Peopling Prehistoric Coastlines: Identifying Mid-Holocene Forager Settlement Strategies in Northern Norway
Abstract In circumpolar regions, coastlines offer rich constellations of diverse resources and have long been a focus of human habitation. Despite the rich archaeological records that are located along many northern coastlines, there is a relatively limited understanding of the range of factors that...
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Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2021
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11457-021-09316-x https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11457-021-09316-x.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11457-021-09316-x/fulltext.html |
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crspringernat:10.1007/s11457-021-09316-x 2023-05-15T17:22:48+02:00 Peopling Prehistoric Coastlines: Identifying Mid-Holocene Forager Settlement Strategies in Northern Norway Damm, Charlotte Brysting Skandfer, Marianne Jordan, Peter D. Norges Forskningsråd UiT The Arctic University of Norway 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11457-021-09316-x https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11457-021-09316-x.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11457-021-09316-x/fulltext.html en eng Springer Science and Business Media LLC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY Journal of Maritime Archaeology ISSN 1557-2285 1557-2293 Archaeology journal-article 2021 crspringernat https://doi.org/10.1007/s11457-021-09316-x 2022-01-04T13:40:22Z Abstract In circumpolar regions, coastlines offer rich constellations of diverse resources and have long been a focus of human habitation. Despite the rich archaeological records that are located along many northern coastlines, there is a relatively limited understanding of the range of factors that informed local settlement strategies. Northern Norway has one of the world’s longest and best-preserved archaeological records of coastal habitation due to post-glacial uplift. Occupation begins in the early Holocene and appears to peak in the mid-Holocene. Our aim in this paper is to investigate the constraints and opportunities that informed the mid-Holocene settlement patterns, between c. 5000 and 0 BC. We present new data that were generated by intensive field surveys and undertake a qualitative multi-scalar analysis of site-locational choices, evaluating the influences of geography, topography and seasonal resource availability. Having identified stretches of the rugged coast as uninhabitable, we proceeded with analyses of the rest of the coastline. Our results indicate that all major settlements were sited to provide safe boat landing, good vantage points and shelter from storms. From these habitation sites, boat technology would have provided flexible access to diverse resources that were available throughout the year, and within a limited travel radius. We also demonstrate that these settlement strategies contrast with the way that the same coastlines were inhabited by pioneering groups in the early Holocene but appear to have some similarities with mid-Holocene coastal settlement patterns in Newfoundland and the Aleutian Islands. Overall, our results suggest that the multiple resources available along northern coastlines often enabled populations to occupy relatively localized areas for long periods. Longer-range mobility and interaction may instead have been primarily driven by socio-political factors rather than subsistence needs. Article in Journal/Newspaper Newfoundland Northern Norway Aleutian Islands Springer Nature (via Crossref) Norway Journal of Maritime Archaeology 17 1 131 160 |
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Springer Nature (via Crossref) |
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crspringernat |
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English |
topic |
Archaeology |
spellingShingle |
Archaeology Damm, Charlotte Brysting Skandfer, Marianne Jordan, Peter D. Peopling Prehistoric Coastlines: Identifying Mid-Holocene Forager Settlement Strategies in Northern Norway |
topic_facet |
Archaeology |
description |
Abstract In circumpolar regions, coastlines offer rich constellations of diverse resources and have long been a focus of human habitation. Despite the rich archaeological records that are located along many northern coastlines, there is a relatively limited understanding of the range of factors that informed local settlement strategies. Northern Norway has one of the world’s longest and best-preserved archaeological records of coastal habitation due to post-glacial uplift. Occupation begins in the early Holocene and appears to peak in the mid-Holocene. Our aim in this paper is to investigate the constraints and opportunities that informed the mid-Holocene settlement patterns, between c. 5000 and 0 BC. We present new data that were generated by intensive field surveys and undertake a qualitative multi-scalar analysis of site-locational choices, evaluating the influences of geography, topography and seasonal resource availability. Having identified stretches of the rugged coast as uninhabitable, we proceeded with analyses of the rest of the coastline. Our results indicate that all major settlements were sited to provide safe boat landing, good vantage points and shelter from storms. From these habitation sites, boat technology would have provided flexible access to diverse resources that were available throughout the year, and within a limited travel radius. We also demonstrate that these settlement strategies contrast with the way that the same coastlines were inhabited by pioneering groups in the early Holocene but appear to have some similarities with mid-Holocene coastal settlement patterns in Newfoundland and the Aleutian Islands. Overall, our results suggest that the multiple resources available along northern coastlines often enabled populations to occupy relatively localized areas for long periods. Longer-range mobility and interaction may instead have been primarily driven by socio-political factors rather than subsistence needs. |
author2 |
Norges Forskningsråd UiT The Arctic University of Norway |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Damm, Charlotte Brysting Skandfer, Marianne Jordan, Peter D. |
author_facet |
Damm, Charlotte Brysting Skandfer, Marianne Jordan, Peter D. |
author_sort |
Damm, Charlotte Brysting |
title |
Peopling Prehistoric Coastlines: Identifying Mid-Holocene Forager Settlement Strategies in Northern Norway |
title_short |
Peopling Prehistoric Coastlines: Identifying Mid-Holocene Forager Settlement Strategies in Northern Norway |
title_full |
Peopling Prehistoric Coastlines: Identifying Mid-Holocene Forager Settlement Strategies in Northern Norway |
title_fullStr |
Peopling Prehistoric Coastlines: Identifying Mid-Holocene Forager Settlement Strategies in Northern Norway |
title_full_unstemmed |
Peopling Prehistoric Coastlines: Identifying Mid-Holocene Forager Settlement Strategies in Northern Norway |
title_sort |
peopling prehistoric coastlines: identifying mid-holocene forager settlement strategies in northern norway |
publisher |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11457-021-09316-x https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11457-021-09316-x.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11457-021-09316-x/fulltext.html |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Newfoundland Northern Norway Aleutian Islands |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland Northern Norway Aleutian Islands |
op_source |
Journal of Maritime Archaeology ISSN 1557-2285 1557-2293 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11457-021-09316-x |
container_title |
Journal of Maritime Archaeology |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
131 |
op_container_end_page |
160 |
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1766109665119174656 |