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An integrated analysis of Maglemose bone points reframes the Early Mesolithic of Southern Scandinavia.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Jensen, Theis Zetner Trolle 
Sjöström, Arne 
Fischer, Anders 
Rosengren, Erika 
Lanigan, Liam Thomas 

Abstract

The extensive peat bogs of Southern Scandinavia have yielded rich Mesolithic archaeological assemblages, with one of the most iconic artefacts being the bone point. Although great in number they remain understudied. Here we present a combined investigation of the typology, protein-based species composition, and absolute chronology of Maglemosian bone points. The majority of the bone points are made from cervids and bovines. However, changes both in species composition and barb morphology can be directly linked to a paucity of finds lasting nearly 600 years in Southern Scandinavia around 10,300 cal BP. We hypothesize that this hiatus was climate-driven and forced hunter-gatherers to abandon the lakes. Furthermore, the marked change in bone points coincides with a change in lithic technology. We, therefore, propose that the Maglemose culture in Southern Scandinavia is fundamentally divided into an Early Complex and a Late Complex.

Description

Keywords

3709 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience, 37 Earth Sciences, 43 History, Heritage and Archaeology, 4301 Archaeology, 4303 Historical Studies

Journal Title

Sci Rep

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2045-2322
2045-2322

Volume Title

10

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
From Acknowledgements: TZTJ is supported by the European Union’s EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 under grant agreement no. 676154 (ArchSci2020). This study was also supported by NERC (NF/2018/1/5 - A chronology for (Danish) Maglemosian bone points). MM, AJT, LTL, and MJC are funded by the Danish National Research Foundation award PROTEIOS (DNRF128). HS was supported by the Villum Foundation (grant no. 22917). Work at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research is funded in part by a donation from the Novo Nordisk Foundation (grant no. NNF14CC0001).