Paul Åström

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Fredrik Karl Åström (born January 15, 1929 in Sundsvall , † October 4, 2008 ) was a Swedish archaeologist . He was a leader in research into the prehistory of the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly the Bronze Age of Cyprus .

academic career

Paul Åström studied in Lund and did his doctorate there with a thesis on the Cypriot Bronze Age , which he depicted using ceramics. This dissertation was recognized as the best work at his university in 1958. It is still considered a standard work today. Åström had been a lecturer since 1957 and later an associate professor at the Institute for Ancient Cultures and Civilizations at Lund University . At the same time he was head of the antiquities museum. In 1958 he was appointed director of the Swedish Archaeological Institute in Athens . At the same time he became cultural attaché at the Swedish embassy in Athens. In 1967 he went to Rome in the same director function . During his time in Athens and Rome, he was visiting professor at Columbia University , the University of Copenhagen , the University of Bergen and the University of Edinburgh . In 1969 he was appointed professor of ancient cultures and civilizations at the University of Gothenburg . During this time he was a member and later also Vice-President of the Advisory Board of the Swedish Institute in Rome and a member and secretary of the Advisory Board of the Swedish Institute in Athens. Here he achieved great merits by promoting his former research institutes. Since 1974 Åström has also been President of the Swedish Research Center in Cyprus. In 1993 Åström retired.

Åström was closely involved in university and academic self-administration. From 1974 to 1979 he was head of the Association of University Professors and the Association of Human Sciences. From 1977 to 1980 he was also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the University of Gothenburg and from 1979 to 1983 of the University Teachers' Association. From 1975 to 1980 he was Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. From 1972 to 1977 he was the representative of the Swedish krona in the National Council for Humanities Research .

Åström participated in prehistoric field research in Bornholm , Gotland and 1950 in Labraunda , Turkey , in the late 1940s . In Kalopsida and Ajios Jakovos on Cyprus, he led the first excavations from 1959. His involvement in Dendra , where he worked from 1960 to 1997, was particularly long-lasting, as was the excavations in Hala Sultan Tekke on Cyprus, which he directed from 1971 until shortly before his death.

He wrote 687 works, including 18 monographs and was the co-author of 20 monographs. In his Paul Åström Förlag 135 monographs and 170 paperback books appeared in the series Studies in Mediterranean Archeology . His publishing house also published the Journal of Prehistoric Religion as well as the Archeology and Natural Science and Documenta Mundi series . In the latter, 21 editions of antique classics appeared.

He was married to the archaeologist Elisabeth Åström, with whom he had three sons.

Awards and memberships

Åström was an internationally respected specialist in the archeology of the Aegean and Cyprus . In 1994 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna , in 1995 from the University of Athens and in 2001 from the University of Ioannina . In 1965 he became a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute , 1991 of the Austrian Archaeological Institute , 1992 of the Nathan Söderblom Society and 1977 honorary member of the Swedish-Cypriot Society , of which he became president in 1983. Åström has also been a member of the Kungliga Vetenskaps- och Vitterhetssamhället i Göteborg since 1973 , of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm since 1975 and of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in Paris since 1998 . He was made a Knight of the North Star Order by the Swedish King, and the Republic of Cyprus named him “Grand Commander of the Order of Merit”.

Publications

see Elisabeth Åström: The published writings of Paul Åström. A bibliography compiled. In: Peter M. Fischer (Ed.): Contributions to the archeology and history of the bronze and iron ages in the eastern Mediterranean. Studies in honor of Paul Åström (= Austrian Archaeological Institute. Special publications. 39). Austrian Archaeological Institute, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-900305-38-2 , pp. 201–223.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Åström, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Åström, Paul Fredrik Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH January 15, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Sundsvall
DATE OF DEATH October 4, 2008