Åren när skörden inte mognade - En studie av förändrade bebyggelsemönster i södra Malmöområdet under 500-talet e.v.t.

Sammanfattning: This study aims to highlight some of the impacts following the climatic event of 536 C.E. This is achieved by analyzing and comparing excavated settlement patterns throughout the southern Malmö area in two phases that precede and succeed the year 550 C.E. Furthermore, the study evaluates a possible shift in social order and agency within the local community, as well as how this shift could potentially be expressed via the changing settlement patterns. A case study was performed in Lindängelund and Svågertorp from which distinguishable changes can be observed between phases, particularly with regard to the number of farms, their location, the size of the farmhouses, as well as their associated attributes. The main change comes in the form of a decline in the number of farms during the second phase, which in turn reflects a possible decline in population. In addition, changes in settlement patterns that concern farmhouse sizes and associated attributes could be interpreted as a direct result of change in social order and agency to a more individually emphasized societal ideology. However, larger quantities of data and further case studies are required in order to consider the climatic event 536 C.E. as the primary cause of a general trend in social change throughout southern Scandinavia.