This paper presents a multi-proxy approach to coastal Stone Age demography. It uses the district ... more This paper presents a multi-proxy approach to coastal Stone Age demography. It uses the district Hor-daland, western Norway as a case and applies the proxies SPD (summed probability distributions) of radiocarbon dates and stray find distributions. These are compared to pollen-based landscape reconstructions. Large numbers of Stone Age sites have been surveyed and excavated in western Norway during the last few decades, mainly because of modern development and cultural heritage management. This work has produced significant amounts of radiocarbon dates. The data has, until now, not been sufficiently organized and systematized for the purpose of doing research on long-term changes. The same is true for the many stray finds, which are stored at University Museum of Bergen. During the last decades, methodological development in palynology has made compilation of data and new vegetation reconstructions possible. For the first time, these dispersed datasets from the district Hordaland are brought together for comparative purposes, with a specific goal to study relative demographic changes. The hypothesis is that during the Stone Age, demographic change accompanied big cultural transformations in the transition from LM (late Mesolithic) to EN (early Neolithic) c. 5950 cal BP and between MN (middle Neolithic) and LN (late Neolithic) c. 4300 cal BP. This study partly supports the hypothesis, as the changes in the SPD and the stray finds during the transition to the late Neolithic clearly reflect marked population growth, related to the introduction of agriculture, at the same time as the pollen data reveal forest clearance. The LM-EN transition is less clearly connected to demographic change. Generally, up until the transition to the LN, the data indicate that there was gradual demographic growth with marked fluctuations within a forested landscape. Although the proxies sometimes co-vary for the different periods, they may also display conflicting patterns, and this strengthens the argument that a multi-proxy approach to demographic studies is to be recommended.
Kystens steinalder i Aust-Agder: Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med ny E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal / The Stone Age Coastal Settlement in Aust-Agder, Southeast Norway. Archaeological Excavations along the New E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal, 2018
The E18 Tvedestrand–Arendal project investigated twelve sites dominated by find material belongin... more The E18 Tvedestrand–Arendal project investigated twelve sites dominated by find material belonging to the Early Mesolithic. A common denominator for ten of the sites is the presence of lithic arrowheads. These come in a variety of forms, where the tanged and single-edged varieties have the most easily identifiable characteristics. Besides these, there are numerous finds of Høgnipen points, lanceolates and other kinds of microlithic forms, where a designation as arrowheads is more problematic. On one of the sites, Sagene B1, there was a rough spatial correlation between Høgnipen points and lanceolate microliths, which also covaried in a 1:1 relationship in one of the find areas. These observations indicated a functional relationship between these artefact categories. In this article we wish to demonstrate an empirical, chronologically dependent, change in arrowhead design in Southeast Norway, during the period c. 9000–8300 cal. BC. We will also discuss possible reasons for this development. Hopefully, this study will serve to raise some questions and ideas that might prove fruitful avenues for future research on the material found during the project.
Kystens steinalder i Aust-Agder: Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med ny E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal / The Stone Age Coastal Settlement in Aust-Agder, Southeast Norway. Archaeological Excavations along the New E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal, 2018
Most of the finds collected from the Stone Age sites investigated within the E18 Tvedestrand–Are... more Most of the finds collected from the Stone Age sites investigated within the E18 Tvedestrand–Arendal project conform well to our taxonomical expectations of the respective periods. Every now and then during the classification work, however, finds were encountered that challenged our preconceptions concerning what an ideal representative of a certain find category should look like. The main objective of this article is to draw attention to possible traces of novices’ work in the E18 Tvedestrand–Arendal material and to propose a method for confronting and examining this material without having to resort to time-consuming refitting of large assemblages.
Sörensen, M. & Desrosiers, P (Eds). 2008. Technology in Archaeology. Publications from the National Museum, Studies in Archaeology & History Vol. 14. Copenhagen.
The 10th Nordic TAG conference fell together with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Cha... more The 10th Nordic TAG conference fell together with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s seminal On the Origin of Species as well as the 200th anniversary of his birth. Over the last 15 years a new theoretical discourse on the use of evolutionary theory in archaeology has emerged, but this has largely bypassed the Scandinavian countries, despite the fact that Scandinavian archaeology has a solid foundation of empirical work, especially with regards to technology and ecological relations. Both research areas can benefit tremendously from evolutionary insights. This chapter reviews some of the historical and current trends in evolutionary analyses of material culture change. Despite some large difference in epistemology and methodology, substantial overlap in research interests exists between evolutionary and non-evolutionary archaeologists, and integration of the theories and methods advocated by evolutionary archaeologists into more main-stream Scandinavian practice is both possible and desirable.
Abstract Coastal shorelines worldwide are generally unstable and changing. The study of the preci... more Abstract Coastal shorelines worldwide are generally unstable and changing. The study of the precise relation between any archaeological site and the shoreline at the time when the site was used is therefore complicated, but still often not met with appropriate methodological approaches. In this article, we test models based on phosphate analysis and discuss how they can be used to detect ancient shorelines. We propose that a model of increased and oscillating phosphate values at the former water level is considered reliable and useful in areas with advancing shoreline.
Coastal shorelines worldwide are generally unstable and changing. The study of the precise relati... more Coastal shorelines worldwide are generally unstable and changing. The study of the precise relation between any archaeological site and the shoreline at the time when the site was used is therefore complicated, but still often not met with appropriate methodological approaches. In this article, we test models based on phosphate analysis and discuss how they can be used to detect ancient shorelines. We propose that a model of increased and oscillating phosphate values at the former water level is considered reliable and useful in areas with advancing shoreline.
This paper presents a multi-proxy approach to coastal Stone Age demography. It uses the district ... more This paper presents a multi-proxy approach to coastal Stone Age demography. It uses the district Hor-daland, western Norway as a case and applies the proxies SPD (summed probability distributions) of radiocarbon dates and stray find distributions. These are compared to pollen-based landscape reconstructions. Large numbers of Stone Age sites have been surveyed and excavated in western Norway during the last few decades, mainly because of modern development and cultural heritage management. This work has produced significant amounts of radiocarbon dates. The data has, until now, not been sufficiently organized and systematized for the purpose of doing research on long-term changes. The same is true for the many stray finds, which are stored at University Museum of Bergen. During the last decades, methodological development in palynology has made compilation of data and new vegetation reconstructions possible. For the first time, these dispersed datasets from the district Hordaland are brought together for comparative purposes, with a specific goal to study relative demographic changes. The hypothesis is that during the Stone Age, demographic change accompanied big cultural transformations in the transition from LM (late Mesolithic) to EN (early Neolithic) c. 5950 cal BP and between MN (middle Neolithic) and LN (late Neolithic) c. 4300 cal BP. This study partly supports the hypothesis, as the changes in the SPD and the stray finds during the transition to the late Neolithic clearly reflect marked population growth, related to the introduction of agriculture, at the same time as the pollen data reveal forest clearance. The LM-EN transition is less clearly connected to demographic change. Generally, up until the transition to the LN, the data indicate that there was gradual demographic growth with marked fluctuations within a forested landscape. Although the proxies sometimes co-vary for the different periods, they may also display conflicting patterns, and this strengthens the argument that a multi-proxy approach to demographic studies is to be recommended.
Kystens steinalder i Aust-Agder: Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med ny E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal / The Stone Age Coastal Settlement in Aust-Agder, Southeast Norway. Archaeological Excavations along the New E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal, 2018
The E18 Tvedestrand–Arendal project investigated twelve sites dominated by find material belongin... more The E18 Tvedestrand–Arendal project investigated twelve sites dominated by find material belonging to the Early Mesolithic. A common denominator for ten of the sites is the presence of lithic arrowheads. These come in a variety of forms, where the tanged and single-edged varieties have the most easily identifiable characteristics. Besides these, there are numerous finds of Høgnipen points, lanceolates and other kinds of microlithic forms, where a designation as arrowheads is more problematic. On one of the sites, Sagene B1, there was a rough spatial correlation between Høgnipen points and lanceolate microliths, which also covaried in a 1:1 relationship in one of the find areas. These observations indicated a functional relationship between these artefact categories. In this article we wish to demonstrate an empirical, chronologically dependent, change in arrowhead design in Southeast Norway, during the period c. 9000–8300 cal. BC. We will also discuss possible reasons for this development. Hopefully, this study will serve to raise some questions and ideas that might prove fruitful avenues for future research on the material found during the project.
Kystens steinalder i Aust-Agder: Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med ny E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal / The Stone Age Coastal Settlement in Aust-Agder, Southeast Norway. Archaeological Excavations along the New E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal, 2018
Most of the finds collected from the Stone Age sites investigated within the E18 Tvedestrand–Are... more Most of the finds collected from the Stone Age sites investigated within the E18 Tvedestrand–Arendal project conform well to our taxonomical expectations of the respective periods. Every now and then during the classification work, however, finds were encountered that challenged our preconceptions concerning what an ideal representative of a certain find category should look like. The main objective of this article is to draw attention to possible traces of novices’ work in the E18 Tvedestrand–Arendal material and to propose a method for confronting and examining this material without having to resort to time-consuming refitting of large assemblages.
Sörensen, M. & Desrosiers, P (Eds). 2008. Technology in Archaeology. Publications from the National Museum, Studies in Archaeology & History Vol. 14. Copenhagen.
The 10th Nordic TAG conference fell together with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Cha... more The 10th Nordic TAG conference fell together with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s seminal On the Origin of Species as well as the 200th anniversary of his birth. Over the last 15 years a new theoretical discourse on the use of evolutionary theory in archaeology has emerged, but this has largely bypassed the Scandinavian countries, despite the fact that Scandinavian archaeology has a solid foundation of empirical work, especially with regards to technology and ecological relations. Both research areas can benefit tremendously from evolutionary insights. This chapter reviews some of the historical and current trends in evolutionary analyses of material culture change. Despite some large difference in epistemology and methodology, substantial overlap in research interests exists between evolutionary and non-evolutionary archaeologists, and integration of the theories and methods advocated by evolutionary archaeologists into more main-stream Scandinavian practice is both possible and desirable.
Abstract Coastal shorelines worldwide are generally unstable and changing. The study of the preci... more Abstract Coastal shorelines worldwide are generally unstable and changing. The study of the precise relation between any archaeological site and the shoreline at the time when the site was used is therefore complicated, but still often not met with appropriate methodological approaches. In this article, we test models based on phosphate analysis and discuss how they can be used to detect ancient shorelines. We propose that a model of increased and oscillating phosphate values at the former water level is considered reliable and useful in areas with advancing shoreline.
Coastal shorelines worldwide are generally unstable and changing. The study of the precise relati... more Coastal shorelines worldwide are generally unstable and changing. The study of the precise relation between any archaeological site and the shoreline at the time when the site was used is therefore complicated, but still often not met with appropriate methodological approaches. In this article, we test models based on phosphate analysis and discuss how they can be used to detect ancient shorelines. We propose that a model of increased and oscillating phosphate values at the former water level is considered reliable and useful in areas with advancing shoreline.
CAA-Norway 2017 Conference Presentation. 3D/4D GISs have been the subject of study within researc... more CAA-Norway 2017 Conference Presentation. 3D/4D GISs have been the subject of study within research archaeology for several years now. This paper looks at how rescue archaeology could benefit from a 3D/4D GIS as part of the documentation strategy. The data for the GIS were gathered during the 2017 Sotrasamband Project (University of Bergen). The methodology to establish the GIS is described and the experiences from its use are recounted. A strategy is then proposed for the 2018 excavation season, based on the benefits and challenges of using a 3D/4D GIS within rescue archaeology.
The Stone Age Coastal Settlement in Aust-Agder, Southeast Norway. Archaeological Excavations along the New E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal, 2018
See under "Files" for links to DOI and the publisher's Open Access-platform to download the compl... more See under "Files" for links to DOI and the publisher's Open Access-platform to download the complete publication.
With English captions, comprehensive English summaries (ch. 2.71.-2.7.16) and a section with nine chapters written in English, focussing on specific questions under discussion in current Stone Age research.
I forkant av byggingen av ny E18 mellom Tvedestrand og Arendal i Aust-Agder gjennomførte Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo, omfattende arkeologiske utgravninger i årene 2014 til 2016. Innenfor den 23 km lange traséen ble til sammen 34 lokaliteter fra steinalderen undersøkt. I tid spenner lokalitetene fra ca. 9000 f.Kr. til 1700 f.Kr. og dekker med det nesten hele steinalderen fra tidligmesolitikum til og med seinneolitikum. I tillegg ble en lokalitet med gravhauger og hulveier fra jernalderen undersøkt. Resultatene fra undersøkelsene presenteres i denne publikasjonen. Resultatene fra E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal-prosjektet bidrar med ny og viktig kunnskap om steinalderen langs kysten i Aust-Agder, et område hvor steinalderen fram til nå har vært lite undersøkt. I tillegg til å øke kunnskapen om steinalderen i Aust-Agders kystlandskap har dette nylig framgravde, arkeologiske kildematerialet også et stort vitenskapelig potensial i overregionale og internasjonale sammenhenger.
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Papers by Kim Darmark
With English captions, comprehensive English summaries (ch. 2.71.-2.7.16) and a section with nine chapters written in English, focussing on specific questions under discussion in current Stone Age research.
I forkant av byggingen av ny E18 mellom Tvedestrand og Arendal i Aust-Agder gjennomførte Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo, omfattende arkeologiske utgravninger i årene 2014 til 2016. Innenfor den 23 km lange traséen ble til sammen 34 lokaliteter fra steinalderen undersøkt. I tid spenner lokalitetene fra ca. 9000 f.Kr. til 1700 f.Kr. og dekker med det nesten hele steinalderen fra tidligmesolitikum til og med seinneolitikum. I tillegg ble en lokalitet med gravhauger og hulveier fra jernalderen undersøkt. Resultatene fra undersøkelsene presenteres i denne publikasjonen. Resultatene fra E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal-prosjektet bidrar med ny og viktig kunnskap om steinalderen langs kysten i Aust-Agder, et område hvor steinalderen fram til nå har vært lite undersøkt. I tillegg til å øke kunnskapen om steinalderen i Aust-Agders kystlandskap har dette nylig framgravde, arkeologiske kildematerialet også et stort vitenskapelig potensial i overregionale og internasjonale sammenhenger.