Mesolithic?Complexity in?Scandinavia

The?European?Mesolithic?(roughly?the?period?from?8000?B.C.?to?2700?B.C.)?testifies?to a?continuity?in human culture from?the?times of the?Ice?Age.?This?continuity,?however,?was?based on?continuous adjustment to environmental changes?following the end?of the?last?glacial period?(about?12,500?years ago).?Three broad subdivisions within?the?northern?Mesolithic are?known?in?Scandinavia.?The?Maglemose?Period?(7500–5700?B.C.) was a time of?seasonal?exploitation of?rivers?and?lakes,?combined?with?terrestrial hunting?and foraging.?The sites?from?the?Kongemose?Period?(5700–4600?B.C.)?are?mainly?on?the?Baltic?Sea?coasts,?along?bays and?near lagoons,?where?the?people exploited?both?marine and?terrestrial?resources.?Many?Kongemose?sites?are?somewhat?larger than?Maglemose ones.?The?Erteb?lle?Period?(4600–3200 B.C.)?was the?culmination?of?Mesolithic culture in?southern?Scandinavia.

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By the?Erteb?lle?Period,?the?Scandinavians were?occupying?coastal?settlements year–round and subsisting?off?a?very?wide?range of?food?sources. These?included forest?game and?waterfowl,?shellfish,?sea mammals, and?both shallow-water and?deepwater?fish.?There were?smaller,?seasonal?coastal sites,?too,?for?specific?activities?such?as?deepwater?fishing,?sealing,?or?hunting of migratory?birds.?One?such site,?the?Aggersund site in?Denmark,?was?occupied?for?short periods?of?time in?the autumn, when the inhabitants?collected?oysters and?hunted?some?game,?especially?migratory?swans.?Erteb?lle technology?was far more elaborate?than that?of its?Mesolithic predecessors;?a?wide?variety?of?antler,?bone,?and?wood?tools for specialized?purposes?such?as fowling?and sea-mammal hunting?were developed,?including?dugout?canoes?up?to ten?meters?long.

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With sedentary settlement?comes evidence of?greater social?complexity?in the?use?of cemeteries for?burials and changes in?burial?practices. The?trend?toward more sedentary settlement,?the?cemeteries,?and the occasional?social?differentiation?revealed?by?elaborate?burials are?all reflections?of?an?intensified?use of?resources?among?these?relatively?affluent hunter-gatherers of?3000?B.C.?Mesolithic?societies?intensified?the food?quest by?exploiting?many?more?marine species,?making?productive use?of migratory?waterfowl and their?breeding grounds, and?collecting?shellfish?in?enormous?numbers. This?intensification?is also?reflected?in?a?much?more elaborate?and diverse technology,?more exchange?of?goods?and?materials?between?neighbors,?greater?variety?in settlement types,?and a?slowly rising?population throughout?southern?Scandinavia.?These?phenomena?may,?in?part,?be?a?reflection of?rising?sea levels throughout?the?Mesolithic?that?flooded?many?cherished?territories.?There?are?signs,?too,?of regional?variations?in artifact?forms and?styles,?indicative of?cultural?differences?between?people?living?in?well-delineated?territories?and?competing?for?resources.

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Mesolithic cultures are?much?less well-defined?elsewhere?in?Europe,?partly?because the?climatic?changes?were?less extreme than?in?southern?Scandinavia?and because there were fewer opportunities for?coastal adaptation.?In?much?of?central?Europe,?settlement?was?confined?to lakeside and?riverside?locations, widely?separated?from?one another by?dense forests.?Many?Mesolithic lakeside?sites?were?located?in transitional?zones?between?different environments?so that?the?inhabitants could?return?to a?central?base location,?where for much of the?year?they?lived close?to predictable?resources such?as?lake?fish.?However,?they?would?exploit?both forest?game and other?seasonal resources?from?satellite?camps.?For?example,?the archaeologist Michael?Jochim believes that?some?groups?lived?during most of the?year in?camps along?the?Danube?River in?central?Europe,?moving to?summer encampments on?the shores?of?neighboring lakes.?In areas?like?Spain, there appears to?have?been intensified?exploitation?of?marine and?forest resources.?There?was a trend?nearly?everywhere toward?greater?variety in the diet,?with?more?attention?being?paid to?less obvious?foods?and?to?those that require?more complex?processing?methods than?do?game?and other such?resources.

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Thus,?in?parts of?Europe,?there?was?a?long–term?trend?among?hunter-gatherer?societies toward a?more extensive?exploitation of?food?resources,?often?within?the context of?a?strategy?that sought?ways to minimize the?impact?of?environmental?uncertainty.?In?more?favored southern?Scandinavia,?such societies achieved?a?new?level of social complexity?that was?to?become?commonplace among?later farming?peoples,?and this?preadaptation?proved an?important?catalyst?for?rapid?economic?and?social?change?when?farming did?come?to?Europe.