After the wider deglaciation of Northern Europe, pioneer reindeer populations started to move into southern Scandinavia; however, this process is poorly understood. In this paper we aim to reconstruct dispersal processes of reindeer into southern and western Sweden from the Late Palaeolithic through to the Early Mesolithic, when reindeer disappear from the record. Has presence of reindeer in southern Sweden changed over time, were there changes in habitat and was the hunt of reindeer a possible driving factor to their disappearance? We have assembled and analysed a dataset of 220 unburnt reindeer skeletal elements from wetlands, earthen finds and shell middens from southern and western Sweden. Additional 14C-analysis have been performed to set the chronological frame. The results demonstrate that reindeer were present in southern and western Sweden from 12,066 to 7079 cal BCE and that the number of reindeer was highest during the Early Holocene. Stable isotope analyses (δ13C and δ15N), provided information on changes in reindeer habitat. The marked variation in δ13C and δ15N values suggests that reindeer grazed in different habitats or that the habitat change over time. We suggest that the decrease and final disappearance of reindeer in the Late Palaeolithic/Early Mesolithic was caused by changes in climate and habitat rather than anthropogenically induced.

Broken Bodies, Places and Objects demonstrates the breadth of fragmentation and fragment use in prehistory and history and provides an up-to-date insight into current archaeological thinking around the topic.

A seal broken and shared by two trade parties, dog jaws accompanying the dead in Mesolithic burials, fragments of ancient warships commodified as souvenirs, parts of an ancient dynastic throne split up between different colonial collections… Pieces of the past are everywhere around us. Fragments have a special potential precisely because of their incomplete format – as a new matter that can reference its original whole but can also live on with new, unrelated meanings. Deliberate breakage of bodies, places and objects for the use of fragments has been attested from all time periods in the past. It has now been over 20 years since John Chapman’s major publication introducing fragmentation studies, and the topic is more present than ever in archaeology. This volume offers the first European-wide review of the concept of fragmentation, collecting case studies from the Neolithic to Modernity and extending the ideas of fragmentation theory in new directions.

The book is written for scholars and students in archaeology, but it is also relevant for neighbouring fields with an interest in material culture, such as anthropology, history, cultural heritage studies, museology, art and architecture.

This introduction provides an overview of fragments and fragmentation in archaeology, aiming to map out a field that has rarely been subjected to synthesising efforts. First, it presents a background, taking John Chapman’s publication of ‘Fragmentation in Archaeology’ in 2000 as a starting point. It then moves on to explore issues within the wide range of perspectives on fragmented materials and fragmentation that have emerged during recent decades. Four themes where the archaeology of fragmentation has proven particularly creative are discussed: the ontological and existential character of fragments; fragmentation and the human body; methodological considerations regarding fragmented materials and their properties; and finally, the links between fragmentation studies and relational perspectives currently influencing many areas of archaeological thinking. Overall, it also gives an approach to the other contributions in this volume and places them in their theoretical and methodological context. Concluding reflections highlight some wider aspects of fragments as part of ever-changing assemblages, as well as the role of fragmentation as a means of embracing the complexity of past remains.

In this study we discuss the remains of reindeer skeletal elements found at two different snow patches at Varánjunnje and Gárránistjåhkkå situated in the National Park of Stuor Muorkke in northern Sweden. Unfortunately, glaciers and snow patches are melting; however, this offers a unique opportunity to study the use of mountainous landscape in the past. Here we compare modern, historic and archaeological reindeer to Forest and Mountain Sámi reindeer herding districts. By using radiocarbon dating and osteological and stable isotope analysis (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and δ³⁴S) we aim to study reindeer mobility and land use in the past. The results from the morphometric data, stable isotope analysis and radiocarbon dating from prehistoric and historic reindeer (n=40) show that there is very little variation over time in the diet of the reindeer retrieved from the snow patches. We also found that these reindeer must have grazed in different geographic areas. There was no correlation between age, gender, pathological changes and diet, and the castrated reindeer did not differ from other reindeer.

Vivallen is a Late Iron Age/Early Middle Ages South Saami site with a burial ground as well as a large dwelling site in Härjedalen, Sweden, located in the borderland between Saami and Norse groups. As food can be used as an indicator of cultural affiliation, we investigated the relative importance of various foodstuffs at this site, performing δ13C and δ15N analysis of human and faunal skeletal remains. The site was located along the St Olaf pilgrimage route, implying that some of the buried individuals may not have been local to the site, and therefore we performed δ34S analysis to study mobility. We set out to investigate if there were any changes in diet and mobility over the lifespan of the people buried at Vivallen. The results showed that freshwater fish were an important part of the diet, whereas reindeer and big game do not seem to have been major protein sources. We could not identify any substantial changes in diet in the individuals over time. Our results further demonstrated low mobility among the individuals, with one exception, a female who evidently grew up somewhere else.

Established in 1635, the silver mine of Nasafjall and the smeltery site in Silbojokk in Swedish Sapmi were used during several phases until the late 19th century. Excavations in Silbojokk, c. 40 km from Nasafjall, have revealed buildings such as a smeltery, living houses, a bakery, and a church with a churchyard. From the beginning, both local and non-local individuals worked at the mine and the smeltery. Non-locals were recruited to work in the mine and at the smeltery, and the local Semi population was recruited to transport the silver down to the Swedish coast. Females, males, and children of different ages were represented among the individuals buried at the churchyard in Silbojokk, which was used between c. 1635 and 1770. Here we study diet, mobility, and exposure to lead (Pb) in the smeltery workers, the miners, and the local population. By employing isotopic analysis, delta C-13, delta N-15, delta S-34, Sr-87/Sr-86 and elemental analysis, we demonstrate that individuals in Silbojokk had a homogenous diet, except for two individuals. In addition, both local and non-local individuals were all exposed to Pb, which in some cases could have been harmful to their health.

A strong cultural connection exists between reindeer and modern Sámi identityand economy. Reindeer domestication is, however, a rather late event, andthere are many Sámi who live off resources other than reindeer herding. Theuse of stable isotope analysis on historic reindeer from different geographicareas can contribute to analysing both the processes involved in reindeer domesticationand different environmental utilization by the Sámi. In this study,reindeer bones from six different sites in northern Sweden, ranging in datefrom the 11th to the 20th century, were analysed for stable isotopes to studyhow reindeer have been utilized in various historic contexts – settlements,offering sites and a marketplace. The stable isotope analysis demonstrateddifferent practices in utilization of reindeer, such as foddering. Foddering issuggested to have caused the elevated δ15N values found in reindeer at theoffering sites Vindelgransele and Unna Saiva, as well as at the settlementVivallen. The analysis further indicates that the offering sites were used bysingle Sámi groups. An important outcome of our study is that the biologyof reindeer in Sápmi was culturally influenced by the Sámi even before thereindeer was domesticated.

The aim of this thesis is to highlight the heterogeneous cultural landscape in Sápmi through the study of food. By studying food and the choices of specific foodstuffs in Sápmi AD 600–1900, a greater understanding can be gained on the history of this area during the period. A number of well-known archaeological sites in Sápmi have been chosen as the focus, dating from the Late Iron Age in north-central Sweden to the late-19^th century in northern Norway. By means of stable isotope analysis (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ³⁴S and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and elemental analysis on human and animal skeletal remains, the diversity in food culture has been studied. The chronological range in this thesis is rather broad but has been determined by the available archaeological skeletal material from the area. The overarching questions are how cultural diversity is reflected in different food practices, how individual life history and studies of mobility contribute to the understanding of life in Sápmi, what role the reindeer had in the diet in Sápmi during the period studied, and finally, what impact mining activities had on the local population in Sillbajåhkå/Silbojokk in terms of lead poisoning?

Through the different case studies, it has been demonstrated that food consumption was by no means uniform and static during the period, and that the differences in food consumption reflect a multicultural landscape. Individuals buried in Vivallen had a diet based on terrestrial and freshwater resources, in contrast to individuals from Guollesuolu/Gullholmen and Kirkegårdsøya, who had diets based predominantly on marine protein. However, the diet of individuals buried at Gullholmen was much more varied than at Kirkegårdsøya, indicating a multi-ethnic presence. The intra-individual analysis of diet and mobility provided information on a more complex society. Whether they were Sámi or non-Sámi is difficult to assess, but they were clearly a culturally heterogeneous group of people. The individuals that were buried in Rounala and Sillbajåhkå/Silbojokk in northern Sweden had a mixed diet, including foodstuffs from terrestrial, freshwater and/or marine environments. The sites overlap chronologically, with Rounala dating from the 14^th to the 18^th century, and Silbojokk from the 17^th to the 18^th century. While individuals buried in Rounala had a mixed diet, focused on freshwater fish, individuals buried in Silbojokk had a much more varied diet. Through the analysis of sulphur and strontium isotopes, it was possible to investigate intra-individual change in diet and mobility. Further, the results indicated that reindeer protein was not a major food source at the sites studied.

The mining activities at Silbojokk can be seen as the result of colonial infraction on nature and people in Sápmi by the Swedish state, with an immense and negative impact on the environment and for people there. This thesis includes the analysis and handling of human skeletal remains, which always has ethical implications: even more so in areas subjected to colonialism, such as Sápmi. My aim has been to highlight the importance of discussing reburial and repatriation and offer some thoughts on how this may be handled in the future.

Den 23 till den 26 augusti 2019 utfördes en arkeologisk inventering av två glaciärer samt ett antal snöfläckar i Norrbotten. Närvarande vid inventeringen var professor Per Holmlund och student Karin Angerbjörn från Institutionen för naturgeografi vid Stockholms universitet, samt professor Kerstin Lidén och doktorand Markus Fjellström från Arkeologiska forskningslaboratoriet. På grund av ogynnsamma väderförhållanden kunde inte alla dagar användas till fältinventering. Inga arkeologiska fynd eller fornlämningar registrerades, däremot togs ett stort antal djurben, skräp och ekofakter tillvara. Ett mindre antal djurben daterades till historisk tid. Utöver det utfördes även analyser av stabila isotoper på djurbenen för att studera den lokala faunans diet. Kombinationen av glaciologiska studier och årligen återkommande arkeologiska inventeringar av smältande glaciärer och snöfläckar har en stor potential i att öka kunskapen om landskapsutnyttjandet i högfjällsområden, men också i att studera klimat- och landskapsförändringar i stort. Det tredje årets inventeringar av smältande glaciärer och snöfläckar, med efterföljande analyser av både osteologisk material och föremål ger för handen vikten av att etablera regelbundna inventeringar.