Lateglacial retreat chronology of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in Finnmark, northern Norway, reconstructed from surface exposure dating of major end moraines

While single pollen records are widely used in reconstructing the environment for nearby prehistoric settlements, they are less helpful when addressing large‐scale issues of variation in human settlement patterns. In order to assess the impact of vegetation change on regional prehistoric settlement and subsistence patterns in an ecotone sensitive area, we inferred the general change in main vegetation types based on palaeobotanical investigations from across northernmost Fennoscandia. Tundra vegetation was predominant during the Lateglacial and earliest parts of the Holocene. Maritime birch forests rich in ferns started to expand c. 11 000 cal. a BP and became dominant from 10 000 cal. a BP. Pine expanded from the NE of the investigation area and pine‐birch forest dominated in the inland around 8000 cal. a BP. A gradual degeneration of forest towards more open birch woodland started c. 6000 cal. a BP with the most marked change around 3500 cal. a BP. Along the northern outer coast, this eventually led to open heathland. Comparison with the archaeological setting suggests a general correlation between low forest cover and extensive mobility patterns, while widespread and varied forest cover appear to have led to a more sedentary way of life. The background for this is arguably that the forested landscapes hosted a larger diversity of resources within a shorter foraging distance, while areas and periods with low forest cover required longer travels to obtain the desired prey and materials.

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“…; Romundset et al . ). The last remains of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in the Scandes Mountains melted away around 9100 cal.…”

Section: Results and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 97%

Holocene vegetation change in northernmost Fennoscandia and the impact on prehistoric foragers 12 000–2000 cal. aBP– A review

Sjögren

Damm

2018

Boreas

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“…(2006); green = Romundset et al. (2017); white = Romundset et al. (2011); OP = Outer Porsanger substage; MSS = Main substage.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

¹⁰Be surface exposure dating of the deglaciation of northernmost Norway and Finland

Anjar

Akçar

Lakeman

et al. 2020

Boreas

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During the Last Glacial Maximum, the coast of Finnmark county, northern Norway, was covered by the Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS), which coalesced with the Barents Sea Ice Sheet (BSIS) off the coast. The region is thus important for our understanding of the dynamic interactions between the BSIS and the SIS, yet it remains one of the least dated regions covered by the SIS. To improve the chronological constraints, we present 23 new 10Be ages from eight localities in northernmost Norway and Finland, and discuss implications for the pattern and timing of ice‐sheet retreat in the region. The samples were collected along a 240‐km‐long north–south transect ranging from the outer coast of Nordkinn peninsula (Norway) to Lake Inarijärvi (Finland). The new exposure ages indicate deglaciation of the outer coast at ~14.5 ka. From there, the ice retreated southward until it reached the Main substage moraine complex just north of the Norwegian‐Finnish border during the Younger Dryas. South of the Main substage moraines the deglaciation appears to have become more rapid, eventually reaching Inari, at the southern end of our transect, around 10.4±1.4 ka.

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“…11,700 cal. BP the Scandinavian Ice Sheet covered most of the inner fjord area and all of the inland (Romundset et al 2017). At the end of the period it had dwindled down to a fraction of its former size situated SSW of the investigation area (Stroeven et al 2016).…”

Section: Structuring Holocene Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

An overview of Holocene climate reconstructions in northernmost Fennoscandia

Sjögren

2021

SapReps

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An overview of climate reconstructions considering summer air temperatures and effective precipitation is provided for northernmost Fennoscandia. During the earliest part of the Holocene (11,700–10,000 cal. BP), temperatures rose rapidly and were followed by mild, wet and variable conditions. An early major warming peaked around 9500 cal. BP, although many records indicate that the main Holocene warming first occurred about c. 8000 cal. BP. The sub-regional pattern of climate change suggests a defining influence of the westerlies and the North Cape Current. Non-analog climatic conditions and lags in vegetation responses to climate change may explain some of the discrepancies seen in the early Holocene between proxies. In contrast to the perceivable variable onset of the main Holocene warm period, maximum temperatures are relatively consistent between the records, indicating temperatures 1.5±0.5°C above present. Precipitation was generally high from 10,000 cal. BP but decreased towards 8000 cal. BP when dry climatic conditions became predominant. After a stable period 8000–6000 cal. BP a gradual cooling was initiated, with a more abrupt period of change 4500–3800 cal. BP when the warm and dry climate of the mid-Holocene changed into the cool, wet and unstable climate of the late Holocene. Modern conditions were reached c. 2800 cal. BP. The Holocene Thermal Maximum may be defined several different ways: as temperatures distinctly above modern delimited to 9500–4000 cal. BP; as peak temperatures 9500–6000 cal. BP; and/or as climax vegetation in the period 8000–4000 cal. BP. Prior to 8000 cal. BP vegetation probably lagged behind the warming, whereas in the period 8000–4000 cal. BP an equilibrium between climate and vegetation was established.

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Lateglacial retreat chronology of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in Finnmark, northern Norway, reconstructed from surface exposure dating of major end moraines

Cited by 24 publications

References 63 publications

Holocene vegetation change in northernmost Fennoscandia and the impact on prehistoric foragers 12 000–2000 cal. aBP– A review

Holocene vegetation change in northernmost Fennoscandia and the impact on prehistoric foragers 12 000–2000 cal. aBP– A review

¹⁰Be surface exposure dating of the deglaciation of northernmost Norway and Finland

An overview of Holocene climate reconstructions in northernmost Fennoscandia

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Lateglacial retreat chronology of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in Finnmark, northern Norway, reconstructed from surface exposure dating of major end moraines

Cited by 24 publications

References 63 publications

Holocene vegetation change in northernmost Fennoscandia and the impact on prehistoric foragers 12 000–2000 cal. aBP– A review

Holocene vegetation change in northernmost Fennoscandia and the impact on prehistoric foragers 12 000–2000 cal. aBP– A review

10Be surface exposure dating of the deglaciation of northernmost Norway and Finland

An overview of Holocene climate reconstructions in northernmost Fennoscandia

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¹⁰Be surface exposure dating of the deglaciation of northernmost Norway and Finland