Abstract
Unna Saiva is a Sámi offering site situated in Gällivare in Northern Sweden. The site was excavated in the early 20th century. It yielded a large number of finds, including objects of silver, pewter and other metals, coins, and animal bones. The metal objects and coins date mainly to the late 10th century and 11th century AD, whereas the animal bone finds date from the 6th to the 17th centuries AD. Zooarchaeological analysis, radiocarbon datings of animal bones and stable isotope analyses conducted in this study reveal new information about religious ritual, religious change, and human–animal relationships among the Sámi. We argue that there was a change in the offering tradition, intertwining with changes in the subsistence economy and especially reindeer domestication. Our results indicate that reindeer domestication, acknowledged to have had a major impact on social organization and economy, was also a major factor in the transformation of Sámi indigenous religion. However, the underlying nature of the offering tradition remained consistent although the focal species of economic and religious interest changed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 10-22 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Journal of Anthropological Archaeology |
Volume | 40 |
Early online date | 3 Jun 2015 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2015 |
Keywords
- Sámi archaeology
- offering site
- indigenous religion
- Fennoscandia
- Sweden
- zooarchaeology
- stable isotopes
- reindeer domestication