The Late Stone Age of Arctic Norway: A Review

• Published in: Arctic anthropology 1985-01, Vol.22 (1), p.79-96
• Main Author: Engelstad, Ericka
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: America and Arctic regions; Arctic regions; Bones; Hunter gatherers; Iron age; Prehistory; Prehistory and protohistory; Radiocarbon dating; Reindeer; Rock carvings; Slates; Stone age; Stone tools
• ISSN: 0066-6939; 1933-8139

The history of archaeological research, the cultural characteristics, and the chronology of the Late Stone Age are presented. Recent research, which is changing our previous understanding of the area's prehistory, is described. New data and interpretations include: (1) variation in assemblage patterning shown through multivariate statistical analysis, (2) a reevaluation of the chronological system which shows that sites and periods date at least 1000 years earlier than previously believed, (3) a better understanding of house-site relationships and the composition of villages and house clusters, (4) new analyses of midden material and reevaluation of previous osteological analyses showing greater variation in resource utilization and seasonality of habitation, (5) archaeological and pollen evidence indicate agriculture and animal husbandry at c. 5000-4000 B. P., (6) new surveys of the interior reveal a greater utilization of this area, and (7) analyses of the newly discovered rock carving areas in Alta which have established a chronological sequence of changes in the form, association, and meaning of figures. The socioeconomic and symbolic systems which are now being defined for the Late Stone Age exemplify the diversity and flexibility of arctic maritime adaptations.