Becoming people : early iron age courtyard sites in Norway as arenas for rites de passage

Abstract

This paper suggests that the courtyard sites of western Scandinavia were primarily arenas for transformation rituals from childhood to manhood. These were central, defining practices for both individuals and society as a whole. Due to their liminality, these processes can be difficult to engage with archaeologically. Also our cultural situatedness often leaves marginality out of interpretations. This paper wishes to show how youths and age-set institutions could be the producers of monumental material culture, otherwise conceived of as the prerogative of adults.