New research & new perspectives on women in or outside archaeology during the 19th century
Fri
6
Feb
Friday 6 February, 2026at 10:00 - 12:00
HUM.H.119
The Research Seminar Series in Archaeology and Environmental archaeology, together with the Research Seminar in History and History of ideas, invites you to a seminar with Påvel Nicklasson. The seminar title is "Påvel Nicklasson: a short presentation. Plus new research and new perspectives on women in or outside archaeology during the 19th century".
Abstract
Last year I moved to Norrfors some 80 kms southwest of Umeå. Since we have become neighbours I am thankful to the opportunity to present myself and my research at the department. I am an archaeologist who, long ago, was most interested in the early Iron Age.
But over the past 25 years, I have mainly done research on the history of archaeology and its development during the 19th century. I have written a biography on Johan Haquin Wallman (1792–1853), an outstanding but totally forgotten antiquarian. I have also done research on Wallman’s contemporaries in the Götiska Förbundet, a patriotic society focused on exploring the ancient world. The last 15 years I have done research on Sven Nilsson (1787–1883). Nilsson was professor in Natural History at Lund University and fundamental for the construction of scientific archaeology. Just before Christmas my third book on Nilsson arrived from the print shop.
As you may understand, I'm a little tired of Nilsson right now. But Nilsson had a wonderful daughter, Ida (1840–1920), who accompanied him to museums and scientific meetings around Europe. She knew more about archaeology than 99% of all men, but is not mentioned in texts on the history of archaeology. Ida led me to other women who, in one way or another, devoted themselves to archaeology during the 19th century. The written word is central in the history of science. The history of archaeology can, in a sense, be understood a series of great men with great Ideas writing great books. That is why, in recent years, I have concentrated on finding women who wrote important texts about ancient history and archaeology during the 19th century. Their texts often differed from how men wrote. They presented other sides of ancient times and how one can write about the past. These texts and their female authors should become part of the history of archaeology. I plan to present some spectacular examples when we meet in Umeå.
The Research Seminar Series in Archaeology and Environmental Archaeology presents and discusses current research in archaeology and environmental archaeology. See more upcoming seminars in the series
