Marine Ventures - Archaeological Perspectives on Human-Sea Relations - Hein B. Bjerck
23. Quartz Utilization along the Coast of Southern Norway: Results from a Stone Age Survey in Aust-Agder
Marine Ventures - Archaeological Perspectives on Human-Sea Relations - Hein B. Bjerck
Svein Vatsvåg Nielsen
University of Oslo
Joachim Åkerstrøm
University of Oslo
Jo-Simon Frøshaug Stokke
Knut Fossdal Eskeland
Aust-Agder County Council
Description
In southern Norway, Aust-Agder County remains a poorly understood region within Stone Age research. In 2012-2013, a survey project was conducted in connection with the planning of a new 4-field highway (E18) from Oslo to Kristiansand. A total of 94 Stone Age sites were discovered through sampling method, with quartz as a highly represented lithic raw material in the sampled Mesolithic and Neolithic assemblages. In this text, we present the methodology and results of the E18 survey project. Through inter and intra site analysis, we demonstrate how local vein quartz was increasingly utilized throughout the Mesolithic. The increased use culminated in Early and Middle Neolithic, and then disappeared in the transition to Late Neolithic. In contrast to neighbouring western and eastern coastal areas where flint dominates on Stone Age sites, we argue that Aust-Agder stand out as a unique quartz using zone.