Hård rock eller Heavy metall? En jämförande studie mellan skärspår gjorda av sten- kontra metallredskap i övergångsperioden yngre bronsålder och förromersk järnålder

Sammanfattning: The aim of this thesis is to study the differences between cut marks made of stone and metal tools on animal bones. The focus will be on four sites in southern Sweden from the time period Late Bronze Age to Pre-Roman Iron Age. There have been previous studies about cut marks and the differences between them, but only a few focus on the same question as in this thesis; when do you start to see a difference in the usage between stone and metal tools? But these studies tend to not extend further than this question, instead of just studying the differences between stone and metal cut marks I also wanted to compare differences between the sites, animals and the placement of the cut marks. These differences can answer how the usage of stone and metal have developed over a certain period of time and if new methods in butchering techniques have occurred. A set of criteria was made from other studies, such as Walker & Long (1977) and Greenfield (1999), as well as an experimental study made on chicken bones. A microscope was used to distinguish cut marks made of stone tools from the cut marks made of metal tools. Measurements was made to see if there was any difference between the marks, both width and length. All data is presented with NISP in diagrams and charts. Correspondence analysis was used to better understand all different variables. The result shows that metal tool usage increase from the Late Bronze Age to the Pre-Roman Iron Age. In the Bronze Age the distribution of stone tools and metal tools seems to be even, while in Pre-Roman Iron Age metal tools are dominant. The same pattern can be seen when studying the sites separately. The placement of the cut marks have changed over time and therefore changed the way in which the animals were butchered. During Bronze Age the animals have been cut into bigger entities, for example; parts of the shoulder and hip bone has been left attached to the arm and thigh bone. Comparing this with Pre-Roman Iron Age where the animals have been cut into smaller entities, for example; the shoulder and hip bone has been completely separated from the arm and thigh bone. This might be because the metal tools are more effective when cutting through certain parts of the body. The species showed little difference except from the horse, which almost only had cut marks made from metal tools. Horses, during Bronze Age, was seen as a prestige animal and might be the reason why it was treated differently from the other animals. The thesis shows the importance of studying cut marks and could help evolve the discussion on how animal bones can be used. The marks could tell to which extent people have used certain types of material on an everyday basis and how this has developed over time.