Rekonstruktion och identitet - En undersökning om hur järnåldersmänniskan förmedlas i levandegjorda miljöer

Sammanfattning: The aim of this essay is to investigate in what way the Iron Age human is conveyed in living history museums, such as the Viking village in Foteviken and the Land of legends in Lejre. In the opening chapters I will describe the enivronments and the platform itself of making prehistory come alive. In addition to that I will give a detailed account of the museums objectives. Thereafter I will discuss the images of the prehistoric man, communicated at the museums. The analysis includes among other things, quality research interviews with one of the initiators of the Viking village and also with a former employee at the Land of legends. Finally the essay includes a discussion about contemporary ideas of identity in prehistoric time. According to this material, I found that the picture of the Iron Age man and his community is an interpretation which reflects today's society and modern ideas about identity during the Iron Age. My ambition is that the study of living museums through an identity perspective could result in greater knowledge and awareness of man's role and identity in contemporary life, as well as in prehistoric times.