Man or woman?

Abstract

Knowledge of Scandinavian costume history is based on information gathered from a large variety of sources. Actual costumes of skin and textiles are off course key finds but also prehistoric iconography offers a unique opportunity for comparative costumes studies. In this article quick guidelines for identification of male and female costumes seen on goilfoil figures dated to the Late Iron Age are presented. Further the recently excavated figuring from Lejre in Denmark is used as an example of how the guidelines can be used and applied to other find categories. Thus, the article offers an alternative interpretation of the figurine as a depiction of a female.

Keywords

• Archaeology
• prehistory
• iconography
• costume
• gender