Bronze Age Arrows from Norwegian Alpine Snow Patches
Issued Date: 6 Nov 2014
Abstract
The number of archaeological finds recovered from alpine snow patches in central Norway has increased dramatically during the last decade. In this article, eight Bronze Age (1800–500 B.C.) arrows are presented in detail. The arrows are of great interest to our understanding of Bronze Age archery in general. The finds include two arrows with projectiles made from the freshwater mussel Margaritifera margaritifera, as well as two reindeer antler arrows. These finds are further evidence of the fact that artifacts emerging from melting snow patches in central Norway are getting steadily older. Some contextual observations specific to snow patch sites in a reduced state due to extreme melting are also highlighted.
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DOI: 10.1558/jga.v1i1.25
References
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Rydh, S. 1968. “Ett gotländskt fynd av benpilspetsar från bronsåldern.” Fornvännen 63: 153–165.
Shetelig, H. 1922. Primitive Tider i Norge. En oversikt over stenalderen. Bergen: John Griegs Forlag.
Solana, D.C. and I. G. Zugasti. 2011. “The Use of Mollusc Shells as Tools by Costal Human Groups.” Journal of Anthropological Research 67: 77–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/jar.0521004.0067.105
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Stiner, M. 1999. “Palaeolithic mollusc exploitation at Riparo Mochi (Balzi Rossi, Italy): food and ornaments from the Aurignacian through Epigravettian.” Antiquity 73: 735–754.
Szabó, K., A. Brumm and P. Bellwood. 2007. “Shell Artifact Production at 32,000–28,000 BP in Island Southeast Asia: Thinking across Media?” Current Anthropology 48(5): 701–723. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/520131
VanderHoek, R., R. M. Tedor and J. D. McMahan. 2007. “Cultural Materials Recovered from Ice Patches in the Denali Highway Region, Central Alaska, 2003–2005.” Alaska Journal of Anthropology 5(2): 185–200.
Åstveit, L. I. 2007. Høyfjellsarkeologi under snø og is. Viking 70: 7–22.
Bjerck, H. B. 2007. “Mesolithic coastal settlements and shell middens in Norway?” In Shell Middens in Atlantic Europe.edited by N. Milner, O. E. Craig and G. Bailey, 5–30. Oxford: Oxbow.
Bronk Ramsey, C. 2009. “Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates.” Radiocarbon 51(1): 337–360.
Clark, J. G. D. 1963. “Neolithic Bows from Somerset, England, and the Prehistory of Archery in North-western Europe.” Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 3: 50–90.
Brøgger, A. W. 1925: Det Norske Folk i Oldtiden. Instituttet for sammenlignende kulturforskning. Serie A: Forelesninger VIa. Oslo: Instituttet for sammenlignende kulturforskning.
Bøe, J. 1934. Boplassen I Skipshelleren på Straume I Nordhordaland. Bergens museums skrifter 17. Bergen: Bergen Museum.
Callanan, M. 2010. “Northern Snow Patch Archaeology.” In A Circumpolar Reappaisal: The Legacy of Gutorm Gjessing (1906–1979), edited by C. Westerdahl, 43–54. BAR International Series 2154. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Callanan, M. 2012. “Central Norwegian Snow Patch Archaeology: Patterns Past and Present.” Arctic 65(S.1): 179–189.
Callanan, M. 2013. “Melting Snow Patches Reveal Neolithic Archery.” Antiquity 87(337): 728–745.
Dolmen, D. and E. Kleiven. 2008. “Distribution, status and threats of the freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus) (Bivalvia, Margaritiferidae) in Norway.” Fauna norvegica 26–27: 3–14.
Douka, K. and E. E. Spinapolice. 2012. “Neanderthal Shell Tool Production: Evidence from Middle Palaeolithic Italy and Greece.” Journal of World Prehistory 25: 45–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10963-012-9056-z
Farbregd, O. 1972. Pilefunn frå Oppdalsfjella. Miscellanea 5. Trondheim: Det Kgl. Norske Videnskabers Selskab, Museet. Trondheim.
Farbregd, O. 2009. “Archery History from Ancient Snow and Ice.” In The 58th International Sachsensymposium, 1–5 September 2007,edited by T. Brattli, 156-170. Vitark 7. Acta Archaeologica Nidrosiensia. Trondheim: Tapir Akademisk Forlag.
Gjessing, G. 1945. Norges Steinalder. Oslo: Norsk Arkeologisk Selskap.
Gunnarsdóttir, H. and H. I. Høeg. 2000. “Holocene vegetation history of the mountain areas of Lesja and Dovre, south central Norway, in light of climate change and human impact.” AmS-Skrifter 16: 11-46. Stavanger.
Hare, P. G., C. D. Thomas, T. N. Topper and R. M. Gotthardt. 2012. “The Archaeology of Yukon Ice Patches: New Artifacts, Observations and Insights.” Arctic 65(S.1): 118–135.
Johansen, Ø. K. 2000. Bronse og Makt. Bronsealderen i Norge. Oslo: Andresen and Butenschøn.
Junkmanns, J. 2010. Pfeil und Bogen in Westeuropa. Von der Altsteinzeit bis zum Mittelalter. Unpublished PhD. dissertation. Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen.
Krüger, J., F. Nagel, S. Nagel, D. Jantzen, R. Lampe, J. Dräger, L. Gundula, O. Mecking, T. Schüler and T. Terberger. 2012. “Bronze Age tin rings from the Tollense valley in northeastern Germany.” Praehistorische Zeitschrift 87(1): 29–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/pz-2012-0002
Luik, H. 2006. “For hunting or for warfare? Bone arrowheads from the Late Bronze Age fortified settlements in Eastern Baltic.” Estonian Journal of Archaeology 10(2): 132–149.
Müller-Beck, H. 1965. Seeberg-Burgäschisee-Süd. Teil 5. Holzgeräte und Holzbearbeitung. Acta Bernensia. II.
Nummedal, A. 1920. Bopladsfund paa Halmøy og Dønna. Det Kgl. Norske Videnskabers Selskabs Skrifter 1919.5.
Pollard, A. M. and C. Heron. 2008. Archaeological Chemistry. 2nd. ed. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry.
Prescott, C. 1986. Chronological, typological and contextual aspects of the Late Lithic Period. A study based on sites excavated in the Nyset-Steggje mountain valleys, Årdal, Sogn, Norway. Unpublished Cand. Philol thesis. University of Bergen.
Prescott, C. 1991. “Late Neolithic and Bronze Age Developments on the Periphery of Southern Scandinavia.” Norwegian Archaeological Review 24 (1): 35–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00293652.1991.9965531
Przywolnik, K. 2003. “Shell artifacts from northern Cape Range Peninsula, northwest Western Australia.” Australian Archaeology 56 (1): 12–21.
Ramstad, M. 1999. T16056-et myrfunn fra Frøya. SPOR (1): 21–25.
Rydh, S. 1968. “Ett gotländskt fynd av benpilspetsar från bronsåldern.” Fornvännen 63: 153–165.
Shetelig, H. 1922. Primitive Tider i Norge. En oversikt over stenalderen. Bergen: John Griegs Forlag.
Solana, D.C. and I. G. Zugasti. 2011. “The Use of Mollusc Shells as Tools by Costal Human Groups.” Journal of Anthropological Research 67: 77–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/jar.0521004.0067.105
Stewart, H. 1996. Stone, bone, antler and shell. Artifacts of the Northwest Coast. Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas and McIntyre; Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Stiner, M. 1999. “Palaeolithic mollusc exploitation at Riparo Mochi (Balzi Rossi, Italy): food and ornaments from the Aurignacian through Epigravettian.” Antiquity 73: 735–754.
Szabó, K., A. Brumm and P. Bellwood. 2007. “Shell Artifact Production at 32,000–28,000 BP in Island Southeast Asia: Thinking across Media?” Current Anthropology 48(5): 701–723. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/520131
VanderHoek, R., R. M. Tedor and J. D. McMahan. 2007. “Cultural Materials Recovered from Ice Patches in the Denali Highway Region, Central Alaska, 2003–2005.” Alaska Journal of Anthropology 5(2): 185–200.
