Facing the Inevitable : Using the modern practice of Döstädning to understand Ättestupa

Abstract: Ättestupa has been a contentious practice ever since the translation of Gautreks saga. This senicide practice has largely been viewed as a parody of the culture of Västergötland and has received little attention. But with new interest in the modern practice of Death Cleaning, we might finally understand Ättestupa as a real tradition. By understanding the placement of burden, and views of suicide, as well as the investigation into the material world around aging and death Ättestupa can be viewed as the ancestor to Death Cleaning, and thus as a window into this past practice. By comparing these two practices we also build a framework for how modern death practices can be used to understanding the archaeology of aging and beyond through the use of various archaeological approaches that take into account different sources of knowledge and the different ways that these sources can be approached.