Bein er ikke bare bein : Isotopanalyse av det kvinnelige skjelettmaterialet fra et kristent gravsted i vikingtid

Sammanfattning: The aim of this paper is to use isotope analysis of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur from bone and teeth to investigate whether women from the Viking age and early medieval cemetery in Varnhem were local, rather than from a wider area. What is interesting about this area is that it is a Christian cemetery that was taken into use as early as the Viking age (800-1050 AD), a time where the majority of the Swedish population were pagans. It is therefore thought that the majority of the people buried on the cemetery are people from other parts of the landscape, since few other Christian cemeteries are known from his time. I tested my hypothesis with two research questions regarding diet and sulphur isotope ratios. The results from the isotope analysis showed that the women had a rather homogeneous diet and homogeneous sulphur isotope values. These results can strengthen my hypothesis that they were resident in Varnhem.