News from Frälsegården. Aspects of Neolithic burial practices

• The passage grave at Frälsegården in Falbygden, western Sweden, was excavated in 1999-2001. In spite of damage and ploughing, this constitutes the most well-documented bone material from a Scandinavian megalithic tomb. In this paper, I summarize the analyses done so far on this bone material, and discuss implications for the interpretation of burial practices in megalithic tombs. The presence of a number of whole or partially articulated skeletons was one of the most signifiant results of the excavation. ese range from almost complete skeletons to partial articulations. In addition, there is a mass of disarticulated bones but also some bones that seem to have been treated differently, such as a skull group and a couple of bone packages. It is suggested that most of the bones result from primary burials and subsequent disarticulation, but there are also indications of a change in burial practice, and the occurrence of special treatment could perhaps result from alternative, parallel practices.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi -- Arkeologi (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology -- Archaeology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Passage grave

Neolithic

Falbygden

burial pratices

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vet (ämneskategori)

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