Mapping the North: Ethnicities, Territories and the Networks of Archaeology

Abstract

The Saami, the indigenous population of northern Fennoscandia, have constantly been conceptualized as the others in relation to the (pre-)history writing of the modern nation-states. Here, the discussion focuses on Saami archaeology and representations of Saami prehistory in Sweden. It is emphasized that all ethnic, national and territorial concepts are embedded in networks of power, and that the connections and separations behind the concepts need to be explored. In this article a relational network approach is suggested as an alternative to dualistic thinking about ethnicities and territories. Ethnicity is here seen as one set of relationships, interwoven into many networks stretching over time and space. The network approach is in part inspired by actor-network theory, which is briefly described together with some possible points of interest for archaeological studies.

Keywords

• nationalism
• ethnopolitics
• actor-network theory
• northern Fennoscandia
• Saami