Vad hände människorna i Kanaljorden? : En arkeo-osteologisk jämförelse mellan mesolitiska och neolitiska fallstudier.

Conflict in Archaeology is a subject which have risen in interest during the last decades. This essay will focus mainly on the conflict which can be seen on individuals found at Kanaljorden in Motala. The site was excavated between 1999 and 2013 and showed ten individuals buried on a stonebed nearby Motala stream. The individuals were seen with a large amount of trauma directed towards the skull and differentiated depending on sex. The way the individuals were buried and the large amount of trauma was unique for Scandinavia and the world. There have been many theories of why the people buried in Kanaljorden was selected and what purpose it had for the people that buried them there. There have been speculations from war trophies to ritual killings. This essay is therefore focused on making comparisons and analogies with other cases of burials and conflicts from Scandinavia and the world to get clues why the people of Kanaljorden was selected for burial. It could be concluded that skull trauma of the buried individuals was common in Mesolithic and Neolithic Scandinavia and world. The difference in injuries depending on sex indicate a structured society were women and men had different roles during war and conflict. Further was it concluded that the individuals found at Kanaljorden could probably have been deposited because of their importance for the tribe, or forefathers’ worship