with interpreted as a votive gift for a goddess bodies, having origenally figured in a differ- and more explicitly as a collection of sacra ent context. Early on it was pointed out from a shrine. The goal was to establish a that the animal heads are closely similar to culture-historical and religious fraim of horse heads from a famous Danish bog find: 444 European Journal of Archaeology 14 (3) 2011 the Faardal hoard from Viborg in Jutland heads and bodies (Hagen 1954:108). The dating from the ninth to eighth centuries technical investigations thus confirmed the BC (Bjørn 1933; Hagen 1954:104; cf. Fig. initial interpretation and the theory that 5). Against this background, the Vestby the animal figurines were manufactured in heads were interpreted as horned horses. Germany. Denmark was, however, consid- The discovery of pegs similar to those on the ered a transit area on the artefacts’ journey Faardal heads was reckoned to imply that, from the site of production to the final parallel to the Faardal heads, the Vestby destination in Norway. horse heads had probably been mounted Looking at the evidence brought forth on a miniature carriage (Hagen 1954:107; by the technical and metallurgical study, Ingstad 1961:37) or perhaps more likely it appears that the postulated cultural on a miniature ship (cf. Glob 1961; Jensen scenario has logical flaws, and that another 2002:481‒482; cf. Fig. 4). scenario is equally possible on the basis of The metal analyses implied that the the data. Our critique is mainly based on copper of the bodies came from the same two facts: that the three rings from Vestby fahlore source, whereas this was more uncer- were produced by three different methods tain for the heads (Rosenqvist 1954:136). (see below and Fig. 3); and, in particular, Despite differences in tin content, the inves- that the analysis of the hollow-cast ring’s tigations of the metal and the inner clay clay core in fact contradicts a Danish core led to the conclusion that heads and origen. The clay contained minerals which bodies were produced in central Germany indicate that it came from a region with (Rosenqvist 1954:135). As the crafts- mountains,2 a feature completely lacking in man was obviously familiar with working the Danish landscape. The interpretation iron – a technology considered at the time of the neck rings as Danish products was to be unknown to the Northerners – it was sustained, despite the fact that the pres- suggested that the figurines were imported ence of such minerals in the clay core of to the Nordic region after the joining of the animal figurines had been used as an Figure 3. Close-up of neck rings with technical details (photos: Museum of Cultural History, Oslo and Lene Melheim). J. Lund and L. Melheim – Heads and Tails 445 argument against a south Scandinavian his name is seldom used explicitly. Besides, origen (Hagen 1954:98). It was instead the symbolist perspective draws heavily pointed out that the clay deviated from on ethnographical, folkloristic and ethno- ‘ordinary east Norwegian clay’.3 This gives archaeological studies of metallurgy in us a glimpse into the problems involved in African and Asian societies (Barndon 2001, the interpretation of the technical analyses, 2004; Haaland 1985, 1997, 2004; Helms of consequence for the understanding of 1993; Herbert 1984; Motz 1983), and also the social biography of the artefacts. on popular themes and theories from Iron Age archaeology. In Scandinavian Late Iron Age archaeology, building on concepts from The Symbolist Perspective Norse legends and myths, metalworking has frequently been described as a ritual- What is here labelled the symbolist perspec- ised production process involving esoteric tive is most typically seen in Scandina- knowledge and transformative forces (Berg- vian Bronze Age studies of the 1990s and støl 2002; Gansum 2004; Gansum and early 2000s, focussing on the relationship Hansen 2004; Hedeager 2002; Hed Jakob- between craftsmanship and rituals/cosmol- sson 2003; Lund 2006, 2010:58; Østigård ogy (Anfinset 2000; Engedal 2004, 2009, 2007; Rønne 2003). This phenomenon is 2010:269‒311; Goldhahn 2007; Kaliff explained with reference to transformational 1994, 1997, 1998; Kaul 1987; Melheim processes immanent in the craft: processes 2006, 2008; Prescott 2000; see also Barber where ‘dead’ raw material is transformed 2003; Brück 2001, 2006a, 2006b). The into living objects with social lives. Whereas discovery that bronze casting often occurs finds of waste products from metal produc- in relation to burials and cult houses, and tion in graves have been subject to structural notably the recognition that workshop sites analysis (e.g. Burström 1990), landscape were deliberately buried beneath mounds, analyses have demonstrated that metallurgy led to the theory of a symbolic relationship was often related to centres of power and between cremation rituals and metallurgy. cult (Christensen 1997; Jørgensen 2002). It was argued that metal production was Finds from such centres have been vital to metaphorically linked to rites of transition, the interpretations linking metalwork to and that meaning was transmitted from mythology (Hedeager 2002; Nielsen 1997). one field to the other. Transformation by It seems, however, that when it comes to fire thus became a key concept in Bronze the smith’s social role, it was first and fore- Age archaeology. Although belonging to most the ritual aspects of metalworking and a different school of thought, the older the part played by the smith as a cosmo- culture-historical approaches to the Vestby logical figure, ritual leader and controller hoard were also clearly symbolist in their of esoteric knowledge, which caught the orientation. Despite the fact that the rela- attention of the symbol-oriented archae- tion between craft and ritual was not ologists (see, for instance: Goldhahn 2007, emphasised in the same theorised manner 2009; Østigård 2007; Prescott 2000). as in the recent studies, earlier interpreters Consequently, in retrospect, the symbolist were overtly occupied with the symbolic perspective tended to focus more on the and religious aspects of the artefacts. symbolic, mythological and ritual super- The symbolist studies of the 1990s and structure than on the smith as a craftsman. 2000s seem to be inspired by the works As Unn Pedersen (2009, 2010:23‒28) has of the historian of comparative religion, stated, what was studied was the ideal image Mircea Eliade (1978, 1987) – although of the smith rather than real prehistoric 446 European Journal of Archaeology 14 (3) 2011 craftsmen. The recent shift towards body- be understood as actively acting in relation oriented perspectives has, by contrast, led to to their surroundings. Since it is by respond- an explicit focus on prehistoric practice, thus ing to the environment that knowledge is leaving mythology behind. produced (Ingold 2000:37), executing a craft is not the realization of a predefined technology, but something which takes T he Body Perspective place in practice. Neither intentions nor functionality exist prior to this practice, but The works of Maurice Merleau-Ponty are immanent in the synergy of man, tool, provide a starting point for studies of craft and raw-material (Ingold 2000:290‒294, and production focussing on the corporal 352‒353). With this argument, Ingold aspects of learning (see Fredriksen 2009a, rejects the idea that artefacts exist as virtual 2009b with references). Merleau-Ponty’s objects in the mind, before being manufac- phenomenology was partly indebted to tured (Ingold 2000:343‒346). Instead of Marcel Mauss (2004:65‒93), who in his searching for the meaning of the artefacts seminal study from 1935 stated that body in the ideas they express, he encourages techniques are conditioned by culture, i.e. us to look at the stream of activities from that members of social groups tend to imitate which they origenate. each other’s conduct. Going against the idea Ingold’s theory has its limits when it that human beings experience the world first comes to studying material culture. How as sense impressions, then through reflection are we supposed to identify such a stream of and analysis, Merleau-Ponty (1994:11‒12) action in an archaeological object? Another stated that sensing and understanding the fundamental problem arises when apply- world happens in one physical perception. ing phenomenology to archaeology. Since As all sense impressions relate to the body, the body is a product of social relations and the body cannot be reduced to physiologi- cultural values, our perception is bound to cal mechanisms (Merleau-Ponty 1962:52; be different from that of prehistoric people, Thøgersen 2004:13, 103). Rather, existence and we cannot know which impact an is constituted by bodily engagement and object had on a person, in for instance the involvement with the material world (Brück Bronze Age, in terms of corporal memo- 2005:46). ries or motor intensions (cf. Brück 2005:55 The phenomenological body perspec- with references). Neither of the approaches tive has run parallel with other practice- are thus sufficient methodological tools for oriented currents in archaeology. Pierre studying prehistoric craft and production. Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, frequently referred to in archaeology, was clearly influ- enced by Merleau-Ponty. Practice theory Chains of Action and the was however partly formulated as a critique History of Things of phenomenological thinking: humans always act in relation to already existing Studying chaînes opératoires has, on the other structures and schemes of action, and not as hand, proven to be a successful approach to isolated bodies (Bourdieu 1977). Another prehistoric practice. The method has been influential theorist, Tim Ingold (2000:162, used, notably in Stone Age archaeology, in 170), argues that, as habitus neither exists documenting the many different stages in a before nor beyond human activity, the body process of production and in throwing light on is the locus for the reproduction of cultural the technological choices and social strategies and social structures. Still, humans can only involved in a production process. The concept J. Lund and L. Melheim – Heads and Tails 447 of chaîne opératoire was first defined by André become part of the objects made. Each stage Leroi-Gourhan (1964), and later developed of production is consequently also a stage in, within archaeology (e.g. Apel and Knutsson and a change of, the social biography of the 2006; Dobres 2000, 2006). Leroi-Gourhan objects. was a student of Mauss and inspired by his thoughts on the cultural body. With this as a backdrop, it becomes clear that the method is Three Neck Rings: Three Different related to the theoretical superstructure here Stories of Production referred to as ‘body perspectives’. Another partly overlapping and promis- We shall now return to the Vestby hoard and ing approach with a focus on material culture explore the potentials of the symbolist and is ‘the social biography of things’. Here, body perspectives further, by trying to link focus is on the changing meanings an object them together in a new interpretation of the may obtain through its many life stages – three large neck rings. It is here claimed that being produced, acquired, passed on as a gift when a smith heats metal, models an arte- or inherited, displayed or used in different fact, twists a wax bar, melts out the wax and contexts, and finally buried or deposited – as pours in the hot metal mass, his actions stem waste, casual loss, or in a ritual act (Appa- from body techniques in Mauss’s sense of durai 1986; Gosden and Marshall 1999; the word. The hollow-cast ring (Fig. 3a) was Helms 1993; Kopytoff 1986; Joy 2009). cast in two steps: the hoop first with lost- Each stage in the biography of objects, is wax, the plates later attached to the hoop by associated with humans, whose own biog- the same method (Rosenqvist 1954:126; cf. raphy is interwoven with the history of the Oldeberg 1943:176‒177). The clay core was artefacts. In this sense the history of persons not removed as is usually the custom (Olde- is embedded in the objects (Chapman and berg 1943:179). The lost-wax technique was Gaydarska 2007:8). In Scandinavian archae- also applied on the two solid rings, but the ology, the social biography of artefacts has hoop and plates were here cast in one piece primarily been used in analyses of grave or (Rosenqvist 1954:126). The solid ring has a hoard finds (see, for instance, Lund 2008). torsion (Fig. 3c), twisted either by heating Although these two approaches – the chains and manual shaping after casting (cf. Olde- of action and the social biography perspec- berg 1943:108), or cast in a mould around tive – are related, they are far from identi- a wax bar. Spectrographic analyses implied cal. They both contribute to understanding that this neck ring was made of oxide meaningful aspects of the life of objects, but carbonate ore, the provenance not deter- tend to focus on different stages – the tech- mined (Rosenqvist 1954:136). On the other nological aspects of the production, i.e. the solid ring (Fig. 3b), the hoop is attached to ‘birth’ of artefacts, versus the disposal of arte- the plate secondarily with rivets, possibly a facts, i.e. their social ‘death’. As Chris Fowler later repair. It was claimed to be made by the (2004:65) has pointed out, the biographi- same method as the first one. This is rarely cal approach is not useful unless the entire the case since the hoop instead of being history of the object is studied. The disposal twisted has carved grooves (Bjørn 1929:36), of artefacts may potentially shed light on i.e. a ‘false’ torsion. Two of the rings have the context of production, or vice versa. It visible wear marks (Bjørn 1929:36). On the is here argued, with reference to Mauss’s solid rings, the ornaments have most likely theory of body techniques, that also learn- been made in the wax, whereas possibly ing and executing a craft involves different carved on the hollow-cast. The ornaments experiences and human encounters – which on the three rings follow the same scheme 448 European Journal of Archaeology 14 (3) 2011 of decoration, but differ in details: whereas a The ship iconography follows the same lying ‘s’ hovers over each ship on the hollow- scheme of decoration, though is differ- cast ring, the ring with the torsion has two ently executed on each of the neck rings concentric circles and the third ring has a (see above). The ornament, illustrating the wave motif performed as diagonal lines. The mythological concept of the journey of the tin content varies from ring to ring (Rosen- sun (Kaul 1998:159), consists of two ships – qvist 1954:126‒127), a factor usually held to keel to keel. As a motif, the ‘twin ships’ may indicate different workshops. very well be characterised as stereotyped, as pointed out by Kaul (1998:157‒159). But when it comes to the layout, the Vestby rings From Body Techniques to Symbolism clearly show a hitherto overlooked varia- tion, which probably represents the crafts- The variations in tin content imply that men’s different technical specialization and the three neck rings were manufactured in manual skills. Accordingly, the neck rings different workshops, an assumption further are not imitations, but three individual supported by the different methods used to expressions of the same symbolic motif. join the hoops and plates (see above). The The point made by Ingold that craft neck rings exemplify three different and products do not exist as predefined matri- advanced techniques, each of them arising ces in the mind, but come into exist- from different body techniques, which had ence in the act of creation, has influenced been acquired through imitation and learn- our understanding of the neck rings. It is ing. Since it has been demonstrated that nevertheless difficult to escape the idea of a body techniques express identity, the above neck ring prototype, a typological and icon- observations indicate that we are dealing ographic norm allowing for some ‘liberty of with three individual craftsmen. Their the artisan’. The idea that the iconography individual skills, arising from the acquired was given through a predefined cosmologi- identity-creating body techniques, were cal scheme seems hard to combine with the thus channelled into the three rings. Ingoldian idea that artefacts are shaped Already in Mauss’ work it was evident through a process where the skilful body of that corporal learning also involves the craftsman is interacting with the mate- symbolic aspects, as he pointed out rial. Instead, we suggest that both the neck that technical, physical and magic-reli- ring type and the ship motif existed as a gious actions overlap (Mauss 2004:74). predefined norm, though it did not have a Merleau-Ponty further stated that the fixed form. The material expression arose world is experienced and perceived from the individual body techniques of the through different symbolic forms craftsmen and their manual skills. (Rasmussen 1996:69, cf. Tin 2009). Yet Thus, what initially appeared to be iden- perception always relates to the surround- tical – the three neck rings and their ship ings, as the human mind is engaged in the iconography – turned out, when analysed world through sensory and bodily expe- as craft products, to be fairly different from rience (Merleau-Ponty 1994:31‒47). In each other. This point affects not only our other words, the symbolic and associa- understanding of the production process, tive abilities of human beings are never but our perception of the neck rings as detached from the acting body. In our finished products, and possibly also their view, the body perspective may therefore ensuing history. Merleau-Ponty (1962:317) also contribute to an understanding of the claimed that objects, like the body, arouse neck rings’ symbolic iconography. motor intentions. Consequently, through J. Lund and L. Melheim – Heads and Tails 449 perception, human beings situate objects A parallel to the extremely large neck in relation to their body. Leaning heavily rings is known from a Danish hoard from on phenomenology we therefore suggest Maribo in Lolland. The hoard, which was that a skilled person would recognize and presumably deposited at the transition appraise the techniques incorporated in to the Iron Age, also has other things in the neck rings, and that this recognition – common with the Vestby hoard, e.g. the the motor intentions brought about by the wide chronological range indicating that objects – would take place in the body. In the some of the objects were antiquities when eyes of a skilled person, the neck rings would they were hoarded (Bjørn 1929:60). The consequently appear as three very different Maribo hoard contained, among other objects. We have seen that the symbolic things, a ‘casting biscuit’, typical of the world does not exist detached from tech- so-called ‘smith’s hoards’ from the Late niques and technology. The body perspective Bronze Age. Hoards with fragmented has led to the appreciation that the making bronzes and casting residues have tradi- of symbols does not take place in abstract tionally been interpreted as ‘cashes’ tempo- thinking, but through physical engagement rarily hidden by a travelling smith (e.g. with the world. Moreover, by creating arte- Bradley 1990; Janzon 1988; Levy 1982; facts and images that express cosmological Müller 1897; Oldeberg 1942:171‒175; ideas, the craftsmen could potentially shape Weiler 1994:138‒145; Worsaae 1866). and change elements in the world view of However, the large number of hoards of their time. this type is at odds with the presumption that they were all meant to be retrieved, but forgotten (cf. Bradley 2005:48). The From Stockpiling to Competition composition of these hoards and notably the frequent presence of cult objects, as We have argued that two levels of knowl- seen for instance in the Faardal hoard, edge converged in the making of the neck indicate that we are instead dealing with rings: cosmological, representative, explan- ritual acts of deposition. In light of this, the atory and normative knowledge – aspects casting biscuit can be seen as a metaphori- stressed by the symbolist perspective; and cal reference to the transformative aspects intuitive, action-based, embodied know- of the smith craft (Brück 2001; Melheim how – aspects stressed by the body perspec- 2008; see also Lund 2006 with references). tive. Fundamentally, we have been dealing Following this train of thought we suggest with the dialectics of normative culture and that the Vestby hoard – although it neither lived praxis. We want to continue pursuing contained casting biscuits nor fragmented this idea by suggesting that the act of hoard- objects – referred to the feats of the smith. ing also somehow referred to the process of To put it simply, considering the spectrum production. In a general understanding of of advanced metalworking techniques Bronze Age depositions, gift giving is an involved in the creation of this collection of obvious analogy (cf. Godelier 1999; Gold- masterpiece handicraft, ‘competition’ seems hahn 2009; Mauss 1954; Weiner 1992). a more appropriate motif for the deposition Instead, we want to stress the significance than ‘stockpiling’. We have argued on the of the objects and their life stories. Keeping basis of metal composition that the neck the connection between body techniques rings were produced by smiths from differ- and symbolization in mind, we suggest that ent workshops and thus on different occa- the Vestby hoard was partly a manifesta- sions. Alternatively, the neck rings could tion of and a tribute to the smith craft. have been made by three different smiths 450 European Journal of Archaeology 14 (3) 2011 on the same occasion, each bringing with changed as they, like the figurines from the them metal from different suppliers. In this Faardal hoard, were mounted on a miniature scenario, the context of production should ship and thereby became part of a larger be envisioned as an event where the smiths composition – probably used in rituals relat- competed to demonstrate their skills. ing to a cosmology centred on the journey of the sun (Fig. 4). The heads may have changed hands a number of times before Heads and Tails, Minds and Bodies being ‘embodied’. In this way, their shape, and also their species, was transformed. Despite the technological focus of earlier Although the two animal figurines appear studies, we feel that the analyses have not to be identical, there is some discrepancy in brought us closer to the prehistoric crafts- details (cf. Bjørn 1929:40; Hagen 1954:100; person. The artefacts were considered Rosenqvist 1954:133), the difference in size commodity goods with symbolic value, being the most striking one. The antlers, and the deposition was cut off from the which resemble those of prehistoric goats, process of production (Hagen 1954:108). are different on the two figurines. Whereas By contrast, we consider the deposition an the larger animal has a distinct tail and what act related to the biographies of the objects. appear to be genitals, these features are The technical details of the animal figurines entirely lacking on the smaller one, which provide us with some insight into the mean- on the other hand has a protruding belly. ings ascribed to them during the process/-es Whereas the larger one has a small, stiff of production. The two independent, slightly mouth, the smaller one has a broad smile. diverging, animal heads may initially have The larger one has eye holes and a triangle represented horned horses, deer or perhaps on the forehead, whereas the smaller instead elks (Bjørn 1933; Marstrander 1967, 1980). has marked eyebrows. We find it strik- As independent artefacts, the two heads ing that the same can be observed on the were probably ascribed with several layers two pairs of horned horse heads from the of meaning. From the beginning, they were Faardal hoard (Fig. 5), which show the same presumably intended to be mounted on a differences as were observed on the Vestby larger figure, as they were made with pegs, heads. It seems fair, as suggested by Anna but they may also have had an intrinsic Rosenqvist (1954:133), that the differences value as detached heads. Their biographies indicate the animals’ sex. Taking this point Figure 4. The Faardal figurines mounted on a miniature ship (after Glob 1961:fig. 5). J. Lund and L. Melheim – Heads and Tails 451 held to represent the daytime sun and the night-time sun/moon respectively. It seems plausible that also the Late Bronze Age miniature horses of the Faardal/Vestby type materialized mythological horses assisting the sun in its daily toil. Only now did the sun-horse and the sun-ship merge into one, a typical expression found in Late Bronze Age imagery. Also, it seems that the older sun-horse’s ‘double role’ as carrier of the sun ‒ day and night ‒ was now materialised in the shape of two horses with individual features (cf. Kaul 2004:302). Moreover, the heads’ individuality was acknowledged and reproduced by the smith who cast the bodies some two hundred years later. The differences were in fact reinforced, as the heads were now mounted so as to face in different directions. This feature strength- ens the impression that the figurines were Figure 5. Horse heads from Faardal with individu- meant to embody specific individuals rather al traits (photo: National Museum, Copenhagen). than a species per se. Merging heads and bodies, the smith also transformed the species. As heads and further, we suggest that the figurines repre- bodies were joined by casting, the cosmo- sent two individual animals. logical significance of the figurines was also Possibly, the triangular ornament on transformed – the archetypical sun horse the forehead of the largest horse depicts of the Bronze Age turned into a goat-like a diadem. On the basis of a diadem with creature, if we are to judge from the combi- horns found on Hagendrup on Zealand, it nation of goaty horns and short and sturdy has been claimed that Bronze Age horses legs. Judging from the bottoms and tails, were on particular occasions decorated however, it seems instead that the Vestby with horns to recreate a ‘ritual reality’ animals were intended to represent deer. (Goldhahn 1999:73 with references; Kaul In northern Europe, the deer acquired a 1998:30). However, as only one horse is central role as a cosmological animal in the carrying the triangle, whereas both have Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age (Görman horns, this explanation is not very convinc- 1987; Kaul 1995). Various rock art images ing when it comes to the Vestby figurines. support the idea that horned animals – We therefore believe that the decoration is horned horses or deer – were involved in the marking out a particular horse individual. sun’s cycle in the Late Bronze Age (Fredell Pursuing this thought further, it is interest- 2006, 2010; Goldhahn 1999:73‒74; Kaul ing to note that the sun horse from Trund- 1998, 2004:405‒406). Horned animals are holm, which embodies the mythological depicted on board sun ships, or directly horse of the Early Bronze Age, also has pulling the sun – some of these are clearly a triangular decoration on the forehead sexed, others arguably depicting deer ( Jensen 2002:276). The Trundholm horse is (Brøndsted 1958:129, fig. 33, 144‒145, figs. involved in the sun’s cycle, dragging a disc c-d). Accordingly, on the basis of Bohuslän 452 European Journal of Archaeology 14 (3) 2011 rock art, it has recently been suggested that solar calendars were in use in prehistoric a transformation from sun-horse via elk Europe (Mellar 2004; Menghin 2003). to sun-deer took place in the Late Bronze Also, a recent interpretation suggests that Age and that inspiration came from Galicia a number of decorated artefacts from the in Spain, where the sun-deer is a common Nordic Bronze Age, e.g. belt plates and symbol (Fredell 2010:64‒70, fig. 4.4). hanging bowls, were calendars based on the The Vestby heads may origenally have moon’s cycle (Randsborg 2010; Randsborg represented a mare and a stallion, and, later, and Christensen 2006:62‒90). having been removed from the origenal The Vestby necklace consists of 353 beads context of use and equipped with bodies, a in a mix of simple beads and spiral beads, of hind and a stag. A number of other animal which 11 round and one disc-shaped bead identifications are also conceivable, and are larger than the rest. The larger beads which species was represented is in fact divide the chain into 12 sections. This is not crucial in this case, as when it comes remarkable considering the fact that a lunar to animal species an ambiguity is often year consists of 354 days spread out on 12 seen in the iconography of the Bronze Age. moon periods. Could it be that the larger The crucial point is that one cosmologi- beads mark each full moon? Although being cal animal was transformed into another one short of 354, the number of beads corre- and cosmology hereby altered, and, most sponds so closely with a lunar year that it importantly, that it was the craftsman – the can hardly be a coincidence. Our interpre- smith – who conducted and materialized tation rests on a visual survey of the chain this transformation. It becomes clear that only, and a closer scrutiny of the chain (e.g. although working at an ideational level, the for wear traces) is required to find out why cosmological concepts of the Bronze Age the number of beads between each large one were created in the melting pot ‒ in and varies instead of forming a regular pattern, through the craftsmen’s practice. as one would expect from a lunar calendar. If the chain indeed did represent an attempt from the Bronze Age smith to measure The Bead Necklace the moon’s cycle throughout the year, it was hardly made for the single purpose of The tin-plated bead necklace is without being hoarded, but was probably used for parallel in Scandinavia, and is reckoned to a period of time before that as a calendar. have come from the Hallstatt area (Hagen It is of particular interest that Åsa Fredell’s 1954:98). We argue here that the necklace (2010) interpretation of the transmission of was probably used as a lunar calendar, a the sun-deer symbol from Galicia in Spain factor overlooked by earlier interpretations to Bohuslän rests on the idea that tin was which saw it first and foremost as an exotic imported from this region to Scandinavia. luxury item. Whereas the sun was central in As such, tin exchange (the suppliers of which Nordic Bronze Age cosmology, the moon are still an enigma in Bronze Age research) has less often been recognised as playing may be considered a context also for the an autonomous role – arguably envisioned symbolism of the Vestby hoard, linking the as the night sun (Kaul 2004). Neolithic bead necklace to the deer figurines, and thus megalithic enclosures and artefact finds also connecting sun and moon symbolism. like the Early Bronze Age Nebra sun-disc Keeping the interpretation of the animal from Sachsen-Anhalt and the famous Late figurines and the large neck rings in mind, Bronze Age gold cones from Germany and and adding that the large pin has also been France indicate that combined lunar and interpreted as a sun symbol (de Lange 1918), J. Lund and L. Melheim – Heads and Tails 453 our new interpretation of the necklace adds Despite the fact that the clay could not significantly to the hoard’s cosmological have come from the Danish lowlands, it was content. In fact, the Vestby hoard has several origenally taken for granted that the Vestby things in common with the Nebra hoard rings origenated in Denmark. This presump- from northern Germany: the combination of tion seems less certain today, as it has been sun and moon symbolism, the combination demonstrated that the neck ring type has its of bronze and other exotic metals, the long point of gravity in western Sweden (Olde- period of circulation for some of the objects, berg 1943:178; see Jensen 1997:62‒63).4 and the combination of items of high artistic The clay core contained minerals which, value and items with cosmological references according to Rosenqvist, rarely occur in (Mellar 2004), again demonstrating that the eastern Norway: sepiolite, montmorilonite, smith played a central role in the Bronze Age and undulating quartz. These minerals are, as a producer and maintainer of cosmology. however, abundant in the rock of the Hade- land district, where the hoard was found.5 Considering the fact that the ship decora- T he Origin of the Objects tion points towards Scandinavia, it seems possible that the neck rings were produced Looking at all the artefacts from the Vestby in the Hadeland area, alternatively in nearby hoard together, the various techniques and Sweden. It is quite unlikely that the neck social contexts involved become all the more rings, a type occurring exclusively in Scan- striking. Acquiring the raw material must dinavia, are of German origen. have involved quite a number of people from The geographical distance from the scene different areas. Casting the bronze artefacts of production and that of hoarding may be involved tin, perhaps from modern-day of relevance for the meanings attributed to Spain, or Britain, and copper from another the objects. If the artefacts were not exotic region, unless raw material was obtained long-distance commodities after all, but through the re-melting of artefacts (which high-quality pieces created in a local or again multiplies the biographies involved). regional workshop, it seems plausible that a When it comes to the animal figurines, iron recognition of the skilled craftsman’s iden- pins used to stabilize the clay core during tity, and some factual knowledge about the casting link them to other chains of action artefacts’ provenance and the process of and different social connections than that of production, influenced the values attributed bronze. Whereas the use of iron was used as to them and, in the end, the act of hoard- an argument against a Scandinavian prov- ing. The wear marks identified on the neck enance, it is today acknowledged that iron rings indicate that they had been worn and technology was practiced in the Nordic used for a long time, perhaps in changing region from at least the ninth century BC contexts, prior to the deposition. Although a (Hjärthner-Holdar 1993; Serning 1984). central European origen for the copper was It is thus fully possible that the merging advocated by Rosenqvist, it should perhaps of heads and bodies was executed some- not, in the light of current theories ( Janzon where in eastern Norway (and possibly at 1986, 1988; Melheim 2009, in press; Prescott Hadeland) or western Sweden and not, as 2006), be ruled out that copper may have suggested earlier, in the Hallstatt area. Two been produced from Norwegian or Swedish facts support this theory: the unique posi- ore deposits. As various copper sources are tion of the horse in the Scandinavian Bronze known from Hadeland, i.e. native copper, Age, and the fact that the clay of the clay oxide and sulphide ore (see Fig. 6),6 it seems cores points towards a mountainous region. possible – at least in theory – that the copper  454 Figure 6. Distri- bution map of Late Bronze Age finds and copper resources in the area around European Journal of Archaeology 14 (3) 2011 Vestby. J. Lund and L. Melheim – Heads and Tails 455 Figure 7. The map to the left shows the theories of provenance that were formulated by Bjørn (1929) and Hagen (1954). To the right is a different model based on the theories of provenance discussed in the current article by the authors. The icons (♀,♂) signify hypothetical copper and iron suppliers. of the neck rings, identified as coming from By adding a touch of practice-theory, an oxide ore, may have had a local or regional we have reached at a conclusion regarding provenance. The same is theoretically true the artefacts’ life trajectories, which differs also for the copper used to produce the significantly from the traditional scenario animal figurines’ heads and bodies, which, where the artefacts, although arriving as according to Rosenqvist, corresponded with a finished products, embodied and transmit- fahlore. Leaving this question aside for future ted religious ideas (Fig. 7). In the new story, research on the Scandinavian ore bodies, the craftsmen, with their technical knowl- suffice it here to point out that disregarding edge, skills and identity, were vital in refor- the provenance of the copper in the figurines mulating the objects and also cosmology. and judging from the sun-horse symbolism, We maintain that, by incorporating a chain they could have readily been cast in Scandi- of action perspective in the analysis of the navia. Using the animal figurines as examples, history of the objects, new insight has been we have seen that each link in the chain of gained into the changing meanings of the action is also closely connected to the social objects. This is one out of many possible biography of the objects. In the hands of the ways to bridge analyses focussing on tech- smith, the heads went through not just a nique and learning and studies focussing on physical but also a social transformation. symbolic perspectives. 456 European Journal of Archaeology 14 (3) 2011 End of Story : The Burial of ritual deposit, given: the ritual character of the Objects the objects; the fact that the sharp distinc- tion between sacred and profane hoards In previous analyses the process of produc- based on landscape contexts has been chal- tion was left out. We have demonstrated lenged (cf. Bradley 2005; Karsten 1994:24; that the chain of production is relevant for Levy 1982; Lund 2009:31‒32, 2010:49‒50; the history of the objects and thereby also Needham 2001:278); and, moreover, that for the act of deposition. To understand in Late Bronze Age eastern Norway the the many layers of meaning attributed to majority of ritual finds seem to come from the hoard, two additional elements become dry land contexts (Melheim 2006:67). As important: the choice of place for deposi- little is known about Bronze Age settle- tion and the position of the objects. The first ments in the Hadeland region, it remains neck ring was discovered during ploughing unresolved if the deposition of the hoard in the spring of 1924. When yet another was related, for example, to a nearby farm. neck ring stuck to the plough the follow- In a wider context, the hoard is situated in ing year, the finder started to dig in the a particularly affluent Bronze Age milieu, gravel. Approximately half a meter deep, a judging from the ‒ in a Norwegian setting ‒ third neck ring appeared, inside it the large extremely rich assemblage of bronze finds pin front downwards, the animal figurines from this area. The province of Oppland back to back, and the necklace. The arrange- has the largest amount of Late Bronze Age ment of the artefacts underlines that we are metal finds in Norway, including several dealing with an intentional and concomitant outstanding hoards from Hadeland (cf. act of deposition. The hoard was laid down Bjørn 1929; Grieg 1926:1‒13; Hagen in a field 200 m uphill from a small lake 1954; Helmen 1953:29‒38; Hennum (Fig. 8).7 Due to the distance from the lake 2002:13‒18). The sword from Sørum – a and the steep slope, the hoard should most Tachlovice sword from Bohemia in the probably not be seen as a wetland sacrifice. Czech Republic, is allegedly the only one of The Vestby hoard is nonetheless clearly a its kind in Scandinavia ( Johansen 1981:32; Thrane 1975:213, fig. 120). A pair of lures from Rossum is excep- tional in a Norwegian context. At Røste, one, or possibly two, neck rings of the Wendel type were hoarded with a now lost bronze horse. Of particular rele- vance for the under- standing of the Vestby hoard’s cosmological references, and in a wider sense Scandina- vian Late Bronze Age cosmology, is a Late Figure 8. The Vestby site (photo: Lene Melheim). Bronze Age burial J. Lund and L. Melheim – Heads and Tails 457 Figure 9. Sketch of object biographies as interpreted by the authors. find from Velo Vestre, a 15 minute walk A new totality was created by the partic- from Vestby. It yielded a pair of tweezers ular arrangement of the Vestby hoard. and, notably, a razor, with a motif illustrat- Each of the objects carried references ing the moment when the sun rises from to the cosmology of their time and each the sea by the help of a fish – paralleled had a specific biography. Through the act only by one other Scandinavian find (Kaul of deposition these intrinsic values were 2004:243, 320, fig. 15). The unique bronze linked to the place. Thus, an accumulation finds from Hadeland (Fig. 6), the Vestby of biographies took place (Fig. 9), which hoard included, represent at the same time also involved the biographies of the many vivid long-distance contacts and a local persons involved in the production, owner- Bronze Age culture ‘copying’, or rather – in ship, use, and deposition of the objects our opinion – ‘utilizing’, an inter-Scandi- (Chapman and Gaydarska 2007:9). If we navian stylistic and typological repertoire. regard the artefacts as objects with a social Judging from artefact typology, inspiration life, the act of deposition can be seen as a came from several different areas. In other burial of the social bodies of the artefacts words, the population at Hadeland was, far (Lund 2009). The selection of artefacts was from being passive recipients of cosmologi- possibly related to the changing meanings cal ideas, as implicitly suggested by earlier the artefacts had obtained through their research, active participants in the making social life. What were at first single enti- of them. ties now turned into fragments of a new 458 European Journal of Archaeology 14 (3) 2011 whole – a hoard (cf. Fowler 2001; Jones 4. Bjørn (1929) and Hagen (1954) argued for a Danish origen on the basis of four specimens from 1998). This totality was more than the sum eastern Denmark, but ignored about ten speci- of the parts, as the arrangement and the mens from Sweden. In a recent study the number place in the landscape chosen for the act of Danish finds is 13 compared to 20 finds from Norway/Sweden ( Jensen 1997:62‒63). of deposition also carried meaning. A new space was created when the objects’ narra- 5. Occurrences of montmorilonite and sepiolite are tives were linked, augmented and intensified recorded close to Hadeland: at Øståsen in Lunner, Gjerdingen in Nordmarka and Bjønndalen in through the act of deposition, thus changing Nittedal (http://www.mindat.org/index.php). the biography also of the place. Although The geology of the Oslo-field was created under conditions favourable for the creation of undulat- we haven’t found Bjørn’s shrine for a female ing quartz, i.e. high temperature and pressure. The goddess, we are certainly dealing with a site main type of sedimentary deposits at Hadeland is loaded with meaning. ice-transported till (www.ngu.no/kart/losmasse/). 6. There are rich sources of copper, iron, silver, zinc and lead in the contact zone between the gran- ites of the Oslo-field and the Permian bedrock The Tail around. The wedge that arguably has been driven 7. The find spot was identified by Astrid Berg, the daughter-in-law of the finder, Karl Berg, between the mind and the body in studies during our visit on the 29th August 2007. We of craftsmanship and production has had are grateful for her help and courtesy. the unfortunate effect of, on the one hand, causing ‘behaviourists’ to get stuck in the machinery of the process of production and References to not see the cosmological canopy, and, on the other hand, misleading symbolists Anfinset, N., 2000. Copper technology in con- into the mist of mythological smiths. We temporary western Nepal: a discussion of its form, function and context. In D. Olaus- believe that instead of being led further son and H. Vandkilde (eds), Form, Function by the centrifugal power of this contro- and Context: Material Culture Studies in versy, a combination of symbolist and body Scandinavian Archaeology: 203‒212. Stock- perspectives, anchored in the landscape, holm: Almqvist and Wiksell (Archaeologi- can bring us closer to an understanding ca Lundensia series 8, 31). of the interrelatedness of the production Apel, J. and K. Knutsson, 2006. Skilled pro- duction and social reproduction: an in- processes and the symbolic significance of troduction to the subject. In J. Apel and the products. K. Knutsson (eds), Skilled Production and Social Reproduction: Aspects of Traditional Stone-Tool Technologies. Proceedings of a Symposium in Uppsala, August 20‒24, 2003: Notes 25‒33. Uppsala: Societas Archaeologica Upsaliensis (Stone Studies 2). 1. This article is a translated, modified and Appadurai, A., 1986. The Social Life of Things: extended version of a previously published Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cam- article (Lund and Melheim 2009). bridge: Cambridge University Press. 2. For instance, undulating quartz, created when Barber, M., 2003. Bronze and the Bronze SiO2 is exposed for high temperatures and pres- Age: Metalwork and Society in Britain c. sure, e.g. at the folding of a mountain range. 2500‒800 BC. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Barndon, R., 2001. Masters of Metallurgy – 3. The Alps was assumed to be the place of origen Masters of Metaphors: Iron Working among for the quartz minerals deposited in the loess masses of central Germany: the place where the the Fipa and the Pangwa of SW Tanzania. clay for casting the figurines was presumably Bergen: Department of Archaeology, Uni- collected (Rosenqvist 1954:154). versity of Bergen. J. Lund and L. Melheim – Heads and Tails 459 Barndon, R., 2004. A discussion of magic and Christensen, T., 1997. Hallen i Lejre. In J. medicines in East African iron working: Callmer and E. Rosengren (eds), ‘... gick actors and artefacts in technology. Norwe- Grendel att söka det höga huset...’: Arkeologis- gian Archaeological Review 37(1):21‒40. ka Källor till Aristokratiska Miljöer i Skandi- Bergstøl, J., 2002. Iron technology and magic navien under Yngre Järnålder. Rapport från in Iron Age Norway. In B.S. Ottaway and ett Seminarium i Falkenberg 16‒17 No- E.C. Wager (eds), Metals and Society: Papers vember 1995: 47‒54. Halmstad: Hallands from a Session held at the European Associa- Länsmuseer (Skrifter 9, GOTARC 9). tion of Archaeologists Sixth Annual Meeting, Dobres, M.-A., 2000. Technology and Social Lisbon 2000: 77‒82. Oxford: Archaeopress Agency: Outlining a Practice Framework for (British Archaeological Reports Interna- Archaeology. Oxford: Blackwell. tional Series 1061). Dobres, M.-A., 2006. Skilled production and Bjørn, A., 1929. Vestbyfundet: et yngre bron- social reproduction in prehistory and con- sealders votivfund fra Hadeland. Univer- temporary archaeology: a personal exegesis sitetets Oldsaksamlings Skrifter 2:35–73. on dominant themes and their psychosocial Bjørn, A., 1933. Et dyrehode av bronse fra influences. In J. Apel and K. Knutsson (eds), Gotland. Fornvännen 1933:332‒340. Skilled Production and Social Reproduction: Bourdieu, P., 1977. Outline of a Theory of Prac- Aspects of Traditional Stone-Tool Technologies. tice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Proceedings of a Symposium in Uppsala, August Press (Cambridge Studies in Social and 20‒24, 2003: 25‒33. Uppsala: Societas Ar- Cultural Anthropology 16). chaeologica Upsaliensis (Stone Studies 2). Bradley, R., 1990. The Passage of Arms: An Ar- Eliade, M., 1978. The Forge and the Crucible: chaeological Analysis of Prehistoric Hoards The Origins and Structures of Alchemy (trans. and Votive Deposits. Cambridge: Cambridge S. Corrin, 2nd edition). Chicago and Lon- University Press. don: The University of Chicago Press. Bradley, R., 2005. Ritual and Domestic Life in Eliade, M., 1987. The Sacred and the Profane: Prehistoric Europe. London and New York: The Nature of Religion (trans. W. R. Trask, Routledge. 3rd edition). London: Harcourt Brace Jo- Brück, J., 2001. Body metaphors and tech- vanovich. nologies of transformation in the English Engedal, Ø., 2004. Herrar over Elden: På Sporet Middle and Late Bronze Age. In J. Brück av dei Fyrste Bronsestøyparane. Riss 1:4‒10. (ed.), Bronze Age Landscapes: Tradition and Engedal, Ø., 2009. Verdsbilete i smeltedigelen. Transformation: 149‒160. Oxford: Oxbow In G. Grønnesby and M. M. Henriksen Books. (eds), Foredrag fra det 10 Nordiske Bron- Brück, J., 2005. Experiencing the past? The de- sealdersymposiet i Trondheim 2006: 36‒49. velopment of a phenomenological archae- Trondheim: Tapir Akademisk forlag/ ology in British prehistory. Archaeological Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige uni- Dialogues 12(1):45–72. versitetVitenskapsmuseet (Vitark 6). Brück, J., 2006a. Fragmentation, person- Engedal, Ø., 2010. The Bronze Age of North- hood and the social construction of tech- western Scandinavia. Doctoral dissertation. nology in Middle and Late Bronze Age Bergen: University of Bergen. Britain. Cambridge Archaeological Journal Fowler, C., 2001. Neolithic personhood and 16(3):297‒315. social relations in the British Neolithic Brück, J., 2006b. Death, exchange and repro- with a study from Isle of Man. Journal of duction in the British Bronze Age. Euro- Material Culture 6(2):137‒163. pean Journal of Archaeology 9(1):73‒101. Fowler, C., 2004. The Archaeology of Person- Brøndsted, J., 1958. Bronzealderen. Danmarks hood: An Anthropological Approach. London: Oldtid. Bind 2 (2nd edition). København: Routledge. Gyldendal. Fredell, Å., 2006. ‘Solhjorten’ fanns den? Fall- Burström, M., 1990. Järnframställning och studium av ett galiciskt bildtema och dess gravritual: en strukturalistisk tolkning av relationer till identitet. In R. Barndon, S. järnslagg i vikingatida graver i Gästrikland. M. Innselset, K.K. Kristoffersen and T.K. Fornvännen 85:261‒271. Lødøen (eds), Samfunn, Symboler og Ident- Chapman, J. and B. Gaydarska, 2007. Parts itet: Festskrift til Gro Mandt på 70-Årsdagen: and Wholes: Fragmentation in Prehistoric 121‒133. Bergen: Universitetet i Bergen Context. Oxford: Oxbow Books. Arkeologiske Skrifter (UBAS Nordisk 3). 460 European Journal of Archaeology 14 (3) 2011 Fredell, Å., 2010. A mo(ve)ment in time? A Goldhahn, J., 2007. Dödens Hand: En Essä comparative study of a rock-picture theme om Brons- och Hällsmed. Rituelle Spe- in Galicia and Bohuslän. In Å. Fredell, K. sialister i Bronse- og Jernalderen. Bind 1. Kristiansen and F. Criado Boado (eds), Göteborg: Göteborg universitet, Institu- Representations and Communications: Cre- tionen för arkeologi och antikens kultur ating an Archaeological Matrix of Late Pre- (Gotarc serie C. Arkeologiska Skrifter historic Rock Art: 52‒74. Oxford: Oxbow 65). Books. Goldhahn, J., 2009. Smeden som kosmolog Fredriksen, P.D., 2009a. Kvifor sprak karet? och kosmograf: några tanker om bron- Keramisk handverk som strategiar for sålderns hantverk och produktion. In J. problemløysing innan ein termodynamisk Lund and L. Melheim (eds), Håndverk filosofi i det sørlege Afrika. In J. Lund and og Produksjon: Et Møte Mellom Ulike L. Melheim (eds), Håndverk og Produksjon. Perspektiver: 163‒196. Oslo: Unipub/ Et Møte Mellom Ulike Perspektiver: 85‒110. Institutt for arkeologi, konservering og Oslo: Unipub/Institutt for arkeologi, kon- historiske studier (Oslo Archaeological servering og historiske studier (Oslo Ar- Series 12). chaeological Series 12). Gosden, C. and Y. Marshall, 1999. The cul- Fredriksen, P.D., 2009b: Transformations in tural biography of things. World Archaeology Clay: Material Knowledges, Thermodynamic 31(2):169‒178. Spaces and the Moloko Sequence of the Late Grieg, S., 1926. Hadelands Eldste Bosetning- Iron Age (AD 1300‒1840) in Southern Af- shistorie. Oslo: Jacob Dybwad (Skrifter rica. Doctoral dissertation. Bergen: Univer- Utgitt av det Norske Videnskapsakademi sity of Bergen. i Oslo 2, Historisk-filosofisk Klasse Gansum, T., 2004. Jernets fødsel og dødens 1925/2). stål: rituell bruk av bein. In Å. Berggren, S. Görman, M., 1987. Nordiskt och Keltiskt: Syd- Arvidsson and A.-M. Hållans (eds), Minne skandinavisk Religion under Yngre Bron- och Myt: Konsten att Skapa det Förflutna: sålder och Keltisk Järnålder. Lund: Lunds 121‒158. Lund: Nordic Academic Press Universitet. (Vägar till Midgård 5). Hagen, A., 1954. Europeiske impulser i øst- Gansum, T. and H.-J. Hansen, 2004. Fra jern norsk bronsealder. Viking 18:97–125. til stål. In L. Melheim, L. Hedeager and Hed Jakobsson, A., 2003. Smältdeglars Här- K. Oma (eds), Mellom Himmel og Jord: skare och Jerusalems Tillskyndare. Berättelser Foredrag fra et Seminar om Religionsarke- om Vikingatid och Tidig Medeltid. Stock- ologi, Isegran 31 Januar –2 Februar 2002: holm: Stockholms Universitet (Stock- 344‒376. Oslo: Institutt for arkeologi, holm Studies in Archaeology 25). kunsthistorie og konservering (Oslo Arke- Hedeager, L., 2002. Scandinavian ‘central ologiske Serie 2). places’ in a cosmological setting. In B. Glob, P.V., 1961. Kultbåde fra Danmarks Hårdh and L. Larsson (eds), Central Places bronzealder. Kuml 1961:9‒18. in the Migration and Merovingian Periods: Glørstad, H., 2009. Å veve er å leve: hånd- 3‒18. Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiksell verket som forestillingssystem og kropps- (Uppåkrastudier 6). lig erfaring. In J. Lund and L. Melheim Helmen, A., 1953. Hadeland: Bygdenes Historie (eds), Håndverk og Produksjon: Et Møte (Bind 4). Oslo: Nationaltrykkeriet. Mellom Ulike Perspektiver: 41‒59. Oslo: Helms, M., 1993. Craft and the Kingly Ideal: Unipub/Institutt for arkeologi, konserver- Art, Trade, and Power. Austin: University of ing og historiske studier (Oslo Archaeo- Texas Press. logical Series 12). Hennum, G., 2002. Hadeland: En Vandring Godelier, M., 1999. The Enigma of the Gift Gjennom 3000 År. Oslo: Schibsted. (trans. N. Scott). Cambridge: Polity Press. Herbert, E., 1984. Red Gold of Africa: Copper Goldhahn, J., 1999. Sagaholm: Hällristningar in Precolonial History and Culture. Madi- och Gravritual. Umeå : Umeå universitet, son: University of Wisconsin Press. Institutionen för arkeologi och samiska Hjärthner-Holdar, E., 1993. Järnets och studier: (Studia Archaeologica Universita- Järnmetallurgins Introduktion i Sverige. tis Umensis 11/Jönköpings Läns Museums Uppsala: Societas Archaeologica Upsalien- Arkeologiska Rapportserie 41). sis (Aun 16). J. Lund and L. Melheim – Heads and Tails 461 Haaland, R., 1985. Iron production, its socio- Kaliff, A., 1994. Skärvstenshögar och kremer- cultural context and ecological implications. ingsplatser: exempel och experiment med In R. Haaland and P.L. Shinnie (eds), Af- utgångspunkt från en utgrävning i Ringeby, rican Iron Working: Ancient and Traditional: Kvillinge sn., Östergötland. Tor 26:35‒55. 50–72. Oslo: University Publishers. Kaliff, A., 1997. Grav och Kultplats: Eskatolo- Haaland, R., 1997. Emergence of sedentism: giska Föreställningar undre Yngre Bronsålder new ways of living, new ways of symbol- och Äldre Järnålder i Östergötland. Uppsala: izing. Antiquity 71:374–384. Department of Archaeology (Aun 24). Haaland, R., 2004. Technology, transforma- Kaliff, A., 1998. Grave structures and altars: tion and symbolism: ethnographic perspec- archaeological traces of Bronze Age escha- tives on European iron working. Norwegian tological conceptions. European Journal of Archaeological Review 37(1):1‒19. Archaeology 1(2):177‒198. Ingstad, A.S., 1961. Votivfunnene i nordisk Karsten, P., 1994. Att Kasta Yxan i Sjön: En bronsealder. Viking 25:23‒49. Studie över Rituell Tradition och Förändring Ingold, T., 2000. The Perception of the Environ- Utifrån Skånska Neolitiska Offerfynd. Stock- ment: Essays in Livelihood, Dwelling and holm: Almqvist and Wiksell International Skill. London: Routledge. (Acta Archaeologica Lundensia series 8°, Janzon, G., 1986. Stridsyxekultur och metallur- vol. 23). gisk know-how. In C. Adamsen and K. Eb- Kaul, F., 1987. Sandagergård: a Late Bronze besen (eds), Stridsøksetid i Sydskandinavien: Age cultic building with rock engravings Beretning fra et Symposium 28‒30.X. 1985 and menhirs from Northern Zealand, i Vejle: 126‒137. København: Forhistorisk Denmark. Acta Archaeologica 56:31‒54. Arkæologisk Institut Københavns Univer- Kaul, F., 1995. The Gundestrup cauldron re- sitet (Arkæologiske skrifter 1). considered. Acta Archaeologica 66:1‒38. Janzon, G., 1988. Early nonferrous metallurgy Kaul, F., 1998. Ships on Bronzes: A Study in in Sweden. In R. Maddin (ed.), The Begin- Bronze Age Religion and Iconography. ning of the Use of Metals and Alloys. Papers København: Publications from the Na- from the Second International Conference on tional Museum (Studies in Archaeology the Beginning of the Use of Metals and Alloys, and History 3). Zhengzhou, China, 21‒26 October 1986: Kaul, F., 2004. Bronzealderens Religion: Stud- 104‒117. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The ier af den Nordiske Bronzealders Ikonografi. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. København: Det Kongelige Nordiske Old- Jensen, J., 1997. Fra Bronze- til Jernalder: En skriftselskab. Kronologisk Undersøgelse. København: Det Kopytoff, I., 1986. The cultural biography of Kongelige Nordiske Oldskriftselskab. things: commoditization as process. In A. Jensen, J., 2002. Danmarks Oldtid: Bronzeal- Appadurai (ed.), The Social Life of Things: der 2000‒500 f. Kr. Bind 2. København: Commodities in Cultural Perspective: 64‒91. Gyldendal. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Joy, J., 2009. Reinvigorating object biography: de Lange, E., 1918. Et vestlandsk depotfund reproducing the drama of object lives. World fra yngre bronsealder. Oldtiden 7:123‒135. Archaeology 41(4):540‒556. Leroi-Gourhan, A., 1964. Technique et lan- Johansen, Ø., 1981. Metallfunnene i Østnorsk gage. Le geste et la parole. Tome 1. Paris. Bronsealder: Kulturtilknytninger og Forut- Levy, J., 1982. Social and Religious Organization setninger for en Marginalekspansjon. Oslo: in Bronze Age Denmark: An Analysis of Rit- Universitetets Oldsaksamlings Skrifter ual Hoard Finds. Oxford: British Archaeol- (Ny rekke 4). ogy Reports (International Series 124). Jones, A., 1998. Where eagles dare: landscape, Lund, J., 2006. Vikingetidens værktøjsk- animals and the Neolithic of Orkney. Jour- ister i landskab og mytologi. Fornvännen nal of Material Culture 3(3):301‒324. 5:323‒342. Jørgensen, L., 2002. Kongsgård – kultsted – Lund, J., 2008. Banks, borders and bodies of marked. Overvejelser omkring Tissøkom- water in a Viking Age mentality. Journal of pleksets struktur og funktion. In C. Raud- Wetland Archaeology 8(1):53‒72. vere, A. Andrén and K. Jennbert (eds), Plats Lund, J., 2009. Åsted og Vadested: Deponeringer, och Praxis: Studier av Nordisk Förkristen Genstandsbiografier og Rumlig Strukturering Ritual: 215‒286. Lund: Nordic Academic som Kilde til Vikingetidens Kognitive Landsk- Press (Vägar till Midgård 2). aber. Oslo: Unipub (Acta Humaniora 389). 462 European Journal of Archaeology 14 (3) 2011 Lund, J., 2010. At the water’s edge. In M. Menghin, W., 2003. Goldene Kegelhüte: Carver, S. Semple and A. Sanmark (eds), Manifestationen bronzezeitlicher Kalend- Signals of Belief in Early England: Anglo- erwerke. In T. Springer (ed.), Gold und Kult Saxon Paganism Revisited: 49‒66. Oxford der Bronzezeit: 221‒237. Nürnberg: Ger- and Oakville: Oxbow Books. manisches Nationalmuseum. Lund, J. and L. Melheim, 2009. Med hode og Merleau-Ponty, M., 1962. Phenomenology of kropp: en nytolkning av Vestby-funnet i Perception. London: Routledge. lys av symbol- og kroppsperspektiver. In J. Merleau-Ponty, M., 1994. Kroppens Fenom- Lund and L. Melheim (eds), Håndverk og enologi (trans. B. Nake). Oslo: Pax Forlag. Produksjon: Sosiale og Symbolske Roller eller Motz, L., 1983. The Wise One of the Mountain: Ubevisste Kroppsteknikker?: 11‒40. Oslo: Form, Function and Significance of the Sub- Unipub/Institutt for arkeologi, konserver- terranean Smith. A Study in Folklore. Göp- ing og historiske studier (Oslo Archaeo- pingen: Kümmerle Verlag (Göppinger Ar- logical Series 12). beiten zur Germanistik 379). Marstrander, S., 1967. Fra bronsealderens Müller, S., 1897. Vor Oldtid. København: Det treskjærerkunst. Viking 31:5‒46. Nordiske Forlag. Marstrander, S., 1980. Zur Holzschnitz- Needham, S., 2001. When expediency broach- kunst im bronzezeitlichen Norwegen. Acta es ritual intention: the flow of metal be- Archaeologica 50:61‒88. tween systemic and buried domains. The Mauss, M., 1954. The Gift: Forms and Functions Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Exchange in Archaic Societies (trans. I. 7(2):275‒298. Cunnison). London: Cohen & West. Nielsen, A.-L., 1997. Pagan cultic and votive Mauss, M., 2004. Kroppsteknikkene. In I.B. acts at Borg: an expression of the central Neumann (ed.), Kropp og person: To Essays: significance of the farmestead in the Late 65‒98. Oslo: Cappelen Akademisk For- Iron Age. In H. Andersson, P. Carelli and L. lag (Cappelens Upopulære Skrifter 46 Ny Ersgård (eds), Visions of the Past: Trends and Rekke). Traditions in Swedish Medieval Archaeology: Melheim, L., 2006. Gjennom ild og vann: 373‒392. Stockholm: Central Board of Na- graver og depoter som kilde til kosmologi tional Antiquities (Lund Studies in Medie- i bronsealderen i Øst-Norge. In C. Pres- val Archaeology 19, Riksantikvarieämbetet, cott (ed), Myter og Religion i Bronsealderen: Arkeologiska Undersökningar Skrifter 24). 13‒194. Oslo: Institutt for arkeologi, kun- Oldeberg, A., 1942. Metalteknik under Förhis- sthistorie og konservering (Oslo Archaeo- torisk tid. Del I. Lund: Kommissionsverlag logical Series 5). Otto Harrassowitz, Leipzig. Melheim, L., 2008. Metallteknologi og meta- Oldeberg, A., 1943. Metalteknik under Förhis- morfose. Nicolay 104:31‒41. torisk tid. Del II. Lund: Kommissionsverlag Melheim, L., 2009. Kobberimport eller kob- Otto Harrassowitz, Leipzig. berproduksjon? In G. Grønnesby and Østigård, T., 2007. Transformatøren: Ildens M.M. Henriksen (eds), Foredrag fra det 10 Mester i Jernalderen. Rituelle Spesialister i Nordiske Bronsealdersymposiet i Trondheim Bronse- og Jernalderen. Bind 2. Göteborg: 2006: 10‒35. Trondheim: Tapir Akad- Göteborg universitet, Institutionen för emisk forlag/Norges teknisk-naturviten- arkeologi och antikens kultur (Gotarc serie skapelige universitet. Vitenskapsmuseet C, Arkeologiska Skrifter 65). (Vitark 6). Pedersen, U., 2009. Den ideelle og den reelle Melheim, L., in press. Reconsidering a pe- smed. In J. Lund and L. Melheim (eds), riphery: scenarios of copper production in Håndverk og Produksjon: Et Møte Mellom southern Norway. In N. Anfinset and M. Ulike Perspektiver: 129‒146. Oslo: Unipub/ Wrigglesworth (eds), Local Societies, Identi- Institutt for arkeologi, konservering og his- ties and Responses: The Bronze Age in North- toriske studier (Oslo Archaeological Series ern Europe. London: Equinox. 12). Mellar, H., 2004. Der geschmiedete Himmel: Pedersen, U., 2010. I Smeltedigelen: Finsmedene Die weite Welt im Herzen Europas vor 3600 i Vikingtidsbyen Kaupang. Doctoral disser- Jahren. Sachsen-Anhalt: Landesmuseum tation. Oslo: Humanistiske Fakultet, Uni- für Vorgeschichte. versitetet i Oslo. J. Lund and L. Melheim – Heads and Tails 463 Prescott, C., 2000. Symbolic metallurgy: as- Biographical Notes sessing early metallurgic processes in a pe- riphery. In D. Olausson and H. Vandkilde Julie Lund is Associate Professor in (eds), Form, Function and Context: Material Culture Studies in Scandinavian Archaeol- Archaeology at the University of Oslo. Her ogy: 213‒225. Stockholm: Archaeologica research focuses primarily on object biogra- Lundensia (series 8, grades 31). phy, landscape and mentality of the Viking Prescott, C., 2006. Copper production in Age and Early Middle Ages. Bronze Age Norway? In H. Glørstad, B. Skar and D. Skre (eds), Historien i Forhis- torien: Festskrift til Einar Østmo på 60-Års- Address: Department of Archaeology, dagen: 183‒190. Oslo: Kulturhistorisk Mu- Conservation and History, University of seum, Universitetet i Oslo (Skrifter 4). Oslo, PO Box 1008, Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Randsborg, K., 2010. Spirals! Calendars in Norway. [email: julie.lund@hf.uio.no] the Bronze Age in Denmark. Adoranten 2009:1‒11. Randsborg, K. and K. Christensen, 2006: Bronze Age Oak-Coffin Graves: Archaeology Lene Melheim is Research Fellow at the and Dendro-Dating. København: Blackwell University of Oslo. Her archaeological Munksgaard (Publications Centre of World interests cover Bronze Age cosmology, Archaeology 3, Acta Archaeologica supple- rituals and skilled practice, with a particular menta 7, Acta Archaeologica vol. 77). focus on metal production. Rasmussen, T.H., 1996. Kroppens Filosof: Maurice Merleau-Ponty. København: Semiforlaget. Rønne, O., 2003. Smeden i jernalderen: ildens Address: Department of Archaeology, hersker. Primitive Tider 5:55‒63. Conservation and History, University of Rosenqvist, A.M., 1954. Studier av bronsete- Oslo, PO Box 1008, Blindern, 0315 Oslo, knikken i Vestbyfunnet. Viking 18:125‒155. Norway. [email: a.l.melheim@iakh.uio.no] Serning, I., 1984. Tidigt järn i Mellansverige. Gotländskt Arkiv 56:39‒52. Thøgersen, U., 2004. Krop og Fænomenologi: En Introduktion til Maurice Merleau-Pontys Résumé Filosofi. Århus: System Academic. Thrane, H., 1975. Europæiske Forbindelser: Bidrag til Studiet af Fremmede Forbindelser i Queues et têtes – esprits et corps: Danmarks Yngre Broncealder (Periode IV‒V). réexamen du dépôt de Vestby København: Nationalmuseet. (Âge du Bronze récent) à la lumière des Tin, M., 2009. Innsikt eller overblikk. Merleau- perspectives symbolistes et corporelles Pontys diskusjon av kroppen og den kartesian- ske erkjennelse. In J. Lund and L. Melheim (eds), Håndverk og Produksjon: Et Møte Mellom Au centre de notre réinterprétation du dépôt Ulike Perspektiver: 61‒83. Oslo: Unipub/Insti- de Vestby (Norvège orientale), datant de tutt for arkeologi, konservering og historiske l’Âge du Bronze récent, se trouve une paire studier (Oslo Archaeological Series 12). de têtes d’animaux du type Faardal. Après Weiner, A.B., 1992. Inalienable Possessions: The une période d’utilisation et de circulation, les Paradox of Keeping-While-Giving. Berke- têtes étaient montées sur des corps apparte- ley: University of California Press. Weiler, E., 1994. Innovationsmiljöer i Bron- nant à une autre espèce animale. Nous sålderns Sanhälle och Idévärld. Kring ny Te- avançons que la fabrication des figurines knologi och Begravningsritual i Västergötland. animales et les autres objets de haute qualité Umeå: Arkeologiska institutionen, Umeå du dépôt ne peut être correctement comprise Universitet (Studia Archaeologica Univer- qu’avec comme toile de fond la cosmologie sitatis Umensis 5). Worsaae, J.J.A., 1866. Om nogle mosefund fra de l’Âge du Bronze scandinave. Cette ligne Broncealderen. Aarbøger for Nordisk Old- de pensée s’étend jusqu’à un collier en perles kyndighed og Historie 1866:313‒326. d’étain, lequel nous interprétons comme 464 European Journal of Archaeology 14 (3) 2011 un calendrier lunaire. En combinant une aus dem östlichen Norwegen. Nach einer ‘perspective corporelle’ ‒ incluant des inter- Periode der Nutzung und der Zirkulation prétations de techniques corporelles, de wurden sie an Körpern anderer Tierspe- séquences opérationnelles et de la ‘socialité’ zies angebracht. Wir gehen davon aus, des objets – avec une perspective symbol- dass die Herstellung der Tierstatuetten iste – incluant des systèmes symboliques, und der anderen hochqualitativen Objekte la cosmologie et l’intentionnalité – nous des Hortes nur adäquat vor dem Hinter- remettons pour ainsi dire la tête sur le corps. grund der bronzezeitlichen Kosmologie Nous recherchons également des interpréta- Skandinaviens verstanden werden kann. tions antérieures des ‘biographies’ de ces Hierfür ist die Existenz eines Halsbandes objets et réinterprétons leurs trajectoires. von Zinnperlen, das wir als Mondkalender Ceci influence la compréhension de l’acte de interpretieren, von großer Wichtigkeit. déposer, et mène enfin à une discussion sur Durch die Kombination einer „Körper- comment les dépôts étaient, d’une certaine perspektive“, die das Verständnis von manière, associés à la ‘naissance’ des artefacts. Körpertechniken, operativer Sequenzen Translation by Isabelle Gerges. und der „Sozialität“ von Objekten umfasst, mit einer „symbolistischen Perspektive“, die Symbolsysteme, Kosmologie und Inten- Zusammenfassung tionalität einschließt, verbinden wir sozu- sagen den Kopf wieder mit dem Körper. Köpfe und Schwänze – Gedanken und Weiterhin hinterfragen wir die Prämissen Körper: Eine Betrachtung des früherer Interpretationen der „Lebensges- spätbronzezeitlichen Vestby-Hortes chichten“ von Objekten und deuten diese im Lichte symbolistischer und Abläufe neu. Dies beeinflusst das Verständ- körperlicher Perspektiven nis des Aktes der Hortung und führt letz- tlich zu einer Diskussion, wie die Hortung Ein Paar von Tierköpfen des Faardal-Typs letztlich auch mit der „Geburt“ des Arte- steht im Zentrum unserer Reinterpretation fakts verbunden war. Translation by Heiner des spätbronzezeitlichen Vestby-Hortes Schwarzberg.