Stridsyxor eller båtyxor : En diskussion om symboliken och dess betydelse

Sammanfattning: My intention with this paper is to try to understand the meaning of the double sex symbols which can be identified on a number of Neolithic so called battle axes from the region round the lake Mälaren in Sweden. My conclusions are drawn after having studied a number of archaeological thesises. I have realized that the society was egalitarian from what is said about the funeral habits since women and men were buried with the same care. Ceramics from the Skogsmossen site show a very long continuity over 15-20 generations. These facts indicate a peaceful society without traumatic breaks where knowledge would have been lost. The fingerprints produced on the ceramics are those of women, since they do not seem to fit with the hands of men. Women are by this fact persumed to be the producers of ceramics. In early and primitive farming digging sticks were used, often with a weight. My conclusion is that the boat axe can be a magic tool used on the digging sticks. We have to understand the boat axes as spiritual helpers to fruitful and fertile success.