The Archaeology of Old Age

Abstract

Prehistoric people sometimes died at an old age to judge by the longevity of life estimated from skeletal data. Anthropology, however, suggests that old age is a much more complex concept than that. The process of growing old that is stressed in the anthropological theory of old people may advantageously be discussed on the basis of prehistoric burial-ground data. Examples from Swedish burial-grounds hint at a cultural variation in the way in which prehistoric societies viewed old age.