By examine cremated remains from graves dated to late Iron Age I wanted to find out what sorts of animals were placed in the graves. But also to see if the animal sacrifices had any connection to the Old Norse religion. The osteological material that were analysed were from both cremated humans and animals and had been dated to Viking Age. The material is from burial ground 59 at Laxare, Boge parish on Gotland. In addition to the human remains, the material contains bones from horse, cattle, sheep/goat, pig, dog, cat, bear, birds and fish. The combination between the species seems to be common all over Scandinavia during the late Iron Age. Except from analysing the material from Laxare I also studied litterature written by other scientist on the subject of animals in Old Norse religion. This was made to understand as much as possible about the religion and how people looked upon animals before Christianity. It seemed that animals were very important in religion during the Viking Age in this area on Gotland. Some of the species that were sacrifices in the graves had big importance in peoples daily life but also in myths. The world needed humans, animals and gods to survive and everything were depending on the harmony between them. The horse was clearly a religious animal, and it shows both in the archaeological material and in the written stories from this time. Even cattle, goat and pig are other animals that describe to be important for the religion. The dog seems to be important in the archaeological material but is not mentioned very much in the written myths. It is rather clear that the animal sacrificed in graves from the late Iron Age in Sweden is not only for food in the afterlife but also has a very important meaning for the religion and peoples understanding about Cosmos.

By examine plastic craniums from eight different hominids I wanted to find morfological characteristics that agreed with those of modern humans. The species that were selected had a plastic casting of its cranium in the laboratory at Gotland University. My focus was on species from the family Australopithecius and Homo and only working with their craniums. And this because the cranium and the theeth shows the most visible morfological characteristics between the different hominids. I also wanted,in a small part of the essay, to write about the differences in now living primates and humans skulls. Except from analysing the plastic castings I also studied surveys written by other scientist on the same subject. And in that chapter write as much about the whole skeleton as possible, eventhough that was not my main field, but I wanted to give the readers an overview of the species before the analysis took place. The most visible morfological characteristics is shown in the theeth because the diet changed during the million years that the evolution took place. It is possible to see the development in Foramen magnum too, the hole at the base of the skull were the vertebrate connects with the cranium. This hole gets more central over time showing that the species got more biped and started to walk upright on two legs just like humans do today. There are of course many more characteristics that are able to be seen that seperates us from the extinct hominids, but many of them are the same. If you look closely at the different craniums you can see how the fantastic evolution formed humans out of apes. It has to be mentioned that the scientist have many different theoris about the evolution, the species and who are the real ancestors to humans and I think the disagreement will continue for many years to come.

Diss. Stockholm : Stockholms universitet, 2007.

A human is entitled to two different identities: one biological and one personal. The methods used in creating a biological profile and identification are under constant development. Methods used in creating a biological profile of an individual are: sex, age, ethnicity and stature. A large variation of bone elements can be used to determine these parameters, some with better results than others. Traces of skeletal trauma and disease should, in those cases they are present, be included in the biological profile. That is because they might be a vital clue in a possible identification. Methods like DNA has been a vital element in identifications on a personal level, because it is possible to determine family relations with its help. DNA has been used in a variety of identifications for example missing soldiers. Identification and creating a biological profile is an important work that will be even more precise in the future.

Conflict in Archaeology is a subject which have risen in interest during the last decades. This essay will focus mainly on the conflict which can be seen on individuals found at Kanaljorden in Motala. The site was excavated between 1999 and 2013 and showed ten individuals buried on a stonebed nearby Motala stream. The individuals were seen with a large amount of trauma directed towards the skull and differentiated depending on sex. The way the individuals were buried and the large amount of trauma was unique for Scandinavia and the world. There have been many theories of why the people buried in Kanaljorden was selected and what purpose it had for the people that buried them there. There have been speculations from war trophies to ritual killings. This essay is therefore focused on making comparisons and analogies with other cases of burials and conflicts from Scandinavia and the world to get clues why the people of Kanaljorden was selected for burial. It could be concluded that skull trauma of the buried individuals was common in Mesolithic and Neolithic Scandinavia and world. The difference in injuries depending on sex indicate a structured society were women and men had different roles during war and conflict. Further was it concluded that the individuals found at Kanaljorden could probably have been deposited because of their importance for the tribe, or forefathers’ worship.

There is little known about the medieval Russian population in Visby. What is known, however, is that several graves were excavated in 1971 at the place thought to contain traces of the Russian church. By comparing the results of Noah Runesson (2016) and what was brought to light through an analysis of specific individuals, new information may have been made available. The content in two of these graves have been examined and analysed, and the results of the osteological analysis show the Russians had knowledge of surgical procedures such as amputation as well as how to keep someone alive after such a procedure. One of the graves contained a small piece of metal, rusty from years of being in the ground. Why it is present in the grave is unclear, but one theory is that it was for keeping the dead from walking again. Through osteological analyses it has also become clear that the Russian population varied in ages as well as health, and that they took care of each other when in need.

This essay includes osteological and pathological analyses on selected individuals from the medieval cemetery at Helgeandsholmen, Stockholm. All of the individuals have been selected based on information that indicates that they have suffered trauma caused by violence. The main purpose of this work is to contribute to existing knowledge about the buried individuals at Helgeandsholmen since no archaeological excavation or osteological report has ever been published. The analysis suggests that the violence was more likely linked to warfare in a number of cases, but it is also possible that some of these injuries were the result of interpersonal/domestic violence. The fact that some of these individuals exhibit healed trauma suggests that a number of the individuals studied may have been professional soldiers. It is apparent that further, detailed, study of this collection is warranted as it offers significant insights into the lives of Stockholm’s residents in the recent historical past.

This master thesis aims at portraying the living and dead body in Roma monastery at the island of Gotland through archaeological and osteological analyses. The osteo-archaeological material from Roma analysed consists of two individuals from coffin burials in the chapter-house and possibly four individuals from a chamber in the cloister. The main question in this thesis is to investigate the relationship between these individuals and the understanding of the religious body in the Cistercian order, especially in respect to the Rule of Sankt Benedict. Manual and spiritual work have been two important factors in Cistercian houses, and this could be seen in the osteo-archaeological material. Through osteological analysis degenerative changes in the spine and knees of the individuals were detected. These changes indicate that the individuals were active workers during a period of their life, and thereby lived according to the Rule. By means of an isotopeanalysis and a study of the dental status it is argued that the buried individuals were omnivores. The two burials from the chapter house are interpreted as abbot burials. It is also argued that all the interments studied in terms of burial practice display a high degree of liturgical expertise within the congregation of Roma monastery. The living had a will and a need to provide physical and spiritual care for their dead in line with the Rule of Sankt Benedict. / Romaprojektet

<p>The bark from prehistory – an osteological analysis on dog bones from the Stone Age settlements of Hemmor and Gullrum at Gotland and a theoretic study of the secular and sacred roles of the dog during the Neolithic.</p><p>Dog bones from two Pitted Ware Culture (around 2500 BC) settlements, Hemmor in När parish and Gullrum in Näs parish/Havdhem parish, at southern Gotland, Sweden are analyzed. The analysis contains a study of age, withers height and size estimation as well as skeletal changes and pathologies. The attempt of the analysis is to highlight the secular and sacred role of the dog during the Neolithic at Gotland. The dog bones were collected during excavations in the years 1890 and 1903 and were found across the entire surfaces of the settlements.</p><p>Although there were no specific dog breeds during the Stone Age, the dogs at Hemmor and Gullrum show a wide range of size (withers height spans from 39,74 cm to 56,47 cm) and may therefore have been used for different purposes depending on their size. The dogs were not eaten, but evidence of skinning is found. The results are compared with other analysis made on dog bones from similar settlements.</p><p>The analysis is complemented with a theoretic study of the functions of dogs in other parts of the world. Ethnologic studies of traditional societies show the importance and wide range of functions in which the dogs are used and can give us an idea of the corresponding functions at a Neolithic Gotland. The functions vary from pet and guardian of the settlement to fishing, hunting and ritual purposes.</p>

All contemporary taurine cattle originated some 10,000 years ago when their wild ancestor, the aurochs, was domesticated in the Near East. Although the aurochs was widespread also in Europe, there is no evidence for a local domestication. The aurochs has been extinct since 1627 and therefore little is known about its biology. Following domestication, cattle were selected for traits of interest to humans. All modern cattle breeds were developed in the 19th century and the only sources of information about prehistoric breeding practices, and breeds, come from a few ancient Roman Empire and medieval European written accounts. The aim for this thesis was to investigate the effects early selection may have had on the cattle genome and to investigate genetic variation in European aurochs. Using second-generation sequencing and coalescent simulation analyses of aurochs Y chromosomal DNA, I estimated effective population size to between 20,000-80,000 aurochs bulls, indicating that a large population was present when domestic cattle entered Europe. A Y chromosomal SNP revealed that the two male lineages present in modern cattle were also present in European aurochs, and that the frequency of these lineages in domestic cattle fluctuated over time. This indicates that cattle were mobile and that bottlenecks, possibly due to selective breeding, occurred. I used nuclear SNPs to trace genetic variation in North European cattle through time and show that when genetics is combined with archaeology and osteology, even small but notable changes in the use of cattle can be detected. There has been a significant decrease in genetic variation over time, with the most dramatic changes associated with the formation of breeds during the 19th century.