Excavations at a Younger Stone Age settlement in Varangerfjord, Norway

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Author: Renouf, M. A. P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1986
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Norway; Polar Record; Varanger; Varangerfjord; Varangerfjord*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400007105; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400007105

ABSTRACT In 1978 the Younger Stone Age (6500–1800 BP) site of Nyelv Nedre Vest in Varangerfjord, northeastern Norway, was partly excavated before road widening, allowing reassessment of Younger Stone Age settlement patterns in die area. Early settlement in Varanger was formerly thought to involve regular seasonal movements between sites. Analysis of faunal refuse from Nyelv Nedre Vest now indicates year- round occupation, and re-examination of data from other inner fjord sites suggests diat they too might have housed sedentary or semi- sedentary populations. Special-purpose satellite' camps seem also to have been associated with these settlements. This settlement pattern has implications for other aspects of the social group, and the results of the analysis are relevant to other settlement studies in northern maritime regions.