| 1. |
- Apel, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Early Holocene human population events on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea (9200-3800 cal. BP)
- 2018
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Ingår i: Quaternary International. - : Elsevier BV. - 1040-6182 .- 1873-4553. ; 465, s. 276-286
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The summed probability distribution of 162 radiocarbon dates from Gotland was analysed with reference to archaeological and environmental data in order to evaluate possible variations in settlement intensity on the island. The data indicated variations in demographic development on the island, with probably several different colonization events and external influences; the pioneer settlement reached the island around 9200 cal. BP. After the initial colonization, the radiocarbon dates were rather evenly distributed until around 7700–7600 cal. BP, then there was a drop in the number of dates between 8300 and 8000 cal. BP that may be associated with the 8200 cold event. A marked decline in the number of dates between 7600 and 6000 cal. BP may be associated initially with the Littorina I transgression, but this transgression cannot explain why the Late Mesolithic period is not well represented on Gotland: the climatic development was favourable but did not result in increased human activity. The number of radiocarbon dates indicated that the population size remained low until around 6000 cal. BP, after which there was a gradual increase that reached a first ‘threshold’ after 5600 cal. BP and a second ‘threshold’ after 4500 cal. BP. The first apparent population increase was associated with the appearance of the Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC) and the second with Pitted Ware Culture (PWC) complexes. A decline in the number of dates occurred after 4300 cal. BP, i.e. towards the Late Neolithic. There was an association between the frequency distributions of the radiocarbon dates and the number of stray finds from different time periods but any correlation was not straightforward.
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| 4. |
- Boethius, Adam, et al.
(författare)
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The importance of freshwater fish in Early Holocene subsistence : Exemplified with the human colonization of the island of Gotland in the Baltic basin
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Archaeological Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-409X .- 2352-4103. ; 13, s. 625-634
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we explore the subsistence economy of the Mesolithic pioneers on the island of Gotland in the Baltic basin, in order to evaluate the importance of freshwater fish to the Early Holocene human population. By analysing faunal remains, the distribution of 14C dates and the location of the settlement sites, we argue that earlier assumptions concerning the importance of marine mammals to the early human populations should be reconsidered. We suggest that the pioneering settlers of Gotland relied on fish to a significant extent. Radiocarbon dates taken from human bones are skewed by a freshwater reservoir effect, which can be used as an indirect indication of the significance of freshwater fish. The numerous, overgrowing lakes on the island, with their extensive biomass production and large amounts of freshwater fish, provided an important subsistence base. Even if the faunal assemblages that have survived are dominated by seal bones, the hunting season for seals was limited and the hunters mostly targeted young seals. Thus, the importance of seal have previously been overestimated and it appears that the human use of marine resources on Gotland was more limited and related to raw material needs rather than dietary necessity or specialization. Although presented as a case study; the results highlight the need to identify a freshwater fish diet among ancient foragers on a larger scale, as implications thereof can fundamentally change how foraging societies are perceived.
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| 5. |
- Günther, Torsten, et al.
(författare)
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Population genomics of Mesolithic Scandinavia : Investigating early postglacial migration routes and high-latitude adaptation
- 2018
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Ingår i: PLoS biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1544-9173 .- 1545-7885. ; 16:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Scandinavia was one of the last geographic areas in Europe to become habitable for humans after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). However, the routes and genetic composition of these postglacial migrants remain unclear. We sequenced the genomes, up to 57x coverage, of seven hunter-gatherers excavated across Scandinavia and dated from 9,500-6,000 years before present (BP). Surprisingly, among the Scandinavian Mesolithic individuals, the genetic data display an east-west genetic gradient that opposes the pattern seen in other parts of Mesolithic Europe. Our results suggest two different early postglacial migrations into Scandinavia: initially from the south, and later, from the northeast. The latter followed the ice-free Norwegian north Atlantic coast, along which novel and advanced pressure-blade stone-tool techniques may have spread. These two groups met and mixed in Scandinavia, creating a genetically diverse population, which shows patterns of genetic adaptation to high latitude environments. These potential adaptations include high frequencies of low pigmentation variants and a gene region associated with physical performance, which shows strong continuity into modern-day northern Europeans.
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| 6. |
- Landeschi, Giacomo, et al.
(författare)
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Re-enacting the sequence : combined digital methods to study a prehistoric cave
- 2019
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Ingår i: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1866-9557 .- 1866-9565. ; 11:6, s. 2805-2819
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This contribution seeks to demonstrate how recently developed 3D GIS platforms can help archeologists in relating to the original context legacy data that can be employed to digitally reconstruct the sequence of arbitrary layers as it was observed and then excavated in the end of the nineteenth century. This research has been conducted on the prehistoric cave of Stora Forvar, located on the small island of Stora Karlso, in South-Eastern Sweden. As a part of a research project titled The pioneer settlements of Gotland, this line of enquiry has sought to combine 3D-based digital acquisition techniques, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and old archival material (hand-made drawings, artifacts lists, historical pictures) in order to virtually reconstruct the original sequence as it was excavated through the method of arbitrary layers. At a later stage, the reconstructed sequence has been employed to re-contextualize and analyze the distribution of artifacts so as to detect any possible pattern that could have been useful for defining the chronological boundaries of the Mesolithic phase of habitation of the cave. In brief, three main objectives can be defined: (a) to re-create a spatial connection between the artifacts retrieved at the time of the excavation and the sequence of layers, (b) to define density maps showing the relationship between volumes of layers and categories of artifacts belonging to the sequence, and (c) to further our knowledge about the Mesolithic habitation of the cave, not only vertically (chronologically) but also horizontally.
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| 7. |
- Skoglund, Pontus, et al.
(författare)
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Genomic Diversity and Admixture Differs for Stone-Age Scandinavian Foragers and Farmers
- 2014
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 344:6185, s. 747-750
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prehistoric population structure associated with the transition to an agricultural lifestyle in Europe remains a contentious idea. Population-genomic data from 11 Scandinavian Stone Age human remains suggest that hunter-gatherers had lower genetic diversity than that of farmers. Despite their close geographical proximity, the genetic differentiation between the two Stone Age groups was greater than that observed among extant European populations. Additionally, the Scandinavian Neolithic farmers exhibited a greater degree of hunter-gatherer–related admixture than that of the Tyrolean Iceman, who also originated from a farming context. In contrast, Scandinavian hunter-gatherers displayed no significant evidence of introgression from farmers. Our findings suggest that Stone Age foraging groups were historically in low numbers, likely owing to oscillating living conditions or restricted carrying capacity, and that they were partially incorporated into expanding farming groups.
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| 10. |
- Apel, Jan
(författare)
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Daggers, knowledge & power
- 2001
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation investigates how far the organisation of a traditional technology corresponds to the degree of social complexity in a sedentary, agrarian society. An examination of the production of flint daggers during the Late Stone Age and Early Bronze Age of Scandinavia indicates the presence of formal apprenticeship systems based on corporate descent groups. Thus, the Late Neolithic societies in Scandinavia were more complex than previously thought. The flint dagger technology is subjected to an operational-chain analysis. This method is rooted in Durkeimian sociology and, consequently, technical gestures are regarded as social phenomena that are learned in social contexts. Two important concepts form the basis of my investigation: (1) knowledge (connaissance) and (2) know-how (savoir-faire). Knowledge has an explicit and declarative character and can be communicated to others; it can be passed from teacher to pupil by word of mouth, signs or written language. Know-how is an unconscious memory that springs from practical experience only. It is intuitive, connected with body movements and can only be learned by practical repetition. The gestures involved in each of the defined dagger-production stages were graded according to their relative degree of knowledge and know-how during practical experiments. Some stages were based on simple knowledge and a low degree of know-how. Other stages demanded a fair proportion of knowledge, in the form of recipes for action, and very high degree of know-how. This suggests that the craftsmanship was handed down through the generations by a form of apprenticeship system based on hereditary principles. The logic behind this reasoning is twofold. First, in such a system, the time needed to transmit know-how through the generations made the principle of kinship the most convenient mechanism for recruitment. Second, flint and manufacturing skills were valuable assets that stimulated some form of limited access and thus regulations of group membership. Accordingly, fixed social institutions were present in the Late Neolithic communities of Scandinavia and the presence of such formal institutions are indications of a fairly high level of social complexity. The flint-technology therefore entailed a highly developed craftsmanship, and the flint daggers were distributed over large areas of northern and central Europe by corporate groups or by regional and local elites. This interpretation is also related to Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice. Terms such as symbolic capital and habitus are used to give social meaning to the technology and its role, actively and metaphorically, in the reproduction of the Scandinavian Late Neolithic communities.
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