Material Culture

I’ve been thinking about material culture; Vikings vs. 21st Century. 

I’m not usually one to automatically say “the old ways are the best ways'' indiscriminately.  Some things are better, but definitely not all.  I’m thinking about that whole material culture.  For most of human existence, we haven’t had anywhere near the amount of personal belongings we do now.  We have a plethora of hoo-has, totchkeys, knick-knacks, whatzits, and ding-dongs; so much so that we pay to store them and then forget about them.

What if we started going back to that model?  What if we made a few shirts and pants out of quality fabrics and just used them?  What if those of us who had the wherewithal to grow food, grew some?  Not enough to feed armies, but just one person?

From the archaeological record, we have mostly trash, grave goods, offerings, and sacrifices to study.  We don’t have the luxury of Pompeii-like excavations for the Viking age, so we get the far ends and all around, but not much in the core of homes, workshops, and common lives.  We know from finds that anything that could be repaired, was.  Anything that couldn’t be repaired was repurposed.  Since most things were, by their very nature, biodegradable, not much survives of the material culture.  So we study not only what we do have, but also what surrounding surviving cultures say about Iron Age Scandinavians.

With all of that reading, here’s what I came up with: Iron Age Scandinavians liked their bling, but with the caveat that they mostly made their own.  Some of the more recent publications about our time period are coming out with detailed directions for making your own.  I think in order for us to understand the material culture of our ancestors, we should make our own.  Yes, I’d like for you to buy my wares, but ultimately I’d like for you to have valuable experiences.

To this end I’d like to issue a challenge: Make Your Own Gear.  Do a deep dive into something you’d like in your kit and make it.  If you don’t know  how, find someone who can help.  I can help with ceramics.  I can teach via video feed to individuals or groups.

Good Feast!