Järnåldersgården som försvann
En studie av produktion, tafonomi och brända ben från möddingen vid gården Långåker från romersk järnålder
Roman Iron AgeProductionTaphonomyCombusted boneBurned down farmsSwineCattleSheepOsteologyBone fragmentationPrehistoryFörhistoriaHistory and Archaeology
This bachelor-level thesis in historical osteology deals with several aspects of the life-cycle of an RomanIron Age farm in southern Scania. Excavated in the 1980's by Lars Larsson, the farm was located near aplace called Långåker in the Dybäck area, on a cape which stretched out into a minor bog. Our work concerns why the Iron Age people settled the area, how well fragmented bone survives in a bog, what they produced at the farm and how life on the farm finally ended. From the roughly 10 % of the total number of fragments we where able to identify we can conclude, that he species that are present of the farm areusual Iron Age species (dog, sheep/goat, cattle and swine). We also have a relitivly large number of wildanimals in our material (2%). From our taphonomic studies we can conclude that the bone fragments from Långåker is neither exceptionally fragmented or exceptionally unfragmented. This comes as a bit of a surprise for, and still, as a direct consequence of this I find that the bones are well perserved in comparision with other Iron Age farms in the area. Our results from the studies of the contents of the midden and there connection to the building that were excavated points toward no real connection between the bones in the refuse layer and the buildings. This, however, does not prove that the midden has no conenction what so ever with the building. My results points in the direction that the midden is a result of several depositions of waste, and the the leftovers from the fire is just one of them. It is however possible to conclude that the contents of the midden has been moved from there original position. It is also possible to say that the bones in the refuse layer has only been exposed on the surface for a short period due to a lack of toothmarks on them. When comparising with other Iron Age settlement is demonstrated that the production line at Långåker seems to be much alike to other settlements from the same period. Cattle were the most important animal in the livestock while sheep/goat and swine had a second place. A large part of the cattle at Långåker were slauthered between the age of 1,5 and 3 years old. The bones indicate that there were no animalsolder than 8 years. There are no fragments identified to goat in the material from Långåker. So it´s easy to say that sheep were much more fequent in Långåker than goat. The main purpose for beeding sheep was meat production. In subsistence economies, flocks are rarely kept for only one single reason and judging from the kill- off patterns at Långåker there is strong evidence that milk and wool, also were importantproducts. Most of the sheep were slaughtered before the age of 3,5 to 4 years old, but som were saved to ahigher age. Tooth wear patterns and fusions of the epiphysis indicate that most of the pigs were slaughtered duringtheir second year. They had probably by then reached a slaughter weight that was large enough and which could not be improved by further feeding.