Ingrid Sommerseth
Job description
I am responsible for the documentation, protection, and research-based management of rock art in Northern Norway. Also involved with the archaeological museum collections, and i am a member of the project group for the museum exhibition "Rávdnji - Sámi history" and I am the chief editor for the journal Ottar.
The rock art within the museum's management district spans a large geographical area in Northern Norway. In total, there are 123 rock art sites with over 5000 unique figures dating back to all prehistoric periods. The techniques vary from painted cave and rock paintings to polished and carved rock art.
Work on the rock art in Northern Norway is conducted in close collaboration with the Directorate for Cultural Heritage (RA), Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark county municipalities, the Sámi Parliament, and the World Heritage Center for Rock Art – Alta Museum. This collaboration ensures a comprehensive and well-coordinated management of these important cultural heritage sites, which are not only national treasures but also of great international significance.
The 50 latest publications is shown on this page. See all publications in Cristin here →
Publications outside Cristin
Sommerseth, I. 2023 Sámi bear graves in Norway - hidden sites and rituals. (ed.) O. Grimm in cooperation with D. Groβ, A. Pesch, O. Sundqvist and A. Zedrosser. Bear and Human. Facets of a Multi-Layered Relationship from Past to Recent Times, with Emphasis on Northern Europe. Vol. 3.2. In series: The Archaeology of Northern Europe, Book 2. Brepols Publishers. side 587 – 603. https://doi.org/10.1484.M.TANE-EB.5.134320
Sommerseth, I. 2015 New traces of wild reindeer hunting in the alpine areas in Northern Norway. (red.) S. Indrelid, K. L. Hjelle og K. Stene. Exploitation of outfield resources – Joint Research at the University Museums of Norway. Universitetsmuseet i Bergen skrifter nr. 32. side 19 - 29
Sommerseth, I. 2013 Realising the Gap! - fra aktuell kunnskapsproduksjon til grenseforvaltning. Primitive Tider Nr. 15. – Arkeologisk tidsskrift. side 133 - 141.
Holand, I. & I. Sommerseth 2013 Ethical Issues in the Semi-Darkness - Skeletal remains and Sámi graves from Arctic Northern Norway. (red.) H. Fossheim, More Than Just Bones – Ethics and Research on human Remains. Forskningsetiske komiteer
(NESH). side 21 - 49.
Sommerseth, I. 2011 Archaeology and the debate on the transition from Reindeer Hunting to Pastoralism. Rangifer, 31 (1) side 111-127 https://doi.org/10.7557/2.31.1.2033
Sommerseth, I. 2009 Boazulihkku (Reindeer Luck) As a Link between Past and Present Landscapes - Reflected in Archaeological Remains and Sami Placename. Máttut máddagat: proceedings of the International and Multidisciplinary conference in Oulu 2008. Publication of Giellagas Institute no.12. side 150 - 163.
Sommerseth, I. 2009 Árran - Sámi hearths. A millennium of settlement in a reindeer landscape, interior northern Norway. (eds.) P. Hallinen, M. Lavento & M. Suhonen. Recent perspectives on Sámi archaeology in Fennoscandia and North-West Russia. Iskos 17. Helsinki. side 34 - 42.
Research interests
I work with research-based management of rock art in Northern Norway, focusing on prehistoric rock paintings and the northern landscape. I have an ongoing research project on the Sámi bear graves in the north, and I write about topics from my doctoral thesis, which deals with wild reindeer hunting in the Iron Age and Middle Ages, as well as the domestication of reindeer herding. From 2024, I have been appointed as the chief editor of the journal Ottar.
