This bachelor thesis is based on a material of 45 battle axes from The Swedish History Museum, both miniature axes and regular boat axes from the middle Neolithic era. The geographical demarcation is the province of Västergötland in Sweden. The aim of the study is to analyze the axes, mainly morphologically and size-wise, to try to understand and define miniature axes in comparison to the regular boat axes. Another intention is to try to reveal if there are any differences between the miniatures and the regular axes regarding importance and function of the axes. The result is presented by dint of several tables of measures and attributes of all the axes as well as numerous scatter plots and pie charts showing physical attributes and signs of use of the axes in question. The results show for instance that miniature axes more often than not are sloppily made and more well-worn compared to the regular boat axes. According to the study this might have to do with the probability of the miniature axes being made for children.

This thesis deals with the importance of boar tusks to the people at the Middle Neolithic settlement of Ajvide, Eksta parish on Gotland. The thesis discusses various issues concerning the Ajvide swine and their tusks, such as the question of domestication and the various functions ascribed to tusks. In order to cast light upon these questions the result of a study of all the tusks found on Ajvide thus far as well as their respective grave context is presented. The study also includes an osteological analysis of the tusks. Furthermore, ethnoarchaeological comparisons are made with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu; contemporary societies presumed to share common traits with Middle Neolithic societies on Gotland and where swine and their tusks likewise assume a prominent position.

This thesis presents the results from a osteological analysis and a GIS-study aimed to examinedifferences in the located animal bones in different areas of the excavation site of Ajvde. The osteological material came from five excavated square meters on the site and was comparedwith osteological results from other researchers from different areas to create overview and try tosee differences between the areas. The GIS-study took data from all animal bone material excavated on the site, a total of about 2300kilos, and presented them in maps of spatial distribution for each layer (pictures 4, 5, 6 & appendixpicture 1) to see if there were any clusters of activity and changes between the layers. The dating ofthe culture layer and the burial field (pictures 7 & 8) were presented in maps to see if they could becorrelated with what was seen with the animal bones. Pictures of different shorelines were alsopresented (picture 9) to compare with the results that were seen in the changes of animal bones fromdifferent layers. The results of the GIS-study have shown that the activity on the site have moved over time alongthe hight differences of the land. The earlier layers show activity only on the higher elevation butlater moves down, and in the upper layers activity have been all over the excavated area. Clusters ofanimal bones were seen in the so called “black areas” of the sites (shown in picture 2) but also otherareas contained a lot of animal bones. The results of the osteological analysis have shown that there are differences in what species arefound in different areas. The most common are seal, wild boar/pig and fish. And the main differenceare shown between what are found within the black areas and outside. The bone material frominside the black areas are much more fragmented and contained more wild boar/pig bones, andoutside the black areas more bones from seal and fish were found in less fragmented condition (seepicture 10). The bone parts found from wild boar/pig were mostly cranium, teeth and bones fromthe feet, while there were all parts of the body found from seals. It is thereafter discussed that seal and fish may have been the common foods for the Ajvideinhabitants, which is also confirmed by C13-results, and the wild boar/pig may have been a morevaluable resource, not just as food at events like feasts, but also as material for tools. The black areas are discussed as maybe ritual areas for preparation for feasts in connection to burialceremonies, but this is something that needs more research to determine. The continuity of the blackareas are also discussed, but this also needs more research to know anything for certain. / Den här uppsatsen presenterar en sammanställning av osteologiska analyser och en GIS-studie medavsikten att undersöka skillnader i djurbensmaterialet på olika områden av utgrävningsytan påAjvide. Det osteologiska materialet kom från fem utgrävda kvadratmeter och jämfördes med andraosteologers resultat från andra områden på platsen för att skapa en översiktsbild av de olikaområdena och försöka se om det fanns skillnader. GIS-studien tog data från allt dokumenterat djurbensmaterial från utgrävningarna, totalt 2,3 ton, ochpresenterades i spridningskartor för varje lager (bild 4, 5 & 6) för att se om det fannskoncentrationer av aktivitet och förändringar mellan lagren. Dateringar från kulturlagret ochgravarna (bild 7 & 8) presenterades i kartor för att se de kunde kopplas samman med vad som sågs ispridningen av djurbensmaterialet. Strandlinjemodelleringar skapades också (bild 9) för att jämföramed resultaten från spridningskartorna över djurbensmaterialet. Resultatet från GIS-studien visade att aktiviteten på platsen har förflyttat sig över tid längs medhöjdskillnaderna i landskapet. De djupaste lagren visar enbart på aktivitet på de högre nivåerna,men i de övre lagren har detta förflyttats neråt och spritt sig över hela utgrävningsområdet. Storakoncetrationer av djurben kunde ses i de såkallade "svarta ytorna" men det fanns även mycketdjurben utanför dessa områden. De osteologiska resultaten visade att det fanns skillnader i vilka arter som påträffats på de olikaområdena. De vanligaste arterna var säl, svin och fisk. Den största skillnaden var vad som återfannsinom de svarta ytorna jämfört med utanför. Benmaterialet inom de svarta ytorna var mycket merfragmenterat och innehöll mer svinben, och utanför de svarta ytorna återfanns mer ben från säl ochfisk som även var betydligt mindre fragmenterade (se bild 10). Benelementen som återfanns frånsvin var mestadels kranium, tänder och fotben, medan samtliga kroppsdelar från säl påträffades. Det diskuteras därefter att säl och fisk kan ha varit den vardagliga födan för Ajvidebefolkningen,vilket också bekräftast av C13-resultat, och därmed enbart behandlats som matavfall, medan svinenkan varit en mer värdefull resurs, inte bara som mat vid exempelvis festmåltider, men även sommaterial till redskapstillverkning. De svarta ytorna diskuteras som möjliga platser för förberedelser för gravceremonier eller vid slaktvid festmåltider, men detta är något som behöver undersökas vidare för att avgöra. De svartaytornas kontinuitet och användning över tid diskuterades också, men behöver även det ytterligareundersökning och dateringar för att kartläggas.

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.

In this essay the author has chosen to analyze the similarities and differences between some of the northern Europe’s late Mesolithic and Neolithic cultures. The research is of a processual standpoint and the information is mainly gathered from secondary sources as well as ethnological studies. The material collected has been analyzed in both a processual and a post-processual manner to most accurately study the foundations of the three primary theories describing the Pitted Ware Culture’s origin. During the course of the study the author also found a possible fourth alternative, and the possibility of exogamy as a factor in the emerge of the Pitted Ware Culture has also been questioned. This work has prompted for a rigorous collection of information to be able to properly present all theories strong and weak points, without bias for any theory. The conclusion of these studies is that it is very hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that has given the Pitted Ware Culture its typical cultural traits, although a possible sequence of events has been presented in this text.

Analysis of organic residue absorbed in to the walls of ceramic vessels has proved to be a valuable contributor to the knowledge of prehistoric societies. Based on the analysis of absorbed lipids in the wall of ceramic vessels and existing knowledge and theories about the Pitted Ware culture, an attempt of understanding of the Pitted Ware site Vendel is made. Based on the obtained results and evidences presented throughout the paper it is argued that the Vendel site is a permanent or seasonal settlement, and furthermore that the results seem to reflect a change in vessel use towards the end of the Pitted Ware Culture, and possibly even a change of society, ideology and economy.

In this paper, I analyze body position and orientation based on material from nine grave fields belonging to the Pitted ware culture (3300-2400 BC) on Gotland, Sweden. The archeological sites consist of Ajvide, Fridtorp, Grausne, Gullrum, Hemmor, Ire, Visby, Västerbjers and Västerbys. The aim of the thesis is to generate information, through the use of Correspondence Analysis, about the individuals and similarities and differences in an attempt to discern possible structures in ritual practice. The subject of the thesis is discussed with a focus on ritual based on Pierre Bourdieu's (1977) theories relating to practice and habitus. The analysis shows that specific body positions were preferred, which expressed minor variations between the archaeological sites. At the same time, it was possible to discern specific practices that were more frequent in certain areas. The dead were most often arranged either in a supine position or on their sides with knees straight or flexed, in a crouched position. The placement of the body in flexed position expressed a distinct differentiation linked to the degree of contraction of the knee- and hip joint, which show that there existed guidelines or standards in the practice of body position. The result also indicated age and gender differentiations expressed through skeletal position and orientation, which were expressed differently within some of the populations. The study has identified both regional and local patterns in ritual practice in relation to body position and orientation. Possible interpretations relating to similarities and differences in the material are further discussed in the thesis in order to identify a ritual context.

This thesis has had its focus on ceramic shards found in a trench by the late neolithic western shore of the Ajvide site. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate if there are changes in the pottery between the test trench and the ceramics found by the graves, known as the main site. The author has compared the ornaments from the test trench with an ornament schedule made from over 50 000 shards from the assumed main site. Not only changes regarding ornaments has been noticed but also new techniques and raw material. The author has also implemented two 14C datings which backs his hypothesis that the shards from the test trench are younger than the shards that made the earlier ornament schedule. According to the author, due to cultural changes,he is of the opinion that some of the examined shards represent ceramics from a hybrid culture consisting material and ritual traits from the pitted ware culture and the battleaxe (boataxe) culture.

This one-year master's thesis investigates the late part of the Middle Neolithic on the island of Gotland. This thesis has been written without the influence of a singular theoretical pespective, and has therefore seen input from the processual, and postprocessual theories. By using several perspectives, an attempt is made to view the material remains used in the most objective manner possible. The specific aim of this thesis is to investigate whether the Mid-Neolithic inhabitants of Gotland were a part of the Corded Ware culture (or as it is called in Sweden, the Battleaxe culture or the Boataxe culture). Most recent literature has concluded that Gotland was never a part of the Battlexe culture, though this thesis has discovered many parallels with the mainland culture, including the production of similar objects and ritual practices. There are indications that the Gotlandic culture also integrated traits from several other coastal regions of the Baltic Sea, something most Battle Axe settlements did not. After investigating all the data that have been linked with the Battleaxe culture, this thesis concludes that the people on the island of Gotland were not fully assimilated to the Battleaxe culture, but were approaching the culture in both a material and ritual aspects. This leaves the conclusion that the Gotlandic culture towards the end of the Middle Neolithic was somewhat of a hybrid.

Abstract  Erik Samuelsson: A View Towards the Sea – Towards a Changed Understanding of the Culture and Social Life of the Middle Neolithic in Eastern Central Sweden.  The objective of this essay is to undertake an investigation and critical review of the Neolithic cultural groups as defined by contemporary archaeologists. This will be achieved through the analysis of empirical material derived from the Neolithic site of Tibble, located in the Björklinge parish of Uppland, Sweden. The primary aim is to develop a more comprehensive understanding and interpretation of not only the specific site but also the cultural and social aspects of the Neolithic period as a whole. Key questions addressed in this study include the impact of material studies on the overall interpretation of Neolithic culture and social life, as well as the potential for attaining a more holistic understanding of a time and place through an analytical approach that oscillates between detailed analysis and broader contextual perspectives. The primary sources utilized in this research consist of material artifacts, reports, and relevant literature pertaining to the Middle Neolithic settlement at Tibble, Björklinge parish, Uppland, Sweden. The theoretical framework employed in this study, as well as the chosen methodology, is rooted in the hermeneutic spiral. Previous investigations into the Stone Age have been largely characterized by the classification of cultural groups, with limited consideration given to the criticism of the concept of culture itself. Consequently, substantial changes in the interpretation of the Neolithic period and its inhabitants have not been extensively pursued. In this essay, the integration of hermeneutics and interdisciplinary approaches is demonstrated as a valuable means to foster a transformative understanding of both specific sites and broader chronological periods. By doing so, it becomes possible to harness the knowledge embedded in material studies.It is important to note that this essay does not aspire to provide an ultimate solution to the perceived problem but rather represents an initial step towards a new direction of inquiry. This process is not necessarily confined to a singular location or region but can be applied to the interpretative work concerning other Neolithic sites as well.