During the Bronze Age, bronze items were sacrificed to the gods by leaving them in the landscape. When making these sacrifices, known as deposits, the Bronze Age people followed certain landscape rules. These rules, and other similarities between the sites, can be rediscovered by analyzing the attributes of the sites. By understanding which attributes are relevant for the deposition sites, we can find more sites and contribute to the understanding of how Bronze Age depositions took place. This study aims to identify relevant attributes for the siting of Bronze Age Lake deposition sites near the lakes Mälaren and Hjälmaren in Sweden. 13 lake deposition sites were examined in ArcMap with respect to 6 attributes: Elevation, Soil Wetness, Aspect, Soil Type, Shore Distance, and Shore Direction. The attributes were studied independently of one another. The results revealed that a majority of deposits were the closest to a southern shore, there were no deposits in northern slopes, and no deposits were made between certain distances from the Bronze Age shoreline. Therefore, the attributes Shore Direction, Shore Distance, and Aspect appear to be relevant to lake deposition sites. The study briefly discusses how these results are related to archeological theories. As this study had a small sample size, the results cannot be assumed to apply to all lake deposit sites. Future studies should study more attributes, how attributes relate to one another, and examine the relevant attributes in other landscape features.

A case study of a prehistoric site named Ängesviken, in eastern Jämtland, is presented in this thesis. Ängesviken is situated in a region that traditionally has been understood as peripheral and without a significant history prior to the Late Iron Age or even the mediaeval period. The site appears to have a continuous presence of human activities through a period of 3000 years, manifested through a horizontal stratigraphy. In order to study this site of abstruse character a multidisciplinary approach is used, where archaeology, paleoecology, and spatiality are combined. The conceptual framework of the study is that landscapes are the result of socio-ecological processes over time. To frame the data provided by chosen methods, theoretical frameworks of cultural niche construction theory and landscape patchiness applied, which provide insight of the socio-ecological systems present at Ängesviken during the last 3000 years. During the Iron Age, the site was used for pastoralism, combined with hunting. The archaeological and geographical context of Ängesviken indicate that the site might have been connected with other regions through networks of trade during this period. During the mediaeval period there is a reorganisation of the outlands, leading to a phase of regrowth, but the site could possibly still have been utilised as hunting grounds as there are mediaeval villages in the region. In the early modern period and modern period, the site is once again used for pastoralism. Today, the utilisation of the site has changed towards modern forestry and occasional hunting of elk. The continuous presence at Ängesviken could be explained by the resources the outlands provided. This case study indicates that the far-reaching networks of trade during the Iron Age led to a process of local modification of the ecosystem driven by an external market. This study shows that the anthropogenic modification of the boreal forest's ecosystem has a longer history in eastern Jämtland than traditionally has been thought. The investigation of Ängesviken highlights the importance of researching abstruse and previously uncertain sites from a multidisciplinary approach, as the different datatypes complement each other and results in a deeper knowledge of the site and the socio-ecological systems in a long-term perspective. / Uppsatsen består av en fallstudie av en arkeolgosik lokal vid namn Ängesviken i östra Jämtland. Platsen ligger i ett område som vid första anblick ter sig perifeiellt placerat i utmarkerna till medeltida byar och tidigmoderna fäbodar. Tidigare har en vikingatida byggnad sam en intilligande grav undersökts arkeologiskt. Arkeologiska undersökningar har visat att människor tycks ha använt platsen under en 3000-års period, men hur platsen använts eller påverkats av denna användning har arkeologin inte kunnat påvisa. För att undersöka mänskliga aktiviteter vid Ängesviken under de senaste 3000 åren, samt hur dessa aktiviteter påverkat landskapet, undersöks platsen från ett tvärvetenskapligt perspektiv. Arkeologi kombineras med paleoekologi och rumslig analys. Det konceptuella ramverket för undersökningen bygger på historisk ekologi där kulturell nische konstruktion kombineras med "landscape patchiness". "Landscape patchiness" har sitt ursprung ur ekologin och lägger fokus på lakala vegetationsstrukturer. De äldsta praktikerna på platsen är ännu inte fullt ut klargjorda men platsens läge i landskapet ter sig som en trolig orsak till de första aktiviteterna. Pollenanalysen visar att området används för djurhållning under järnåldern, en aktivitet som kom att förändra landskapets struktur och platsens ekologi. Järnålderns kulturella nische ter sig multifunktionell där djurhållning har kombinerats med andra nyttjanden av utmarksresurser. Pollenanalysen visar att platsen verkar överges under medeltid för att sedan åter brukas för djurhållning under tidigmodern och modern tid. Undersökningen visar på vikten av tvärvetenskapliga undersökningar av otydliga och tidigare svårtolkade arkeologiska lokaler och sammanhang inom det Skandinaviska inlandet.