Thomas Eggers-Kaas

[Paper in Danish] Finds from the period around the end of the last ice age - the so-called Final Palaeolithic - are rare in the contemporary Danish territory. This is particularly true of the Federmesser or Penknife culture dated to the Allerød. The eponymous pen-shaped points act as the traditional artefactual diagnostic, and their initial recognition and definition go back to the early 20th century. Since then, however, it has become apparent that this artefact class encompasses a great deal of shape and size variation, particularly when the entire distribution area of the Federmesser culture - most of Europe - is taken into consideration. Working on William Berthelsen's iconic collection of lithic assemblages from the valley of Vejle River, we began to question to what degree we actually can, with any appreciable certainty, separate Federmesser points from early Mesolithic non-geometric lanceolate microliths. Our conclusion is that such a discrimination is difficult, not least because there may be substantial culture-historical continuity from the Federmesser culture to the early Mesolithic. Importantly, this identification uncertainty implies that there is a possibility of Final Palaeolithic Federmesser culture finds lying hidden within Danish flint assemblages.

During road construction work, material attributed to the Final Palaeolithic was discovered at Skovmosen I, near Kongens Lyngby on Zealand, eastern Denmark. Although it is regularly mentioned in reviews of the southern Scandinavian Final Palaeolithic, the Skovmosen I assemblage has hitherto remained poorly described. We here review the site’s discovery history and its context. Aided by a three-dimensional digital recording protocol, this article details the assemblage composition and its technology. The assemblage is comprised of tanged points, scrapers and burins, alongside blades and cores as primary reduction products.
Although evidently disturbed by the road construction that led to the site’s discovery, the material likely reflects the remains of a small Final Palaeolithic locale, where diverse activities were carried out.