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In this thesis an exploratory approach has been used to study settlement and mobility among hunter-gatherer societies in Northern Sweden during the 2 000 – 0 BC period. The focus has been on developing the topics of bifacial point use and raw material management of quartzand quartzite materials. The study combines the information generated at multiple analytical scales in order to address knowledge gaps and facilitate new research. The thesis consists of an introductory text and four research papers.

The first paper discusses modelling approaches in archaeology. It stresses the interlinked nature of models that are created at different spatial scales, and that weaknesses in lower-lying models may impact higher-level models in a study. The paper also discusses the question of whether an analysis is better suited for modelling in the “variable space”, rather than geographical space, as the data my need to undergo unnecessary simplification that hides certain features.

The second paper is an evaluation of the current dating evidence for bifacial points made of quartz or quartzite in Norrland. The study includes 124 radiocarbon datesfrom 30 excavated sites with finds of bifacial points or preforms in the County of Västerbotten. Bayesian modelling is used to evaluate the potential for building a chronological model for bifacial point use in the region. The results indicate that few artefacts can be related to a dated feature, with only 3 dates that may be argued to stem from a secure dating context that dates the points. These dates all fall within the 1 900 – 1 700 BC period.

The third paper is a spectroscopic study of quartz and quartzite material. The study is based on a dataset of 126 quartz/quartzite points and preforms from 47 sites along the upper Ångerman River. Non-destructive analysis was performed using three different spectroscopic instrumentations (Near Infrared, Raman, X-Ray Fluorescence). The data were evaluated using Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA). Each instrumentation showed detectable differences in the material, such as the presence or absence of graphite. The study highlights the potential of non-destructive screening methods and lays the foundation for future survey efforts.

The fourth paper is a spatial analysis of the distribution of bifacial points and preforms made of quartz and quartzite within the County of Västerbotten. The Ångerman and Ume/Vindel Rivers exhibit different distribution patterns, with higher proportions of preforms closer to the mountains. The distribution pattern is evaluated using Exploratory Data Analysis, including geostatistical methods. The capacity for previous settlement and mobility models to explain the observed patterns are then discussed in the light of factors such as archaeological survey coverage.

Northern Fennoscandia is a geologically complex region affected by both glacial and postglacial processes. Quartzite was a key material type utilized by hunter-gatherers in Northern Sweden around the period 4 000 – 2 000 BP, and is thus critical to the understanding of raw material procurement and material flow within the region. However, there is a severe lack of methodological development in the characterization of these materials, and provenance of locally available geological material is complex and fraught with uncertainty. 126 quartz/quartzite points and preforms were sampled from 47 archaeological sites along the upper Ångerman river valley in Västerbotten, Sweden. The material has been analysed non-destructively using three separate portable spectroscopic instrumentations (Near-infrared, Raman, X-Ray Fluorescence). Evaluation of the spectra and exploratory data analysis using Principal Component Analysis demonstrates detectable differences in the material that likely stem from diagenetic/paragenetic origin. The presence of graphite, muscovite and biotite could likewise provide information on the material’s metamorphic grade. In addition to reaffirming the potential of field-based screening instrumentation, these results will benefit future surveys of geological sources in the region. They also indicate potential for the construction of a predictive model that could classify the quartzite based on its chemical characteristic. Such a model would prove useful in future spatial analysis and testing of models of raw material management.

The Old Wood in a New Light database project focuses on the digitization and accessibility of the results of dendrochronological samples analyzed and archived at four Swedish university-based tree-ring laboratories at Lund University, Stockholm University, University of Gothenburg, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Collaboration with the Environmental Archaeology Laboratory and Humlab at Umeå University enables long-term open access to data, raw data, and metadata. In this project, we (1) systematically undertake large-scale entry and open access publication of results from wood samples scientifically analyzed and archived by Swedish laboratories and the associated metadata, into the Strategic Environmental Archaeology Database (SEAD; www.sead.se) research data infrastructure, and (2) actively promote the database as a resource for new and ongoing interdisciplinary research initiatives. Including dendrochronological data in SEAD infrastructure allows interdisciplinary studies that combine major scientific and societal questions. Building on a pilot study of construction timber from southern Sweden and adaptation of SEAD digitization workflows, more than 70 000 samples archived at the four dendrochronological laboratories are now being handled in the project. The broad coverage of research networks, stakeholder interaction, and strategic support from the cultural heritage community is guaranteed owing to the ongoing collaboration between laboratories and an established international and multidisciplinary reference group.

A significant number of archaeology’s Grand Challenges (Kintigh et al. 2014) can only be addressed through access to large amounts of data from multiple research fields, and advanced tools for aggregating, synthesizing and analyzing them. Archaeological research has seen significant developments in the use of databases and database tools since first adopting them in the late 1960s (Lock 2003). The often small scale of archaeological budgets, and the paucity of long-term funding, has meant that cheaper solutions have most often been used. These have ranged from mainstream database management systems through university site licenses and project specific purchases, to independently coded solutions and more recent open source alternatives. The relatively unusual nature and complexity of archaeological science (see Lidén 2017) data has meant that custom database designs have been the norm. The vast majority of these databases have been built to serve single purposes: from simple sample processing archives, to more complete excavation databases or multi-site macrofossil databases. User interfaces, if present, usually reflect these aims rather than provide for wider audiences. Such databases are an extremely important part of how science is now conducted, and, as explained in this chapter, there are considerable advantages to upscaling them towards becoming components in research infrastructure.

This article discusses the multiscale nature of modelling in archaeology and its relationship with higher-level spatial analysis. The application and purpose of modelling in archaeology is as varied as the multidisciplinary field itself. With the increasing integration of geographical information systems (GIS) and other digital methods into the archaeological workflow, both new opportunities and potential pitfalls present themselves. The struggle of balancing informal inferences of human behaviour in a formal system, such as GIS, has been the subject of much discussion, as well as the questioning of whether some modelling tasks would be better suited for implementation outside the GIS environment. Higher-level spatial analysis is dependent on a number of lower-level models, each building on the other, inheriting both information and uncertainties. These nuances can be difficult to demonstrate clearly once they have been incorporated into another model, potentially obscured further when restricted by the “geographical space” that is central to GIS. Rather than forcing informal models into a formal environment, an alternative would be to opt instead for the visualization of these within the more flexible “variable space,” where the data are front and centre, and spatial and temporal concepts can function as a means of explaining patterns in the model. This article discusses aspects of the challenges and opportunities involved in these types of analysis and provides examples of alternate approaches that could be considered non-spatial.

Environmental archaeology is a complex mix of empirical analysis and qualitative interpretation.It is increasingly data science oriented, and databases and online resources are becoming increasinglyimportant in large scale synthesis research on changes in climate, environments and human activities.Research funders, journals and universities place much emphasis on the use of data repositories toensure transparency and reusability in the research process. Although these are important, researchersthemselves, however, may have more use for research databases which are oriented more towardsadvanced querying and exploratory data analysis than conforming to archiving standards. This paperexplores the pros and cons of these different approaches. It also discusses and problematizes somekey concepts in research data management, including the definitions of data and metadata, along withthe FAIR principles. Research examples are provided from a broad field of environmental archaeologyand palaeoecology. In contrast to most publications, the developer’s perspective is also included, anda worked example using the Strategic Environmental Archaeology Database (SEAD) to investigate fossilbeetle data demonstrates the implementation of some of this in the real world. This example may befollowed online using the SEAD browser, and all described data downloaded from there. After providingboth encouragement and warnings on the use of digital resources for synthesis research, some suggestionsare made for moving forward.

Environmental archaeology encompasses a wide range of scientific methods for analyzing the results of past human activities, environments, climates, and perhaps, most importantly, the relationships between these. Many of these methods are referred to as proxy analyses, denoting the illumination of the past as interpreted indirectly through the evidence of fossil organisms or properties. These lines of evidence, or proxy data sources, are assumed to reflect past conditions by way of their dependence on them. For example, a species of beetle may only survive within a specific climate range, and thus its presence in samples indicates this climate at the time of deposition; organic waste deposited around a farmstead will raise soil phosphate levels above those of the surrounding land; and the presence of cereal grains in postholes suggests their local cultivation or import, usage, or storage.

Databaser. Fossila insekter och förkolnade fröer kan ge mycket information om de miljöer som människor har levt i och kan liksom annan biologisk information tjäna arkeologin.