This thesis is a pilot study, designed to test and develop methods suitable for the study of Scandinavian flint spearhead functionality. The functionality of projectile and lithic point armament has not been studied for almost 30 years in Scandinavia. Meanwhile, methods used to analyse lithic projectiles have developed considerably. However, few of these methods are precise enough to be used in conjunction with Scandinavian stone technological analyses that emphasize the societal aspect of lithic points. Consequently, two methods were chosen that could provide data for Scandinavian research issues: 3D-scanning/continuum mechanical simulations and organic residue analysis. The methods were tested on 6 experimental spearheads. The continuum mechanical simulation generated both visual and numerical data that could be used to create precise functional-morphological descriptions. The data could also potentially be used for projectile point classification. The organic residue analysis revealed promising results for the use of an artefact and activity specific analysis, with a sequential extraction protocol. In unison, the results from both analyses could be used to reveal how spearheads were functionally designed and used in Stone Age Scandinavia, even though there are methodological and technological issues that need solving.

The goal of this thesis is to develop a hybrid _nite element formulation to carry out stress analysis of arteries. To the best of our knowledge, a hybrid _nite element impel mentation of the Holzapfel-Ogden artery model has not been carried out before. Since arteries are thin `shell-type' structures, they are subjected to membrane, shear and volumetric locking in case when standard _nite elements are used. Since hybrid _nite elements are known to overcome these problems, we develop hybrid hexahedral element formulations (both lower and higher-order) for artery analysis. We demonstrate The better coarse mesh accuracy of hybrid elements, which are based on a two-_eld variational formulation, over conventional displacement based elements. Typically, wend that three or four extra levels of renement are required with conventional elements to achieve the ame accuracy as hybrid elements. The recently proposed Holzapfel-Ogden constitutive model for the artery and its implementation both within the conventional and hybrid _nite element frameworks is discussed. The numerical implementation is particularly challenging due to the presence of _bers which can only take tensile loads. The mathematically exact tangent stiness matrix that we have derived in this work is crucial in ensuring convergence of the numerical strategy.