Interpretations of osteological remains from mainland Greece during the 1960-1980s led to the suggestion that the most virulent form of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, was prevalent between the Mesolithic and Late Bronze Age (c. 8700 cal. BC-1100 cal. BC). Although disregarded over the past decade, the theory has regained support in recent years from osteological, epidemiological, environmental and DNA studies. However, the presence of this strain of malaria in prehistoric Greece remains controversial. This thesis evaluates 1) the palaeoclimatic conditions of the Aegean between the Mesolithic and Late Bronze Age and 2) the palaeoenvironmental conditions of three archaeological settlements, with the aim of ascertaining whether the climatic and environmental conditions were as conducive for P. falciparum and the mosquito vectors as the osteological evidence suggested. Equal consideration is given to the so-called ‘lesser strains’ of malaria, P. vivax and P. malariae, the significance of which is considered to have been underestimated in previous studies.

The aim of this study is to investigate life forms and the dynamics of cultural processes in the parish of Tärna, Västerbotten. The material is an investigation of the life stories of two families, which have been investigated from an overall scientific aspect. The aim has been to examine the exploitation of resources by individuals and cognitive structures within the framework of ecological adaption. These aspects have been illuminated by the use of comprehensive source materials. Estate inventories have revealed different object categories which were associated with the exploitation of natural resources. Church registers, judgement books, tape recordings from folklore archives and the author's own interview material described life stories in a Saami mountain family and a settler family. It turned out that people in the mountains had supported themselves on a combination of stock-raising, hunting and fishing. Comprehensive socialized knowledge of the environment and its resources was a decisive factor for ecological adaption and survival.  The settler family had a solid knowledge of various handicrafts. The Saami in Tärna have settled down at an early stage and abandoned their former nomadism. The Saamish family investigated had a strong sense of family identity and their living story-telling tradition strengthened their identity and became a uniting factor. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century innovations began to emerge in the mountain parish, which often came to revolutionize the whole life pattern. The process of cultural change in Tärna in the 20th century has been dramatic. It has included the development of technology, modernization and changing exploitation of resources. Through the investigation of the life stories of the two families a clear picture has emerged of the exploitation of resources and of values, i.e. the total life pattern. / digitalisering@umu

This Creative Writing PhD consists of a novel, The Encyclopaedia of Istanbul, and accompanying critical essays, Ottoman Crossroads: Coffeehouses, Politics, Theatres and Storytelling. The Encyclopaedia of Istanbul is historical in nature, and magically real in temperament. It is an account of fin de siècle Constantinopolis, and contains forgotten fairy tales, remnants of an ancient manuscript culture, Armenian playwrights, Turkish feminists, Greek fortune-tellers and Sephardim cantors. It tells the tale of six intersecting lives in 1876, a time known as “the year of the three Sultans” in Ottoman history. This period was filled with tensions between traditionalism and Westernization, but also new political possibilities forwarded by the Young Ottomans. While the characters in The Encyclopaedia of Istanbul are fictitious, they are inspired by historical events and figures. The second element of my PhD, Ottoman Crossroads, is made up of four individual essays that focus on selected themes from the novel. They scrutinize, in order of presentation, the history of coffeehouse culture, the secretive society of the Young Ottomans and their political thought, the formation of Armenian-Turkish theatre, and the rediscovery of Ottoman fairy tales. Whilst the novel and essays are coherent independently, they also link to each other in ways that are sometimes direct, and at other times subtle.