In this volume, Kristin Armstrong Oma aims to understand the perception, in societies in the past, of animals as sentient beings. In Early Bronze Age Norway, sheep were considered to have agentive powers and the potential to affect human lives, consequently shaping prehistoric societies. Oma's study is based on what she defines as human-animal studies (HAS), in which animals are considered not as resources or consumables for humans, but as having their own agential potential.
In the first three chapters, Oma develops the argument for the relevance of HAS in archaeology and combines this with a discussion of the transition from two-aisled to three-aisled longhouses in the Late Neolithic–Early Bronze Age. Throughout these chapters, we are (repeatedly) reminded that animals are sentient beings in the sense that they are agents and relevant in studies of the past. These chapters are built on strong theoretical foundations and Oma skilfully maps out her approach to the examination of living-with and “becoming-with” animals, and shared practice between humans and animals (p. 45). She includes different approaches such as anthropology, symbolism and animal agency in order to explore the ontological status of animals. In the following two chapters, Oma outlines the development of three-aisled houses in Rogaland in south-west Norway, discussing 11 different house sites, and a rockshelter site farther to the north. The major questions in these chapters are whether animals were part of human households, and if so, how this is manifested and what the ontological status of these animal ‘beings’ might be. Oma goes on to argue, with rather a leap of faith, that it was the three-aisled longhouse that saw sheep become household members. She contends that there was an increase in sheep rearing during the Bronze Age that was built on relationality between humans and animals. This was bound up with the focus on herding dynamics combined with the use of dogs, domestication issues, the significance of secondary products and the importance of textile production. Oma also draws on ethnographic accounts and historical sources, as well as her personal experience, in order to construct the triad of shepherd, dog and sheep. She goes on to expound the advantages of early socialisation and indoor rearing of sheep in the Early Bronze Age of south-west Norway that created a particular practice and way of life—that of the sheep people.
Given the title, one would expect a much broader geographic scope. Oma considers only a very small part of Norway, in the south west, which is not comparable to the rest of the country. Looking beyond the Rogaland region, there have been several invaluable and significant contributions to the understanding of settlement and house typology in western Norway (e.g. Diinhoff Reference Diinhoff2005). Although geographically different, with deep fjords and high mountains, it is striking that material from western Norway is not considered—at least comparatively. The region also has rockshelters, such as Skrivarhelleren—briefly considered by Oma, located in a very different geographic and climatic region to Rogaland. One would expect rockshelters such as Ruskeneset and Skipshelleren (cf. Hjelle et al. Reference Hjelle, Hufthammer and Bergsvik2006) to be included in Oma's study. Halvorsen and Hjelle (Reference Halvorsen and Hjelle2017) have pointed out that increased emphasis on livestock is indicated from the Late Bronze Age onwards in western Norway, while the bones of domesticated sheep, among other species, are known from the Middle Neolithic (Hjelle et al. Reference Hjelle, Hufthammer and Bergsvik2006). This certainly begs the question of why one would bring the sheep (and only the sheep) into the household during the Late Neolithic–Early Bronze Age transition. The main question that the reader is left with is were they all sheep? The book gives a one-sided view of early herding practice and composition in south-west Norway in the Early Bronze Age, focused on sheep; often, however, a combination of different species are preferable, due to both herding and grazing methods (cf. Dahl & Hjort Reference Dahl and Hjort1976). The archaeological evidence for sheep in the material Oma discusses stands out as the weakest part of the book; the evidence for sheep is actually rather scarce. The book would have benefitted from a broader discussion of the problematic nature of this issue, such as the representation of sheep and goat bones, and the benefits of diverse herd composition.
There is no doubt that both animal rearing and changes in building practice in the Early Bronze Age in large parts of Europe had pronounced social and economic implications. Oma has written a thought-provoking and also a very personal book, focusing on the significance of sheep rearing in the Early Bronze Age of south-west Norway. She combines sound theoretical underpinning with archaeological evidence and personal endeavour. Some aspects could be improved, such as maps and illustrations. Parts of the book are difficult to follow, and it would have been improved by more careful editing.
At a time when aDNA, strontium isotopes and other analyses from the natural sciences are dominating interpretations of archaeological materials, Oma takes us back to the relationship between humans and animals. This is not a study that is old fashioned or out of date; in fact, it reminds us that there is more to science than analysing samples and results, including a broader understanding of the relationship between people and animals. In this sense, the book is an important contribution in a context where knowledge must continually be justified; there are several different pathways to scientific knowledge and many alternative interpretations of the past.
