Se dösen och dö sen
Gentagelser av Åke Fredsjö och Västsvenskt Mesolitikum
av Oscar Ortman
Akademisk avhandling
som för avläggande av filosofie doktorsexamen i arkeologi vid Göteborgs universitet, med tillstånd av Humanistiska fakultetsnämnden, kommer att offentligt försvaras Lördagen den 15 november 2008. Disputationen hålls klockan 13.00 i sal 219, Arkeologen, Olof Wijksgatan 6.
Respondent: FK Oscar Ortman
Fakultetsopponent: Fil. Dr Kerstin Cassel Betygsnämnd: Professor emeritus Evert Baudou
Docent Elisabeth Arwill-Nordbladh Professor Lisbeth Larsson
Göteborgs universitet
Institutionen för arkeologi och antikens kultur 2008
See the Passagegrave and Pass away. Repetitions of Åke Fredsjö and Mesolithic research in South-West Sweden.
(Se dösen och dö sen. Gentagelser av Åke Fredsjö och Västsvenskt Mesolitikum)
GOTARC. Series B. Gothenburg Archaeological Thesis No 48. ISSN 02 82-6860 ISBN 91- 85245-36-4. Göteborg 2008.
My thesis starts off with a contract, inspired by the writings of the Danish author Thorkild Hansen (1927 – 1989) and the Danish scholar in literature Poul Behrendt (1944 - ). This contract deals with two different levels. The first level is based on Hansens sentence: “It is the truth that this is a lie”. The second level is his use of the concept of “gentagelse” – repetition, in an almost contemplative way.
In the beginning of this thesis I have made an agreement, a contract, with the reader. On one level there were two complementary aspects; a biographical and a mythographical aspect. The intention of the biographical aspect was to illuminate the life and research of the west
Swedish archaeologist Åke Fredsjö (1913-1978). The aim was to study his research on west Swedish mesolithic and the circumstances in which it was carried out.
The intention of the mythographical aspect on the other hand was to focus on how
archaeological knowledge is produced; to show how the mode in which research is carried out affects the contents and the result of the research.
Through the several “gentagelser” - repetitions that my case studies have been going through, layers by layers of information have been added to the picture. The story about the history of West Swedish Mesolithic research has become more and more intricate. This gave an
opportunity to discuss biography writing, social studies of humanities and concepts like symmetry, mythography and “gentagelser” – repetitions.
The transformation from a biographical study to a mythographical study took place through
“gentagelser” – repetitions, where my reading of written and oral information about West Swedish Mesolithic gradually changed into another understanding. Focus is no longer on the content of the account but on how it was told.
Key words: Biography, Mythography, History of archaeology, Studies of social knowledge, Gentagelse, Mesolithic of South-West Sweden, Discourse theory.
