During the excavations of the City Park in Kalmar, Kalmar municipality, Småland, Sweden, in 2006 a quantity of approximately 100 kg of animal bones was excavated from the medieval settlement and harbour structures. These animal bones have been analysed and the results of the analysis will be discussed in the following paper. The purpose of the study was to identify what species is found and which parts of the body is represented in order to figure out the use and consumption of animals in the medieval city.  In the analysis several osteological methods- among these; age determination, sex determination and estimation of height have been used in order to compare the material from Kalmar to analysed osteological materials from other parts of Sweden. The result of the analysis showed the following species: cattle, sheep, goat, pig, horse, dog, cat, rat, hare, unspecified bird and unspecified fish. A pattern has been found in the location of different types of material indicating one building that was burnt down while storing several joints of meat, including for example spare ribs. In the area around the harbour several bones from phalanges and the cranial parts of cattle was identified, indicating an area of butchering or tannery activities.

Animal bones found on archaeological sites can be connected to the economic structures of the society and what activities the humans performed. During the Merovingian Period and the Viking Age on the island of Gotland there are several sites that have been difficult to interpret. One of these sites is Signallottan which has several finds that are connected to iron working but also a lot of cremated animal bones. The proposed study investigates how the animal bones are connected to the site and what purpose they had. The study also compares the site to other archaeological sites to see how they differ. This will be achieved by analyzing the animal remains found at the site. The material consists of roughly 56 kilograms of bones that were excavated during 2018 and is currently stored in the osteological laboratory in Visby, Sweden. This study leaves some questions open but most likely Signallottan has only had one main purpose. What this purpose is, is still unknown and needs further research.

Cremated bones from animals has been recovered in conjunction with a number of hearths in Visby, Gotland. This find has started a controversial discussion in the archeological field regarding usage of bones as a supplement in iron working. Archeological investigations often tend to overlook the information that could be gained from osteological materials. Animal bones can give us insight and contribute with new perspectives on economics, diet, livestock and much more. The aim of this bachelor is therefore to look closer at the relations between bones and iron working and to establish if the bones were used to enhance the phosphorus levels of the iron. This will be achieved by analyzing cremated bones from the archeological site Visby RAÄ 230. The material will also be compared with previous studies regarding iron working.

This essay include the osteological analysis of ten cremation burials from the burial ground of Vindförberg in Ore parish, Dalarna. The burial ground on Vindförberg was used between the years 100 and 550 AD. during the Iron age. Vindförberg is a hunting burial ground which is one of two burial practices that existed during this age in Dalarna. The hunting ground graves are located far from settlements and their origin is under debate. Theories about these graves say that they are either settlers from the south or hunting-gatherer groups from the north and west. The questions this essay is if it is possible to see the structure of the community the people behind the burial ground at Vindförberg had. This will be achieved with the help of age and sex determinations to study the relationship between the different graves at Vindförberg. In excess of previous question, it was also of interest to compare the result from Vindförberg with four other contemporary burial grounds to inquire similarities and differences. Of the 43 graves on the burial ground, ten were analyzed in this essay. A total weight and volume of nine kilograms and twelve liters was analyzed. Human, dog, bear, elk, beaver, and fish were the identified species from Vindförberg. Because of the very fragmented material, the determinations of age and sex proved difficult to estimate. This led to the discussion being more about the ancient people’s conception of the world and rituals as well to social structure.

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.

Denna kandidatuppsats är ämnad att ligga som grund för framtida osteologisk dokumentation ochanalys av de skeletala kvarlevorna från skeppet Mars, och är utförd i samarbete med projektet SkeppetMars (1564).Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka och problematisera möjligheterna att analyseradigitalt dokumenterade skeletala kvarlevor i en marin miljö. För att utvärdera möjligheterna ochbegränsningarna med att utföra en digital osteologisk analys utfördes en mindre studie av det digitaltdokumenterade material som hittills insamlats från skeppet Mars. Analysen visade att en osteologiskanalys kan utföras på digitalt dokumenterade skeletala kvarlevor men att det finns begränsningar medatt utföra en analys av ett två dimensionellt källmaterial. Syftet med denna uppsats är även attdiskutera och lyfta fram hur skeletala kvarlevor påverkas under längre tid i marina sediment* samtbräckt/salt vatten. Syftet med denna uppsats är även att diskutera hur en hypotetisk inhämtning och konservering av de skeletala kvarlevorna från skeppet Mars bör utföras. / This bachelor's thesis is intended to lay the ground for future osteological documentation and analysisof the skeletal remains from the naval ship Mars, and is conducted with the project Skeppet Mars(1564). The main purpose of this thesis is to examine and problematise the possibility to analysedigitally documented skeletal remains in a marine context. In order to evaluate the possibilities andlimitations of performing an osteological analysis, a small analysis was conducted on the digitallydocumented skeletal remains collected from the naval ship Mars so far. The analysis showed that anosteological analysis can be performed on digitally documented skeletal remains, there are, however,limitations of performing an analysis on a two dimensional documentation. The secondary purpose ofthis thesis is to discuss and highlight how skeletal remains are affected by marine sediment* andbrackish/saltwater over a long period of time. An additional goal for this thesis is to discuss how ahypothetical retrieval and conservation of the skeletal remains of the naval ship Mars shouldpreferably be performed.