Vestvågøy
Theme - 11
Stone Age
Early Stone Age
The prehistory of Northern Norway is usually divided into Early Stone Age, Late Stone Age and Early Metal Age, and the periods are characterised by the use of different technology and the presence of different forms of social organisation.
- 30 000 years ago Northern Norway was covered
by a heavy ice sheet, part of the glacier that
covered Scandinavia and northern Germany. Around
13 - 14 000 years ago the glacier retreated from
the coast, and at around 11 000 years ago also
the inner parts of the fjords were free. Some
thousand years later the interior was free of
ice.
- When the weight of the glacier disappeared,
the land started to rise. However, due to
melting of the glaciers, the ocean also rose in
the period between 6 400 and 3 800 BC. In some
areas the land raised enough to equal the rising
of the sea, but along the outer coast, where the
land rose more slowly, several settlements were
eventually flooded.
- As a consequence of the movement of the ice, changes in the landscape took place. Around 8000 B.C. the ice age was over, the climate got better and the environment changed from open areas of tundra into more forested areas. In a short time, hunters used the whole coastline from north to the south.
The traces of settlement are mainly situated in areas with access to the ocean from several sides. Most sites are open settlements without obvious visible structures, sometimes tent-rings and foundations for shelters are found, indicating movement between different sites. As the ice retreated, new areas seem to have been more attractive. The earliest dwellings are vague and without clearly marked walls, an indication of high mobility.
Later the dwellings increase in number, size and visibility, a result of more sedentary lifestyles. The house types reminds of traditional Sámi earthen houses, with walls of turf and a central hearth. During the Stone Age people lived in small tent-like houses, caves and huts.
In the period between early melting and complete disappearance of the glacier the landscape was open, and the vegetation was characterised by small bushes, shrubs and grass. Eventually small forests of birch started to form, and from 6 500 BC also pine grew at sheltered places. Between 7 000 and 3 800 BC there was a period of warmer climate with median temperature 1,5 - 2 degrees C higher than today.
The
main archaeological material is stone tools and
remains from the production of those. (Stone tools
like arrowheads, spearheads, knifes, scrapers and
axes). Local stone types have been preferred, like
quartzite, rock crystal, chert and white quartz. A
small amount of flint is found (imported). The
tools were of similar shape and function, but the
raw materials differed over distances.
The coast of Northern Norway has been settled from the earliest periods until today. However, who these people were and where they came from is uncertain. Two theories have been put forth: the people came from the east, or, the people followed the ice-edge northwards as the glaciers withdrew from the coasts. The oldest remains of human culture seem to trace back to Early Stone Age, probably around 10 000 BP, but appears both in the north and the south. Still researchers discuss whether the immigration to Norway came from the north or the south, and proof of early man exists in both areas.
Artefacts and dwellings in this part of the country inform us that through all ages people have been in close contact with other groups of people. Trade relations and social relations have encompassed large areas. The presence of tools used in the hunting of sea mammals, indicate the importance marine resources had for people also in prehistory.
Late Stone Age
Several changes took place during the change between Early and Late Stone Age, among them the technology for the production of tools. Pottery becomes a part of the archaeological material.
After living by hunting, fishing and gathering, people start to keep animals and cultivate barley around 4000 B.C. The organisation of settlement is changing and the construction of buildings develops
Still the rising of the land continues and the shoreline is falling, though more slowly than earlier. The warm period towards the end of the Early Stone Age ceases around 4000 BC, and the climate is gradually cooling during the Late Stone Age. As a consequence, a de-forestation takes place in the outer coastal areas. In the north the large forests disappear, and around 1800 BC the vegetation is approximately like today. A further consequence of harder climatic conditions is that resources like elk and reindeer become more unpredictable. On the other hand, marine resources are more stable.
New
raw material is taken into use, like in the north
where slate is frequently used in this period.
Chert and finer quartzite are replaced by more
coarse-grained types of stone (coarse quartzite and
quartz). New techniques developed i.e. techniques
for grinding and pressure flaking. Excavations show
that slate seems to have been more in use at the
coastline than the interior. Slate tools are often
used in connection with hunting of sea mammals like
seal and whale. From this period we have found
quite a lot of artefacts made of bone and antler:
fishing hooks, harpoons, needles, combs and
awls.
In the north, a number of dwellings tell about life in the Late Stone Age. The houses vary in size, and there is a sedentary pattern of settlement, with movement between interior and coast. The transition from Late Stone Age to Early Metal Age is characterised by a strong dichotomy between (semi) sedentary coastal groups and mobile interior groups.
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