Skallet från forntiden : en osteologisk analys av hundben från stenålderslokalerna Hemmor och Gullrum på Gotland samt en teoretisk studie av hundens rituella och funktionella roll under neolitikum

The bark from prehistory – an osteological analysis on dog bones from the Stone Age settlements of Hemmor and Gullrum at Gotland and a theoretic study of the secular and sacred roles of the dog during the Neolithic. Dog bones from two Pitted Ware Culture (around 2500 BC) settlements, Hemmor in När parish and Gullrum in Näs parish/Havdhem parish, at southern Gotland, Sweden are analyzed. The analysis contains a study of age, withers height and size estimation as well as skeletal changes and pathologies. The attempt of the analysis is to highlight the secular and sacred role of the dog during the Neolithic at Gotland. The dog bones were collected during excavations in the years 1890 and 1903 and were found across the entire surfaces of the settlements. Although there were no specific dog breeds during the Stone Age, the dogs at Hemmor and Gullrum show a wide range of size (withers height spans from 39,74 cm to 56,47 cm) and may therefore have been used for different purposes depending on their size. The dogs were not eaten, but evidence of skinning is found. The results are compared with other analysis made on dog bones from similar settlements. The analysis is complemented with a theoretic study of the functions of dogs in other parts of the world. Ethnologic studies of traditional societies show the importance and wide range of functions in which the dogs are used and can give us an idea of the corresponding functions at a Neolithic Gotland. The functions vary from pet and guardian of the settlement to fishing, hunting and ritual purposes