SHG Pit Houses

[Jovialis]

TRONDHEIM, NORWAY—Silje Fretheim of Norwegian University of Science and Technology analyzed the excavation of 150 well-preserved Stone Age dwellings in Norway and found that some Mesolithic hunter-gatherers built pit houses that were maintained for 1,000 years. According to a report in Science Nordic, the earliest traces of homes are small rings of stones that secured tent flaps made of animal skins, and cleared surfaces with areas of debris from stone tool construction. Fretheim thinks hunter-gatherers traveled with these small tents. Then, some 9,500 years ago, as the ice retreated and sea levels along the coast stabilized, people began to build pit houses with frameworks of wood and turf that were slightly larger than the tents. These larger dwellings may have been shared by larger family groups. Some of the pit houses were abandoned for a time and then reused over a period of more than 1,000 years. Fretheim suggests people placed the houses in areas supported by good fishing and hunting conditions because they recognized good places to live. To read about another archaeological project in Norway, focusing on much more recent history, go to “The Secrets of Sabotage.”

https://www.archaeology.org/news/6281-180117-norway-mesolithic-dwellings

http://sciencenordic.com/houses-reused-over-1000-years-during-stone-age

 

[Angela]

TRONDHEIM, NORWAY—Silje Fretheim of Norwegian University of Science and Technology analyzed the excavation of 150 well-preserved Stone Age dwellings in Norway and found that some Mesolithic hunter-gatherers built pit houses that were maintained for 1,000 years. According to a report in Science Nordic, the earliest traces of homes are small rings of stones that secured tent flaps made of animal skins, and cleared surfaces with areas of debris from stone tool construction. Fretheim thinks hunter-gatherers traveled with these small tents. Then, some 9,500 years ago, as the ice retreated and sea levels along the coast stabilized, people began to build pit houses with frameworks of wood and turf that were slightly larger than the tents. These larger dwellings may have been shared by larger family groups. Some of the pit houses were abandoned for a time and then reused over a period of more than 1,000 years. Fretheim suggests people placed the houses in areas supported by good fishing and hunting conditions because they recognized good places to live. To read about another archaeological project in Norway, focusing on much more recent history, go to “The Secrets of Sabotage.”

https://www.archaeology.org/news/6281-180117-norway-mesolithic-dwellings

http://sciencenordic.com/houses-reused-over-1000-years-during-stone-age

This correlates with other evidence that as the Mesolithic went on, the hunter-gatherers were more or less sedentary, living around areas where there were large amounts of fish: either along rivers or the seas in the north where they retreated.

 

[bicicleur 2]

This correlates with other evidence that as the Mesolithic went on, the hunter-gatherers were more or less sedentary, living around areas where there were large amounts of fish: either along rivers or the seas in the north where they retreated.

that is when cold tundra changed into forested areas

on the cold tundra the animals were migrating animals and the hunters followed their prey

in the forest, both animals and HG were sedentary, confined to their own territory

 

[halfalp]

But, already in Vestonice and Pavlov times, HG didnt, at least for a great part of the years live in cave but in open space near river. Mammoth Bones Dwellings were one of the first eurasian physical type of habitations, all those paleolithic people were mostly semi-nomads but the traditionnal view of nomadisme vs. sedentarism is somehow biased, because when we think sedentarism our mind make an inference with neolithic package, civilization etc. But i'm pretty sure in the future we gonna have from different place of the world archaeological sites of HG that gonna shows a highly sedentarism without talking of domestication.

 

[bicicleur 2]

But, already in Vestonice and Pavlov times, HG didnt, at least for a great part of the years live in cave but in open space near river. Mammoth Bones Dwellings were one of the first eurasian physical type of habitations, all those paleolithic people were mostly semi-nomads but the traditionnal view of nomadisme vs. sedentarism is somehow biased, because when we think sedentarism our mind make an inference with neolithic package, civilization etc. But i'm pretty sure in the future we gonna have from different place of the world archaeological sites of HG that gonna shows a highly sedentarism without talking of domestication.

we know a lot about paleolithic HG living in caves, but not about HG living in other areas, without caves
it doesn't mean there were no HG there, just the evidence is harder to find

 

[halfalp]

we know a lot about paleolithic HG living in caves, but not about HG living in other areas, without caves
it doesn't mean there were no HG there, just the evidence is harder to find

Yes, but in the exemple of Dolni Vestonice, Pavlov and even Kostenki, show us that they didn't live in cave primarly, because what's characterizes cave HG is the Parietal Art, less than the Art Mobilier ( dont know how to translate ) of Central, Eastern Europe and Siberia. Of course they certainly take cave to protect themselves, in a long time hunt, before return in the main site. But they primarly lived near river, in open land, for the time before roughly 20'000 BC, it means some kind of Tundra or Mammoth Steppe. It's sad that apart the well known Mammoth or Animal Bones Dwellings, we dont have an idea of their open-air shelter. And like i said they were not sedentary like for exemple the Lepenski Vir people but more likely semi-nomads that followed Mammoth, and others big game animals but always with the main shelter being occupying after the hunt season. We also know from the Vestonice site that they eat some vegetables because they found starch residu, i wonder if they cooked them and how... A lot of questions without clue sadly.