There are a variety of archaeological questions, which are difficult to assess by traditional archaeological methods. Similarly, there are genetic and population genetic questions about human evolution and migration that are difficult to assess by studying modern day genetic variation. Archaeological genetics can directly study the archaeological remains, allowing human history to be explored by means of genetics, and genetics to be expanded into historical and pre-historical times. Examples of archaeological questions that can be resolved by genetics are determining biological sex on archaeological remains and exploring the kinship or groups buried in close proximity. Another example is one of the most important events in human prehistory – the transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to farming - was driven through the diffusion of ideas or with migrating farmers. Molecular genetics has the potential to contribute in answering all these questions as well as others of similar nature. However, it is essential that the pitfalls of ancient DNA, namely fragmentation, damage and contamination are handled during data collection and data analysis. Analyses of ancient DNA presented in this thesis are based on both mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA through the study of single nuclear polymorphisms (SNPs). I used pyrosequencing assays in order to identify the biological sex of archaeological remains as well as verifying if fragmented remains were human or from animal sources. I used a clonal assay approach in order to retrieve sequences for the HVRI of a small family-like burial constellation from the Viking age. By the use of low coverage shotgun sequencing I retrieved sequence data from 13 crew members from the 17th century Swedish man-of-war Kronan. This data was used to determine the ancestry of the crew, which in some cases was speculated to be of non-Scandinavian or non-European origin. However, I demonstrate that all individuals were of European ancestry. Finally, I retrieved sequence data from a Neolithic farmer from the Iberian Peninsula, which added one more facet of information in exploring the Neolithization process of Europe. The Neolithic Iberian individual was genetically similar to Scandinavian Neolithic farmers, indicating that the genetic variation of prehistoric Europe correlated with subsistence mode rather than with geography.

Submitted by Maria Dulce (mdulce@ndc.uff.br) on 2014-02-25T16:57:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Birro, Renan-Dissert-2013.pdf: 3670709 bytes, checksum: 4d591521c20672aebc47b8cbf08a3702 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-02-25T16:57:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Birro, Renan-Dissert-2013.pdf: 3670709 bytes, checksum: 4d591521c20672aebc47b8cbf08a3702 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / A pesquisa de mestrado intitulada Rex perpetuus norvegiæ: a sacralidade dos reis noruegueses e a santificação de Óláfr Haraldsson (c. 995-1030) à luz da literatura nórdica latina e vernacular (sécs. XI-XII) é um inquérito sobre as diferentes tradições de sacralidade régia na Noruega durante a Era Viking e a Escandinávia Medieval, sobre a santificação do viking, rei, mártir e santo norueguês Óláfr Haraldsson, além da utilização de sua imagem como padroeiro do reino para consolidar a monarquia, a Igreja da Noruega e a recepção da biografia sagrada do santo norueguês por parte dos fieis. Óláfr Haraldsson (c.995-1030) viveu como viking durante alguns anos. Em 1015 ele retornou à Noruega para reclamar o trono após ser batizado em Rouen. A grande tarefa deste rei foi consolidar a conversão de seu povo ao cristianismo, tarefa que cumpriu à maneira de Carlos Magno: conversões forçadas e destruição de objetos e espaços de veneração pagãos. Ele foi banido do reino após a derrota na Batalha de Helgeå (1026). Após como proscrito, ele retornou em 1030, mas foi morto na Batalha de Stiklestaðir (1030). O rei morto transformou-se num objeto de veneração pouco após a sua morte, e um ano após a derradeira batalha, seu corpo foi transladado das cercanias de Nidaróss para o seio dessa cidade, que ficava na região onde este rei encontrava o maior número de seus detratores. Há indícios de peregrinações em massa para o seu santuário, e os inimigos do controle dinamarquês sobre a Noruega viram em Óláfr a possibilidade de se fortalecer, assim como a Igreja local, que tentava se unir a monarquia para ganhar forças e sobreviver num território recém-convertido à fé cristã. Seus sucessores empenharam- se em utilizar o rei-mártir para fortalecer seu poder político no reino. Entrementes, elementos da antiga sacralidade régia pagã foram reaproveitados, como o hamingja (“sorte”), além da incorporação da sacralidade régia cristã e do monarca defunto como padroeiro do reino e rei perpétuo da Noruega. O modelo inicial da biografia sagrada do santo seguia o padrão anglo-saxão de reis mártires, embora tenha sofrido influências da cultura local e respondido aos anseios da comunidade. / The master’s research entitled Rex perpetuus Norvegiae: the sacred kingship in the Norwegian monarchy and the sanctification of Óláfr Haraldsson (c. 995 – 1030) in the light of latin and vernacular literature (11th and 12th centuries) is an inquiry on the different traditions of sacred kingship in Norway during Viking Age and Medieval Scandinavia, on the sanctification of the Viking, king, martyr and Norwegian saint Óláfr Haraldsson, and the use of his image as patron saint of the kingdom to consolidate the monarchy, the Norwegian church and the reception of the sacred biography by the faithful. Óláfr Haraldsson (c. 995-1030) lived as a Viking during some years. At 1015 he come back to Norway to claim the throne after his baptism in Rouen. The main task of this king was the conversion of his people to the christianism. He did it with forced conversions and destruction of temples and sacred pagan objects. He was banned of the kingdom after his defeat at the Battle of Helgeã (1026). The dead king became quickly in an object of veneration after their death, and one year late, his body was translated from the vicinity of Nidaróss for this town, place where his main opponents lived. There are indications of massive pilgrimage to his shrine, and some powerful Norwegian nobles utilized Óláfr as a tool to improve the Norwegian opposition and the local church. The church, by turn, united with the monarchy, wanted to strengthen the Christianism at the kingdom. The rulers after Óláfr utilized him to improve their political power in the kingdom. The rulers after Óláfr utilized him to improve their political power in the kingdom. Meanwhile, elements of the pagan sacred kingship were reused, as the hamingja (“luck”). At the same time, the Christian sacred kingship and the dead king were utilized in the same purposes, and the last became the patron saint and the everlasting king of Norway. The initial model of sacred biography of Óláfr followed the anglo-saxon pattern of martyr kings, but he suffered influences from local culture and from the needs of faithful community.

The aim of this study is to examine the temporary museum exhibit World of the Vikings (Welt der Wikinger), created by Sweden’s Statens Historia Museum (SHM), through the lenses of  gender and pedagogical analysis. The exhibit which was planned to be showcased in the German city of Kiel in time for the sailing Olympics in 1972 and had several goals in mind. The primary goals were to showcase models of Viking ships and achievements of their ship art (to coincide with the sailing Olympics), provide an overview of the Viking Age and showcasing all its different aspects as opposed to just the infamous warrior. Using a gender theory and the overarching analyst method ‘The Feminist Museum Hack’, primarily utilizing a discourse analysis and a visual method (as well as comparative reading, a quantitative method and content analysis, depending on which objects were analysed), this study examines archival material of the exhibit in order to unveil both gender and pedagogical aspects. The material used, consisting of protocols, memos, exhibition texts, booth overviews (consisting of photographs), catalogues and letter correspondents, provide an extensive look into the exhibit, its purposes as well as the overall structure. The main findings of this study are that the exhibit had a clear pedagogical goal in mind, as its content was divided into different parts and chapters to detail various parts of the Viking Age, including their everyday life. Several artifacts collected from various museums were showcased, and the exhibition texts were designed to both educate its visitors and inspire to seek further knowledge. Nuancing gender roles was not part of its purpose, which is confirmed by a gender analysis of the exhibit. A significant portion of the Nordic people mentioned were men while only a few women were mentioned, but  most of the featured men and women were also from a higher hierarchical standing. In terms of expression of gender and gender roles, men were the primary focus in describing and showcasing everyday Nordic life, whereas the women remained passive and secondary. Through the exhibit material, it is clear the roles and chores performed by men were deemed of a higher importance.

The inland of northern Scandinavia has received more attention in archaeological research in recent years than before. This has among other things resulted in a better understanding of the trading systems within Iron Age Scandinavia and highlighted the importance of raw materials produced in the boreal regions. A significant part of the iron, antler and furs used in central agricultural areas like the Mälaren Valley during the Iron Age originated in northern Sweden. This indicates that central places to the south were dependent on products from the forested areas of the north, and that the two probably would have developed differently without this relation. The aim of this study is to perform a spatial analysis of swords found in northern Sweden to better understand the contacts and trading systems within the region during the middle and late Iron Age. This is based on the hypothesis that the swords indicate places with important functions, and that they are especially prominent in areas which controlled the trade of products like iron, antler, and furs. The results of the study show that swords are most frequent in agricultural areas by the coast connected to the largest rivers, where these raw materials were mainly transported. This pattern is apparent in all represented periods of the Iron Age except for the Vendel Period from which most swords have been found in outland locations far from the coast. This indicates that the Vendel Period differs clearly from other periods of the Iron Age in northern Sweden, concerning how the inter-regional trade was performed.

For many years Swedish archeologists have stumbled upon domestic cat remains in the Viking age graves. Most of the graves in this paper come from southern Sweden and Mälaren Valley where many finds have been studied. The questions are how much of the cats is left in the grave material, what kind of grave goods were deposited with the dead, if cats are usually buried either with men or women and what the combinations of all the different animal species that cats were buried with can tell us. The theory in this work is concerning human - animal relations between the vikings and their cats with the weight on antropocentrism. The point of the mentioned theory in this paper is to provide answers to what cats could mean in the viking burial ritual context. 17 grave fields have been analysed for this work with the biggest part of them located in the Mälaren Valley regions (14 grave fields), and 3 in southern Sweden. The result of this study implies that cats in the analysed Mälaren Valley and southern Sweden graves were buried with wealthy people like aristocrats and merchants. They were also seen as exotic pets during their lifetime. The cats were usually buried with other animals like dogs, horses and chickens which all propably had a status of sacral animals during viking age. Cats' remains condition is also brought up as the felines were found either as partial or full/ almost complete skelettons. Analysis results also imply that cats were buried as often with men as with women and there are also rare cases of child burials with these animals.

This paper presents an interpretation of an archaeological problem where Viking age treasure hoards on Gotland are discussed in relation to the provision of the morning gift in the medieval Guta law. There are around 700 treasure hoards found on Gotland and many of them contains what can be interpreted as female coded jewelry. In this essay Gender theory and the theory of performativity is used as a method to analyze treasure hoards with female coded jewelry and its purpose is to investigate jewelry in relation to gender. This study will take a closer look on eleven treasure hoards which have been selected based on jewelry identified as typically female. This might indicate that women were the ones who deposited their jewelry in the ground. The Guta law narrates women's political and social situation in the medieval society and it is possible that it can tell us about some social practices in the Viking society. This law is a great source to recount women’s rights and obligations when it comes to marriage and heritage. The law contains a provision about hogsl oc iþ which is interpreted to be the morning gift. The morning gift intended that a husband was to give his new wife a gift in relation to their marriage. The law stated that a woman had the right to her morning gift which could suggest that women could control this property and have ownership over it. This study investigates what the mentioned medieval law dictated in regard to what a morning gift should constitute of and if this have any connection to what can be found in Viking age treasure hoards. This study is performed by analyzing treasure hoards with jewelry identified as typically female, as well as analyzing the Guta Law which allow one interpretation of why there are so many deposited treasures on Gotland. The interpretation which is presented in this study is that women had ownership of their morning gift and they could have deposited it in the ground to protect themselves and their property.

This essay will treat the Gotlandic textile production during the Viking period (790 AD­–1150 AD) by studying the three grave fields, Barshalder in Grötlingbo parish, Broe in Halla parish and Ire in Hellvi parish. The focus of the study are the textile related objects, spindle whorls, weaving tablets, needles and needle cases found at the grave fields. The study will mainly examine the spindle whorls since differences in the weight and diameter can tell us about what type of yarn or thread that was produced and in extent the textiles that were produced. The results will be catalogued, and a correspondence analysis will be done in hope it will show patterns in the material. The study will also look at if there are differences between the three grave fields and in extent on the island.

Horses have played a large part in many cultures across the world, the Scandinavian Viking Age included. They are frequently found in graves and sacrificial sites, meant to denote, or represent the status and social caste of the humans they served. More and more studies and research projects are now taking place where the horses are allowed to take center stage, but these rarely touch on the subject of the horse’s agency. Were the abilities of the horses themselves what determined whether they be brutally sacrificed, or whether they keep serving the living? This is an area of study which hopes to introduce new perspectives into a complicated, lengthy debate over horses in sacrificial contexts, and shift focus away from the anthropocentric perspective that has dominated the subject. This study will discuss the archaeological and osteological finds in Scandinavia through a social zooarchaeological perspective, in an effort to offer a different perspective and to give agency to one animal that helped to shape our world.

This thesis discusses what associations Viking Age women and weapons had according to extant sources and how they can present in the grave material. In order to achieve this, literary sources, iconographic representations, and grave material are studied and compared in order to reach a deeper understanding of these associations and what they look like in the archaeology. The literary and iconographic source materials in this thesis are limited those from within, or shortly after, the Viking Age. The grave material in this thesis is also dated to the Viking Age and consists of weapon graves with osteologically determined inhumed females located in Gerdrup, Kaupang, Aunvoll, Nordre Kjølen, and Birka.

This thesis examines the relevance of animal symbolism for group cohesion within Vendel- and Viking Age warrior groups. Late Iron Age Scandinavia (c. 550-1050) saw increased political centralization where leading figures would legitimize and maintain their authority by forming and maintaining warrior groups. Animal symbolism is examined with regards to its role in stimulating processes of 'ingroup identification and identity fusion, which are likely to have been of vital importance in facilitating cohesion within ancient Scandinavian warrior groups. Literary, historical and archaeological sources are examined and compared in order to identify independently reoccuring phenomena, which collectively provide indications about the martial ideologies and practices of the Vendel- and Viking periods. Animals were used as identifying symbols for specific individuals, groups and organizations which could hade served to identify group members and hightlight the distinctiveness of ingroups in order to stimulate cooperation. Particular animals such as ravens were used by Scandinavian leaders in order to indicate martial competency and connections to the god Odin. Both of these functions would have increades the warrior bands' confidence in, and presumably loyalty towards their commanders. Animal symbolism was likely used by some warrior groups in the assumption of therianthropic identities. Conceptions of therianthropy could have stimulated identity fusion by cultivating specific personality traits, providing ideological motivations for violent actions, enhancing actual or perceived combat performance and by distinguishing therianthropic warriors from the rest of society. The relevant forms of animal symbolism would have coexisted to various degrees withing the same or similar ideological frameworks with Odin as a reoccuring and significant - but not necessarily essential - central figure.