Lithic Experiments in Rescue Archaeology: a Case from Southern Norway

Abstract

The institutional context in which Stone Age knowledge production takes place in Norway is structured by the current system of cultural heritage management (CHM). By virtue of the Heritage Act from 1978 and the regulations on professional responsibilities, the practical work of surveying and excavating prehistoric sites is divided respectively between the 19 County Councils and the five archaeological government museums (Glørstad and Kallhovd 2011). During the fall of 2012, the authors participated in a Stone Age survey conducted in Aust-Agder County where several prehistoric sites were discovered (Eskeland forthcoming). Both shoreline displacement, relative dating of the lithic assemblage and radiocarbon dating of organic material placed the sites in either a Mesolithic or Neolithic context. However, what became significant was the discovery of large quantities of fractured quartz – a poorly understood lithic raw material in Stone Age research.

Keywords

• flint
• stone
• post depositional process
• experiment
• palaeolithic
• mesolithic
• neolithic
• norway