The Nabberör dogs - social significance of dogs in South Scandinavian Late Iron Age

During the Late Iron Age, a large variety of dogs and the earliest evidence of dog leashes appear in Scandinavia. This study is based on an analysis of the dogs in the Nabberör boat grave on the island of Öland in relation to dogs from other burials and settlements.
Breeding and care of the dogs have been analysed through the integrated life stories of individual dogs, based on age, sex and health status, together with morphology and leash finds. The feeding of these dogs has been studied by examining stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) and their mobility through the strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotopes.
The large dogs in Nabberör were kept and cared for in different ways than other common farm dogs. The dogs indicate social significance and links between elite families in South Scandinavia.