ÖLand

I Det öppna och det fördolda undersöker runforskare användningen av runor på Öland, Gotland och Bornholm i olika sociala miljöer från senvikingatid till efterreformatorisk tid. Temat är hur runor i vissa sammanhang använts öppet och publikt, för alla att se och betrakta — såsom på kyrkväggar, runstenar och gravhällar — och under andra omständigheter mer dolt och diskret, som i hopvikta amuletter. Därtill publiceras för första gången Carl Säves anteckningar från en forskningsresa till Bornholm 1865 tillsammans med professor George Stephens och tecknaren Julius Magnus Petersen.

Öland, Gotland och Bornholm har var och en sina egna seder och sitt eget runbruk. Öarna har tillsammans knappt 700 runfynd1, men de är mycket ojämnt fördelade över tid, rum och karaktär. Här presenteras en pågående studie om runbruk på Östersjöns öar, där runornas förekomst och användning på Öland, Gotland och Bornholm sätts i relation till varandra2. Syftet är att jämföra öarnas för-bindelser och särart ur ett runforskningsperspektiv, med hjälp av runologi, arkeologi och nya analys- och doku-mentationsmetoder.

Ship formed monuments from the Late Bronze Age on the island of Öland, southeast Sweden, have never been thoroughly dealt with in previous research, despite the fact that the region is suggested to have had a key-role in maritime trade networks. This thesis aims to address the ship formed monuments on Öland in relationship to the monuments in northern Småland and the island of Gotland. My goal is to discuss how the ship symbolism was practised during the Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia from a new perspective. I also aim to shed new light on the Bronze Age culture on Öland. I show that the ship formed monuments on Öland mark important maritime routes in the landscape leading to the core areas in the Late Bronze Age. These routes are not only linked to the trade which took place, but also to the landscape it self. I argue that the maritime movement in the landscape has helped to create and re-create the cosmology. Thus, the symbolic and practical function of the ship is tied together. Furthermore, I show that the memory connected to a mythological past has played a crucial role in the rituals leading up to the building of the monument. By integrating a circular view of time while interpreting the rituals instead of a linear one, I argue that this can be understood as a way of transforming the soul for rebirth.

Moose (Alces alces), the largest among the deer, have both high recreational and economic value in Scandinavia and elsewhere. To efficiently manage such a valuable species, the key factors affecting their fitness and performance must be understood. Moose generally have high productivity and calf survival in predator free areas, however in recent years, populations at the southern edge of their distribution, such as on the predator free island of Ӧland in Sweden, there have been reports of low calf survival. Individuals are found to carry Anaplasma phagocytophilum, which has been thought to be one of the factors causing the low survival. The aim of this study was to identify what abiotic and biotic factors may also be affecting female moose performance and their calf survival. GPS data from 18 collared moose was used in conjunction with home range, activity, diet, survival and habitat analysis. Moose did not alter the size of their seasonal home ranges or their activity level. Agricultural areas and feeding stations have become the preferred areas in the core home ranges during the winter season. The diet analysis revealed that nearly two thirds of the moose’s winter diet contained agricultural produce. Moose are having to utilise areas where in other populations, individuals tend to avoid. This could probably be one of the reasons for females to be of lower quality and therefore not being able to ensure calf survival. With changing climates and human land use moose continue to be under such environmental pressures, which may therefore jeopardize their future survival and reproduction.

In this paper the nature and frequency of skeletal changes in the lower limb bones of cattle are investigated. The bones derive from the archaeological site of Eketorp ringfort on the Öland island in Sweden dated between Iron Age–Middle Age (ca. A.D. 300–1200/50). The analysis was conducted to explore whether skeletal lesions were associated with traction activity, and if changes in the type and prevalence of lesions occurred over time. Different skeletal lesions were recorded by bone and precise anatomical location: the joint surfaces of metapodia and phalanges were divided into four to seven zones to determine if different types of lesions were located on particular regions of the articular surface. The results show that metatarsals exhibited a higher frequency of pathologies in the Iron Age and medieval period
compared to metacarpals, while anterior phalanges 1 and 2 had a higher occurrence of lesions than the posterior elements. The study also demonstrates that the type and location of depressions on joint surfaces
are unevenly distributed between bone elements. Finally, the results show that skeletal lesions were more common in robust animals.

The theories presented about the reuse of Neolithic monuments during the Bronze Age in Scandinavia are mainly universal, i.e. applicable to all periods during prehistory. I argue that there is no point in isolating reuse as something separate from society. The focus of my study is the Mysinge passage grave on the is- land of Öland. I have also studied the reuse of other graves on Öland and of passage graves in Falbygden. I propose that the passage grave was linked to the un- derworld and that some of those buried in the cham- ber of Mysinge during the Bronze Age were people travelling by sea.

Human management of livestock and the presence of different breeds have been discussed in archaeozoology and animal breeding. Traditionally osteometrics has been the main tool in addressing these questions. We combine osteometrics with molecular sex identifications of 104 of 340 morphometrically analysed bones in order to investigate the use of cattle at the Eketorp ringfort on the Öland island in Sweden. The fort is dated to 300–1220/50 A.D., revealing three different building phases. In order to investigate specific patterns and shifts through time in the use of cattle the genetic data is evaluated in relation to osteometric patterns and occurrence of pathologies on cattle metapodia. Males were genotyped for a Y-chromosomal SNP in UTY19 that separates the two major haplogroups, Y1 and Y2, in taurine cattle. A subset of the samples were also genotyped for one SNP involved in coat coloration (MC1R), one SNP putatively involved in resistance to cattle plague (TLR4), and one SNP in intron 5 of the IGF-1 gene that has been associated to size and reproduction.

The results of the molecular analyses confirm that the skeletal assemblage from Eketorp is dominated by skeletal elements from females, which implies that dairying was important. Pathological lesions on the metapodia were classified into two groups; those associated with the use as draught animals and those lesions without a similar aetiology. The results show that while bulls both exhibit draught related lesions and other types of lesions, cows exhibit other types of lesions. Interestingly, a few elements from females exhibit draught related lesions. We conclude that this reflects the different use of adult female and male cattle.

Although we note some variation in the use of cattle at Eketorp between Iron Age and Medieval time we have found little evidence for the use of different types of animals for specific purposes. The use of specific (genetic) breeds seems to be a phenomenon that developed later than the Eketorp settlement.

"Abstract: Central to this doctoral thesis was the relationship between animal husbandry practices and the associated pathological conditions. Historical studies ,could shed light on the origins and pathogenesis of conditions that afflict animals today. This research aims to go further and interpret the prevalence of varying lesions and their connection with animal husbandry by using methods such as osteometric analysis, conventional radiograpic and bone mineral study, as well as incorporated molecular analysis. Bone elements from the extremities are subjected to abnormal load when animals are put to hard work.
The animal bones from cattle and horse at Eketorp Ringfort and Skedemosse Wetland on Öland Island were analysed during the late 1970s and 1960s respectively, but current paleopathological recording methods used in this thesis were not employed. Approximately 15% of the extremities from cattle at Eketorp Ringfort had some kind of skeletal lesion.  Cattle metatarsals exhibited a higher frequency of lesions than metacarpals. Skeletal lesions connected to draught use were more frequently recorded on bone elements from male than from female cattle. The anterior phalanges 1-2 had a higher occurence of lesions than the posterior elements.
There was a significant correlation between larger sized animals and skeletal lesions. Osteological measurements were also investigated using molecular sex identification. Several measurements in both fragmented and complete metapodials proved useful in separating cows from oxen or bulls.
The molecular analysis did not show any selected breed or specific type of animal. All but two of the Eketorp cattle belonged to haplogroup Y2 which is common in Southern Europe. The Y1 haplogroup (one in phase II and one in phase III) is common in Western and Northern Europe. Although the ringfort was abondoned for approximately 450 years the results show that the Ölandic cattle population was homogeneous over time. An increased interest in breeding may also involve a preference for a specific coat colour. The results from thirty-four bone elements show that twenty-five bones belonged to animals with red or light coat coloration and nine of uncertain, possibly partly black colour. Conventional radiographics were also used on cattle metapodials from Eketorp ringfort to investigate the age structure in slaughtered cattle over 3 years of age.


Keywords: Skeletal lesions, draught use of cattle, sacrificied horses, Iron Age, Middle Ages, Eketorp ringfort, Skedemosse wetland, Öland, Sweden.
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