Melting snow patches reveal Neolithic archery

Callanan, Martin

doi:10.1017/s0003598x00049425

Cited by 24 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A subsequent gap exists between ca 3800 and ca 2200 BCE, over which time temperature and glaciation were variable. Ice-patch finds in this date range are known from elsewhere in Norway, but they are very rare [ 48 , 49 ]. In Oppland there are late Neolithic/early Bronze Age and Viking-age peaks in artefact chronology, associated with warm periods with or without large glaciers (see figure 2 for the absolute chronology of archaeological periods).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The chronology of reindeer hunting on Norway's highest ice patches

Pilø¹,

Finstad²,

Ramsey

et al. 2018

R. Soc. open sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The melting of perennial ice patches globally is uncovering a fragile record of alpine activity, especially hunting and the use of mountain passes. When rescued by systematic fieldwork (glacial archaeology), this evidence opens an unprecedented window on the chronology of high-elevation activity. Recent research in Jotunheimen and surrounding mountain areas of Norway has recovered over 2000 finds—many associated with reindeer hunting (e.g. arrows). We report the radiocarbon dates of 153 objects and use a kernel density estimation (KDE) method to determine the distribution of dated events from ca 4000 BCE to the present. Interpreted in light of shifting environmental, preservation and socio-economic factors, these new data show counterintuitive trends in the intensity of reindeer hunting and other high-elevation activity. Cold temperatures may sometimes have kept humans from Norway's highest elevations, as expected based on accessibility, exposure and reindeer distributions. In times of increasing demand for mountain resources, however, activity probably continued in the face of adverse or variable climatic conditions. The use of KDE modelling makes it possible to observe this patterning without the spurious effects of noise introduced by the discrete nature of the finds and the radiocarbon calibration process.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The chronology of reindeer hunting on Norway's highest ice patches

Pilø¹,

Finstad²,

Ramsey

et al. 2018

R. Soc. open sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It delivered raw material for essential equipment such as hunting and fishing tools and containers, as well as for constructions such as boats, sledges, hunting traps and shelter (e.g. Kuokkanen ; Callanan ; Koivisto & Nurminen ; Bjerck ). Trees also provided natural shelter and could be integrated in traps or guiding fences.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene vegetation change in northernmost Fennoscandia and the impact on prehistoric foragers 12 000–2000 cal. aBP– A review

Sjögren

Damm

2018

Boreas

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While single pollen records are widely used in reconstructing the environment for nearby prehistoric settlements, they are less helpful when addressing large‐scale issues of variation in human settlement patterns. In order to assess the impact of vegetation change on regional prehistoric settlement and subsistence patterns in an ecotone sensitive area, we inferred the general change in main vegetation types based on palaeobotanical investigations from across northernmost Fennoscandia. Tundra vegetation was predominant during the Lateglacial and earliest parts of the Holocene. Maritime birch forests rich in ferns started to expand c. 11 000 cal. a BP and became dominant from 10 000 cal. a BP. Pine expanded from the NE of the investigation area and pine‐birch forest dominated in the inland around 8000 cal. a BP. A gradual degeneration of forest towards more open birch woodland started c. 6000 cal. a BP with the most marked change around 3500 cal. a BP. Along the northern outer coast, this eventually led to open heathland. Comparison with the archaeological setting suggests a general correlation between low forest cover and extensive mobility patterns, while widespread and varied forest cover appear to have led to a more sedentary way of life. The background for this is arguably that the forested landscapes hosted a larger diversity of resources within a shorter foraging distance, while areas and periods with low forest cover required longer travels to obtain the desired prey and materials.

show abstract

“…This pattern is not replicated in the GYA collection, where some birch shafts are made from saplings and others from staves. In a study of five Neolithic arrow shafts from the Oppdal area of Norway (Callanan 2013), two are made of birch, two of pine, and one of willow. Ryd (2014) notes that birch was the preferred wood for arrows used by the Saami of Scandinavia due to its hardness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ICE PATCH HUNTING IN THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE AREA, ROCKY MOUNTAINS, USA: WOOD SHAFTS, CHIPPED STONE PROJECTILE POINTS, AND BIGHORN SHEEP (OVIS CANADENSIS)

Lee¹,

Puseman²

2017

Am. Antiq.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ice patches and the alpine are important elements of the sociocultural landscape of the Greater Yellowstone Area, and they transcend the jurisdictional boundaries that divide the lands on which they occur. The ice patch record complements traditional sources of archaeological knowledge through the addition of well-dated organic artifacts, such as shafts from hunting tools, recovered in a readily recognizable context. This paper examines the types of wood used in the manufacture of hunting implements recovered at Greater Yellowstone Area ice patches through the analysis of nine unique wooden shafts and shaft fragments from five sites. Five shafts are birch (Betulaspp.), two are willow (Salixspp.), one is fir (Abiessp.), and one is pine (Pinussp.). The shafts included in this analysis range in age from 9230 ± 25 B.P. to 215 ± 20 B.P. Diagnostic Oxbow and Pelican Lake chipped stone projectile points recovered in association with ice patches provide additional temporal resolution regarding use of these features. One of the four sites that yielded wooden shafts contains a record of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) hunting between 3885 ± 25 B.P. and 879 ± 23 B.P.

show abstract

Melting snow patches reveal Neolithic archery

Cited by 24 publications

References 15 publications

The chronology of reindeer hunting on Norway's highest ice patches

The chronology of reindeer hunting on Norway's highest ice patches

Holocene vegetation change in northernmost Fennoscandia and the impact on prehistoric foragers 12 000–2000 cal. aBP– A review

ICE PATCH HUNTING IN THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE AREA, ROCKY MOUNTAINS, USA: WOOD SHAFTS, CHIPPED STONE PROJECTILE POINTS, AND BIGHORN SHEEP (OVIS CANADENSIS)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About