This thesis aims to study the Capacocha, which is an Inca ritual where children were offered to their gods in the sacred places called Huacas (places of origin) and offered artefacts together with the children links to the Inca's sacred symbol, the Chakana, which in turn it is the life philosophy of the Inca culture. This thesis uses this philosophy to understand the phenomenon and the elements that define Huacas and the Capacocha ritual. Furthermore, a hermeneutic approach with phenomenology and phenomenology of landscape theory is applied to understand the symbolism and meaning from the Inca's cultural perspective. For this thesis, three specific case studies are analysed: the children from Llullaillaco, Chuscha and Cerro El Plomo, all situated at high altitudes (5200 - 6739 m) in the Andes. These selected places by the Incas were Huacas. The analysis is built on a comprehensive study of the cultural value and the symbolic meaning of the Capacocha ritual in relation to the Huacas and the Incas' perspective (Chakana) since previous studies concerning the Capacocha ritual, and Huacas did not consider the Chakana philosophy in their interpretations. The aim is to narrow the gap in understanding the Inca worldview to contribute with academic knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon that defines Huacas and the Capacocha ritual from the Incas' perspective. The study shows that the Incas had a holistic perspective where everything is entangled through time and space, and this demonstrates that the children were not just offered to the Inca gods. Instead, the children lived among the gods because they became gods through the Capacocha ritual, a transformation process. / Denna uppsats syftar till att studera Inkaritualen Capacocha, där barn offrades tillsammans med andra offergåvor till sina gudar på de heliga platserna som kallas Huacas (ursprungsplatser) och barnen och offergåvorna hänger samman med Inkafolkets heliga symbol, Chakana, som är inkakulturens livsfilosofi. Denna studie använder denna filosofi för att förstå fenomenet och de element som definierar Huacas och Capacocha-ritualen. Vidare tillämpas ett hermeneutiskt förhållningssätt med fenomenologi och fenomenologi inom landskapsteorin för att förstå symboliken och innebörden ur inkafolkets kulturella perspektiv. I denna uppsats analyseras tre specifika fallstudier: barnen från Llullaillaco, Chuscha och Cerro El Plomo och alla är belägna på hög höjd (5200 - 6739 m) i Anderna. Dessa utvalda platser av inkafolket var Huacas. Analysen bygger på en omfattande studie av det kulturella värdet och den symboliska innebörden av Capacocha-ritualen i relation till Huacas och inka perspektivet (Chakana) sedan tidigare studier angående Capacocha-ritualen, och Huacas beaktade inte Chakana-filosofin i sina tolkningar. Syftet är att minska klyftan i förståelsen av inkavärldsbilden för att bidra med akademisk kunskap och förståelse för det fenomen som definierar Huacas och Capacocharitualen ur inkafolkets perspektiv. Studien visar att inkafolket hade ett holistiskt perspektiv där allt är sammanflätat i tid och rum, och detta visar att barnen inte bara offrades till inkagudarna. Istället levde barnen bland gudarna eftersom de själva blev gudar genom Capacocharitualen, som står för en förvandlingsprocess. / Esta tesis tiene como objetivo estudiar el ritual de Capacocha, el cual es un ritual inca donde se ofrecían niños junto con artefactos a sus dioses en los lugares sagrados llamados Huacas (lugares de origen), los cuales estaban vinculados al símbolo sagrado de los Incas, el Chakana, que en a su vez es la filosofía de vida de la cultura Inca. Esta tesis utiliza esta filosofía para comprender el fenómeno y los elementos que definen a las Huacas y el ritual de la Capacocha, aplicando un enfoque hermenéutico con la fenomenología y la fenomenología de la teoría del paisaje para comprender el simbolismo y el significado desde la perspectiva cultural de los incas. Para esta tesis se analizan tres casos de estudio específicos: los niños de Llullaillaco, Chuscha y Cerro El Plomo, todos ellos situados a gran altura (5200 - 6739 m). Estos lugares seleccionados por los Incas fueron las Huacas. El análisis se construye a partir de un estudio integral del valor cultural y el significado simbólico del ritual Capacocha en relación con las Huacas y la perspectiva de los Incas (Chakana). El estudio derivó debido a que estudios previos sobre el ritual Capacocha, y Huacas no consideraron la filosofía Chakana durante sus interpretaciones, lo cual dejó una brecha de entendimiento del ritual y los lugares, ya que el Chakana está conectado al ritual y los lugares, misma que es una filosofía de vida que rige mucho la perspectiva de los Incas. Al ignorar esta filosofía, muchas de las interpretaciones de los estudios previos son incompletas o sesgadas debido a la influencia de la perspectiva occidental. Por ello, el objetivo de mi tesis es acortar la brecha en la comprensión de la cultura Inca y para contribuir con el conocimiento académico y la comprensión del fenómeno que define a Huacas y el ritual Capacocha desde una perspectiva más cercana a su origen, los Incas y el Chakana.   Como resultado, el estudio demostró que los incas tenían una perspectiva holística donde todo se entrelaza a través del tiempo y el espacio, y demostrando que los niños no solo eran ofrecidos a los dioses incas. En cambio, los niños vivieron entre los dioses porque se convirtieron en dioses a través del ritual Capacocha, un proceso de transformación influenciado por la filosofía del Chakana. El resultado, también mostró que la filosofía del Chakana influenció todo el proceso, y que para los Incas, no hubo sacrificios; ellos dieron ofrendas a sus dioses. Y que en realidad, desde su perspectiva, los niños no murieron, sino que tomaron otra forma de vida para formar parte de un vínculo a través de los mundos de los Incas.

During the Middle and Late Neolithic, especially in south-eastern Sweden, the archaeological material sometimes reveals a type of hybrid ceramic that was previously classified as a Battle-axe ceramic. But as recent as the latter part of the 1990s, this hybrid pottery was again noticed by researchers in a compilation of Neolithic pottery. In this compilation, the name Third Group is used as a collective name for the hybrid ceramics. Further studies have since resulted in a relatively restrictive template with several subgroups where the material has been defined as the Third Group. This work is a type of definition analysis with an element of comparative analysis where the use of the term Third Group is analyzed, as well as the definition behind the term. The main goal of the study is that during the relatively short period the term has been in use, be able to follow and gain a deeper understanding of how words and definitions in technical language are used, developed, and discussed. The aim of the study is to show that communication and language use within one's own profession is extremely relevant for further research.

This bachelor’s essay aims to discuss breastfeeding and complications related to breastfeeding within archaeological contexts. Why complications have arisen when such a natural act is per- formed and how individuals have tried to manage them. By looking at different methods of recording breastfeeding patterns I aim to broaden the interpretations of breastfeeding in differ- ent time periods and locations. Isotope analysis will be an important part as well as paleopatho- logical analysis of human remains. Information from three completed studies from Öland and Västerhus in Sweden and Quarto Cappello del Prete in Rome will be presented and discussed. In conclusion I suggest that breastfeeding is a complex act surrounded by difficulties such as diseases and cultural norms. There is variation within populations regarding breastfeeding and weaning. People have been struggling as well as fighting for the survival of their children.

Ancient Egyptian human remains, mummified and skeletal, have been studied for centuries by archaeologists and egyptologists, who have focused on mummification techniques, palaeopathology and signs of activity. However, some of these studies have been lacking in taphonomic and osteological knowledge. This dissertation considers if some of the interpretations of osteoarchaeological data in these studies can be better explained by taphonomic processes, a more in-depth knowledge of paleopathology and osteological identification techniques. As a result, the interpretations of terrible working and life conditions at Tell el Amarna, the capital city founded by Akhenaten were created by interpreting common pathologies as indications of forced labor and poor diet, and by ignoring facts about the context.  The identifications of KV55 and KV60-A individuals cannot be considered valid. No reliable radiologic methods exist that can age an individual between the ages of 35-45. A damaged vertebra and a femur were incorrectly said to contain osteophytes. The damages described in the cranium and teeth of this individual may even be of peri-mortem origin. The tooth used to identify KV60-A with Hatshepsut does not have the wear expected for the age group of the individual, while the cranial morphology shows a high indication of masculine traits.  Unknown man E, Unknown woman A and the Greek-roman mummy seemed to have been affected by common taphonomic and archaeothanatological processes. The healing process of the mandibula and maxilla makes it unlikely that the so called “bridges” were used during life. In conclusion, a much deeper knowledge of taphonomy, paleopathology and general osteological knowledge in these studies would have been necessary to avoid misinterpretations.

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This thesis is based on the observation that in the Lake Mälaren region, places with the name Stenby ("stone village") tend to be located next to hillforts. I have researched the occurrence of the place name Stenby with medieval evidence for the name in eastern central Sweden and found sixteen that are located in the Mälaren Valley region. Of these, twelve had a hillfort within one kilometer and eleven were assessed as being from the Migration Period. There is one hilltop settlement in the material: Broborg in Uppland. Of the eleven Migration Period hillforts, ten were located close to Lake Mälaren or had a waterway to Lake Mälaren. Eight of the twelve Stenby places with a hillfort were located in areas that could constitute aristocratic central areas with many sacral placenames referring to Norse Gods and names containing -tuna and -lunda. They are in open landscapes with wide views. Two Stenby hillfort complexes were adjacent to a (nautical) fairway. These findings suggest a central organization within the region.  The only exception from the Migration Period hillfort pattern is in Riala Parish, which has an older bank enclosure. Riala is not situated in an Iron Age central district and lacks a water connection with Lake Mälaren. Of the four Stenby without a nearby hillfort, two lacked close Iron-Age burial grounds and are not certain to be Migration Period settlements. One may be associated with a smaller mountain called Onsberget ("Oden's mountain").

No description available.

This work deals with objects suppressed by individual people after the 1973 coup in Chile, due to the repression exerted by the installed civic-military dictatorship. It collects the memories of those who had to get rid of compromising objects to save their lives, pointing out the strategies chosen for this purpose, as well as the places to carry them out. It shows that the strategies varied and depended on different circumstances. This work is also about the value given to objects and the way in which the functions of objects change according to political circumstances. It highlights the memories created in contrast to the discourses of official history and to forced oblivion. / Detta arbete handlar om de föremål som förtrycktes av enskilda människor efter statskuppen i Chile 1973, på grund av förtrycket som den installerade civil-militära diktaturen utövade. Det samlar in minnen av de som var tvungna att göra sig av med kmpromissande föremål för att rädda sina liv, och pekar ut de strategier som valdes för detta ändamål, såväl som platserna för att utföra dem. Det visar att strategierna varierade och berodde på olika omständigheter. Dat här arbetet handlar även om de värderingar som ges till föremål och hur föremålens funktioner förändras beroende på politiska omständigheter. Det lyfter fram minnet som skapats i kontrast till den officiella historiens diskurser och till påtvingad glömska.

The coin circulation in Denmark during Eric of Pomerania’s reign (1396-1439) has been studied systematically within the borders of today’s Denmark, but not Skåneland. This area is in today’s Sweden consisting of Halland, Scania, Blekinge and (Danish) Bornholm. The coin finds show that during 1400-1420 there was a considerable percentage of foreign coins in circulation, especially in churches. These were mostly used for fees in churches, but also had use in urban environments. The copper sterling represents the circulation of domestic coins during 1420-1440. The distribution of its minting cities showed that the local Lund type is the most common, followed by a similar percentage of Næstved and Randers types, and a lesser percentage of Odense types. The percentages of Lund and Odense types were expected but the similarities between Næstved and Randers types were not. Since Næstved types are the most common in today’s Denmark, and Randers types are a less circulated coin.

The purpose of this thesis is to address key questions concerning the status and roles of enslaved groups (thralls) in Viking-Age Scandinavia. The thesis focuses on the lives of thralls at two levels; first within the local context of the household and farm (described here as the ‘microenvironment’), and second within the wider ‘macroenvironment’ of Scandinavian society. In particular, the study seeks to uncover the different practical and economic roles that were fulfilled by thralls within these contexts, and in doing so to explore how slaveholding communities benefitted from the exploitation of these people. In order to address these issues, the thesis critically examines the archeological material associated with thralls and discusses the various issues associated with the interpretation of this evidence. Given the inherent difficulty of identifying thralls in the archaeological record, this study also utilizes a range of contemporaneous and later medieval textual sources, including the Icelandic sagas and the earliest surviving Scandinavian law codes, as a means of contextualizing the discussion of material evidence. In exploring the diverse range of archaeological evidence and textual sources available to us, the author concludes that thralls played a significant role among Scandinavian communities as a source of both domestic and economic labor. Through this, they also involuntarily helped Scandinavian communities to mount and sustain trading, raiding and settlement activity in Europe and beyond. In reaching this conclusion, the author draws upon a number of sources pointing to a significant need for (unfree?) labor, for example in tasks such as textile production. When combined with a high-level of access to slaves through raiding and trading activity, it seems logical that Viking-Age communities would have exploited thralls in this way. Given the regular appearance of thralls in both the early Scandinavian law codes and sagas, furthermore, it is likely that these people represented a prominent social group within both social and labor-related contexts.