Moving Arrows, Moving People: Towards an understanding of Early Metal Age Settlement Zones in the Boreal Woodlands of Dalarna, Sweden.

Abstract

This paper is a first step towards an understanding of how to locate and decode archaeological sites from the Early Metal Age 2000-1 BCE in Dalarna, Sweden. Sites from the Early Metal Age are rare in this region, but numerous locations have been identified as Stone Age sites. To search for Early Metal Age sites, the bifacial arrowheads, which chronologically belong to this time frame, have been examined. By doing this, two more extensive sites have been identified. The study shows that sites with a large number of preforms are a better indicator of extensive sites from the Early Metal Age than finished arrowheads. The study also problematizes the settlement concept and how to approach different types of sites. The spread of finds and the variation of different types of sites indicate that these settlements should be understood as part of larger settlement zones in which people moved over large geographical areas.