Deborah Olausson | Lund University (original) (raw)

Papers by Deborah Olausson

The exploitation of raw materials in prehistory: sourcing, processing and distribution, 2017, ISBN 1-5275-0523-5, págs. 98-112, 2017

The article summarizes the results of work since 2010 to develop nondestructive energy dispersive... more The article summarizes the results of work since 2010 to develop nondestructive energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis (EDXRF) as a non-destructive method for determining the provenience of flint in northern Europe. Some 40 localities from Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine have been sampled and analyzed. Trace elements have not proven particularly effective in drawing distinctions between and among flint and chert because they often occur below, or near, detection limits. However CaO and Fe compositions usually generated the highest count rates and total counts using EDXRF and their concentrations allowed satisfactory partitioning of some of the flints we analyzed. The Use of Non-Destructive EDXRF for Sourcing Flint 99 EDXRF can help us to discriminate among various outcrops of flint used for tool production during prehistory. Future work involves investigating correlations between flint chemistry and visual appearance, as well as investigating source-critical aspects of post-depositional effects on tool surfaces.

Since its publication in 1962, Mats P. Malmer’s book Jungneolithische Studien has heavily influen... more Since its publication in 1962, Mats P. Malmer’s book Jungneolithische Studien has heavily influenced subsequent work on the Swedish-Norwegian Battle Axe Culture. Malmer characterized burial customs as strictly regulated and conservative. Recent archaeological activity in the province of Scania, southern Sweden, provides us with an augmented empirical basis for testing Malmer’s conclusions. In addition, osteological analyses give us new information on e.g. age and sex of buried individuals. The aim of the article is to re-examine Malmer’s tenants, using both his data and new data available to us, emphasizing variability rather than similarity. While the overall picture of homogeneity painted by Malmer remains, it is also apparent that the rigid strictures he emphasized did not fully apply. (Less)

Archaeologia Polona, 2016

The area around the villages Kvarnby and Sodra Sallerup in south-west Scania is the only known fl... more The area around the villages Kvarnby and Sodra Sallerup in south-west Scania is the only known flint-mining site in Sweden. Radiocarbon dates show that the flint was mined mainly during the earliest phase of the Early Neolithic, between c. 4000 and 3600 BC, thus coinciding with the earliest evidence of the Funnel Beaker Culture in the region. The type of flint, the size of the flint nodules, production debris in the mining area and the concentration of point-butted axe distribution to south-west Scania all suggest that the mining was related to the extraction of flint for the production of point-butted axes. However, considering the abundance of easily available flint elsewhere in the region, it seems clear that the mining was not motivated purely by economic reasons. We suggest that the very extraction of flint from pits and shafts in the chalk was socially and symbolically significant in itself. (Less)

Voyage into Savage Europe, 2020

Lithic Technology, 2017

ABSTRACT The Late Neolithic flint daggers of Scandinavia have long fascinated contemporary flintk... more ABSTRACT The Late Neolithic flint daggers of Scandinavia have long fascinated contemporary flintknappers, due to the beauty of some specimens and the presumed skill required to make them. Examination of populations of daggers in museum collections reveals differences in knapping quality. Such differences are commonly ascribed to variations in skill levels on the part of their makers, and high skill is often assumed to indicate craft specialization. The results of a systematic examination of over 500 flint daggers from southern Sweden suggest that no coherent population of daggers was made by specialists to serve as prestige items or for economic gain. Nor do calculations of dagger output support an interpretation of craft specialist production. Rather, it is suggested that the finest daggers were made by artisans who wished to challenge their own embodied flintknapping skills. In pushing the limits of their craft, their motivation was personal, rather than economic.

Papers of the Archaeological Institute University of Lund, 1986

American Antiquity, 1991

Madsen and 10 Scandinavian colleagues present a variety of studies using multivariate techniques.... more Madsen and 10 Scandinavian colleagues present a variety of studies using multivariate techniques. Madsen's introductory chapter gives a theoretical rationale promoting a hypothetico-deductive approach and the use of multivariate deductive (= descriptive) statistics to recognize material patterns interpretable in cultural terms. Principal-components analysis, principal-coordinate analysis, and correspondence analysis are the three multivariate techniques used in most of the contributions. Madsen gives a reasonably clear description of these techniques, requiring only basic statistical knowledge on the part of the reader. However, only two contributions cite specific statistical packages. Regressions, clustering, and factor analyses also appear in a few contributions, but correspondence analysis dominates the book, being used in 8 of 11 articles. Correspondence analysis uses various kinds of data and produces patterns that often can be interpreted as chronological or other seriations, which is what several of these studies do. The audience for this work will be very limited. The discussion focuses heavily on the use of the multivariate techniques. The archaeological results are secondary, and all but one of the examples is Scandinavian. It does make the American reader aware of some of the parallel European tradition of statistical archaeology, and provides a collection of examples of multivariate analyses, especially correspondence analysis, from that tradition. The contributions generally are well written and the production clean.

Fornvännen, 2016

We have used visual and instrumental (EDXRF, energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence) methods to ana... more We have used visual and instrumental (EDXRF, energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence) methods to analyse naturally occurring flint from Gotland and Oland. We compare the results with previously publis ...

European archaeology has long been in thrall of the three period system based on raw material: St... more European archaeology has long been in thrall of the three period system based on raw material: Stone, Bronze and Iron. The article begins with a short discussion questioning the efficacy of this division. Thereafter we present a case study concerning flint technology present in the Bronze Age of southern Scandinavia, namely long blade knives. When we examine debitage from production of long blade knives we find that a dichotomy between specialized workshop production and ad hoc settlement production emerges. If we contrast production and distribution systems for long blade knives of flint with contemporary systems for bronze production and distribution, interesting similarities and differences may emerge.

The article summarizes the results of work since 2010 to develop non- destructive energy dispersi... more The article summarizes the results of work since 2010 to develop non- destructive energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis (EDXRF) as a non-destructive method for determining the provenience of flint in northern Europe. Some 40 localities from Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine have been sampled and analyzed. Trace elements have not proven particularly effective in drawing distinctions between and among flint and chert because they often occur below, or near, detection limits. However CaO and Fe compositions usually generated the highest count rates and total counts using EDXRF and their concentrations allowed satisfactory partitioning of some of the flints we analyzed. EDXRF can help us to discriminate among various outcrops of flint used for tool production during prehistory. Future work involves investigating correlations between flint chemistry and visual appearance, as well as investigating source-critical aspects of post-depositional effects on tool surfaces. (...

General rights Unless other specific re-use rights are stated the following general rights apply:... more General rights Unless other specific re-use rights are stated the following general rights apply: Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal

Tingen med vilka vi omger oss har symboliska saval som praktiska inneborder - aven bristen pa kru... more Tingen med vilka vi omger oss har symboliska saval som praktiska inneborder - aven bristen pa krusiduller pa saker ar ju i sig en markering. utmaningen for arkeologen ar att kunna utlasa hur manniskor anvander sin materiella kultur i sociala manipulationer saval som for att utfora praktiska goromal. Ett viktigt satt att kunna utova makt over tingen ar vid tillverkning, dar det finns mojlighet att kontrollera nagot moment. Artikeln tar upp hur vi kan undersoka de sociala forutsattningarna for tillverkning av tingen. Exemplifiering galler steget fran talande yxor till social dolkar under sydskandinavisk neolitikum.

Through ethnographic accounts and modern experiments it has been observed that careful heating of... more Through ethnographic accounts and modern experiments it has been observed that careful heating of silica materials improves their flaking qualities. Using the scanning electron microscope, tests were carried out on a Mesolithic microblade, two Neolithic daggers, a Neolithic sickle and a Neolithic thick-butted axe, to determine if these objects had been heat treated prehistorically. Results indicated that this technique was not used and was probably unknown during the Stone Age in southern Sweden.

Description of the history of research and the results of investigations of Sweden's only pre... more Description of the history of research and the results of investigations of Sweden's only prehistoric flint mines at Sodra Sallerup, southern Sweden.

A description of the cultural landscape in the Krageholm area, southern Sweden, during the Bronze... more A description of the cultural landscape in the Krageholm area, southern Sweden, during the Bronze Age.

The exploitation of raw materials in prehistory: sourcing, processing and distribution, 2017, ISBN 1-5275-0523-5, págs. 98-112, 2017

The article summarizes the results of work since 2010 to develop nondestructive energy dispersive... more The article summarizes the results of work since 2010 to develop nondestructive energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis (EDXRF) as a non-destructive method for determining the provenience of flint in northern Europe. Some 40 localities from Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine have been sampled and analyzed. Trace elements have not proven particularly effective in drawing distinctions between and among flint and chert because they often occur below, or near, detection limits. However CaO and Fe compositions usually generated the highest count rates and total counts using EDXRF and their concentrations allowed satisfactory partitioning of some of the flints we analyzed. The Use of Non-Destructive EDXRF for Sourcing Flint 99 EDXRF can help us to discriminate among various outcrops of flint used for tool production during prehistory. Future work involves investigating correlations between flint chemistry and visual appearance, as well as investigating source-critical aspects of post-depositional effects on tool surfaces.

Since its publication in 1962, Mats P. Malmer’s book Jungneolithische Studien has heavily influen... more Since its publication in 1962, Mats P. Malmer’s book Jungneolithische Studien has heavily influenced subsequent work on the Swedish-Norwegian Battle Axe Culture. Malmer characterized burial customs as strictly regulated and conservative. Recent archaeological activity in the province of Scania, southern Sweden, provides us with an augmented empirical basis for testing Malmer’s conclusions. In addition, osteological analyses give us new information on e.g. age and sex of buried individuals. The aim of the article is to re-examine Malmer’s tenants, using both his data and new data available to us, emphasizing variability rather than similarity. While the overall picture of homogeneity painted by Malmer remains, it is also apparent that the rigid strictures he emphasized did not fully apply. (Less)

Archaeologia Polona, 2016

The area around the villages Kvarnby and Sodra Sallerup in south-west Scania is the only known fl... more The area around the villages Kvarnby and Sodra Sallerup in south-west Scania is the only known flint-mining site in Sweden. Radiocarbon dates show that the flint was mined mainly during the earliest phase of the Early Neolithic, between c. 4000 and 3600 BC, thus coinciding with the earliest evidence of the Funnel Beaker Culture in the region. The type of flint, the size of the flint nodules, production debris in the mining area and the concentration of point-butted axe distribution to south-west Scania all suggest that the mining was related to the extraction of flint for the production of point-butted axes. However, considering the abundance of easily available flint elsewhere in the region, it seems clear that the mining was not motivated purely by economic reasons. We suggest that the very extraction of flint from pits and shafts in the chalk was socially and symbolically significant in itself. (Less)

Voyage into Savage Europe, 2020

Lithic Technology, 2017

ABSTRACT The Late Neolithic flint daggers of Scandinavia have long fascinated contemporary flintk... more ABSTRACT The Late Neolithic flint daggers of Scandinavia have long fascinated contemporary flintknappers, due to the beauty of some specimens and the presumed skill required to make them. Examination of populations of daggers in museum collections reveals differences in knapping quality. Such differences are commonly ascribed to variations in skill levels on the part of their makers, and high skill is often assumed to indicate craft specialization. The results of a systematic examination of over 500 flint daggers from southern Sweden suggest that no coherent population of daggers was made by specialists to serve as prestige items or for economic gain. Nor do calculations of dagger output support an interpretation of craft specialist production. Rather, it is suggested that the finest daggers were made by artisans who wished to challenge their own embodied flintknapping skills. In pushing the limits of their craft, their motivation was personal, rather than economic.

Papers of the Archaeological Institute University of Lund, 1986

American Antiquity, 1991

Madsen and 10 Scandinavian colleagues present a variety of studies using multivariate techniques.... more Madsen and 10 Scandinavian colleagues present a variety of studies using multivariate techniques. Madsen's introductory chapter gives a theoretical rationale promoting a hypothetico-deductive approach and the use of multivariate deductive (= descriptive) statistics to recognize material patterns interpretable in cultural terms. Principal-components analysis, principal-coordinate analysis, and correspondence analysis are the three multivariate techniques used in most of the contributions. Madsen gives a reasonably clear description of these techniques, requiring only basic statistical knowledge on the part of the reader. However, only two contributions cite specific statistical packages. Regressions, clustering, and factor analyses also appear in a few contributions, but correspondence analysis dominates the book, being used in 8 of 11 articles. Correspondence analysis uses various kinds of data and produces patterns that often can be interpreted as chronological or other seriations, which is what several of these studies do. The audience for this work will be very limited. The discussion focuses heavily on the use of the multivariate techniques. The archaeological results are secondary, and all but one of the examples is Scandinavian. It does make the American reader aware of some of the parallel European tradition of statistical archaeology, and provides a collection of examples of multivariate analyses, especially correspondence analysis, from that tradition. The contributions generally are well written and the production clean.

Fornvännen, 2016

We have used visual and instrumental (EDXRF, energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence) methods to ana... more We have used visual and instrumental (EDXRF, energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence) methods to analyse naturally occurring flint from Gotland and Oland. We compare the results with previously publis ...

European archaeology has long been in thrall of the three period system based on raw material: St... more European archaeology has long been in thrall of the three period system based on raw material: Stone, Bronze and Iron. The article begins with a short discussion questioning the efficacy of this division. Thereafter we present a case study concerning flint technology present in the Bronze Age of southern Scandinavia, namely long blade knives. When we examine debitage from production of long blade knives we find that a dichotomy between specialized workshop production and ad hoc settlement production emerges. If we contrast production and distribution systems for long blade knives of flint with contemporary systems for bronze production and distribution, interesting similarities and differences may emerge.

The article summarizes the results of work since 2010 to develop non- destructive energy dispersi... more The article summarizes the results of work since 2010 to develop non- destructive energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis (EDXRF) as a non-destructive method for determining the provenience of flint in northern Europe. Some 40 localities from Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine have been sampled and analyzed. Trace elements have not proven particularly effective in drawing distinctions between and among flint and chert because they often occur below, or near, detection limits. However CaO and Fe compositions usually generated the highest count rates and total counts using EDXRF and their concentrations allowed satisfactory partitioning of some of the flints we analyzed. EDXRF can help us to discriminate among various outcrops of flint used for tool production during prehistory. Future work involves investigating correlations between flint chemistry and visual appearance, as well as investigating source-critical aspects of post-depositional effects on tool surfaces. (...

General rights Unless other specific re-use rights are stated the following general rights apply:... more General rights Unless other specific re-use rights are stated the following general rights apply: Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal

Tingen med vilka vi omger oss har symboliska saval som praktiska inneborder - aven bristen pa kru... more Tingen med vilka vi omger oss har symboliska saval som praktiska inneborder - aven bristen pa krusiduller pa saker ar ju i sig en markering. utmaningen for arkeologen ar att kunna utlasa hur manniskor anvander sin materiella kultur i sociala manipulationer saval som for att utfora praktiska goromal. Ett viktigt satt att kunna utova makt over tingen ar vid tillverkning, dar det finns mojlighet att kontrollera nagot moment. Artikeln tar upp hur vi kan undersoka de sociala forutsattningarna for tillverkning av tingen. Exemplifiering galler steget fran talande yxor till social dolkar under sydskandinavisk neolitikum.

Through ethnographic accounts and modern experiments it has been observed that careful heating of... more Through ethnographic accounts and modern experiments it has been observed that careful heating of silica materials improves their flaking qualities. Using the scanning electron microscope, tests were carried out on a Mesolithic microblade, two Neolithic daggers, a Neolithic sickle and a Neolithic thick-butted axe, to determine if these objects had been heat treated prehistorically. Results indicated that this technique was not used and was probably unknown during the Stone Age in southern Sweden.

Description of the history of research and the results of investigations of Sweden's only pre... more Description of the history of research and the results of investigations of Sweden's only prehistoric flint mines at Sodra Sallerup, southern Sweden.

A description of the cultural landscape in the Krageholm area, southern Sweden, during the Bronze... more A description of the cultural landscape in the Krageholm area, southern Sweden, during the Bronze Age.

Recent developments in proveniencing methods, in particular analyses of stable isotopes, have pro... more Recent developments in proveniencing methods, in particular analyses of stable isotopes, have provided new insights into the movement of materials such as copper ore, wool and amber on the European continent during the dynamic 21st – 16th centuries BC. Today we are able to demonstrate that materials moved from A to B, but the maps fraught with arrows tell us little about what happens in the receiving context. In this session we would like to explore the implications of raw material movement from the perspective of the local artisans. How does the introduction of a new and previously unknown raw material, or objects made from that raw material, affect local artisans, who in many cases lack knowledge about how to manipulate it? One response visible in the archaeological record is skeuomorphism, where local artisans, lacking adequate access to the new material, imitate foreign forms in locally available raw material. This is often interpreted as an attempt to block the influx of new materials seen as a threat by local artisans. Another possible response for the local artisan is to gain the necessary knowledge in order to be able to manipulate the new material him/herself. A third possibility is that the new raw material is accompanied by artisans who are already familiar with its properties.
As raw material movement affects the whole continent, we hope to attract scholars from north to south and from east to west. We would like to gather concrete examples of the three possible responses we outline above, but welcome other possibilities as well.