This thesis deals with the importance of boar tusks to the people at the Middle Neolithic settlement of Ajvide, Eksta parish on Gotland. The thesis discusses various issues concerning the Ajvide swine and their tusks, such as the question of domestication and the various functions ascribed to tusks. In order to cast light upon these questions the result of a study of all the tusks found on Ajvide thus far as well as their respective grave context is presented. The study also includes an osteological analysis of the tusks. Furthermore, ethnoarchaeological comparisons are made with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu; contemporary societies presumed to share common traits with Middle Neolithic societies on Gotland and where swine and their tusks likewise assume a prominent position..

Tovesson. R 2012: Orientering av liv och död under Mellanneolitikum. Irland, Orkneyöarna och södra England under perioden ca 4000 f.kr ? 2000 f.kr.The orientation of life and death- Ireland, Orkney, and Southern England during c 4000-2000 BC.Magisteruppsats i arkeologi. Linnéuniversitetet Kalmar Vt.

Denna uppsats beskriver artefaktfynd som gjorts inom området. Genom att tidsbestämma artefakterna och i den mån det är möjligt att fastställa dess fyndplatser skapas ett spridningsmönster. Genom att samtidig granska klimat, havsnivå och topografi mm skapas genom bearbetning och analys, diskussion och tolkning en schematisk bild över undersökningsområdets utveckling. Av denna kan man utläsa hur området befolkades, bosättningsmönster, det första jordbruket mm. Dessa fragment från stenåldern visar också på förändringar över tiden.

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.

This thesis has had its focus on ceramic shards found in a trench by the late neolithic western shore of the Ajvide site. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate if there are changes in the pottery between the test trench and the ceramics found by the graves, known as the main site. The author has compared the ornaments from the test trench with an ornament schedule made from over 50 000 shards from the assumed main site. Not only changes regarding ornaments has been noticed but also new techniques and raw material. The author has also implemented two 14C datings which backs his hypothesis that the shards from the test trench are younger than the shards that made the earlier ornament schedule.

This one-year master's thesis investigates the late part of the Middle Neolithic on the island of Gotland. This thesis has been written without the influence of a singular theoretical pespective, and has therefore seen input from the processual, and postprocessual theories. By using several perspectives, an attempt is made to view the material remains used in the most objective manner possible. The specific aim of this thesis is to investigate whether the Mid-Neolithic inhabitants of Gotland were a part of the Corded Ware culture (or as it is called in Sweden, the Battleaxe culture or the Boataxe culture). Most recent literature has concluded that Gotland was never a part of the Battlexe culture, though this thesis has discovered many parallels with the mainland culture, including the production of similar objects and ritual practices.

This thesis presents the results from a osteological analysis and a GIS-study aimed to examinedifferences in the located animal bones in different areas of the excavation site of Ajvde.The osteological material came from five excavated square meters on the site and was comparedwith osteological results from other researchers from different areas to create overview and try tosee differences between the areas.The GIS-study took data from all animal bone material excavated on the site, a total of about 2300kilos, and presented them in maps of spatial distribution for each layer (pictures 4, 5, 6 & appendixpicture 1) to see if there were any clusters of activity and changes between the layers. The dating ofthe culture layer and the burial field (pictures 7 & 8) were presented in maps to see if they could becorrelated with what was seen with the animal bones. Pictures of different shorelines were alsopresented (picture 9) to compare with the results that were seen in the changes of animal bones fromdifferent layers.The results of the GIS-study have shown that the activity on the site have moved over time alongthe hight differences of the land. The earlier layers show activity only on the higher elevation butlater moves down, and in the upper layers activity have been all over the excavated area. Clusters ofanimal bones were seen in the so called ?black areas? of the sites (shown in picture 2) but also otherareas contained a lot of animal bones.The results of the osteological analysis have shown that there are differences in what species arefound in different areas.