Welcome
’Regionality and biotope exploitation in Danish Ertebølle and adjacent periods’ is an archaeozoological project conducted by Inge Bødker Enghoff at the Natural History Museum of Denmark (Zoological Museum). The project is supported by two successive grants (for 2005-2006) from The Danish Research Council for the Humanities.
The project in brief
During the late Mesolithic
and across the transition to the Neolithic period (3950 BC) northern Denmark was
a fragmented archipelago. There were numerous settlements along the coasts, some
of them with large shell middens (click on the map) . The climate was
stable, warmer than today and there were rich ressources of fish, birds and
mammals in the sea and on land. Animal bones left by the stone age people
provide testimonies of hunting, fishing and animal husbandry. A number of
analyses of the animals bones already exist but our knowledge remains
fragmentary. This is due to, i.a., the fact that sieving of sediment only
recently has become a regular part of the excavation technique. Sieving ensures
that small bones, in particular fish bones, are collected efficiently. Based on
studies of newly excavated bone assemblages which have been thoroughly from an
archaeological viewpoint, four regions in former North Denmark are compared,
viz., northern Vendsyssel, the Limfjord area, the Djursland area and North
Zealand. This will allow the comprehensive view of the exploitation of fish,
birds and mammals in the north Danish archipelago, the documentation of regional
differences, and correlation of differences with archaeological and
environmental conditions. Most of the bone
assemblages derive from the Ertebølle culture (5400-3950 BC), but one includes
the youngest phase of the preceding Kongemose culture as well, and two reach
into the Neolithic (Funnel Beaker Culture). The project thus provides an
opportunity to throw light on the most important culture change
in the Danish part, viz., the transition from a hunting/fishing society
to an agricultural one.
How to move forward on the website:
Click
on project description to see a
detailed description of the project
Click on preliminary results to see examples
of what the research already has revealed
Click on Inge Bødker Enghoff to see a comprehensive
list of my publications.