In the Late Iron Age, the Mälaren region contained a clearly stratified society and many sites in the landscape indicate the presence of an upper stratum, an elite. This concept – elite – may perhaps be seen as problematic, but in this case it is decidedly more neutral, and considerably less limiting and excluding than many other concepts. The elite was a group that we know possessed larger farm buildings, more monumental and richly equipped graves as well as control over a large part of the specialised handicraft. The people in this elite group of society clearly advertised that they belonged to a special social unit. There are indications that these people had clear similarities with the nobility of the Middle Ages, but they were active in a society without any towns, Christianity or church administration. This dissertation discusses a number of issues concerning the elite of the Late Iron Age. Two studies are central. The first concerns six sites in the Mälaren region: Old Uppsala, Helgö, Vendel, Valsgärde, Husby in Glanshammar parish, and Ancient Sigtuna. The sites are compared to study the similarities and differences of elite settings. I investigate the evidence of different sources for the presence of great landownership, and of their importance for the rulers compared to other resources such as plunder, trade and taxation. The results indicate that the sites had many structural and economic similarities. At the same time, the resource use varied, and each site had its own unique character. The study is concluded with a discussion on the economic structure of the sites. The second study deals with the elite in the vicinity of Uppsala, an area that mainly through Old Uppsala and the presence of boat graves are usually connected with ancient rulers. The investigation is mainly based on a number of excavated as well as non-excavated graves, some of which have never been published. In addition, a number of placenames and three unique ritual deposits are discussed. The study indicates that the people usually included in the concept of elite were quite common. This provides a new perspective for our view of two long renowned sites: Old Uppsala and Valsgärde.

The conventional view on the Kalahari in southern Africa expresses that the area is unsuitable for livestock herding. For this reason, it is argued that livestock herders avoided the Kalahari in the past and were only able to establish themselves in the later half of the twentieth century, when deep-reaching boreholes were introduced in the area. An effect of this concept was that the archaeological record of pastoralists in the Kalahari either was perceived as non-existent or received little attention from scientific enquiry. Based on an archaeological survey in the Kalahari of the northeastern part of Namibia, the purpose of this study is to construct an alternative approach to the archaeology of livestock herding. The aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the areas unrecorded land-use history. I depart from the notion that the main ecological constraint for dryland pastoralism is the availability of dry season water and fodder resources. For this reason, the fundamental basis for a pastoral land-use system is places that contain dry season resources. By reviewing recent ecological research, historical and anthropological accounts and previous archaeological research, I establish a link between livestock herders’ procurement of dry season key resources and the practice of digging wells. The link can be motivated from the pastoral ambition of accumulating livestock and high water requirements in the restrained dry season. On this basis, I suggest that artificial wells are useful indicators of pastoral land use in the Kalahari. The most crucial task for the study is to address the archaeological visibility of pastoral well sites. By a research approach integrating the theoretical understanding of pastoralism and a methodology including ecology, archaeology, history and the knowledge of the people who keep livestock in the region today, the archaeological survey revealed 40 well sites, including nearly 200 well structures that have all been used for watering livestock. However, it would be unfortunate if a study of pastoral wells would solely address the ecological foundation and the archaeological visibility of pastoralism. I suggest that the wells signify the labour of peoples with common or separate histories, with or without own herds, but probably talked about in relation to herds. I will also argue that the wells can be used for tracking and reconstructing a pastoral land-use system that predated the colonial era. Furthermore, the wells can be used to identify changes of the land-use that took place during the twentieth century, which involved that livestock herding was more or less abandoned in large parts of northwestern Kalahari. The study surmises that the critical historical perspective is valuable for development projects and conservationist interventions active in the region, especially in the light of the recent trends in the dryland ecology, which shows a larger appreciation for the indigenous understanding of the management of dryland ecosystems. With modifications, the developed approach can be applicable for land-use historical research elsewhere in southern Africa.

This thesis focuses on dwelling sites with hearths dating from the period 600-1900 AD, located in the coniferous forest areas of Northern Sweden. The term dwelling sites with hearths refers to sites where stone-lined hearths occur. These hearths are of a type that became very common in Northern Sweden during the first millennium after the birth of Christ. The main aim of this study is to apply environmental archaeological methods to the investigation of dwelling sites with hearths in order to attain new information on the organisation and use of these sites, as well as to discuss and evaluate earlier strategies of settlement and subsistence. For this study, soil chemical survey and pollen analysis methods are used. Soil chemical surveys have been conducted at a total of 13 sites from the period 1000/1100-1900 AD at locations in the inland areas of the counties of Norrbotten, Västerbotten and Jämtland, while pollen analyses have been conducted at 4 sites located in the county of Norrbotten. Interpretations of the results are related to previous archaeological research, surveys and excavations. In addition, historical and ethnographical documentation as well as historical research concerning the conditions in the area during later periods are considered. The results show that environmental archaeological methods can provide information about settlements with hearths that is not normally possible to discern through archaeological surveys or excavations. Regarding the environmental impact at the settlement areas, there are clear differences between different dwelling sites with hearths. These differences seem to be independent of the number of hearths at the sites. Thus, it is not possible to make interpretations regarding these dwelling sites based purely on the number of hearths at the sites. The results also imply that these sites have been part of a settlement system where different types of dwelling sites were in use for shorter periods of time, for different purposes, and by a limited number of people. With the exception of the 17th century church and market place in Arvidsjaur, none of the examined dwelling sites could be interpreted as being a gathering site for a large number of people. Compared to descriptions of the conditions in the Sami area (Sa. Sápmi) during historical periods, this type of settlement pattern is comparable to the Forest Sami settlement pattern of late historical times. Moreover, soil chemical surveys conducted in areas adjacent to a number of hearths show similarities to the Sami hut (Sw. kåta). To sum up, the use of dwelling sites with hearths shows continuity from the 7th century settlements to Sami settlements of the 20th century, with respect to the environmental impact at the dwelling sites. On the basis of these results, it is suggested that a settlement pattern and subsistence similar to that of the Forest Sami economy and settlement of late historical times are characteristic for settlements with hearths and may have occurred as early as 600 AD.

In the Zimbabwean past, farming societies utilized mineral resources for their own use and for exchange to local and regional populations, as well as to markets beyond African borders. Successful agriculture was constrained by environmental hazards, principally unpredictable and often inadequate rainfall. Farming communities managed this predicament in various ways. It is likely that some groups used mineral resources found in the vicinity of their settlements to produce materials or items to exchange. The social contexts that defined the nature of mineral production and exchange altered between the mid-first and mid-second millennium AD, as social ranks emerged and political and economic systems became increasingly complex. The thesis is a commentary on how the motivation of society to broaden its resource base, to improve the benefits to households and to society in general, contributed to the emergence of leaders and, ultimately, of an elite class. The focus of the research is on iron and copper production because the author has examined gold production thoroughly in a previous study. Four published papers outline the history of iron and copper production in Zimbabwe. The papers provide case studies of the scale and social context of iron and copper production and exchange.

Archaeology in Bolivia has two strong tendencies: nationalism and regionalism. The proposal aims for an academic reconstruction and expansion of this science in order to develop new scientific criteria, that can be institutionalized and become normative to the whole country to cover the expectations of different regions with regard to its past. A fundamental aspect of providing Bolivian archaeological research with new perspectives is the study of formation and development of Andean central places of historic, infrastructural and ritual importance, such Huari, Quillacas, Sevaruyo, Pampa Aullagas and San Miguel de Uruquilla. Research conducted in the south basin of the Lake Poopo identifies evidence of early settlement in Huari towards the Late Archaic period (approximately 4000 to 2000 BC) and the Formative (2000 BC to AD 300), when the first villages were established. This indicates that the formation of agricultural towns was produced by consolidation of multiethnic central places that first consisted of ayllus, socio-dynamic units that gathered together settlers from different regions that simultaneously formed an ample network of centres interconnecting the Andean complex geography, interweaving their cultural diversity owing to the common ideology of Tiwanaku. Routes and llama caravans (llama trekking) integrated this network of central places. As indicated by surveys and excavations, convergence of groups from different regions has been recognized in rests of material culture as shown in the ceramic distribution: Local Tiwanaku, Tiwanaku from Cochabamba, Yura, Huruquilla, Puqui, Mojocoya and remains of festivities at the centres during redistribution ceremonies, as well as ritual offers during the Early Regional Development period (300 to AD 900). This dynamic and preponderant ideology was completely transformed during Late Regional Developments (900 to AD 1460) when a series of regional conflicts determined the formation of the regional confederation known as Quillacas- Azanaques. At the time of the Inka Conquest (1460– AD 1530), the Lake Poopo basin was integrated into the Tawantinsuyo region through the implementation of the Royal Road and construction of Paria, Quillacas, San Miguel de Uruquilla and the Sevaruyo lodgings. During the Colonial (1530 - 1825) and Republican periods (1825 - ), the Spaniards made changes that imply a deterioration of the socio-political structures of the ayllus, its territorial fragmentation and creation of new reductions for mining operations. Recent archaeological research supports the proposition that populated centres in the Andean region of Bolivia were adapted to take advantage of the ecological variability through the social construction of the ayllu and the markas, centres that maintain dynamics, fluctuants and confluence in productive and ritual places.

This thesis explores how the spade-shaped currency bars of central Norrland were used in different contexts and what significance they held. Spade-shaped currency bars give us a glimpse of a world-view different than our own where the intermediary form the bars represented bestowed upon them a much fuller significance than did their place in the production process. Spade-shaped bars do not work especially well as a general intermediary form in the iron production process. They are time-consuming to produce and their shape is clearly unsuitable for forging most objects, apart from cauldrons. It is likely that the shape of the bars was chosen from social, rather than technological considerations. It is suggested that the bars got their shape from the socketed axe because of its practical as well as symbolic importance. The spade-shaped bars thus became associated with ideas about the origins of society; opening up the landscape, clearing forest for farming and iron production. The bars symbolic meaning was so broad as to appeal to people in totally different parts of Norrland. It was possible, through the lens of the currency bar, to conciliate these different ways of life to a single narrative of origins and identity. Most spade-shaped bars are found in hoards on the periphery of the settled areas, in the forest. The placement of the hoards suggest that the burial of bars is most likely part of ritualized activities intended to promote fertility in the fields and in the forests. The hoards are found on boundaries in the landscape, often in the places where the boundary could be crossed.

The aim of this work is to take the first step into a development process, with the intention to find a way of making prehistoric soil fertility a variable in archaeological landscape analysis. A pilot study is performed on the Mälar basin area, where four topographical and geological factors are reclassified and then combined, resulting in a map which expresses a relative indication of agriculture potential. The map is then compared to the distribution of Migration Period graves and gold finds. This, however, does not mean that the technique is tied to a certain prehistoric period. Because the work is intrinsically experimental, the technique as a whole is finally discussed and evaluated, and suggestions of improvements and further studies are made.

Throughout the course of human civilizations, archaeology is considered as a tool that can be manipulated to achieve certain kind of objectives. For centuries, people struggle for the rights of possession of certain artifacts with significant meanings to their collectivity. One of the main aspects of the debate in archaeology is ethics, and how it plays a big role in mapping out a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved. This thesis deals with the issues of cultural property rights, and evaluating some moral stands behind the argument, by looking at Lord’s Elgin marbles case as a starting point. Could the marbles be considered as stolen properties bought from Lord Elgin? Is repatriation indispensable? Does the Ottomans Empires and Lord Elgin has the right to dispose and bring home the marbles, respectively, at the first place? These questions would be analyze through both conservationist and “repatriationist” perspectives, Robert Nozick’s philosophical perspectives on cultural property rights and the cosmopolitanism’s views on dealing with antiquities and artifacts restitution. Despite the fact that cultural property rights issues can be a delicate matter, it is important to show that there is still hope for an overlapping consensus among conservationist and pro-restitution group.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate which criteria that can be used to locate execution sites on the island of Gotland, Sweden. The execution sites, which are used to test the criteria against, range in date from early medieval period to 1876 when the last public execution in Sweden took place. Why these criteria can be used will be discussed along with attempts to explain why they have been used frequently or not so frequent. The results show that the execution sites are most commonly located in clear view, near roads, on heights and on unfertile soil. Other criteria that appears less frequent, but that still can be used in the process of locating execution sites, are graves, crossroads and boarders.

This thesis focuses on the use of the semi-subterranean house on the coast of Norrbotten during the period 5000–2000 BC. The term semi-subterranean house (in Swedish boplatsvall) became a new category of prehistoric remains in Norrbotten during the 1980s. In 1984, the Swedish National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet) started surveying the eastern part of Norrbotten, thus initiating a new interpretation of the history of Stone Age coastal societies. The aim of this study is to observe and analyse how the semi-subterranean house developed through time in eastern Norrbotten and to place this information into context. For this thesis, I have studied a number of 631 semi-subterranean remains on a number of sites dating from the Mesolithic era to the early Metal Age. A number of settlements belonging to different eras have been compared. Several archaeological investigations on sites from the late Mesolithic and the Neolithic periods have also provided important information. The thesis shows that throughout the Mesolithic period, the semi-subterranean house was usually less than 12 m2, with an average of approximately 9 m2 . Around 5000 BC, there appears to have been an increase in the number of this type of house being constructed. The number of known sites with semisubterranean houses is at its highest around the late Mesolithic period. Subsistence seems to have been based on the hunting of large terrestrial animals, such as elk and perhaps reindeer. Other animals found in the bone material are seal, beaver, salmon, perch, pike as well as some bird species. At the beginning of the Neolithic period, the number of sites with semi-subterranean houses decreases while the number of houses at each site increases. Also, the floor area increases to an average size of 15 m2 and the floor shape changes from circular to rectangular. The bone material consists at this time of seal bones, while elk and reindeer remains are scarce. Most of the sites are concentrated in the area around the mouths of the Kalix and Torne Rivers. At the middle and end of the Neolithic period, the numbers of sites increase as do the number of houses on each site and the size of the fl oor areas. The average floor area is 28 m2. The bone material now contains no elk or reindeer remains, while seal and various fi sh species are common. Around 2300 BC, the number of semi-subterranean houses decreases dramatically. The semi-subterranean house was probably exchanged for another sort of dwelling more suited to the needs of society. After 2300 BC, there is a total decline in known sites in the area. This could be explained by a reorganisation of the settlements as a result of greater interaction with the south Scandinavian battle-axe culture, together with higher interaction and cultural identification with neighbouring groups in the north and around the Bothnian Bay on the Finnish side.