André Nordin
About me
I am born and raised in the Stockholm region. In 2014, I got my first Bachelor’s Degree in History at the Department of History at Stockholm University. My thesis explored the strategic (and often manipulative) use of various rituals in the legitimizing of power by the kings of the Ottonian dynasty (919–1024 CE) in Early Medieval Germany. The primary sources I worked with consisted of Widukind of Corvey’s Res gestæ saxonicæ and Thietmar of Merseburg’s Chronicon Thietmari. Also in 2014, I got my second Bachelor’s Degree, this time in Archaeology at the Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies at Stockholm University. My thesis explored the spatial relations between all then-known quartz deposits from the Mesolithic period in Gladö on Södertörn, ca 7000–4000 BCE. I explored how the deposition of quartz could be related to animistic views. In this sense, the quartz deposits could be interpreted as a kind of ritual deposit. In 2020, I got my Master’s Degree in Archaeology at the Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies at Stockholm University. My thesis explored the ritualised practices of deliberately destroying martial artefacts prior to their deposition in burials across several cemeteries from Pre-Roman and Roman Iron Age Sweden (ca 500 BCE – 400 CE). Since January 2022, I’ve been employed as a doctoral student at the Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies at Stockholm University.
Thesis project
In my doctoral thesis, I will expand upon some of the ideas that I initially explored in my Master’s thesis. My analysis focuses on a much-neglected topic: the practice of deliberately reshaping deposited metalwork in the Early Iron Age of Sweden (500 BCE – 500 CE). Prior to their deposition in burials, wetlands, settlements and other sites, a lot of metalwork was subjected to various kinds of often quite violent reshapings – ranging from burning to bending, breaking, cutting, and compressing. Specifically, it seems that edged metalwork, that is, knives, spearheads, swords, axes, scissors, needles and so on, was particulary selected for this treatment. Importantly, the reshaping of edged metalwork was not just repeatedly practiced throughout the Early Iron Age in Sweden, it was a practice that can be traced back to the Early Bronze Age on the continent. Reshaping of metalwork was practiced across the European continent from the Bronze Age up until the Late Iron Age, in some places even up until the Medieval period. In my dissertation, I will focus on Öland and the deposited reshaped metalwork from the cemetery of Sörby-Störlinge and the wetland site of Skedemosse. I will specifically focus on not just what kind of treatment edged metalwork was subjected to in depositional contexts, but also on how the metalwork was treated. My main theoretical framework consists of Baradian New Materialist perspectives, Latourian ANT-theory, Holbraadian Relational Ontologies, and practice-oriented ritual theory.
Interests
I have a wide range of interests ranging from prehistory to modern times across the globe. However, my main research interest is in the period stretching from 1300 BCE to 600 CE in Europe (covering the periods from the Late Bronze Age to the Migration Period). I also have a deep interest in South Asian prehistory and history.
Supervisors
Main supervisor: Professor Fredrik Fahlander.
Secondary supervisor: Dr Alison Klevnäs.
andre.nordin@ark.su.se