Denna uppsats undersöker Storsudret, Gotlands sydligaste udde, i ett övergripande perspektiv av landskapet och dess geografiska egenskaper, samt Sundre socken för en lokal analys av fornlämningar och människorna i området. Sydvästligast ligger Hoburgen, en klint eller klippa som har satt spår i den gotländska kulturen på flera olika sätt. Baserat på studerandet av kartor, analys av ett osteologiskt material samt etymologiska kopplingar till Hoburgen målar detta arbete en nyanserad bild av platsen och människorna däri. Genom att studera dessa aspekter kommer vi närmare att förstå människornas relation till platsen genom tiderna och varför man valt att återkomma och återbruka forna tiders gravplatser. / This thesis examines Storsudret, Gotland’s southernmost peninsula, through an overview perspective of the landscape and its geographical features, as well as Sundre parish for a local analysis of ancient monuments and the people in the area. The south-westernmost point is Hoburgen, a cliff that has left an imprint in the Gotlandic culture in various ways. Through the study of maps, analysis of osteological remains, and etymological connections to Hoburgen, this thesis demonstrates a nuanced picture of the place and the people within. By studying these aspects, we come closer to understand people’s relationship to the landscape throughout the ages and why they chose to return to it and reuse ancient burial sites. / Gotland under det 3:e årtusendet f.Kr.

Denna uppsats syftar att utröna om indikationer på produktion av animalprodukter kan observeras i det osteologiska materialet från fastigheten Snauvalds 1:2, Västergarn, Gotland. Dessa produktioner kan vara kött-, mejeri- eller ullproduktion. Undersökningen ämnar även ge en inblick i den dåtida ekonomin genom handeln med animalprodukter. I den osteologiska analysen används ålders- och könsbedömningar samt artidentifiering för att skapa en bild av fördelningen i materialet. Resultaten från analysen har sedan tolkats ur ett ekonomiskt perspektiv för att dra slutsatser kring handeln med och betydelsen av animalprodukter. Resultaten visade att nötkreaturen sannolikt har använts för både mejeri- och köttproduktion. Fåren har troligtvis främst använts för produktion av ull, men även kött. Svinen har enbart fötts upp för sitt kött. Utöver detta dras slutsatsen att varupengar sannolikt varit en viktig del av ekonomin på platsen. Slutligen konstateras det att denna typ av undersökningar ger en unik inblick i det dåtida vardagslivet genom kosthållning och sysselsättning. / This thesis aims to deduce whether indications of the production of animal products can be observed in the osteological material from the property Snauvalds 1:2, Västergarn, Gotland. These productions can consist of meat-, dairy- or wool production. It also aims to provide an insight into ancient economy through the trade in animal products. In the osteological analysis age and sex assessment as well as species identification are used to establish a pattern of distribution. The results from the analysis have then been interpreted from an economic perspective to draw conclusions about the trade in and importance of animal products. The results showed that the cattle have likely been used for both dairy and meat production. The sheep were probably mainly used to produce wool, but also meat. The pigs were raised solely for their meat. In addition to this, it’s concluded that commodity money likely was an important part of the economy at the site. Lastly, it’s stated that this type of research provides a unique insight into everyday life through dietary choices and occupation.

Den större ischiasskåran (incisura ischiadica major) är en inskärning i höftbenet som karakteriseras av morfologier, användbara för att estimera biologiskt kön. Slutsatser gjorda från okulära observationer kan variera beroende på utövare och därmed kan morfologiska metoder anses vara mindre tillförlitliga gentemot metriska metoder. Tillvägagångssättet för denna uppsats bestod av en jämförande studie mellan en metod som använder formanalys och en som använder vinkelgrad för att bedöma biologiskt kön, på den större ischiasskåran. I denna uppsats användes ett praktiskt tillvägagångssätt för att observera 33 höftben från Sankt Hans medeltida kyrkogård. Det osteologiska materialet var inlånat från Gotlands museum och det praktiska arbetet utfördes på plats på magasinet, under våren 2024. Undersökningsmaterialet avgränsades till att inkludera endast vuxna individer av både manligt och kvinnligt kön. Resultaten visade att det finns en korrelation mellan kurvan på inskärningen och biologiskt kön. I diskussionsdelen av uppsatsen diskuterades tillförlitlighet och användarvänlighet för de två metoderna samt hur de kan nyttjas i osteologiska sammanhang. / The greater sciatic notch (incisura ischiadica major) is an incision in the hip bone that is characterized by morphologies, useful to assess biological sex. Conclusions that are made from visual observations may vary between practitioners, and therefore, morphological methods can be less reliable than metric methods. The approach of this essay consisted of a comparative study between a method using shape analysis and one using angle degree to assess biological sex, on the greater sciatic notch. In this essay, a practical approach was applied to observe 33 hip bones from Sankt Hans medieval cemetery. The material was borrowed from Gotland’s Museum, and the practical work was performed on site, during spring of 2024. The studied material was delimitated to include only adult individuals consisting of both males and females. The results showed that there is a correlation between the curve of the incision and biological sex. In the discussion, the essay explored the reliability and user-friendliness of the two methods, along with their potential applications in osteological contexts.

In South Sweden the third millennium BC is characterised by coastal settlements of marine hunter-gatherers known as the Pitted Ware culture, and inland settlements of the Battle Axe culture. This thesis outlines the history of research of the Middle Neolithic B in general and that of the pottery and burial practices in particular. Material culture must be understood as the result of both conscious preferences and embodied practices: technology can be deliberately cultural just as style can be un-selfconscious routine. Anthropological and ethnoarchaeological research into craft and the transmission of learning in traditional societies shows how archaeologists must take into consideration the interdependence of mind and body when interpreting style, technology and change in prehistory. The pottery crafts of the Pitted Ware and Battle Axe cultures were not just fundamentally different technologically, but even more so in the attitudes toward authority, tradition, variation and the social role of the potter in the community. The Battle Axe beakers represent a wholly new chaîne opératoire, probably introduced by a small group of relocated Beaker potters at the beginning of the period. The different attitudes toward living bodies is highlighted further in the attitudes toward the dead bodies. In the mortuary ritual the Battle Axe culture was intent upon the creation and control of a perfect body which acted as a representative of the idealised notion of what it was to belong to the community. This focus upon completeness, continuation and control is echoed in the making of beakers using the ground up remains of old vessels as temper. In contrast, the Pitted Ware culture people broke the bodies of the dead by defleshing, removal of body parts, cremation, sorting, dispersal and/or reburial of the bones on the settlements. The individuality of the living body was destroyed leaving the durable but depersonalised bones to be returned to the joint collective of the ancestors. Just as the bodies were fragmented so were the pots, sherds and bases being deposited in large quantities on the settlements and occasionally in graves. Some of the pots were also tempered with burnt and crushed bones. At the end of the Middle Neolithic the material and human remains show evidence of a growing effort to find a common ground in the two societies through sharing certain mortuary rituals and making beakers with a mix of both traditions, stylistically and technologically.

The discovery and taxonomic history of fluttering shearwater (Puffinus gavia (Forster) and Hutton's shearwater (Puffinus huttoni Mathews) are reviewed. Taxonomic theory, where appropriate to this thesis, is discussed. The external morphology of P. gavia and P. huttoni is compared. No single external measurement or plumage character separates more than 60% of birds examined. The best system of identification is to compare the ratio of different body parts within an individual bird. The distribution of P. gavia and P. huttoni is compared. Hutton's shearwater feeds further out to sea and it is believed to be a migrant species wintering in north west Australian waters. The fluttering shearwater is believed to be a semi-migrant species with only the juveniles spending time in south east Australia. The red cell enzymes of P. gavia, P. huttoni and P. griseus are compared. There are differences in two esterase loci between gavia and huttoni, while P. griseus is more distantly related. Nei's genetic identity values are calculated. The systematic value of electrophoretic data is discussed. The relationship of an undescribed subfossil shearwater to P. gavia and P. huttoni is discussed. An outgroup analysis to other shearwater species is carried out according to phylogenetic (cladistic) theory. The subfossil shearwater is most closely related to the fluttering shearwater, and these two form a sister group to Hutton's shearwater. These three species are a sister group of P. opisthomelas. The relationship between the many P. assimilis subspecies, the black-backed Manx shearwaters, and the gavia, huttoni and opisthomelas group was not resolved. Puffinus nativitatis is more closely related to the Manx and the little shearwaters than to the P. griseus, P. tenuirostris group.

Dans le domaine de l’anthropologie funéraire, les analyses en ostéologie quantitative constituent l’approche préalable nécessaire à la compréhension d’un gisement car elles informent quant à la composition de la population exhumée. Appliquées à des assemblages osseux livrant un grand nombre de restes, fragmentés et intriqués dans une sorte de désordre anatomique, ces études sont délicates. Par définition, les gisements concernés sont donc les sépultures collectives, a fortiori s’il existe des dépôts secondaires. A travers l’estimation du nombre minimum de sujets (NMI) présents dans le niveau chalcolithique de la sépulture collective du dolmen des Peirières (Aude, France), ces travaux ont pour objectif de mettre en évidence les problèmes théoriques relatifs à l’ostéologie quantitative, que ce soit du point de vue des méthodes ou de l’application de ces dernières, ainsi que les régions anatomiques les plus pertinentes pour le décompte des sujets à partir de séries fragmentées. Afin de mener cette réflexion, l’estimation du NMI se fonde d’une part sur les méthodes classiques de dénombrement des assemblages osseux et dentaires, d’autre part sur l’analyse pondérale, méthode utilisée dans le cas de sépultures à incinération. Il ressort que le caractère qualitatif d’un assemblage conditionne les résultats de l’analyse quantitative. La confrontation des NMI et des indices pondéraux montre que la fragmentation conduit à des profils ostéologiques particuliers. Dans de tels cas de figure, un choix de régions anatomiques précises et une systématisation des analyses pondérales se révèlent donc indispensables pour la bonne interprétation des résultats. Il apparaît également que les concepts de l’ostéologie quantitative, tels qu’ils sont définis à l’heure actuelle, sont difficilement transposables à des assemblages osseux extrêmement fragmentés. Enfin, une série de comparaisons des résultats obtenus sur quelques sépultures collectives de la même période semble indiquer une redondance quant à la pertinence de certaines parties du squelette en terme de dénombrement. / In the field of funerary anthropology, the quantitative osteology analysis constitute a preliminary approach necessary to the comprehension of a deposit because they inform on the composition of the exhumed population. Applied to osseous gatherings giving a great number of remains, split up and intricate in a kind of anatomical disorder, these studies are difficult to handle. By definition, the deposits concerned are thus collective burials, a fortiori if there are secondary deposits. Through the estimate of the minimum number of subjects (MNI) present in the chalcolithic level of the collective burial of the dolmen of Peirières (Aude, France), this work aims at highlighting the theoretical problems related to quantitative osteology, that is from the point of view of the methods or the application of these, as well as the anatomical areas most relevant to the counting of the subjects starting from fragmented series. In order to carry out this work, the NMI estimations are based on the traditional methods of counting of the osseous and dental gatherings on the one hand, on the ponderal analysis on the other hand, method used in the case of incinerations. It appears that the qualitative character of a deposit conditions the results of the quantitative analysis. NMI and ponderal indices confrontation show that fragmentation led to particular osteological profiles. In such cases, a choice of precise anatomical areas and a systematization of ponderal analysis thus appear essential for a sound interpretation of the results. It also appears that the concepts of quantitative osteology, such as defined, are not easily applicable to extremely fragmented osseous deposits. Eventually, a series of comparisons of the results from some collective burials of the same period seems to point to a redundancy as far as numbers are concerned or the relevance of certain parts of the skeleton in term of counting.

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