The invisible subalterns : An archaeological overview

In the 19th and early 20th centuries there were numerous non-proprietors paupers in the Swedish countryside such as crofters, boarders and inhabitants of rural slums. With a change in the heritage legislation, increased possibilities to archaeologically investigate the non-proprietors of the recent past have emerged, but the archaeological material is still both scarce and of a repetitive character. Thus, multi source methods such as triangulation of written documents, historical maps and archaeological evidence is used to study living conditions in a number of cases. We argue for the importance of archaeology in this context, as there often are arguments against the usefulness of archaeology in a period rich in written sources. We emphasize that archaeology helps provide a more complex picture of the vulnerability and marginalization of poor and paupers. Marginalization could offer new possibilities to the poor and pauper, but also weaker security nets and increased vulnerability. The potential of archaeological studies of landless subalterns can show the multivocality of the lives of the subalterns, in the same way as it shows how the subalterns organized their daily life. We can conclude that much needs to be done on the topic of subalterns, in order to make them more visible and a mainstream topic of historical research. Archeology has a great deal to contribute in this process.