The subject of this bachelor thesis is the study of the artefact type called simple shaft-hole axe (Swedish: enkel skafthålsyxa) that have been found in the northern region of Sweden, Norrland. In contrast to finds in southern and middle Sweden, axes of this type in Norrland have not been extensively studied. Therefor the aim of this paper is to tabulate their number and distribution and see if the axes have any spatial relation to ancient monuments (Swedish: fornlämningar) dated to the same period and to see if the axes have any spatial relationship to any specific type of geography/terrain. This study also analyzes how they compare to the axes found in the rest of Sweden and thus what they may be able to tell us about prehistoric society in Norrland. This paper can be viewed as an extension of Per Lekberg’s dissertation Yxors liv, människors landskap: en studie av kulturlandskap och samhälle i Mellansveriges senneolitikum which is the most modern and extensive analysis of axes found in southern and middle Sweden and has provided a blueprint for the research done in this paper.

<p>In this essay, Neolithic potsherds from Alby, Öland has been examined. The purpose was to investigate the connection between the lipid residues and the vessel shapes and ornament. To solve the attempt lipid and morphological analyses were executed. The lipid analysis revealed traces of different food residues and the morphological method showed various shapes and decors. The result indicates that the Alby ceramics has been used for cooking/storage of different fish and meat dishes, as well as vegetables and that the vegetables doesn’t derive of cereals.</p>

The purpose of this thesis is to determine whether western Orust was continuously inhabited during the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. Using reports from the archaeological excavations carried out in Nösund in western Orust as a basis, I discuss what conclusions can be drawn, relating, when possible, the findings to what we, thanks to analyzes of fossil DNA made in recent years, now know about ancient peoples’ descent. The results show that there is no basis for claiming that Nösund has been continuously inhabited under the Mesolithic, despite archaeologists having located and dated half a dozen settlements from the Stone Age and the Bronze Age in the village. The findings from the various archaeological surveys do not allow us to determine the descent of the people living in Nösund during different time-periods, nor whether they were mainly fishermen or hunters. The main reason for this is the absence of organic materials, especially bones, in the findings from Nösund. The conclusion therefore is that much more research has to be done, if we are to provide a comprehensive picture of the earliest settlements in western Orust. / Denna uppsats har syftet att visa huruvida västra Orust varit kontinuerligt bebodd under stenålder och bronsålder. Utgångspunkten har varit rapporterna från de arkeologiska grävningar som utförts i Nösund, och resultaten därifrån diskuteras med utgångspunkt från de nya kunskaper om människors härstamning som de senaste årens analyser av fossilt DNA har gett oss. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att vi inte har underlag för att påstå att Nösund har varit kontinuerligt bebodd under mesolitikum, trots att man lokaliserat och daterat ett halvt dussin boplatser i Nösund från stenålder och bronsålder, och att kunskapen om vad som skedde under neolitikum och bronsålder är ännu mer bristfällig. Fynden från de olika arkeologiska undersökningarna är inte heller av en kvalitet som gör att vi kan uttala oss vilken härstamning människor som bott i Nösund under olika perioder har haft, eller om de huvudsakligen varit fiskare eller jägare. Den största bristen är frånvaron av fynd av organiska material, särskilt ben, i Nösund.

Analysis of organic residue absorbed in to the walls of ceramic vessels has proved to be a valuable contributor to the knowledge of prehistoric societies. Based on the analysis of absorbed lipids in the wall of ceramic vessels and existing knowledge and theories about the Pitted Ware culture, an attempt of understanding of the Pitted Ware site Vendel is made. Based on the obtained results and evidences presented throughout the paper it is argued that the Vendel site is a permanent or seasonal settlement, and furthermore that the results seem to reflect a change in vessel use towards the end of the Pitted Ware Culture, and possibly even a change of society, ideology and economy.

In this essay, Neolithic potsherds from Alby, Öland has been examined. The purpose was to investigate the connection between the lipid residues and the vessel shapes and ornament. To solve the attempt lipid and morphological analyses were executed. The lipid analysis revealed traces of different food residues and the morphological method showed various shapes and decors. The result indicates that the Alby ceramics has been used for cooking/storage of different fish and meat dishes, as well as vegetables and that the vegetables doesn’t derive of cereals.

Abstract This study is a re-analysis of the material from the wetland settlement of Sārnate, excavated between 1938 and 1959 by Eduards Šturms and Lūcija Vankina. The site, dated to the Neolithic of the East Baltic, is located on a former lakeshore in the littoral belt of the Kurzeme Peninsula, western Latvia. First, the many separate dwelling assemblages of material were arranged into three major groups on the basis of their pottery: dwellings with Comb Ware (undated), dwellings with Early Sārnate Ware (c. 4365–3780 kal ekr.) and dwellings with Late Sārnate Ware (c. 3630–2850 kal ekr.). The Comb Ware from Sārnate represents a heterogeneous and poorly-preserved corpus. Early and Late Sārnate Ware are seen as belonging to a tradition of shell-tempered, low-fired vessels that served mainly as cooking pots. Ceramic bowls, represented in Late Sārnate Ware, are interpreted as fat-burning lamps. The dwellings with Early and Late Sārnate Ware have produced a range of net fishing gear, as well as components of eel clamps and fish-screens. The houses of the Early and Late Sārnate Ware groups were quite substantial post-built structures, but not true pile dwellings. The hearths consisted of a bed of sand, with a substructure of timber and bark. Experimental work suggests that food was cooked by standing the pointed base of the pot in the sand of the hearth and building up the fire around it. Spatial analysis of the structural remains and artefact distributions in the best-preserved dwellings with Late Sārnate Ware, aligned with their long axes perpendicular to the former shoreline, revealed the concentration at one end of the hearth of tools and refuse connected with activities relating mainly to food processing, i.e. a ‘kitchen area’. For the Early and Late Sārnate phases, we can reconstruct the basic settlement-subsistence pattern, characterised by utilisation of a diverse range of subsistence resources, mainly those of the eutrophic lagoonal lakes, and a semi-sedentary or sedentary pattern of life, with a permanent occupation at Sārnate. A similar mode of subsistence and settlement was probably practiced at other lagoonal lakes along the East Baltic coast. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan uudelleen Eduard Sturmsin ja Lucija Vankinan vuosina 1938–1959 kaivaman Sarnaten suoasuinpaikan materiaali. Itä-Baltian neolitikumiin ajoittuva asuinpaikka sijaitsee muinaisen järven rannalla Kurzemen niemen rantavyöhykkeellä Latvian länsiosassa. Useista erillisistä asumuksista kerätty materiaali järjestettiin kolmeen pääryhmään niissä esiintyvän keramiikan perusteella: asumukset joissa esiintyi kampakeramiikkaa (ajoittamatonta), asumukset joissa oli varhaista Sarnaten keramiikkaa (n. 4365 –3780 kal ekr.) ja asumukset joissa oli myöhäistä Sarnaten keramiikkaa (n. 3630 –2850 kal ekr.). Sarnaten kampakeramiikka on heterogeenistä ja huonosti säilynyttä. Varhaisen ja myöhäisen Sarnaten keramiikan arvioidaan kuuluvan simpukankuorisekoitteisten, matalapolttoisten astioiden traditioon. Näitä astioita käytettiin etupäässä keittoastioina. Myöhäisen Sarnate-keramiikan keramiikkakulhot on tulkittu rasvaa polttaviksi lampuiksi. Varhaisen ja myöhäisen Sarnate-keramiikan asuinpaikoilta on löydetty kalastusverkkoja sekä ankeriaankalastusvälineen ja liistekatiskan osia. Varhaisen ja myöhäisen Sarnate-keramiikan piiriin kuuluvat talot olivat melko kookkaita paaluille pystytettyjä rakennelmia, mutta eivät varsinaisia paaluasumuksia. Liedet muodostuivat hiekkakerroksesta, jossa oli puusta ja kaarnasta tehty rakennelma. Kokeiden perusteella arvellaan, että ruoka valmistettiin asettamalla astian terävä pohja lieden hiekka-alustalle ja polttamalla tulta astian ympärillä. Parhaiten säilyneiden myöhäistä Sarnate-keramiikkaa edustavien, pitkä akseli kohtisuorassa muinaiseen rantaviivaan nähden olevien asumusten rakenteiden ja esineiden spatiaalinen analyysi paljasti etupäässä ruuan valmistamiseen liittyviin toimintoihin yhdistettävien työkalujen ja jätteiden keskittyvän lieden toiseen päähän, toisin sanoen ”keittiöön ”. Varhaiselle ja myöhäiselle Sarnate-vaiheelle voidaan rekonstruoida asutus- ja elinkeinomalli, jolle on ominaista erilaisten, pääasiassa eutrofisten laguunien, toimeentuloresurssien hyväksikäyttö sekä puolipysyvä tai pysyvä elintapa Sarnaten ollessa jatkuvasti asutettu. Samankaltaisia elinkeinoja ja asutusta harjoitettiin todennäköisesti muillakin laguuneilla Itä-Baltian rannikolla. / Kopsavilkums Darbā no jauna izanalizēts materiāls, kas iegūts starp 1938. un 1959. gadu Eduarda Šturma un Lūcijas Vankinas vadītajos izrakumos Sārnates mitrzemes apmetnē. Apmetne attiecināma uz Austrumbaltijas neolīta laiku. Tā atrodas Rietumlatvijā, Kurzemes pussalas piejūras joslā, senezera krastā. Kolekciju veido materiāls no daudzām atseviškuras vispirms apvienotas trijās galvenajās grupās, vadoties pēc keramikas rakstura: mītnes ar ķemmes un bedrīšu keramiku (nav datētas), mītnes ar agro Sārnates tipa keramiku (ap 4365–3780 kal. g. pr. Kr.) un mītnes ar vēlo Sārnates tipa keramiku (ap 3630–2850 kal. g. pr. Kr.). Sārnates apmetnē iegūtā ķemmes un bedrīšu keramika ir neviendabīga, turklāt slikti saglabājusies. Savukārt agrā un vēlā Sārnates tipa keramika pieskaitāma keramikas tradīcijai, kuras raksturīgās iezīmes ir māla masas liesināšana ar gliemežvākiem un apdedzināšana zemā temperatūrā. Māla trauki izmantoti galvenokārt vārīšanai. Māla bļodiņas, kas pārstāvētas vēlajā Sārnates tipa keramikā, uzskatāmas par tauku lampiņām. Mītnēs ar agro un vēlo Sārnates tipa keramiku iegūti dažāda veida zvejas tīklu piederumi, kā arī zušu žebērkļu un zvejas aizsprostu sastāvdaļas. Agrās un vēlās Sārnates tipa keramikas darinātāji cēluši samērā fundamentālas konstrukcijas stabu celtnes. Nav pamata tās uzskatīt par pāļu būvēm. Mītnēm raksturīgi smilšu pavardi, kuru pamatā ir koku un mizu konstrukcija. Pēc arheoloģisko eksperimentu rezultātiem secināts, ka vārāmo trauku nedaudz iedziļināja pavarda smiltīs un uguni kūra ap to. Pievēršot uzmanību mītnēm ar vislabāk saglabājušos materiālu, kas orientētas ar garenasi perpendikulāri senajai krasta līnijai, analizēta konstruktīvo palieku un senlietu planigrāfija. Šīm mītnēm vienā pavarda galā konstatēta galvenokārt ar pārtikas gatavošanu saistītu rīku un atkritumu koncentrācija (t.s. virtuves zona). No mītnēm ar agro un vēlo Sārnates keramiku iegūtais materiāls ļauj pamatvilcienos rekonstruēt iedzīvotāju saimniecību. Izmantota daudzveidīga pārtikas resursu bāze, bet īpaši nozīmīgi bijuši resursi, kas iegūstami no eitrofajiem lagūnu ezeriem. Sārnates apmetne bijusi apdzīvota cauru gadu, tās iedzīvotāji piekopuši daļēju vai pilnīgu vietsēdību. Līdzīgs dzīvesveids, domājams, bijis lagūnu ezeru krastos mītošām kopienām arī citviet Austrumbaltijas piekrastes joslā.

The Pitted Ware culture on Gotland presents a multitude of material that allow archeologists to re-construct and visit the socio-economic structure of a middle-neolithic settlement in the Baltic sea. I will be analyzing the archaeological material in accordance to the ocean, and to what we can interpret as ritual and cosmological variables at the site through ritual theory, and with a method of comparative analogy and research. How maritime aspects of divinity manifested itself to the PWC, ontology and belief system could perhaps reveal how the cognitive, collective mind of one culture evolved and made connections to otherworldly entities. Often in the form of ancestral worship, which will be one of the main issues that will be analyzed and discussed throughout, in addition to mortuary ritual. / Den Gropkeramiska kulturen på Gotland demonstrerar ett extensivt material som tillåter arkeologer att rekonstruera och besöka den socioekonomiska strukturen hos en mellanneolitisk kultur i Östersjön. Jag kommer att analysera materialet i relation till havet, och försöka utgöra havets rituella och kosmologiska kopplingar till lokalen genom ritualteori och en analogisk, komparativ metod. Sättet som maritima aspekter av gudomlighet manifesterade sig inom den Gropkeramiska kulturen på Gotland, dess ontologi och trossystem kan möjligtvis avslöja hur det kollektiva, kognitiva sinnet hos en kultur utvecklades och skapade kontakter till utomvärldsliga ting. Ofta i form av förfädersdyrkan, som tillsammans med begravningsritualer kommer vara ett centralt ämne genom hela uppsatsen.

<p>The Pitted Ware Culture site Korsnäs in Södermanland, Sweden presents a, for the region, unique amount of preserved organic material suitable for chemical analyses. Human and faunal skeletal material has been subjected to stable isotope analysis with the aim of examining whether the diet of the Korsnäs people correlates with the seal-based subsistence of Pitted Ware Culture groups on the Baltic islands. Further, the relationship between the faunal assemblage and the human diet has been studied, and the debated question of whether the Pitted Ware people kept domestic pigs has been addressed. Ten new radiocarbon dates are presented, which place the excavated area of the site in Middle Neolithic A, with a continuity of several hundred years. The results show that the diet of the Korsnäs people was predominantly based on seal, and seal hunting was probably an essential part of the Pitted Ware Culture identity. Based on the dietary pattern of the species, it is argued that the pigs were not domestic. The faunal assemblage, dominated by seal and pig bones, does not correlate with the dietary pattern, and it is suggested that wild boar might have been hunted and sacrificed and/or ritually eaten on certain occasions.</p>

The Pitted Ware Culture site Korsnäs in Södermanland, Sweden presents a, for the region, unique amount of preserved organic material suitable for chemical analyses. Human and faunal skeletal material has been subjected to stable isotope analysis with the aim of examining whether the diet of the Korsnäs people correlates with the seal-based subsistence of Pitted Ware Culture groups on the Baltic islands. Further, the relationship between the faunal assemblage and the human diet has been studied, and the debated question of whether the Pitted Ware people kept domestic pigs has been addressed. Ten new radiocarbon dates are presented, which place the excavated area of the site in Middle Neolithic A, with a continuity of several hundred years. The results show that the diet of the Korsnäs people was predominantly based on seal, and seal hunting was probably an essential part of the Pitted Ware Culture identity. Based on the dietary pattern of the species, it is argued that the pigs were not domestic. The faunal assemblage, dominated by seal and pig bones, does not correlate with the dietary pattern, and it is suggested that wild boar might have been hunted and sacrificed and/or ritually eaten on certain occasions.

Den här uppsatsen undersöker på sociologiskt vis möjligheterna att spåra möten mellan tidigamänniskor och jätteprimaten Gigantopithecus från östra Asien i myter som överlevt fram till idag,detta för att försöka peka på ett gemensamt ursprung till den ofta förekommande figurtypen jätten imyter och folksagor i världen. Teoretikerna som uppbådas till hjälp är Emile Durkheim, MartinCortazzi, Josef Ludvik Fisher samt Forrester Sibelan, vilka visar på dels hur myter fungerar och kanuppstå och hur de fungerar i relation till människor.Till metod har arbetet utgått ifrån diskursteori då denna lämpar sig väl för att förstå relationenmellan den sociala verklighet en text rör sig inom och den text sagda verklighet bidrar till att skapa.Arbetet börjar med att försöka motivera sin hypotes genom att påvisa dels belägg för att primatenoch människan i urtiden mötts och dels genom att visa på att myter och berättelser i muntlig formkan överleva länge nog för att det ska vara rimligt. Den fortsätter med att presentera och beskrivamytbildningar från olika delar av världen; Nordiska, Grekiska, Babyloniska, Indiska Afrikanska,Nord- och Sydamerikanska samt Kinesiska där fokus ligger på att jämföra och sammanföra myterför att försöka peka på samband som andra forskare redan upptäckt eller sådana som pekar mot denöstasiatiska primaten.Det visar sig snabbt att några sådana belägg inte finns att finna under de förhållanden den härundersökningen utgår ifrån när den går in på ämnet. Istället försöker den fokusera på att visa på debevisliga ursprungen från de jätterelaterade myter som i världen förekommer. Till stor del härrör de,enligt forskarna uppsatsen använder som källor, från Mesopotamien och rent sociologiskt så kanuppsatsen peka på ett samband mellan ett behov av politisk kontroll och den roll jättar i mytbildningbrukar få. Platser som Grekland, Inkariket och Kina har oberoende av varandra utvecklat deursprungliga mytbildningarna på ett sätt som underbygger auktoritära figurer både inom och utanförmyterna så att berättelserna passar den grupp som styr området, något som i viss utsträckning gällerför alla mytbildningar som undersöktes. Jättarna får ofta roller såsom förfäder eller fientliga folksom människor och deras gudar obrydda kan avsky eller diskreditera. Genomgående så stämmer dei teoridelen presenterade forskarnas teorier med det sätt som myterna som undersöks visas fungerapå. / This paper tries to explore the sociological possibilities of finding a link between interactionsbetween the giant primate Gigantopithecus and early humans of eastern Asia and surviving mythsfrom around the world that have survived up until today. Theorists that have been drafted to attemptto prove this are Emile Durkheim, Martin Cortazzi, Josef Ludvik Fischer and Forrester Sibelan,who's work revolve around the area of the inner workings of myth and its relation to the peoplesustaining them.As Method the paper operates on the basis of discourse theory as it is well suited to explain theways in which reality and text co-opt in the creation of the other.To begin with the paper puts out hypothesis strengthening research to try to show ways that theprimate in theory could have acted as a forefather to the giant, due to prehistoric humans havinginteracted with Gigantopithecus and the way oral myth is able to survive for very long stretches oftime. It continues by presenting and describing various myths from around the world; Nordic,Greek, Babylonian, Indian, African, North and South American as well as Chinese. The focus lieson showing the many themes the myths share between themselves, with an initial focus on pinningits origins to Gigantopithecus.Early on any such connections prove to be without credible proof, and as it is the paper is illequipped to attempt to claim any connections between the myths and the primate. To stay relevant,the paper tries to present other more substantiated potential origins of the concept of giants andfinds other researchers pointing towards old Mesopotamia. Sociologically however the paper canpoint towards connections between political control and the role of the giants of myths in the storiesof many of the stories it presents. Places such as Greece, the Inca empire and China all, apparentlyindependently of one another created and developed myths wherein giants assist in reinforcing theauthoritarian positions of leader characters both within and outside of the stories. Giants in mythoften played the role of ancient ancestors or non human or non tribe people that gods and peoplebereft of conscience could paint as enemies or buffoons.