The relationship between humans and animals during the Vendel Period and the Viking Age : An osteoarcheological analysis of cremation graves

Today, the pets we own are thought of as friends and family members. A lot of people even go as far as saying that the pets they own are their children. While we have this close and almost human relationship with our pets, we also distance ourselves from the animals we have on our plates. What did the human – animal relationships look like during the Vendel Period and Viking Age? The goal with this essay is to analyse cremation graves from the grave site in Valsgärde, Uppsala, and then compare these results with those from Ylva Bäckström’s osteological study of eight cremation graves from Valsgärde and with Berit Sigvallius’ study of the cremated material from the grave fields in northern Spånga. The grave field in Valsgärde, Uppsala, is dated to pre-Roman Iron Age as well as Vendel Period and Viking Age. The boat graves are what the grave field in Valsgärde is most famous for, but in addition to the 15 boat graves there are also at least 62 cremation graves and 15 skeleton graves. The graves in the northern Spånga are dated to 500 BC. - 1050 AD and lies in Kista, Granby, Ervinge and Kymlinge. The osteological study and the comparison with the two previously executed analysis have been done with the purpose to see in what way the relations between humans and animals expresses itself in the osteological material of Uppland during the late Iron Age. Hopefully the composition of the graves’ animal material will contain indicators of the human – animal relations. Previously conducted studies of Iron Age cremation graves in general, has shown that there was a significant increase in the amount of animal bones in the graves during the Vendel and Viking age. Animals are clearly important to the people during the late Iron Age. In what way were the animals significant and how is this expressed in the material