Waterworld: Environment, Animal Exploitation, and Fishhook Technology in the North-Eastern Skagerrak Area During the Early And Middle Mesolithic (9500–6300 cal BC)

In this paper, faunal remains and bone artefacts are used as a point of departure for discussing the subsistence strategies of the Early Mesolithic (9500–8300 cal BC) and Middle Mesolithic (8300–6300 cal BC) foragers in the Oslo Fjord region of Eastern Norway and the Swedish west coast. This region is a key area in discussions about the settling of present-day Norway. Due to the combination of isostatic rebound and global sea level rise, the north-eastern Skagerrak area is one of the few regions in the world where coastlines dating to the Preboreal and Boreal climatic phases are situated above present-day sea level. This unique contextual situation makes these locales the oldest sea shore sites in Europe. Throughout the period, coastal settlements are situated close to the contemporary shoreline, and the location of the sites demonstrates the fundamental importance of the maritime environment. From the coastal areas, different ecological habitats with a variety of maritime and lacustrine resources were within reach. These ancient “waterworlds” offer a possibility to explore the settlement pattern and animal utilization. Organic remains are not preserved at any coastal Early Mesolithic site; thus, the mode of subsistence must be inferred from non-anthropogenic bone collections and palaeoecological data. In the oldest phase of the coastal site Huseby Klev, dated to the beginning of the Boreal chronozone, c. 8000 cal BC, the abundance of marine mammals suggests that hunting of marine mammals was an important part of the diet. The occurrence of cod and ling as well as fishhooks confirms that fishing was also practiced. The importance of fishing seems to increase in the later Middle Mesolithic. The Middle Mesolithic faunal assemblages exhibit remarkable species diversity, with terrestrial mammals, sea mammals, birds, and fish. This is suggestive of a broad- spectrum economy. There is a wide variety of marine fish, in particular different species of the cod family (Gadidae). The most common fishing equipment from the north-eastern Skagerrak Middle Mesolithic takes the form of small fishhooks without barb. The fishhook and other bone implements were made of antler and ungulate metapodials; thus, these animals provided important raw material in addition to calories.