Abstract:

Migration is not just a recent, crisis-driven phenomenon, but a fundamental part of human life – and has always been so. This booklet is aimed at everyone who is interested in human migration in the past. In short texts, we first deconstruct twelve common migration stereotypes which are often encountered in both scholarly texts and other media, such as news reports. While most of our texts are written from an archaeological perspective, they also impact how we see migration in the present. For example, are migrations always violent? What is the demographic impact of migrations? How does migration change both migrants and welcoming societies?

A second section explains five common archaeological and scientific methods used to trace past migrations, for example ancient DNA (aDNA), isotopic analysis, and archaeological sourcing methods. In a final part, we present seven selected case studies from the European prehistoric past, from the Stone Age to the early medieval Migration Period. Each text is accompanied by a lavish illustration which functions as a trigger for critical reflection in its own right – whether by provoking laughter, presenting alternative narratives, or inviting emotional responses. The volume also contains a series preface, an introduction, and suggestions for further reading. Enjoy!

This booklet is also available in Norwegian here: Arkeologiske fortellinger om migrasjon

Contents

An introduction to the series – HotAcademia and migration: Myths and realities explained
Bisserka Gaydarska, Laura Coltofean-Arizancu and Uroš Matić

Migration in the past and present – stereotypes, methods and stories
Daniela Hofmann, Catherine J. Frieman, Astrid Nyland

Migration stereotypes

Stereotype 1: Migration is a recent phenomenon
Stefan Burmeister

Stereotype 2: Migration is mass migration
Stefan Burmeister

Stereotype 3: Migration is a one-way, linear process
Martin Furholt

Stereotype 4: Migrants are a coherent group
Daniela Hofmann

Stereotype 5: Migrants give up their roots when they migrate
Astrid J. Nyland

Stereotype 6: Migrants will eventually assimilate
Daniela Hofmann

Stereotype 7: People don’t want to move
Stefan Burmeister

Stereotype 8: Migrations happen because of crises
Martin Furholt

Stereotype 9: Migrants will displace locals demographically
Tim Kerig

Stereotype 10: Genes determine your ethnicity
Eva Fernandez-Dominguez

Stereotype 11: Mobile women are a modern phenomenon
Samantha S. Reiter and Karin Frei

Stereotype 12: Migrations in the past were violent
Astrid J. Nyland

Studying migration in the past: the methods

Method 1: How to read an arrow on a map
Catherine J. Frieman

Method 2: Where do objects come from?
Catherine J. Frieman

Method 3: How languages spread
Rune Iversen

Method 4: Migration is in your bones!
Steinar Solheim

Method 5: How does ancient DNA work?
Eva Fernandez-Dominguez

Migration narratives

Narrative 1: Travelling by boat in the Stone Age
Knut Andreas Bergsvik

Narrative 2: How farming came to Europe
Daniela Hofmann

Narrative 3: Coping with new surroundings in Neolithic Norway
Almut Schülke

Narrative 4: Horses and wagons: technologies of mobility
Niels N. Johannsen

Narrative 5: Mobile women in the Bronze Age
Karin Frei and Samantha S. Reiter

Narrative 6: On the road – paths and routeways
Catherine J. Frieman

Narrative 7: Warriors on the loose? The Migration Period
Stefan Burmeister

Suggested reading
List of authors