MILESTONE: Change that mattered in the Late Iron Age
Name of applicant
Sarah Croix
Title
Associate Professor
Institution
Aarhus University
Amount
DKK 6,989,251
Year
2024
Type of grant
Semper Ardens: Accelerate
What?
This project investigates the impact of social and cultural change on past human lives at the iconic burial site of Lindholm Høje (c. 400-1000 CE). It seeks to show that life in the past was far from static, and that small and big changes occurred at different tempos and on different scales – from clothing to foodways, ways of dealing with the dead, or interactions with the rest of the world.
Why?
New methods in radiocarbon dating are revolutionizing archaeology’s understanding of time. We now need to reconsider how we can weave past everyday lives with the grand narratives of history – a challenge akin to that of our post-modern world going through fast-paced transformations. Lindholm Høje is the ideal candidate for this, as its archaeological remains are yet to be fully studied.
How?
The project will analyze more than 700 burials from Lindholm Høje to track down changes in burial practices, diet, mobility, demographic composition and health among its population. We will measure the changes' different tempos using new methods for radiocarbon dating, and discuss which changes are significant by assessing relations between different changes through correspondence analysis.