Fosna–Hensbacka culture

gigatos | June 1, 2022

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Summary

The Fosna-Hensbacka culture is a cultural complex that exists in both Sweden and Norway. The link to the Ahrensburg culture is made, among others, by Graham Clark in The earlier Stone Age settlement of Scandinavia The group lived by hunting, fishing and gathering. The culture is dated to the Early Stone Age, ending around 7600 BC, and can be related as a successor to the Paleolithic Ahrensburg culture in northern Germany. Research in Bohuslän by Lou Schmitt has suggested that people from the Ahrensburg culture moved seasonally to the Bohuslän coast.

The Fosna culture is named after Fosna in the Kristiansund archipelago and was originally spoken of along the west coast of central Norway and along the Oslo Fjord. Today there are also finds on the south coast of Norway and in the formerly empty area between Trondheim and Tromsø there are also settlements.The culture was originally described by the Norwegian archaeologist Anders Nummedal. The Fosna culture is closely related to the Hensbacka culture on the west coast of Sweden. In more northern Norway, the contemporary Komsa culture is found, which was also discovered by Nummedal. These are often sea-anchored settlements on the fragmented, island-rich, rocky west coast of northern Scandinavia. In recent years, settlements have also been found inland.

Flint was the main raw material. The older part of the Phosna culture was therefore often called the flint phase.

Only stone and flint tools and the waste from tool production have been preserved at the settlements. The culture”s lead artefacts consist of: core axes, but mainly disc axes, microliths, single-edged toe-tips, needles and various paring tools. Its tools are based on the production of shavings from platform cores. (not cylindrical cores or handle cores).

The first finds from the Phosaic culture were made by Anders Nummedal, at Voldvatnet on the island of Nordlandet in Kristiansund. Nummedal was a teacher with a great interest in geology and archaeology. It was while studying post-glacial shorelines that he discovered worked flint high in the terrain.

In a letter from 1910 to Karl Ditlev Rygh at the Trondheim Museum, Nummedal writes: “Last Wednesday I decided to look for flint at Kirklandet in Kristiansund. I searched in all places where the ground was bare due to digging or cleared. The results surprised me: in every place I visited I found flint worked by people. Subsequent searches at Kirklandet and Nordlandet have yielded the same results. I now know of 15 sites in and around the city of Kristiansund.

At the same time, he published an article in Romsdals Amtstidende in which he presented his finds as 5000 years old and that he had found as many disc axes on Kirkelandet as had previously been found in the whole of Norway. The newspaper article caused a stir among archaeologists in Norway, who were not convinced. Things got even worse on 4 November 1910 when Nummedal published an article in Romsdals Amtstidende entitled Stone Age settlements around Kristiansund,in Norway inhabited during the Palaeolithic period. Rygh”s response that the fact that there are artifacts in the larger material that resemble types from the Central European Palaeolithic does not prove that these artifacts belong to this period. Nothing in the collection can be dated earlier than the Neolithic.

In subsequent years, Nummedal undertook major survey work, and found similar settlements on Nordvestlandet and further south on the Vestland coast, and in the Oslofjord area. When it became clear that these settlements were part of a larger complex of sites, they were named after the first finds after Kristiansund”s alternative name, Fosna.

The origin and dating of the Fosna culture has been debated since its discovery. In Karl Rygh”s first publication in 1911, he links the finds to the southern Scandinavian Ertebølle culture. Nummedal argued that the finds were older. He could not point to any direct parallels with finds on the continent, so he assumed that the Phosna people originated in the North Sea mainland, what is now called Doggerland.

In 1921 Nummedal was employed at the Oslo Archaeological Museum and continued with several investigations and published short descriptive papers. His 1922 work The Older Stone Age Spring is a more nuanced interpretation of his fieldwork during the last decade. His main interest was the dating of these early Stone Age settlements. The Norwegian finds were different from the Danish Ertebölle finds and were more similar to Danish Maglemose types. The Norwegian artefact collections also contained Late Palaeolithic forms that had not been found elsewhere in Scandinavia, he argued. His systematic investigations of high marine shells and moraines along the central coast of Norway supported that mollusk remains had been deposited in a colder climate, and that the coast was exposed during an early part of the post-glacial period. Geological data did not contradict older dates for these settlements. His views expressed in newspaper articles in the early 1910s were now gaining more support among Norwegian archaeologists, for example in H Shetlig Primitive times in Norway: an overview of the Stone Age.

In 2020, there is much more material to build on and completely different dating tools than in the early 20th century. Research can now more easily draw parallels with archaeological discoveries on the continent. In the first phase of immigration, the Ahrensburg culture in particular has emerged as a clear candidate. It is important to emphasise that these early Mesolithic cultures (Ahrensburg, fosna, hensbacka and maglemose) are scientific concepts created by scientists in our time, and have very little to do with how people of the time perceived themselves.

Högnipan

The settlement is located on the border between Sarpsborg and Rakkestad. Högnipan was thought to be Norway”s oldest settlements because they were located at an altitude of 150-160 metres and they had been beach settlements and were interpreted as being 10,000 years old. The settlements were discovered in the interwar period, and Anders Nummedal undertook a small trial excavation. In 1961 the site was investigated by Erling Johansen. The finds at the site support the high shoreline dating: ahrensburg-type toe spikes, lanceolate microliths and single-edged arrows, and disc axes and sticks.

The settlements were located in an archipelago with ice caps nearby. The area of the settlement was located on a series of islets and islets outside the ice edge. The sea level was 150 metres higher than today. The three settlements are close to each other, nowadays on the edge of two small marshes, Rörmyr and Mellanmyr. Only the Rörmyr II material has been scientifically processed and published. A stone formation at one of the other settlements has been interpreted as a floor of a hut, and traces of a shelter at another. At the Rörmyr II site, 100 square metres were excavated. Three accumulations of flint with 600 tools and flakes were found. Two hearths were detected and the finds were located around these The site is interpreted as a short-term residence, a hunting station. Marine resources were exploited and boats must have been used. There is a natural site. The group size was small. The site was used to make and repair hunting weapons before moving on.

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Galta

But then a settlement at Galta on Rennesøy in Ryfylke, dated to between 10 500 and 9300 BP, was calibrated to c. 9400 BC, there is great uncertainty in the dating. Archaeologically, the site is known for several Stone Age settlements. The oldest of them, Galta 3 was investigated in 1989-1990. Until 2007, Galta 3 was the oldest site on the coast of southern Norway. The artefacts found at the site suggest that the Stone Age people here belonged to the cultural group that archaeologists call the Ahrensburg culture. The whole area of what is now the North Sea was solid land, Doggerland. It may have been possible to paddle across the Norwegian Channel in skin boats, but they may also have taken the route along the west coast of Sweden, which is the route archaeologists consider most likely in their interpretations.

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Möre and Romsdal

In Møre and Romsdal, from 1990 until 2007, major new discoveries of phosphatic cultures have been made at Tjeldbergodden in Aure municipality, at Nyhavna on Gossen in Aukra, at Hestvikholmane in Averøy (see below) and at Kvernberget and Orvikan on Nordlandet in Kristiansund. All these surveys were carried out in connection with the expansion of oil and gas operations on the basin outside central Norway, as well as developments for transport, business, and industry.

The survey at Nyhavna was Norway”s largest survey, employing a total of 65 years of work, with 123 excavating archaeologists and students during the 14-month field period. Leader Hein Bjerck estimates that around 250 people have been directly involved in the project. The cost of the project was over NOK 80 million. The site was excavated for the construction of a gas plant to receive gas from the Ormen Långe field in the North Sea. The results were published in a book, Ormen Lange Nyhamna. NTNU Vitenskapsmuseets arkeologiske undersøkelser in over 600 pages

Hestvikholmane

Site 1 has probable traces of various activities in several periods. The oldest Early Mesolithic phase has had several areas of activity and a possible floor surface. The Early Mesolithic part of Site 1 may be the result of several separate and relatively short-term visits, but it appears to be different types of activity towards Site 2. The interpreted floor surface of Site 2 appears to have been kept to some extent clean from refuse deposits.

In contrast, at site 1, both the amount of waste and the fact that waste has been cleared away indoors may indicate that the camp has been lived in for a few days, or that the same campsite has been planned to be used several times. A pebble inlay on the S 14 nest surface has been partially applied and this has taken some time, which points towards longer term use of the surface.

Reinsvatnet and reindeer hunting in Fosnakulture

During one week in 2007, the R1 site was excavated to the extent that time allowed. Only once in 2007 had the site been above the water level. The preserved peat layers were also intact in spring 2009. 25 square metres were then examined and 3000 flint flakes, tool remains, skins and other flint material came to light. The amount of finds is small compared to the large coastal settlements and indicates fewer people over a shorter period than on the coastal settlements. North of a large stone, the finds were most dense and included the remains of a hearth. The finds were located in two concentrations that are likely workplaces. Investigations at Reinsvatnet in Sunndal municipality in 2006 and 2009 revealed several settlements and settlement R1 gave early C14 dates of 10900-10430 BP.Previously it was thought that the phosphatic culture was coastal and that inland sites were the exception. The discovery of the phosphatic character in the Storlidalen, led to the abandonment of this view. The Phosna people had, presumably seasonally, hunted the interior of the country. It was the reindeer that attracted. The settlement at Innvik was therefore better explained. This has been confirmed by the many recent finds in the Sunndalsfjällen.

The site was a reindeer-hunting settlement, as shown by the large number of arrowheads in the finds, many more than in the coastal settlements. Only one disc axe was found, which is common at coastal sites. The quantity of finds suggests that the site was only used for one year. Around Lake Reinsvatnet, 8 settlements have been found. The finds have led to several new finds in Turbodalen. Sites are found at hydroelectric dams when the water level is low and the flint has become bare after the surrounding peat has been eroded away by the water. The site at Sandvatnet has tools from the same period as R1. The site is normally located below the water level on a small headland. In 2009, the remains of two structures, stone rings in the sand, that were once hearths, were visible.

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Oldest settlement Pauler 1

One of these settlements in Vestfold, Pauler 1, dated to about 10,200 BP (calibrated ca. 9800 BC) and is today considered the oldest found in Norway. The oldest settlement is more than 127 metres above sea level. 11000 years ago this was a quiet bay on the seashore with a sandy beach. Perhaps the ice sheet was visible when the settlement was inhabited. The find has attracted international attention. The finds at the site included a tent ring, fireplaces and over 7000 items: arrowheads, axes, scrapers, needles and a lot of waste from tool production. The site is located on the mountain above the Paulertunnel on the E18 through Larvik. In Vestfold, more finds were made in 2007 along the new E18 route from Farriseidet near Larvik to Langangen in Porsgrunn. These sites were excavated in 2007 and 2008.

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Skeleton finds

Another find that has attracted a lot of interest is the so-called Sol-funnet from Søgne, made in 1994. The Søgne woman is Norway”s second oldest skeletal find. In Aust-Agder, excavations were carried out in 2014 and 2015 along the new E18 on the Arendal – Tvedestrand route, including at Sagenei Austre Moland and at Kvarstad in Tvedestrand.

Outdated race theories

In the first half of the 20th century, the linguist K.B. Wiklund argued that the Sami”s particular “anthropological type” must have developed during a long period of isolation from other ethnic groups. The very old remains of the Fosna and Komsa cultures, which indicated that people had been able to spend the winter on the sea coast during the Ice Age, fitted in well with this theory. Wiklund also thought that the contemporary population of Möre County and Sunnfjord, where the Fosna culture was found, was of a “very close anthropological type” to the Sami of northernmost Norway. This theory must today be considered obsolete and highly improbable. Wiklund”s theory is based on racial theories that have now been abandoned.

The Hensbacka culture is a Mesolithic archaeological culture in western Sweden, named after a settlement in Foss parish in Munkedals municipality in Bohuslän, ancient monument 244 in Foss parish. It is referred to as the Hensbacka culture on the Swedish side up to the Oslofjord. In southern Scandinavia, it corresponds to the Maglemose culture. The number of Hensbacka settlements in Bohuslän is very large and is estimated at over 10 000.

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The Hensbacka site

Quotes from Cultural Landscapes and Ancient Monuments in the Hensbacka-Brevik Programme Area published by Bohuslän Museum: “Around the farm (Hensbacka), settlements from the Older Stone Age have been found (Foss 244), which gave their name to the so-called Hensbacka culture, well known in archaeology. A total of some 7000 flint finds have been unearthed or excavated here. Foss 244 is an area of Stone Age settlements within an area of approximately 475-200×425-150 metres (north-south) on both sides of the deep ravine of Åsanebäcken. The site has given its name to the Mesolithic “Hensbacka culture” (c. 9000-7700 BC). The settlements within Foss 244 are difficult to define and are probably located at different levels.Few and limited investigations have been made of the Hensbacka site. Much of the material from the site has come from cultivation and has been found by different people over a long period of time. The first finds from the site were submitted to the National Historical Museum in 1908 and 1909 (Niklasson 1965).”

Hensbacka is an early Mesolithic settlement not far from Saltkällefjorden, which is one of the innermost parts of the great Gullmaren that almost splits Bohuslän in two right here. During the time of the settlement it reached even further inland. The level of the settlement is now about 65-90 metres above sea level and the water then reached in large straits, including at Munkedal, into Lake Vänern. Just at Hensbacka the fjord went south down to Uddevalla and the next fjord, Byfjorden. It is in this archipelago that we should think of the settlement”s canoes and huts by a stream that fell into the fjord.

The inhabitants of the settlement made their living by hunting, trapping and fishing on the sea and islands with preboreal flora and fauna. It was probably a seasonal settlement during the summer. At Hensbacka, repeated picking and excavations have taken place. Parts of the settlement have probably been destroyed by the strong erosion of the creek and lie collapsed on its slopes.

In some of the oldest settlements in Norrland, including Jämtland and Härjedalen (Övre Särvsjön), there are finds with the same forms and techniques as in the Phosaic culture. This has been interpreted to mean that the finds were left behind by people who otherwise lived on the Norwegian coast but who seasonally hunted inland while the last remnants of the ice sheet were still present.

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