Invisible and Ignored: The Archaeology of Nineteenth-Century Subalterns in Sweden

This paper aims to discuss subalterns in different social environments in Sweden. The potential of archaeological studies of landless subalterns in rural and urban areas are shown though a number of case studies. It is argued that archaeology can show the multivocality of the lives of the subalterns, in the same way as it shows how the subalterns organized their daily life. This is done through the use of the concepts of matterscape, powerscape, and mindscape. The subalterns used the physical landscape (matterscape) according to prevailing norms and power structures (powerscape), thus creating a perceptive understanding of their daily landscape (mindscape).