THE FORMATION OF SOCIAL RANK IN THE EARLY NEOLITHIC OF NORTHERN EUROPE

Klavs Randsborg has made important contributions to the archaeology of the Bronze Age and later prehistoric periods, but in the 1970s he also touched upon issues such as the formation of rank in Neolithic societies. In his article ‘Social Dimensions of Early Neolithic Denmark’, he suggested that a hierarchical society arose at the transition from the Early to Middle Neolithic, c. 3300–3200 BC. Since then, excavations and research have resulted in numerous publications about the Neolithic, but only rarely have these examined social development. In this article, the authors continue the debate, sharing the same starting point as Klavs Randsborg, but here approaching the question of emerging social inequality on the background of recent research into the early agricultural societies in Northern Europe, seen in a broader European context. The primary focus is upon burial monuments as manifestations of status and power, and parallels are drawn with similar construction activities amongst present‐day farming communities in such remote areas as the islands of Southeast Asia. The social organisation and ritual customs of these modern farming communities are considered relevant when interpreting the archaeological evidence for early agricultural societies in Northern Europe.     

Experimental archaeology and boats

Experimental archaeology has now a definite place in research and the late Paul Johnstone was a pioneer in organizing such experiments especially with boats. In our February issue we published a reconsideration of his experiment, in collaboration with Professor Marstrander, on building a hide boat. We now welcome a discussion by Mr Christensen and Dr Morrison on the recent publication The building and trials of the replica of an ancient boat: the Gokstad faering Part 1. Building the replica by Sean McGrail. 59 pp. 50 figs. Part 2. The sea trials by Eric McKee. 38 pp. 25 figs. National Maritime Museum. Maritime monographs and reports no. 11, 1974. London. Ed .     

Going unscripted: A call to critically engage storytelling methods and methodologies in geography and the medical‐health sciences

Geography and the medical‐health sciences have long histories of engaging the humanities. The last decade has seen for both disciplines a significant growth in theoretical frameworks, pedagogic strategies, and research methods that draw upon visual and literary arts, critical self‐reflection, creative tools and expressions, and even direct engagement or partnership with artists, curators, authors, theatre‐practitioners, and other professionals in the arts. Both geographers and medical‐health professionals, then, are increasingly (re)making and understanding various worlds through the humanities. In this paper we explore the histories of humanities in both geography and the medical‐health sciences, especially medicine: we argue the two disciplines have much to learn from each other's engagement and work with the humanities. Focusing on the increasing use of narrative and storytelling in both disciplines, we argue that deployment of humanities‐based frameworks and impulses must not be taken up without careful and critical analytical reflection. Finally, we ground our theoretical explorations with empirical examples from recent community‐based work about the risks and benefits of storytelling and visual arts when looking at the health geographies of Indigenous and settler peoples in Northern British Columbia.

De manière impromptue : vers une démarche critique sur les méthodes de mise en récit et les méthodologies en géographie et en sciences médicales et de la santé

L'intérêt pour les sciences humaines par la géographie et les sciences médicales et de la santé s'inscrit dans une longue tradition. Au cours de la dernière décennie, les deux disciplines ont connu une importante croissance de cadres théoriques, de stratégies pédagogiques et de méthodes de recherche qui font appel aux arts visuels et à la littérature, à l'autoréflexion critique, à des outils et modes d'expression novateurs, voire même à une participation directe ou à des partenariats avec des artistes, conservateurs, auteurs, praticiens de l'art dramatique et d'autres professionnels du domaine des arts. Autant les géographes que les professionnels de la médecine et de la santé contribuent de plus en plus à (re)constituer et comprendre divers mondes à travers les sciences humaines. Cet article brosse un tableau historique des sciences humaines tant en géographie qu'en sciences médicales et de la santé, en particulier la médecine : nous soutenons que les deux disciplines ont beaucoup à apprendre l'une de l'autre sur l'intérêt que chacune porte aux sciences humaines. En mettant l'accent sur le recours grandissant par les deux disciplines à la narration et à la mise en récit, nous faisons valoir l'idée que le déploiement des cadres et des impulsions fondés sur les sciences humaines ne peut pas être envisagé sans mener au préalable une réflexion analytique minutieuse et critique. Enfin, nous fondons cette étude du champ théorique sur des exemples empiriques tirés de travaux réalisés à l'échelle communautaire sur les risques et les avantages de la mise en récit et des arts visuels quand on se penche sur les aspects géographiques de la santé des peuples autochtones et colonisateurs dans le nord de la Colombie‐Britannique.     

Aspects of gift giving in Denmark in the sixteenth century and the case of the Rose Flower Cup

The concept of an ancient system of gift exchange gradually being replaced by a market economy during the middle ages and early modern period has been rightly challenged by many recent studies. As it will appear from this essay on gift giving at the Danish court of King Frederik II (1559-88), gifts and favours continued to play an important role in the organisation of power and society. Several examples from sixteenth-century Denmark are discussed, including Frederik II’s patronage of the astronomer Tycho Brahe. Special emphasis is put on a gift from the Danish noble couple Hans Skovgaard and Anne Parsberg on the occasion of the baptism in 1577 of their godson, the eldest son of Frederik II. Donations at rites of passage like baptism were a convention at the time, yet the huge gilt silver cup known as the ‘Rose Flower’ was more than that. It was an elegant way of reciprocating an earlier, royal wedding gift. At the same time the cup and its symbolism hinted at the ideal of the generous lord, stressing the hospitality and accessibility expected from the king, an ideal as common to king and nobility at the renaissance court of the sixteenth century as it had been in the previous centuries. The more humble gifts mentioned in private account books of the time point to the fact that people did not necessarily give someone a gift to obtain something in return. Sometimes gifts were simply given to sustain the social order of which the donors were a part.     

‘Our home,our way of life’: spiritual homelessness and the sociocultural dimensions of Indigenous homelessness in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada

In this article, I examine the sociocultural dimensions of Indigenous home and homelessness through a case study of increasing visible homelessness in two northern Canadian communities. Drawing on five years of ethnographic research on Indigenous homelessness in Yellowknife and Inuvik, two regional centres in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada, I suggest that Indigenous experiences of homelessness are at once collective and immediate. In particular, I draw on the concept of ‘spiritual homelessness’ (Keys Young 1998) to examine the multiple scales of homelessness experienced among northern Indigenous people. Research participants highlight several key elements of rapid sociocultural change that have an enduring impact on a collective sense of home and belonging, and play integral roles in shaping the experiences of homeless Indigenous people. Social and material exclusion, breakdowns in family and community, detachment from cultural identity, intergenerational trauma and institutionalisation are all woven throughout the personal narratives of homelessness articulated by research participants. I argue that the alleviation of Indigenous homelessness in the NWT depends on a decolonising agenda that specifically addresses contemporary colonial geographies and their expressions in the key institutions in Indigenous peoples' lives.