ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE STUDY OF RELIGION: A HISTORICAL OUTLINE

Why is it that in archaeology religious interpretations are the focus of research in some periods, while neglected in others? To answer that question, let me begin by presenting a long-forgotten scholar. In 1963 Åke Ohlmarks presented a popular synthesis on rock art and religion during the Bronze Age. Originally a specialist of comparative religion, he drew on a corpus of religious knowledge that was beyond that possessed by contemporary archaeologists who did not wish to acquire it in any case. He continued a research tradition founded by Oscar Almgren with his 1927 book Hällristningar och kultbruk (“Rock Carvings and Cult Practices”). In this book, an archaeologist drew on European folk-lore and comparative religion to gain a better understanding of Bronze Age religion, as manifested in rock art. This path-breaking book was part of a revival of cultural-historical studies, initiated by Gustav Kossina in the decades around 1900. The original spirit was now expanded to encompass archaeological interpretation throughout Europe, although with other interpretative perspectives, such as the study of religion.

The cultural-historical revival was a widespread phenomenon in the humanities and social sciences during this period, represented in anthropology by the works of Franz Boas and James Frazer in the USA and England, most notably in the twelve volumes of The Golden Bough (1993) by James Frazer that appeared between 1890 and 1915, later summarized in a single volume in 1922 which is still in print.