Hunting Elk at the Foot of the Mountains: Remains from 8000 Years of Foraging at the Edge of the Hardangervidda Plateau in Southern Norway

Parallel with a massive deglaciation in the Early Mesolithic of Norway, the open landscape with an ice age fauna was replaced by forest and less cold-tolerant species. Elk (Alces alces) soon established routs of seasonal migration, and from early on strategic places along these paths became important hunting grounds. The Røytjønna area (c. 740 m above sea level) forms a bottleneck through which a elk migration route runs. A high number of elk passes this bottleneck formation every spring and autumn. Excavation of 21 Stone Age sites, combined with surface surveys, has resulted in the recovery of large quantities of cremated bone, lithic artefacts, a house pit and hearths. This gives a detailed insight into the past hunting activity. Artifacts and radiocarbon dating of bones dates the beginning of this hunting tradition to the Middle Mesolithic (c. 6500 BC). In addition, sites from Late Mesolithic and younger periods have been studied. This paper will discuss the beginning and developments in this extremely long-lasting hunting tradition, within a local and regional perspective.