Olov Janse
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Professor Robert Ture Olov Janse (August 3, 1892, in
Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...
, Sweden – March 1985, in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, United States) was a Swedish archaeologist. He is notable for his excavation work at Đông Sơn between 1935 and 1939. Though he originally argued a viewpoint for the European origins of Bronze Age culture in Vietnam, he reversed himself in support of Chinese origins after he started excavations at Đông Sơn. Janse is characterized as having introduced order into the research of the history of archaeology in
Mainland Southeast Asia Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
.


Early years

Janse was the son of candy factory owner Thure Johan Janse and Hilma Wilhelmina Svensson. His uncle, Otto Janse, who was an archaeologist who specialized in Swedish medieval history, was an inspiration to Olov in choosing his field of study, archaeology. Olov also received inspiration from
Ture Nerman Ture Nerman (18 May 1886, in Norrköping – 7 October 1969) was a Swedish socialist. As a journalist and author, he was a well-known political activist in his time. He also wrote poems and songs. Nerman was a vegetarian and a strict teetotaler ...
. Nerman and his brothers,
Birger Birger is a Scandinavian name from Old Norse, ''bjarga'', meaning "to help, to save, to protect". It is widely used in Norway as Birger but also as Børge. The Swedish variant of ''Birger'' would soon evolve into ''Börje'', however, the prior form ...
and Ejnar, became lifelong friends with Olov. Stated the archaeologist Birger Nerman, "I soon grew tired of sweets, but got a friend for life." Janse received his early education was at De Geer school in Norrköping. He graduated from
Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1916, a Master of Arts degree in 1920, and his doctorate in 1922 on the thesis ''Le travail de l'or en Suède à l'époque mérovingienne. Études précédées d'un mémoire sur les solidi romains & byzantins trouvés en Suède''.


Career

Between 1920 and 1930, he worked as an assistant curator at the National Archaeological Museum in
Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...
, France. He held the position of associate professor of national and prehistoric archaeology at the
École du Louvre The École du Louvre is an institution of higher education and grande école located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology and epigraphy. Admission is ...
during the period of 1925 to 1927, lectured as an associate professor from 1928 through 1936 at the
École pratique des hautes études The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...
at the
Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...
. He was appointed honorary professor at the
University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...
in 1934. His work alternated between Paris and Stockholm at different institutions. During the following years, Janse was director of the Archaeological Expedition to Indochina, composed of a research team of archaeologists and ethnologists who made important excavations in
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
. Janse used the practice of typology-based archaeology to his field of prehistoric research. He excavated the Đông Sơn site, and other sites in Viet Nam over the course of three periods from November 1934 through November 1938. He also excavated
Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
and
Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
Chinese monuments and tombs, in fact, finding both
Dong Son culture The Dong Son culture or the Lạc Việt culture (named for modern village Đông Sơn, a village in Thanh Hóa, Vietnam) was a Bronze Age culture in ancient Vietnam centred at the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam from 1000 BC until the ...
and Han-style brick tombs at the Đông Sơn archaeological site. During his third excavation, he also spent time at the Sa Huỳnh sites in Quảng Ngãi Province. While most of the ceramics that he unearthed during these excavations were deposited in various museums around the world, he gave some to King
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
, perhaps as a gesture of patriotism. During World War II, Janse went to the United States where he worked as an advisor to the U.S. intelligence agency,
Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...
. Janse became a professor of
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
n Archaeology at Harvard University in 1940, a position he held through 1943. Thereafter he worked at
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, and then in Korea. His was influenced by
Oscar Montelius Gustav Oscar August Montelius, known as Oscar Montelius (9September 18434November 1921) was a Swedish archaeologist who refined the concept of seriation, a relative chronological dating method. Biography Oscar Montelius refined the concept ...
,
Johan Gunnar Andersson Johan Gunnar Andersson (3 July 1874 – 29 October 1960)"Andersson, Johan Gunnar" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 385. was a Sweden, Swedish arc ...
, and
Henri Hubert Henri Hubert (23 June 1872 – 25 May 1927) was a French archaeologist and sociologist of comparative religion who is best known for his work on the Celts and his collaboration with Marcel Mauss and other members of the Année Sociologique. L ...
.


Personal life

Janse was married to Renee Sokolsky (b. circa 1903, Russia; died 2000). She accompanied him on his scientific trips. In 1940, Janse and his wife settled in the United States, and in 1948 he became a U.S. citizen. At retirement, they lived in an upscale retirement home at 4000
Massachusetts Avenue Massachusetts Avenue may refer to: * Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston), Massachusetts ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Orange Line station), a subway station on the MBTA Orange Line ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Silver Line station), a stati ...
in Washington, D.C. where he died in 1985 after complications from a traffic accident. He became a member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademin abbreviated KVHAA ( sv, Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien Historie och Antikvitets Akademien or or ) is the Swedish royal ...
in 1961.


Legacy

In 2002, the antiquities donated by his widow, Renee Janse, became the Olov and Renee Jansen Memorial Fund. The Jansen East Asian collections held today include the
Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities ( sv, Östasiatiska Museet), located in Stockholm, Sweden, is a museum launched by Sweden's Parliament in 1926, with the Swedish archaeologist Johan Gunnar Andersson (1874–1960) as founding director. The mus ...
, the
Musée Cernuschi The Musée Cernuschi (; 'Cernuschi Museum'), officially also the ('Asian Arts Museum of the City of Paris'), is an Asian art museum located at 7 avenue Vélasquez, near Parc Monceau, in Paris, France. Its Asian art collection is second in Pari ...
in Paris, the
Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
in Paris, and the
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1866, the Peabody Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums focusing on anthropological material, with ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, US. The Bortom Synranden is a biographical research project regarding the work of Jansen. The Chinese ceramics that Janse collected in 1939 from the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
are in the
National Museum of Singapore ms, Muzium Negara Singapura ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் தேசிய அருங்காட்சியகம் , native_name_lang = , logo = , image = 2016 Singapur, Museum Planning Area, Narodowe Muzeum Singapuru (02) ...
. Other collections of his cultural materials are housed at the Cernushi Museum, the Guimet Museum, the Louvre, the Museum of Art and History, and the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities.


References


External links


Obituary
- by anthropologist
Wilhelm Solheim :''This article refers to Wilhelm G. Solheim II, the anthropologist. For his father, Wilhelm G. Solheim I the botanist, see Wilhelm Solheim (botanist).'' Wilhelm G. Solheim II (1924—2014) was an American anthropologist recognized as the most s ...
,
University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janse, Olov 1892 births 1985 deaths People from Norrköping People from Washington, D.C. People of the Office of Strategic Services Swedish archaeologists Uppsala University alumni University of Paris faculty Harvard University faculty Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Swedish emigrants to the United States 20th-century archaeologists