A Bronze Age Perception of Identity

Ideology and Landscape Organization in a South-Western Swedish River Valley

Abstract

This paper deals with the relationship berween natural and cultural landscapes. The archaeological example and region of interest is the southern part of the valley ofthe River Ätran, situated in southwest Sweden. The material discussed primarily consists of Bronze Age grave monuments from a broad chronological perspective, but also includes settlements, which are recognized as the combined essence of a farm with associated and ideologically suitable spots for grave monuments. It is argued that the topography characteristic of the valley constituted the development of a specific physical organization of settlements, and consequently of grave monuments as well. The monuments were repeatedly located in specific parts of the landscape. The ideology of society was expressed through grave architecture and in the distribution of monuments in the landscape. It is argued that the monuments, barrows, cairns and stone-settings were each ascribed a separate ideological identity within the regional societal structure. The formation of a visible ideological landscape, which can be determined as the combined essence of nature and cosmology, provided the necessary means for regeneration of social structure and organization over time. A starting point is that local traditions of monument construction and burials were one of the main ritual forums through which a population displayed their myths, social structure and historical identiry in relation to a certain place and landscape.