Status som arkeologisk kategori - en analys av begreppsanvändning inom arkeologisk kunskapsproduktion

Abstract

This study explores the use of status concepts as analytical tools in archaeological knowledge production. It addresses how status is often treated and used as objective or self-evident concepts, despite their interpretative and descriptive character. The study is based on a qualitative text analysis of three archaeological case studies in which status constitutes a central interpretative category. The analysis examines how different status attributions are motivated, which assumptions they rely on, and how they are used to place the archaeological materials in hierarchical frameworks. With various examples, the study demonstrates that status concepts not only function as descriptive terms, but also as interpretative frameworks that privilege certain narratives while excluding others. The lack of methodological transparency in the use of status concepts therefore is shown to contribute to the stabilization of specific interpretative traditions within the archaeological discipline. Finally, the analytic results of the case studies argues that reflexivity should be considered as a methodological requirement when assigning status concepts to a prehistorical context or material, particularly in cases that are complex or subject to long-standing interpretative debate.