107:. By first introducing the reader to the meaning of material culture, which is defined as objects influenced by human interaction maintain their integrity through time, he then begins to tie this material significance of landscape and topography to the discipline of archaeology. Olsen puts it best by stating “This book is grounded in a realist attitude in the sense that I do believe the material world exists and that things constitute a fundamental and persistent foundation of our existence. Things, materials, and landscapes possess real qualities affecting and shaping both our perception of them and our cohabitation with them.”
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Olsen then analyzes the importance of understanding an object's ontology apart from its original intended purpose. What's around us and what is/was previously made is affected by our presence and we're affected in turn. He breaks down the supremacy of humans over objects and introduces the practice
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of a symmetrical approach to archaeology and life as a whole. By viewing humans, animals, and objects symmetrically, the value of each entity can become more balanced. While addressing archaeology's past fixation on material culture, Olsen rejects the standard archaeological method of finding a
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Olsen, being an academic and an author, is also known for his rebellious streak and willingness to explore new and emerging theoretical or philosophical directions while persuading the reader to give said theory more thought. He brings material culture and the weight of identifying an object's
66:, the archaeology of the contemporary period, and material culture studies. He is also an international leader in the development of archaeological theory and Sámi prehistory/history. Olsen has published 10 books (and close to 160 scientific papers), including
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at the
Institute of Archaeology, History, Religious Studies, and Theology at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway. Olsen currently lives in Tromsø with his wife and three children. He is a fellow of the
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He argues that an object's memory poses as part of its ontology without needing to symbolize something other than it is, or the new purpose the object is given when rediscovered.
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Olsen was born in a small fishing village in
Finnmark, Norway. He received his PhD from the University of Tromsø in 1984 and was a visiting researcher at the
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and theoretical archaeology during the 1980s and 1990s and is now at the forefront of the development of new approaches to things, including
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134:(2010 - 2014). These projects dealt with similar issues regarding the archaeology of the recent past.
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1985–1986. He became a full professor in 1991 (at the age of 33) and since 1994 has been professor of
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Archaeology, symmetry, and the ontology of things. A response to critics. B. Olsen (with C. Witmore)
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remains, and mining sites in Norway, Russia, Iceland, and Canada. Olsen's previous projects were
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30:. Olsen is a prominent figure in the turn to things in humanities and social sciences, including
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B. Olsen, Translated by Bozena
Shallcross. Warszawa: Instytut Badan Literakich (2013)
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227:"Bjørnar Olsen: In Defense of Things. Archaeology and the Ontology of Objects"
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Ruin
Memories: Materiality, Aesthetics, and the Archaeology of the Recent Past
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Ruin
Memories: Materiality, Aesthetics and the Archaeology of the Recent Past
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Ruin
Memories: Materiality, Aesthetics and the Archaeology of the Recent Past
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Hybrid Spaces. Medieval
Finnmark and the archaeology of multi-room houses
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Persistent memories. Pyramiden – a Soviet mining town in the High Arctic
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Persistent memories: Pyramiden – a Soviet mining town in the High Arctic
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project which focuses on industrial ruins, abandoned fishing villages,
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B. Olsen (with Þ. Pétursdóttir) pp. 162-190. London: Routledge (2014)
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Sámi archaeology, postcolonial theory, and criticism. B. Olsen.
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In
Defense of Things: Archaeology and the Ontology of Objects
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In
Defense of Things. Archaeology and the Ontology of Objects
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In
Defense of Things: Archaeology and the Ontology of Objects
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In Defense of Things: Archaeology and the Ontology of Objects
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In Defense of Things: Archaeology and the Ontology of Objects
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Object Matters: Archaeology and Heritage in the 21st Century
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B. Olsen (with M. Shanks, T. Webmoor, and C. Witmore (2012)
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Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
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Hunters in Transition. An Outline of Early Sámi History
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W obronie rzeczy. Archeologia I ontologia przedmiotów.
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Unruly Heritage: An Archaeology of the Anthropocene
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Unruly Heritage: An Archaeology of the Anthropocene
103:ontology upon discovery to light in his 2010 book
86:(2010, with Elin Andreassen and Hein Bjerck; see
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94:(2018, editor with Þóra Pétursdóttir).
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