Oscar Montelius was born on September 9, 1843. In 1869, he received his Ph.D. from Uppsala University, and soon become a renowned Swedish archeologist and professor. He wrote several books including Swedish History, Dating in the Bronze Age with Special Reference to Scandinavia, and Civilization of Sweden in Heathen Time.
Oscar Montelius was known for developing a relative chronological dating method, known as Swedish seriation. During the early ages of archeology, accurate record keeping and methods were not always used. Oscar Montelius developed a technique to date artifacts based on geography and comparisons from artifacts within a certain geographical area. Montelius’ method looked at individual artifacts and placed them on a timeline specific to the location. When combined with historical references, such as a contemporary written record, the object was re-filed into the timeline. Based on the absolute date of that artifact, other artifacts of that geographical region are compared and given absolute dates as well.
In 1888, Montelius worked for the Statens History Museum. On November 4, 1921, Oscar Montelius died at the age of 78. In 1943, Sweden commemorates a postage stamp in his honor.
References
Hole, Frank and Robert F. Heizer. An Introduction to Prehistoric Archaeology. New York: Holt, Reinhardt, and Winston, 1965.
Piggott, Stuart. Approach to Archaeology. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1959.
A Brief History of Archaeology. Introduction to Archaeology http://www.ukans.edu/~hoopes/history.html 20 December 1999.
Books Related to ’Bronze’ Archaeology. Roman Leaf Celtic Books Bronze Age Archaeology http://www.summerlands.com/marketplace/Bookstore2/amazon_store/archaeology/bronze_age_m.htm 20 December 1999.
Klassisk Fornkunskap; Antiken. Redins Antikvariat http://www.svaf.se/redin/klf.html 20 December 1999.
Mynt och Sedlar på Frimarken. Sveriges Sedlar http://hem.passagen.se/sedel/Frimarke/Frimarke.htm 20 December 1999.
Nordic Authors: Montelius Oscar. Projekt Runeberg 20 December 1999 http://www.lysator.liu.se/runeberg/authors/montelos.html
Written by Rachel Frisk
Edited by Marcy L. Voelker, 2007