Settlements and Seafaring: Reflections on the Integration of Boats and Settlements Among Marine Foragers in Early Mesolithic Norway and the Yámana of Tierra del Fuego

Bjerck, Hein Bjartmann

doi:10.1080/15564894.2016.1190425

Cited by 36 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Marine productivity was nonetheless high (Breivik ), and the locations of early Mesolithic settlement sites strongly indicate reliance on marine resources. While some of these pioneers may have arrived from the east or southeast (Kleppe ), other early foragers journeyed north along the Atlantic coast and must have used boats as their primary means of transportation (Bjerck ). The open landscape allowed for good visibility from the boat or on land, helping to locate favourable landscape elements, such as rivers and lakes for fresh water and freshwater fishing (although the availability of these at this time is underexplored).…”

Section: Results and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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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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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Section: Results and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It delivered raw material for essential equipment such as hunting and fishing tools and containers, as well as for constructions such as boats, sledges, hunting traps and shelter (e.g. Kuokkanen ; Callanan ; Koivisto & Nurminen ; Bjerck ). Trees also provided natural shelter and could be integrated in traps or guiding fences.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“…During the late Preboreal, such coastal landscapes, characterized by bays and islets, probably played an important role in the mobile life of maritime foragers. Archaeological excavations and surveys in both Norway and Patagonia (Bjerck , ) show that these types of seascapes are the most likely to house more permanent, or rather recurrent, archaeological sites from this early period.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new early Holocene shoreline displacement record for Blekinge, southern Sweden, and implications for underwater archaeology

Hansson

Hammarlund

Landeschi

et al. 2018

Boreas

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We present evidence of a submerged early Holocene landscape off the Blekinge coastline in the Baltic Sea, dating to the Yoldia Sea and Initial Littorina Sea Stages when the water level was lower than at present. 14C dated wood remains obtained by surveillance diving and new archaeological findings in combination with bathymetric analyses and interpolations between other sites across the Baltic Sea were used for refinement of the shoreline displacement history of the region. The new results reveal a Yoldia Sea lowstand level at 20 m b.s.l., a subsequent Ancylus Lake highstand at 3 m a.s.l., and then a period of relatively stable water level at about 4 m b.s.l. during the Initial Littorina Sea Stage, several metres lower than previously concluded. The refined shoreline displacement record was used for palaeo‐reconstructions of the study area during four key periods, the Yoldia Sea lowstand phase, the Ancylus Lake transgression phase, the Ancylus Lake highstand phase and the Initial Littorina Sea lowstand phase, using elevation data and map algebra functions. A flow accumulation algorithm was used for reconstruction of the now submerged prehistoric river network in order to identify areas of high archaeological potential. Our revised shoreline displacement record, and especially its lowstand period during the Initial Littorina Sea Stage around 9500–8500 cal. a BP, raises future demands not only for specific archaeological shallow‐water surveys down to 4 m b.s.l. in the area, but also for a renewed cultural heritage management strategy. The results of this study fill an important gap in the early Holocene part of the shoreline displacement history of Blekinge, contributing to its completion since the deglaciation, which is unique for the Baltic Sea.

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“…The archaeological record is of high value for studying marine and coastal adaptations over long time spans. It is argued that the Preboreal pioneer settlement of Southern Norway was closely connected to marine resources for subsistence and to the coastal landscape for settlement and communication (Bang-Andersen, 2003;Bjerck, 2016;Breivik, 2014;Glørstad, 2013).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The reason for the lack of radiocarbon dates from Early Mesolithic sites is not understood at the moment but a potential explanation might be the type of fuel in the hearths during the earliest phase. It has been suggested that seal oil or blubber was used as fuel (Bjerck, 2016) and for that reason the activity at the sites have not produced sample material, such as charcoal, suitable for radiocarbon dates. This theory is however not very likely as firewood would be accessible already from the time the first pioneer settlers entered the region (Sørensen et al, 2014a), and thus far we have no evidence of the use of seal oil of blubber in Southern Norway (Åstveit, 2014; but see Petterson and Wikell, 2014).…”

Section: Summed Radiocarbon Probability Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early and mid-Holocene coastal settlement and demography in southeastern Norway: Comparing distribution of radiocarbon dates and shoreline-dated sites, 8500–2000 cal. BCE

Solheim

Persson

2018

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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In this paper we explore temporal variation in demography and settlement intensity in southeastern Norway during the Early and mid-Holocene. In order to investigate the temporal variation in demography and settlement we have applied and compared two different proxies: Summed radiocarbon probability distributions and site count data of shoreline-dated sites. The proxies display similar patterns, and we suggest that they indicate stability in settlement in the coastal areas of southeastern Norway between 8500 cal. BCE and 2000 cal. BCE.

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Settlements and Seafaring: Reflections on the Integration of Boats and Settlements Among Marine Foragers in Early Mesolithic Norway and the Yámana of Tierra del Fuego

Cited by 36 publications

References 24 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

A new early Holocene shoreline displacement record for Blekinge, southern Sweden, and implications for underwater archaeology

Early and mid-Holocene coastal settlement and demography in southeastern Norway: Comparing distribution of radiocarbon dates and shoreline-dated sites, 8500–2000 cal. BCE

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Settlements and Seafaring: Reflections on the Integration of Boats and Settlements Among Marine Foragers in Early Mesolithic Norway and the Yámana of Tierra del Fuego

Cited by 36 publications

References 24 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

A new early Holocene shoreline displacement record for Blekinge, southern Sweden, and implications for underwater archaeology

Early and mid-Holocene coastal settlement and demography in southeastern Norway: Comparing distribution of radiocarbon dates and shoreline-dated sites, 8500–2000 cal. BCE

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Early and mid-Holocene coastal settlement and demography in southeastern Norway: Comparing distribution of radiocarbon dates and shoreline-dated sites, 8500–2000 cal. BCE