This masters essay studies the stone cist phenomenon during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age on the island of Gotland. The aim of the study is to understand the importance of the stone cist in society during this period, as well as attempting to categorize the stone cists located on the island. It can be argued that society during this period was a agricultural, highly hierarchical society with indications of a power center at the west northwestern parts of the island. Stone cists can be seen having different contexts involving number of individuals, location and features connected to the cist.An osteological study has also been performed on the skeletal material from the stone cist Alskog 48:1, with the aim of getting further knowledge regarding number of individuals and the age and sex distribution of those individuals. As well as questions regarding the stone cist construction and dating. The bone material presented 26 individuals, contrary to the 15 individuals which was initially identified during the excavation. These 26 individuals were of all ages, both male and female, with a slight majority of males. The stone cist which is a natural roofless cave, a natural cist, can according to the criteria defining a stone cist, be regarded as a stone cist and not another construction. / Denna magisteruppsats behandlar hällkistor under senneolitikum och äldre bronsålder på Gotland. Frågeställningar kring hällkistans betydelse i samhället under denna tid diskuteras, samt om det är möjligt att producera en kategorisering av hällkistor. Hällkistan har varit en viktig del i det senneolitiska - äldre bronsålders samhället, utifrån dessa går det identifiera ett agrikulturellt starkt hierarkiskt samhälle med indikationer på ett maktcenter i väst nordvästra kustregionen av ön. Kategorisering av hällkistor har visat olika särdrag hos hällkistor, vilka involverar individantal, lokalisering samt ytterligare anläggningar anslutna till hällkistan.En osteologisk analys har även utförts på skelettmaterialet hällkistan, Alskog 48:1 med frågor kring individantal, kön och ålderfördelning. Samt frågor kring datering på hällkistan och dess konstruktion. Benmaterialet presenterade 26 individer, i motsats till de 15 individer som initialt antagits funnits, av dessa fanns individer i alla åldrar. Både män och kvinnor identifierades, med en liten majoritet av män. Hällkistan i fråga som är en naturlig taklös grotta, naturlig kista, enligt de kriterier som använts kan denna konstruktion anses vara en hällkista och ingen annan typ av konstruktion.

My intention with this paper is to study the stone cists on Gotland from the Late Neolithic period. They are often interpreted as representing the domestic life and agriculture, as well as having a strong connection to house and home of the people. Furthermore, these graves show continuity from the proceeding Stone Age culture and provide evidence for an overlap with the Early Bronze Age. This will be discussed, while also exploring the meaning of the grave goods in them and Late Neolithic artefacts that are spread across the island.

This thesis presents a micro-archaeological analysis of the osteological material from theunmarked communal grave L1977:6727, in Sigsarve, Gotland. The grave was found during the ploughing of a field and excavated in 1911. Documentation of the grave was poor; hencethe aim of this thesis was to investigate who the individuals in this grave were through their skeletal remains. The number of individuals, their age, and sex was determined, andpathological or activity-related changes were examined. A discussion on who these individuals were, whether their health could imply anything about their life, and how the grave might have been used, was based on these osteological results. The grave was likely a family grave used by a farming group. The elements displayed a fair amount of physical strain, particularly in a few individuals. The osteological material from the same grave waspreviously examined in 1912 by Carl M. Fürst. To examine the relevance of re-analysing osteological material analysed during the earlier 20th century a comparative analysis of Fürst’s and the new results was made. Although there were similarities, the older analysis provided very limited information in comparison to this analysis. / Denna avhandling är en mikroarkeologisk analys av det osteologiska materialet från flatmarksgraven L1977:6727, i Sigsarve, Gotland. Graven plogades upp och grävdes ut 1911. Då dokumentation om graven var minimal blev uppsatsens syfte att undersöka vilka individerna i graven kan ha varit genom det osteologiska materialet. Antalet individer, deras ålder och kön bedömdes, och eventuella patologiska eller aktivitetsrelaterade förändringar undersöktes. Utifrån resultaten diskuterades individernas liv, hälsa samt gravens bruk. Det kunde konstateras att graven troligen var en familjegrav som brukats av bönder snarare än jägare/samlare. Benen påvisade fysisk påfrestning, i synnerhet hos ett fåtal individer. Det osteologiska materialet undersöktes tidigare år 1912 av Carl M. Fürst. För att utreda relevansen av att åter-analysera osteologiskt material som analyserats under det tidigare 1900-talet gjordes en jämförande analys av Fürsts och de nya resultaten. Medan det fanns likheter i resultaten gav den äldre analysen mycket begränsad information i jämförelse med denna analys. / Gotland in the 3rd ML BCE