A chaine operatoire analysis of the early Mesolithic site Mohalsen-I, Vega

The Early Mesolithic site Mohalsen-I on Vega, radiocarbon dated to about 10 700 – 10 500 cal. BP., is one of very few known Preboreal sites discovered along the coast of Helgeland in northern Norway. The site has been subjected to two excavations approximately 40 years apart, notably 1974 and 2012-2013. Both excavations were conducted due to erosion and sand drift that is a result of heavy winds. Stone Age sites have often been subject to typological and morphological studies where very little emphasis has been placed on the technological aspect of the material, this also applies to sites along the western coast of Norway, and especially the northern part of this area. The scope of this study is to investigate the technological aspect of an Early Mesolithic site by applying the chaîne opératoire approach to the material, thus also try to reveal the utilisation of the site in terms of activities, how many times it was visited and how long the people that visited it stayed for. On a “macro” analytical level it is also interesting to see how the site can be understood in relation to its contemporary age, while on a “micro” analytical level it would be interesting to see if it is possible to understand the people that visited the site more than 10 000 years ago through the traces they left. It is also an aim to find out how much difference there will be in the analyses conducted on material from two very different excavation methods. The analyses revealed that the site had been visited at least twice, however not on the exact same spot, perhaps by a family group that came back twice. Two activity zones could be seen on both parts of the site, however, there is uncertainty whether the activity zones on the eastern part of the site were a result of the same visit or not. The analyses also revealed an extensive amount of different activities conducted in the zones, indicating that the site was a multipurpose residential site as opposed to for example a butchering site. The excavations were for the most part divided between the two different areas that revealed the different visits, thus making a comparison between the obtainable information from two different excavation methods easier than if the excavations had mixed the inventory between them. The analyses revealed that excavations of Stone Age sites must be conducted in such a manner that there is very little doubt to where the different artefacts were found, both horizontally as well as vertically.