A Pitted Ware round-trip on Gotland : GIS-analyses of Pitted Ware Culture sites on Gotland and osteological assessments of resource utilisation

The aim of this master thesis is to expand on the understanding of the resource utilisation on the 19 Gotlandic Pitted Ware Culture sites: Ajvide, Alvena, Fridtorp, Grausne, Gullrum,Gumbalde, Hau, Hemmor, Hoburgen, Ire, Kinner/Tjauls, Rangvide, Barshalder, Stenstugu,Stora Förvar, Sudergårds II, Visby, Västerbjers and Västerbys. The study utilises theoretical frameworks such as Site Catchment Analysis, Site Territorial Analysis and Optimal ForagingTheory and is based on two main questions: Which animals did the diet on each site consist of? And are there any apparent connections between diet and topography/environment? To answer these questions, osteological records have been studied to get an idea of the animal food resources utilised on each site. ArcGIS has also been used to create height- and soil maps with contemporary shorelines which show how the sites were located in the middle Neolithic Gotlandic landscape. The study has shown that most sites appear to have included a variety of animals like pig/boar, cattle, sheep/goat, fish, seal, porpoise and birds in their diet. The sites with the lowest number of confirmed animals also tend to have undergone the least archaeological investigation, suggesting that further excavations on these sites might unearth more animal species. Additional discoveries show a small albeit noticeable emphasis on marine animal resources, especially porpoise, on southern sites. Sites located in areas mostly consisting of sandy, meager soils also show an increased marine resource utilisation. This might suggest that the area around these sites were somewhat barren and lacking in terrestrial prey animals