This Article Résumé Zusammenfassung Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lucas, G. Articles by McGovern, T. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Bloody Slaughter: Ritual Decapitation and Display At the Viking Settlement of Hofstaðir, Iceland

University of Iceland

Thomas McGovern

City University of New York, USA, nabo{at}voicenet.com

This article attempts an interpretation of an unusual assemblage of cattle skulls recovered from recent excavations at the Viking Age monumental hall of Hofstaðir in Iceland. Osteological analysis of the skulls indicates ritual decapitation and display of cattle heads, and this article seeks to explore the meanings of this practice in relation to the context of the site and the wider historical and ethnographic literature. It is argued that the beheading of cattle and display of their heads was a part of sacrificial acts conducted on a seasonal basis at the site, and primarily in the context of feasting and socio-political gatherings. The gatherings acted simultaneously as a means of both dissipating social tension and enhancing political status.

Key Words: Iceland • ritual • sacrifice • Vikings

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?