Settlement Models for Stone Age Interior Finnmark
Archaeological Perspectives on Hunter-Gatherer Landscapes and Resource Management in Interior North Norway - Marianne Skandfer
Bryan C. Hood [+]
UiT - the Arctic University of Norway
Description
This chapter aims to (1) consider the impact of climate and vegetation changes on resource availability and human settlement in Finnmark, with primary focus on the period between 6300 and 1 BC (the forest maximum to forest minimum) and (2) use an eclectic perspective of practice ecology (see Chapter 4, this volume) associated with elements of foraging theory to generate baseline models for resource use under different ecological and socio-economic conditions. The approach sees the actions of human agents as positioned within their inherited cultural models, which inform their interaction with landscapes and the non-human entities and things that these landscapes contain. Its primary focus, however, is the practices developed for dealing with the material constraints and opportunities afforded by changing environments. Foraging theory contributes to formulating settlement model expectations, but behavioral ecology is not used as a paradigmatic framework. Overall, the goal is to produce heuristic models that can inform future research on interior settlement in northern Norway. Particular attention is paid to archaeologically visible signatures of change in the organization of mobility patterns. The emphasis is on the west-central portion of interior Finnmark, the main operational region for the LARM project.