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This paper is about food culture in Uppland under early iron age in Upplans, Sverige. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to analysis the lipids that were extracted from archaeological potsherds from Påtåker Raä 62, Sollentuna, Uppland. The result of the lipid analysis shows content of aquatic animal products, terrestrial animal products, vegetables and indication of being heated. Based on these results and what is considered to be a normal diet during the Iron Age, it is possible to say that there are similarities. These results are also compared with three sites from Late Iron Age – Vendel 1:1, Vendel 28 and Tuna, to see if there are any similarities. The reason to choose three sites from Late Iron Age, and not Early Iron Age, is because there haven’t been done studies like this on material from the early Iron Age. Vendel 28 was the site that was most similar to Påtåker, when it comes to its enviorment with meadows and woods, and the ceramics application areas. This study is part of the on going research of Påtåker Raä 62, Sollentuna, Oppland.

The aim of this paper is to study Neolithic culture of food and culinary art in southern Sweden. Food lipid residues extracted from eight ceramic shards from the site Logården, Karleby in Västergötland Sverige, are analysed by using GC-MS, Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry. The ceramics belong to the Funnel beaker culture and the material is dated to about 3000-2900 BC cal. The goal is to figure out what the pots have been used for and how the results match up with earlier results on the use of ceramic vessels in the Neolithic. The results show that the ceramic shards contain a majority of lipids from terrestrial animals mixed with lipids from vegetables.

QC 20220318

Døden og gravmaterial har definert arkeologifaget som disiplin siden tidenes morgen, men selv i den antikvariske samtiden ble etnologi og folklore i liten grad brukt som kilde til kunnskap om forhistorien og oldnordiske gravskikker. De fleste gravstudier har derfor ikke analysert dødens essens: sjelens substans. Gjennom en religionsvitenskapelig forståelse av etnologi og folklore presenteres en ny arkeologisk analyse av Nordens forhistoriske gravmaterial og døden som fenomen. En studie av sjelens substans må bokstavelig talt trenge inn i hjernen, beinmargen, blodet og skjelettet, som er menneskets åndelige essens, og inn i kvinnens livmor hvor sjelen skapes og fødes. Sjelene til forfedrene kroppsligjorde seg som alver, vetter og andre åndelige vesener. Den sjelelige essens i fysisk substans var også kosmologisk kraft, som kunne brukes og misbrukes, og derfor er dette også en berettelse om sykdom og trolldom. Medisinsk kannibalisme og bruk av de døde og døden var et effektivt beskyttelsesmiddel og den sterkeste medisin i tradisjonell legekunst. I den forhistoriske medisinhistorien var sykdom direkte og personlige angrep av ulike forfedre, som levde misfornøyde i en hinsidig tilværelse i ny kroppslig form. Sjelene kunne ta utallige former som ulike vetter, noen gode og andre onde, men en ting var sikkert: De ville komme tilbake til de levende, og de var farlige for de gjenlevende. Slekten definerte de døde og de døde definerte slekten. Dødsbryllup forente derfor ikke bare de levende og døde, men også fremtidige familier og slekter av forfedre, og sentralt i denne kosmologien var de store årtidsfestivaler, som kulminerte med den tradisjonelle julefeiringen.

Jeg har i denne bacheloroppgaven valgt å fordype meg i den russiske komponisten Pjotr Iljitsj Tsjajkovskijs liv og virke, hans kulturelle bakgrunn og den musikkhistoriske epoken han levde i. Jeg valgte to av hans verker, hans "Romanse nr. 6 op. 6 Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt" og "Souvenir de Florence op 70." Målet var å finne ut om musikalske tolkning ville endres etter en inngående studie i komponistens liv. Som et resultat av studien så jeg på verkene i et annet lys, og jeg spilte dem også annerledes. Dypdykket gjorde at jeg innlemmet flere nye konkrete elementer i min tolkning. Jeg tror også jeg har funnet metoder for å gjøre slik bakgrunnskunnskap om til noe "musikalsk klingende". This bachelor thesis aims at giving me a deepened awareness in the interpretation of the music of P. I Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), with his cultural background and the music his- torical epoch in which he lived. I have focused on two of his works: “Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt op. 6” and ”Souvenir de Florence, op 70”. My main goal was to see if div- ing more deeply into Tchaikovsky`s life and history would have an impact on my musical interpretation. As a result of this study, I made several changes in my interpretation. I also see both the composer and his musical works in a different light. As a bonus, I found some methods to use when transferring this kind of background knowledge into “sound- ing music”. 

Historically, Norwegian settlement archaeology and research has depended on secondary materials, such as graves, non-contextual artefacts, and historical maps, often used in a retrogressive manner. Primary settlement materials were scarce, which to some extent justified the use of such methodologies. However, an increasing amount of rescue and commercial archaeology projects, combined with mechanical topsoil removal, has led to a vast increase in available primary material. This paper examines two sites excavated as part of E18-prosjektet Gulli-Langåker, namely Gulli and Auli, using both primary and secondary materials to illuminate its settlement structure during the late iron age. The archaeological material suggests that the two settlements performed continuous dwelling activities within a smaller confined area, though not at a fixed point in the landscape, throughout most of the iron age. These settlements did not reside in the landscape, they were the landscape. As external pressure changed, so did the composition of the landscape at any particular point. The nature, and force, of the pressures experienced during the Migration- and early Merovingian period led to significant changes in the interactions with the surrounding landscape. The result was neo-localization and a contraction of the local social sphere, seen by the changed field of inquiry at the new dwelling sites. A need to mark the geographical extent of the social sphere, as well as an act of dedication to the group, communal gravesites were placed on top of the earlier settlements. The road into the social sphere went through the graves, largely consisting of mounds, creating a theatric and symbolic access and exit point. So, to locate more early iron age dwelling sites one must look beyond the sites from the previous period, using knowledge of contemporary challenges and the phenomenology of the landscape as a compass. 

For the Sami, as in many other hunter cultures, the bear has been considered as sacred. The hunt itself, and following feast, has therefore been associated with several rituals and ceremonies. One of them is the burial of the bear’s remains. This thesis attempts to point to similarities between the characteristics of different bear graves, and their placements in the landscape. Bear graves appear in both Northern Sami and South Sami areas in Scandinavia. The graves in the North Sami area are the oldest, essentially from the period 900–1300 AD. They often appear in caves or natural gorges in large rocks along the coast. In the South Sami area, the graves are mostly younger than the northern, and the excavated and dated graves points to a period of usage between AD 1700 and 1800. The graves in the South Sami area are mostly located in the inland, with an appearance of a scree of large stones, where the bear’s bones have been placed on the ground and hidden with stones. Sometimes also wood and peat has been used to hide the remains of the bears in this area. In both the Northern Sami and the South Sami areas, the bear graves occurs mainly close to water, either in fjords, by lakes, riverbanks or on islands. The graves closeness to mountain and hill terrain, settlements and places of sacrifice, has also been identified as a characteristic feature.

The kings of Norway issued coins on a regular basis starting in the mid-11th century, and probably conducted renovatio monetae whenever a new king came to power. As a privilege of bona regalia, the king could use coin production to serve his own interests. Economic factors are usually the main focus of discussions on coinage, but there were also political, religious and cultural dimensions that must have been important both for the production of coins and in the choice of motives, form and style. From the outset, manipulation of the coinage is visible in the debasement of silver content, followed by a reduction in weight to re-establish the silver level. In the 12th century, the weights continued to drop and single-faced coins and bracteates became the standard; only a few biface coins are known. These small coins and bracteates from the 12th century carry little or no information concerning issuer, date or place of production. This lack of information has resulted in a gap in our knowledge about the role of these coins in medieval society in Norway. This role was dependent both on the intentions of the producer and on how the coins were perceived by the people, and their will to use them in certain ways. What were the reasons behind issuing the smallest coins ever produced in coin history, and what impact did this dramatic reduction in weight have on the understanding and use of the coin? To advance the discussion it has been vital to establish new knowledge about chronology, coin-issuing authority and mints. These areas have been addressed through two analyses using numismatic and archaeological methods. The results of the initial analyses are combined with an investigation of the size of the coin production and a study of archaeological contexts, in order to reveal how, where and when the bracteates were used. The theoretical approach to understanding the role of coins is inspired by theories in anthropology and sociology about the many ways in which money can be incorporated in a society, emphasising the complex social component of coins in contrast to the traditional economic emphasis on their neutral qualities as a means of exchange. Central to this are the concepts behind formalism and substantivist and post-substantivist theory. The study concludes with a discussion that explores what can be said about economy and economic systems based on the 12th-century Norwegian coins.