National Museum Of Denmark Danish Prehistory

First Published in 2004. This book is both a survey of Danish prehistory and a detailed presentation of the problems, themes and literature of modern Danish archaeology. It was written to present a general survey of the prehistory of Denmark as it has emerged after the past decade of research. The book is composed of four sections: The hunters and gatherers, the first farmers, towards a new era and the chiefdom of the Iron Age. Each section includes chapters dealing with the environment, demography, subsistence patterns and social patterns. Each section is followed by a survey of the archaeological record for the period and a discussion of the relevant literature. The book concludes with a bibliography of approximately 700 titles covering most of the major Danish archaeological studies since about 1950.

The prehistory and early history of northern societies -- from the Palaeo-eskimo pioneers to the Viking Norse Settlers -- is unfolding through archaeological and historical research and through interdisciplinary studies including natural sciences. The more insight we have gained on Arctic and North Atlantic archae-ology the more we have realised how diverse and dynamic these societies were and how complex their stories are. This volume includes articles on New approaches to dynamic analysis of Palaeo-Eskimo artefacts; Interaction with the environ-ment; Dynamics of small scale societies; Archi-tecture and social organisation of space in Palaeo-Eskimo and Inuit contexts; Origins and spread of the Palaeo-Eskimo and Inuit cultures; Demography, death and burials; Norse culture in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, e.g. outlaws of Viking Age Iceland; Trade and burials in Viking Age Britain.

Endless rows of stone axe heads, display after display. Around 1900, a typical Danish museum would focus on finds, research and prehistory. But new thoughts were brewing. Visions of focusing on lives lived, and making museums for people, not about things. This shift gave birth to folk and open-air museums where the distant past no longer eclipsed human memory. The resulting clash: the capital vs the provinces, the National Museum vs the many new local museums. The debate goes on, but today's angle is different. As Danes seek out cultural-history museums like never before, this success raises the eternal question: Where should museums head in the future? Perhaps we spy the contours of new clashes on the distant horizon. Take a guided tour of Danish museum history with Thomas Bloch Ravn, director of the open-air museum Den Gamle By.