Recent Norwegian archaeological publications

The part of the Helg?y Project presented here deals with the Norwegian and Sami populations in Helg?y from their supposed immigration to the Region about 13/1400 AD to approximately 1700. Some findings and the methods developed by the project to establish them will be presented, the question of how to distinguish Sami from Norwegian settlements in historical and pre‐historical times being central in the study of North Norway.     

Buzz,Archipelago Economies and the Future of Intermediate and Peripheral Areas in a Spiky World

In a world where large urban agglomerations are increasingly regarded by scholars and policy-makers alike as the engines of economic development, the options at the disposal of intermediate and peripheral areas are dwindling. Doing nothing is, according to the dominating theories, likely to result in a steady decline which may jeopardize their very economic viability. Adopting active measures is thus the way forward. In this paper, we argue that the main solution being proposed—interactive learning through the promotion of local agglomeration (buzz option)—may yield limited results, if at all, as it would stifle the circulation of new knowledge and lead to lock-in. By contrast, promoting interaction outside the comfort zone of geographical, cognitive, social and institutional proximity (pipeline option) is more likely to succeed in generating interactive learning and in facilitating the generation, diffusion and absorption of innovation. We illustrate this point by resorting to the case of firm innovation in Norwegian city regions.     

The Norse Settlement of the Faroe Islands

THIS ARTICLE is based upon archaeological evidence from Lübeck, the capital of the Hanseatic League on the Baltic Sea. Discussed are examples of the material culture and the environment of different socio-economic quarters of the town and their transformation between the 13th and the 16th century. Evidence of the town's topography, urban plots and house-building is presented, and of everyday life including handicrafts, trade and food supply.     

Regional skill relatedness: towards a new measure of regional related diversification

ABSTRACT

This paper proposes a novel index of regional skill-relatedness and calculates this measure for all Norwegian labour-market regions. Studies of regional related diversification rely on measures of related variety, which build on the industry classification hierarchy. However, the growing literature identifying similarities in knowledge and competences across industries demonstrates that these classifications fail to identify a great deal of actual skill relatedness, and that measures based on empirical measures of industry relatedness are required. The skill relatedness measure builds on labour mobility flows across industries to develop a relatedness matrix for Norwegian industries. It further uses social network analysis to identify the number of other regional industries to which each industry in a particular region is related. Comparing this measure to the related variety index, the analysis shows that the two measures are highly correlated, but that the regional skill relatedness index is able to identify more of the relatedness across industries. In particular, the related variety index tends to underestimate the level of relatedness in many of Norway’s most technologically sophisticated manufacturing regions, whereas these rank highly in the regional skill relatedness index. Consequently, the regional skill relatedness index represents a promising new tool for identifying relatedness in regional systems.     

Settlement and settlement continuity in the parish of karlsoey in the middle ages. An analysis based on written sources

Cultural relations in the central Celtic and the Germanic regions during the late LaTene/pre‐Roman iron age have been investigated through a comparison of the fibula material from different sub‐regions. The reliability of results based on occurrence patterns for fibula types has been tested by a direct comparison of the fibulae, without prior type classification. To check the representativity, a detailed analysis has been made of the Northern Germanic region, including also other kinds of artifacts. It appears that cultural relations reflected in similarity of fibulae, dress ornaments and other personal adornments cross the boundaries of the main cultural areas defined through more stable cultural elements, like pottery and burial types and burial customs, while the relations reflected in similar weapons respect these boundaries.     

The puzzle of the Madagascan primates and the cutting edge of a new primatology

Tattersall, Ian. The Primates of Madagascar. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982. xiv + 382 pp. including photographs, maps, references, index. $40.00 cloth.     

Fra samisk ≪overhøyhet≫ til norsk i Tromsen len på 14/1500‐tallet

Det er ei kjent sak at samene i Nord‐Norge i ny ere tid har vært diskriminert og utsatt for assimilering, språklig og kulturelt. Det har også vært vanlig å tilbakeføre denne tilstand til meget eldre tider, som vikingtid og middelalder.

I denne artikkel forsøker forfatteren på basis av lokalt kildemateriale fra ca. 1600 å vise at sjøsamene i Nord‐Troms i sein‐middelalderen kanskje stod i ei meget friere stilling i forhold til sine norske naboer, enn vi vanligvis har tenkt oss.     

European Capitals of Culture: elitism or inclusion? The case of Stavanger2008

Who participates in the European Capital of Culture? This article analyses participation in Stavanger, European Capital of Culture (ECOC) in 2008, drawing on data from a survey conducted among a cross-section of the population of the city and its closest surrounds. It examines whether there is systematic variation in the number and type of events attended across key social background characteristics such as gender, age, education and income, as well as interest in culture. It finds systematic, but small differences between the genders, age groups and people of different educational attainment, and no differences between people with high and low income. Participation levels are high in all social strata. However, interest in culture is an important predictor of participation. Differences in social background and cultural interest matter more for participation in high-brow events. The authors conclude that the ECOC event was fairly inclusive of different population segments.