Hunting, fishing, gardening: Re-evaluating Middle Neolithic mobility and cultural diversity on the Norwegian Skagerrak coast

Abstract

The settlements along the Norwegian Skagerrak coast from the period 3300–2350 cal. BCE (Middle Neolithic period) represented an epitome of the sub-Neolithic phenomenon, however, recent experience from archaeological, osteological, palynological, and geological studies encourages a rethinking of this cultural complex. Here we reconstruct aspects of Middle Neolithic economies, mobility patterns, and pottery production traditions based on recent field work along the central stretch of the Norwegian Skagerrak coast. We find evidence of mixed economies – collecting, fishing, hunting, farming, husbandry – and local pottery traditions structured by seasonal coastal-inland mobility patterns. We propose a redefinition of this archaeological complex from a ‘Neolithic culture’, or a sub-Neolithic phenomenon, to an ecohistorical regime. The diversity in mobility and subsistence in this geographical area reflect robust early fisher-farmer societies resilient in the face of environmental variations.