Diss. Stockholm : Univ., 2004.

Humanity has long lived alongside a variety of animals. We have eaten their flesh, utilized their bones for tools and trinkets and learned to care for and appreciate them. When animal remains are ignored or left out in archaeological research, a large part of our common history is left untold. This is especially true in the case of the cave Stora Förvar on Stora Karlsö outside the west coast of Gotland. The cave was first excavated in 1888–1893 by Lars Kolmodin and Hjalmar Stolpe. Their excavations left behind a little more than two metric tonnes of animal bones of various species which since then have not been thoroughly analysed. The equine remains have barely been touched at all. The purpose of this essay is therefore to create an overview of the horse population from inside the cave and determine in what manner they were used by the humans. In order to do so the author will utilise a microarchaeological approach along with ritual theory. Through an osteological analysis combined with literary studies the equine remains and their uses are discussed. Hopefully, this work will add another piece to the puzzle that is Stora Förvar.

The subject of this thesis is animal bones found in the Pitted Ware Culture site of Ajvide in Eksta parish, Gotland, Sweden. The site has been excavated since the 1980s and along with 85 graves and 7500 artefacts about 2500 kg of animal bones has been collected. Previous studies have often focused on specific areas or species, but the aim of this work has been to get a wider perspective of different areas within the Ajvide site. A total of about 20 kg of animal bones from ten different areas in Ajvide have been analysed with osteological methods. The analysis has shown that there are some differences between the areas considering amount of bone material found and the present species. The material consists of almost exclusively unburnt fragments and fragmentation is high in all areas. In the deeper layers fish is the most common species while fragments of pig are the most common considering every layer and area analysed. The difference seen between the areas most likely depend on how the sites were used by the people in the Pitted Ware Culture and discussions are made on how some of the areas could have been used for more ritual purposes while others possibly have been used in the everyday life.

This paper will be based on osteological analysis of the animal bones associated with the riverine cultures of ancient Nubia, especially the animal bones from the Pangrave and C-group cemeteries. These bones were excavated by the Scandinavian Joint Expedition in the 1960’s and are now conserved as a part of the Nubian collection at Museum Gustavianum in Sweden. The Nubian collection contains a variety of species and show a vastly differing treatment of the various animals. There are deliberately modified skulls adorned with patterns of red ochre and black sot. But there are some animals which seem to have been dismembered to be cooked or burned at the burial sites, while other animals have been buried intact alongside humans. Using osteological methods and the original research notes from the Scandinavian Joint Expedition I will attempt to create clearer picture of what the Nubian collection consists of and why.