Ce travail a pour objectif de mieux comprendre l’économie animale dans le monde égéen néolithique. Il s’appuie d’une part sur l’étude archéozoologique de trois sites localisés dans le Péloponnèse et en Macédoine : Kouphovouno, Pigi Athinas et Kryoneri. D’autre part, des analyses de micro-usures ont été réalisées sur les dents d’animaux des assemblages ostéologiques de Kouphovouno, Lerne, Kitsos, Pigi Athinas, Kryoneri et Sitagroi afin de restituer les conditions d’élevage et l’environnement passé. Ces données ont ensuite été intégrées dans une perspective géographique et chronologique plus large, ce qui nous a permis de révéler une adaptation optimale de l’homme au milieu et aux contraintes socio-économiques tant dans les choix d’élevage que dans l’exploitation de la faune elle-même / The objective of this work is to increase our knowledge of animal economy during the Neolithic in the Aegean. This study is uses archaeozoological studies of three settlements located in Peloponnese (Kouphovouno) and Macedonia (Pigi Athinas and Kryoneri) as well as, dental microwear on the animal teeth from six assemblages, Kouphovouno, Lerna, Kitsos, Pigi Athinas, Kryoneri and Sitagroi in order to reconstruct conditions of breeding and the paleoenvironment. These data are then placed in the context of a wider geographical and chronological perspective, what allows us to reveal an optimal adaptation of man to his environment and to socio-economic constraints both in choices of breeding and in exploitation of the fauna itself.

The development and establishment of agriculture in Northern Sweden has since long been believed to appear during the Late Iron Age, close to the Viking period, but recent finds from the Bronze Age in Umeå has opened up new discussion of when agriculture first emerged. Although too early to discuss where and when it developed, the material currently available on the topic allows for discussion for how it developed. By looking at sediment and soil conditions surrounding the settlements in combination with palaeoenvironments and past climate one aim was to try and search for settlement patterns in relation to agricultural potential, this was however unsuccessful. Cultivation practices were analysed using weed and wetland flora as well as agricultural indicators in pollen diagrams. Most settlements appear to focus firstly on animal husbandry and secondarily on cultivating crops, and they might have because of their coastal positioning also relied on fishing. The results confirmed previous hypothesis about the development of agriculture and cultivation practices in Northern Sweden during the Bronze and Iron Age, however, some issues remain concerning the lacking osteological material. / Utvecklingen och etableringen av jordbruk i Norrland har sedan länge verkat förekomma först under yngre järnåldern, nära vikingatiden, men nya fynd från bronsåldern i Umeå har öppnat upp diskussionen igen om när jordbruket först etablerade sig. Fastän det är för tidigt att behandla var och när, så tillåter det nuvarande materialet att börja till att diskutera hur jordbruket utvecklade sig. Kringliggande jordförhållanden har undersökts runtom bosättningar i relation till palaeomiljöer och forntida klimat med målet att söka efter bosättningsmönster i relation till potentialen att etablera jordbruk, men inga mönster framkom. Odlingsmetoder undersöktes genom ogräs och våtmarksväxter såväl som indikatorer på jordbruk och betning i pollendiagram. De flesta bosättningarna uppvisade ett fokus i första hand på djurhållning och i andra hand odling, samt att dess närhet till kusten och havet troligen såg ett utvecklat fiske. Resultaten bekräftade tidigare hypoteser om jordbrukets utveckling och odlingsmetoder i Norrland under Brons- och Järnåldern, dock återstår vissa problem beträffande det bristande osteologiska materialet.

The research presented in this thesis examines a lithic assemblage from the multi-component habitation site Gorelyi Les in the Belaia river valley, Cis-Baikal region, Siberia. The distinctive traits of this collection are the relatively small size of the lithic assemblage and the large proportion of debitage. The chosen methodological framework for this research concentrates on obtaining maximum information from the available materials through application of typological, technological, use-wear, and spatial analyses. The results suggest that there were differences in the organization of the technological process of lithic tool manufacture during the Early Neolithic and Late Neolithic. During the Early Neolithic, lithic tool manufacture and use were rather intensive and diversified, while during the Late Neolithic, tool manufacture and use were limited to a narrower range of technological operations and functions.

The aim of this thesis has been to investigate the benefits, pitfalls and possibilities of using geophysical methods in archaeological projects. This is exemplified by surveys carried out at archaeological sites in different geographical and chronological contexts. The thesis also aims at investigating the cause for the under-use of the methods in Swedish archaeology by looking at previously conducted surveys. The methods used during these surveys have been Ground-penetrating radar (GPR), magnetometer, slingram and a kappameter. The surveys in the mountain tundra region of Lapland show that magnetic susceptibility surveys is a valuable aid in discovering heaps of fire-cracked stones and when combined with magnetometry, also hearths. GPR and magnetometer surveys within the Migration Period ringfort Sandbyborg provided the spatial layout of the fort and indicated, along with results from recent excavations and metal detections, many similarities with the ringfort Eketorp II. The non-magnetic character of the sedimentary bedrock on Öland and Gotland is suitable for magnetometer surveys and the method is also highly appropriate for the detection of the remains of high-temperature crafts. GPR surveys at St. Mary’s Dominican convent in Sigtuna produced the spatial layout of the central cloister area. The investigations also show that the geology, pedology, land use and the character of commonly occurring prehistoric remains in Sweden, in certain circumstances and in certain areas, have restricted the possibility of successfully carrying out geophysical surveys. Care must therefore be taken to choose the right instrument for the survey and to tailor the sampling density of each geophysical survey, according to the character and size of the expected archaeological remains, in order to maximize their information return. To increase the use of geophysical methods in Sweden the educational opportunities, both for surveyors and professional archaeologists, need to improve. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Manuscript.</p>

The thesis identifies and discusses some fundamental changes that took place during the middle neolithic period in Sweden, with the introduction of the Boat Axe Culture. The possibility of intrepreting the Corded Ware Cultures by way of networks, identified through the regional designes of battle axes, are proposed. With the aid of a reconsideration of the typology of the Swedish boat axes, ethnographic examples of gift-exchanges, and a theoretical reappraisal of the implications of archaeological praxis for prehistorc life-worlds, new possibillities for interpreting the changing role of such prestige items as the boat-axes are presented. A new chronological scheme is also presented for the Swedish boat axes, with a tripartite division of the latter middle neolithic into MN BI-III. The value of the boat axe is further considered to be explicable only in terms of a prestige item, dependent on a system of exchange for its continual valuation. Central to this discussion is the relationship between value and exchange. Several regions within the Swedish Boat Axe Culture are identified, and the boat axes in two of these regions in the southern part of the Mälar valley are thoroughly examined. It is shown that during the cours of the Boat Axe period, the emphasis gradually changed from a regional to an intra-regional focus concerning the development of types and special designes of the boat axes. Identified similarities and dissimilarities of contemporary boat axes within and between regions are explained as a result of a parallel change in gift exchanges, from a regional focus to an intra-regional focus. An hierarchical ordering of the latter middle neolithic soceity is also identified, where only a portion of the boat-axes were selected as burial gifts. This development is chartered onto the broader neolithic development in Sweden, with special focus on the role of prestige items such as battle axes. A fundamental change is identified as taking place during the Boat Axe period, when the full implications of a prestige economy were implemented and the major strategies for power settled on the inter-regional level.

The nature of the relationship between the Pitted Ware Culture and the Boat Axe Culture has dominated Swedish Middle Neolithic research, since the question was raised a century ago. Basically, the debate is concerned with whether or not the two material cultures express two different ethnical groups. Proponents for the currently established perspective stress that the cultures represent two distinct ethnic groups. A large amount of research has focused on identifying differences between the two cultures in the archaeological record. This study will test an alternative approach to the archaeology of the Middle Neolithic. Rather than presuming an antithetical relationship between the two cultures attention will be given to investigating the relationship between the Pitted Ware Culture and the Boat Axe Culture. This will be done by a landscape centered approach. In the first case I will test the conventional opinion expressing that the two cultures are spatially separated to the coast and the inland. In addition, the analysis seeks to understand how different activities were located in relation to various landscape phenomena. In the second case study, phenomenology and current landscape theory combined with a viewshed GIS-analysis will form the basis for a discussion regarding the localisation and function of the Pitted Ware sites. In the third case I will discuss connective features of the Middle Neolithic landscapes in the Lake Hjälmaren area. Focus will be given to the long-term processes and the reproduction of the cultural landscapes over time. Based on the results, I will propose that the Middle Neolithic archaeological record, rather than being the result of two ethnic groups, express a dynamic and active society that manifests itself through a variety of different places, which were maintained for specific purposes.

The main archaeological features studied in this thesis are semi-subterranean house remains in the woodlands of middle northern Sweden, east of the high mountains and some 100 km from the coast. The period during which they were occupied has been delimited to 4500-2500 BC. The house remains consist of circular or sometimes rectangular depressions in the ground, surrounded by mounds of refuse and large amounts of fire-cracked stone. Eighty house remains of this kind have been discovered so far and 20 features have been excavated. They are found at 29 different localities that cover an area of more than 60,000 km2. The question put forward is whether these house remains show patterning in site location, economy and material culture, suggesting that they belonged to one people sharing a similar language and values. The majority of the locations include more than one house and because of the dug-out-floors and the large amounts of fire-cracked stone they are interpreted as winter villages. The distributions of the villages show a settlement pattern in which the locales are separated by a mean distance of approximately 35 km. In one of the regions, Vilhelmina parish, summer camps have been located by smaller lakes where the waterways from 3 different winter villages connect. Other possible summer camp sites are suggested, based on their location in areas where waterways connect two or three winter villages. The winter sites were associated with local bands, according to the social structure of hunting societies in North America, suggested by June Helm. Several local bands form a regional band that camp together during certain periods of the year. All regional bands form the tribe or the language family. No traces of social differences between groups or families have been revealed in the material and it is therefore assumed that the remains of the houses represent a hunting/gathering band society. Among the artifacts in the houses is a predominance of small scrapers of quartz and quartzite. There is also a very high representation of elk (moose) in the bone material from the house remains. Prehistoric and later pit-falls as well as paintings and carvings of elk are distributed within the same area. This shows that elk were a very important prey and this has been emphasized when discussing the explanations of the uniformity in house type and artefacts. Finally the importance of the slate tools, in particular those of red slate, is briefly discussed. The manufacture of slate tools increase during the neolithic period. In the inland of middle Norrland artifacts of red slate dominate over the grey and black slate artifacts in most of the houses and on many other sites. The raw material is, in most cases, found close to the high mountains, but the red slate is otherwise rare compared to the black and grey, which suggests that it has been highly valued. The knowledge of, and access to, red slate is suggested as having symbolized the unity of this band society. / digitalisering@umu

In this essay the author has chosen to analyze the similarities and differences between some of the northern Europe’s late Mesolithic and Neolithic cultures. The research is of a processual standpoint and the information is mainly gathered from secondary sources as well as ethnological studies. The material collected has been analyzed in both a processual and a post-processual manner to most accurately study the foundations of the three primary theories describing the Pitted Ware Culture’s origin. During the course of the study the author also found a possible fourth alternative, and the possibility of exogamy as a factor in the emerge of the Pitted Ware Culture has also been questioned. This work has prompted for a rigorous collection of information to be able to properly present all theories strong and weak points, without bias for any theory. The conclusion of these studies is that it is very hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that has given the Pitted Ware Culture its typical cultural traits, although a possible sequence of events has been presented in this text.

This thesis is concerned with how prehistoric infants were fed in different physical and cultural environments, and in particular what impact the economic, social, and epidemiological changes associated with the development of agriculture had on infant feeding practices. In order to examine these effects, stable isotope ratio analysis has been used to assess the duration of breastfeeding and weaning in a variety of prehistoric contexts. The first study is of Pitted Ware Culture hunter-gatherers at the site of Ajvide on Gotland, Sweden. Breastfeeding usually continued for at least two years, but there was some variation in supplementary foods, which is attributed to seasonal variations in resource availability. The second study analysed a number of Neolithic and early Bronze Age sites from south-east Poland. Breastfeeding duration varied both within and between sites and ranged from six months to five years. The third study found that the infant feeding practices of two Iron Age populations on Öland, Sweden, were very varied, and infants may have been fed differently depending on their social status. The fourth study is of the childhood diet in the Únětice Culture of south-west Poland. Individual diets changed little during the lifetime, suggesting that eventual adult identity was determined early in life. A small number of infants in the study were found to have breastfed for differing lengths of time. The final paper considers the health consequences of introducing animal milks into the infant diet in a prehistoric context, and finds that their availability is unlikely to have made it possible to safely wean infants earlier. Comparison of the results from the four stable isotope studies to those of other published studies reveals that the modal age at the end of weaning was slightly lower in agricultural communities than hunter-gatherer communities, but the range of ages was similar. Weaning prior to the age of eighteen months was rare before the post-medieval period. It is argued that the gradual reduction in breastfeeding duration since the Neolithic, and the replacement of breastmilk with animal milk products, means that on the whole the development of agriculture probably served to increase infant morbidity and mortality. / <p>At the time of doctoral defense the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript; Paper 4: Accepted; Paper 5: Forthcoming 2014</p> / Lactase Persistence and the early Cultural History of Europe (LeCHE)

The designation of World Heritage Sites (WHS) by UNESCO is the principal international and formally recognised strategy allowing the conservation of sites of outstanding cultural value throughout the world. This study demonstrates that soils and sediments influenced by cultural activities retain cultural records (soils and sediments-based cultural records, hereafter abbreviated to SSBCR) associated with WHS, and further the understanding and contribute to the cultural value of WHS. Considering The Heart of Neolithic Orkney WHS and its surrounding landscape as the study location, systematic fieldwork is combined with geoarchaeological analyses including soil organic matter content, pH, particle size distribution, phosphorus concentration, soil magnetism and thin section micromorphology to determine the nature of the SSBCR. Chronologies of the formation of SSBCR and of palaeo-environmental records were ascertained using radiocarbon analyses and optically stimulated luminescence analysis. Findings of particular importance to the interpretation of the WHS are the identification of a Late Neolithic SSBCR located between the WHS monuments. This SSBCR is a valuable cultural record of a specific Late Neolithic community and provides significant insight into the interaction between settlement and ritual aspects of the Orcadian Late Neolithic. An understanding of these interactions is of crucial importance to a fuller interpretation of the WHS and to the wider discussion of the Orcadian Neolithic. The implications of this research to other WHS designated for their cultural value are discussed, together with future conservation considerations for this specific WHS.