Chronological aspects of the Hensbacka – a group of hunter-gatherers/fishers on the west coast of Sweden during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition
an example of early coastal colonization
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1080/21662282.2016.1141490Keywords:
Shore displacement, Risveden transgression, diamictonAbstract
In this short article, we take a brief but concise look at chronological, and to a limited extent environmental and typological, aspects of the Hensbacka culture group in Bohuslän. Due to the extensive nature of the group in time and space, it is reasonable to refer to members of this group as colonizers – even if other groups may have visited western Sweden prior to the Hensbacka. Granted, the title is provocative but it should be made clear that we are addressing the Hensbacka group as we know it today, and not in the mid-1950s. In addition, and fairly obvious, it is only the Swedish west coast that is taken into consideration, since this particular area had an extensive seasonal population during the close of the Late Pleistocene and beginning of early Holocene; one that is difficult to find elsewhere in Scandinavia.
References
Anundsen, K., 1985. Changes in shore-level and ice-front position in Late Weichsel and Holocene, southern Norway. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography, 39, 204-225. https://doi.org/10.1080/00291958508552149
Bennike, O., et al., 2004, Late- and postglacial history of the Great Belt, Denmark. Boreas, Vol.33 (Oslo), 18-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/03009480310006952
Bogen, C., Hilgers, A., Kaiser, K., Kühn, P., Lidke, G., 2003, Archäologie, Pedologie und Geochronologie spätpaläolithischer Fundplätze in der Ueckermünder Heide (Kr..Uecker-Randow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt, 33 (2003), 1-20.
Björck, S. and Digerfeldt, G., 1991, Allerød-Younger Dryas sea level changes in southwestern Sweden and their relation to the Baltic Ice Lake development. Boreas, 20 (2), 115-133. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1991.tb00301.x
Cullberg, C. and Kindgren, H., 1999. Omständigheter kring den Arkeologiska undersökningen Stenåldersboplats 157 F/ Å. Rapport 1999:37, Bohusläns Museum.
Fischer, A., 1985, Late Palaeolithic Finds. Archaeological Formation Processes, 6, 81-88.
Fjeldskaar, W. and Kanestrøm, R., 1981. The isostatic process in Fennoscandia and inferred lithosphere and mantle rheology. In: W. Fjeldskaar, ed. Late-Glacial movements of sea-level and crust in Fennoscandia. Dr. Scient. Thesis, Bergen: University of Bergen 93-145.
Fredén, C., 1988. Marine life and deglaciation chronology of the Vänern basin southwestern Sweden. Uppsala: Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning, Ca 71, 1-80.
Fredsjö, Å., 1953. Studier i Västsveriges alder stenålder. Goteborg: Arkeologiska Museet I Göteborg, Sweden. P, 1-193.
Jakobsson, M., et al., 2007. Reconstructing the Younger Dryas ice dammed lake in the Baltic Basin: Bathymetry, area and volume. Global and Planetary Change, 57, 355-370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2007.01.006
Jensen, J.B., et al., 2005, The Storebælt gateway to the Baltic. Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. Bulletin, 7, 45-48. https://doi.org/10.34194/geusb.v7.4831
Kaiser, K. and Clausen, I., 2005, Palaeopedology and Stratigraphy of the Late Palaeolithic Alt Duvenstedt site, Schleswig-Holstein (Northwest Germany). Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt, 35.4 (2005), 447-466.
Krzywinski, K. and Stabell, B., 1984. Late Weichselian sea-level changes at Sotra, Hordaland, Western Norway. Boreas, 13, 159-202. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1984.tb00069.x
Landvik, J.Y., Mangerrud, J., and Salvigsen, O., 1987. The Late Weichselian and Holocene shoreline displacement on the west-central coast of Svalbard. Polar Research, 5, N.S. 29-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-8369.1987.tb00353.x
Lohne, Ø.S., et al., 2007, Sea-level fluctuations imply that the Younger Dryas ice-sheet expansion in western Norway commenced during the Allerød. Quaternary Science Reviews, 26 (17-18), 2128-2151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.04.008
Madsen, B., 1996. Late Palaeolithic Culture of South Scandinavia - Tools, Traditions and Technology. In: L. Larsson, ed. The Earliest Settlement of Scandinavia and its relationship with neighbouring areas. Lund University, Sweden: Acta Archaeologica Lundensia Series in 80, No. 24, 62-73.
Munch-Ellingsen, B., 1984. Sen Weichel lithofacies og Geologisk utvikling på Breivikeidet, Troms. (Late Weichselian lithofacies and geological development at Breivikeidet, Troms.). Unpublished cand. scient. (Masters) thesis (in Norwegian) University of Tromsø, p.173
Påsse, T. and Andersson, L., 2005, Shore-level displacement in Fennoscandia calculated from empirical data. Geologiska Föreningens I Stockholm Förhandlingar, 127, 253-268. https://doi.org/10.1080/11035890501274253
Petersen, P.V., 2004, Jagten på Anholts ukendte Ørkenfolk. Aktuel Arkæologi, Nr.6 (December), 1-5.
Rundgren, M., et al., 1997. Dynamic sea-level change during the last deglaciation of northern Iceland. Boreas, 26, 201- 215. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1997.tb00852.x
Schmitt, L., 1994, The Hensbacka: a subsistence strategy of Continental hunter-gatherers, or an adaptation at the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary? Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 13 (3), 245-263. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.1994.13.issue-3
Schmitt, L., 1999b. RAÄ-205, Nösund; an archaeological site at the interface of the Late Palaeolithic and early Mesolithic in the archipelago of western Sweden. A final report concerning the excavations at RAÄ-205. GOTARC Serie D, 99-2217638-6; 76. Libris 11774382.
Schmitt, L., 2013a, A note concerning flake axes and umiaks. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 32 (1), 119-22. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12005
Schmitt, L., 2013b, Directly Dating an Archaeological Site on a Raised Beach in Coastal Sweden. The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 8 (3), 436-442. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2013.809828
Schmitt, L., 2015a, The Continental Connection: a Coastal Excursion in Time, Geography and Culture. Norwegian Archaeological Review, 48 (1), 21-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/00293652.2015.1013152
Schmitt, L., 2015b, Early Colonization, Glacial Melt Water, and Island Mass Effect in The Archipelago of Western Sweden: A Case History. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 34 (2), 109-117. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.2015.34.issue-2
Schmitt, L., et al., 2009, Chronological insights, cultural change, and resource exploitation on the west coast of Sweden during the Late Palaeolithic/early Mesolithic transition. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 28 (1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.2009.28.issue-1
Schmitt, L., et al., 2006, "Why they came"; the colonization of the coast of western Sweden and its environmental context at the end of the last glaciation. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 25 (1), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0092.2006.00246.x
Sørensen, S.A., 1996. Kongemosekulturen i Sydskandinavien. Museet på Færgegården: Egnsmuseet Færgegården, Denmark, 1-192.
Svedhage, K., 1985. Shore displacement during Late Weichselian and Early Holocene in the Risveden area. SW Sweden (Thesis A51) Department of Geology, Chalmers University of Technology/University of Göteborg.
Thomsen, H., 1982. Late Weichselian shore-level displacement on Nord-Jæren, south-west Norway. Geologiska Föreningen i Stockholm Förhandlingar, 103, 447-468. https://doi.org/10.1080/11035898209453724
Weber, M.-J., Grimm, S.B., and Baales, M., 2011, Between warm and cold: Impact of the Younger Dryas on human behavior in Central Europe. Quaternary International, 242 (2), 277-301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2010.12.002
Wohlfarth, B., et al., 2008, Quaternary of Norden. Episodes, 31 (1), 73-81. https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2008/v31i1/011
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Counting from volume 11 (2022), articles published in DJA are licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). The editorial board may accept other Creative Commons licenses for individual articles, if required by funding bodies e.g. the European Research Council. With the publication of volume 11, authors retain copyright to their articles and give DJA the right to the first publication. The authors retain copyright to earlier versions of the articles, such as the submitted and the accepted manuscript.
Articles in volume 1-8 are not licensed under Creative Commons. In these volumes, all rights are reserved to DJA. This implies that readers can download, read, and link to the articles, but they cannot republish the articles. Authors can upload their articles in an institutional repository as a part of a green open access policy.
Articles in volume 9-10 are not licensed under Creative Commons. In these volumes, all rights are reserved to the authors of the articles respectively. This implies that readers can download, read, and link to the articles, but they cannot republish the articles. Authors can upload their articles in an institutional repository.
