Får- och byggnadskroppsdelar - Handlingar och spatiala relationer kring byggnadsdeponeringar av får på Öland. Sheep and building body parts - Actions and spatial relations regarding buildingdeposits of sheep on Öland.

Abstract

This essay studies ten Ölandic examples of sheep bodies or sheep body parts deposited in Iron Agebuildings. In addition to literary works, the source material examined in the essay also consists ofunpublished sources and two osteological examinations, which were carried out as a part of thework on the essay (appendix 1 & 2).The purpose of the essay is to study both the actions that become visible through the skeletalmaterial, and the possible presence of spatial patterns regarding the bone deposits. The work iscarried out using an action-theoretical approach. Furthermore, a comparative method is used toexamine the ten sites in relation to each other. The results from this are ambiguous. The thesis' mainconclusion is; 1) that the bodies of sheep was sometimes disintegrated on Öland during the IronAge, to be; 2) placed in a certain spatial proximity of the foundation of roof-supporting posts.

Keywords: Öland, Iron Age, Ritual Deposits, Sheep, bodies, body parts, foundation, sacrifice, action-theory