Durham E-Theses Animal bones and human society in the late younger stone age of arctic Norway Hodgetts, Lisa Maye How to cite: Hodgetts, Lisa Maye (1999) Animal bones and human society in the late younger stone age of arctic Norway, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4491/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 ANIMAL BONES AND HUMAN SOCIETY IN THE LATE YOUNGER STONE AGE OF ARCTIC NORWAY VOLUME 1 OF 2 LISA MA YE HODGETTS Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Durham Department of Archaeology 1999 Declaration No material contained in this thesis has previously been submitted by me for a degree at this or any other university. If material has been generated through joint work, my independent contribution has been clearly indicated in the text. In all other cases, material from the work of others has been acknowledged and quotations and paraphrases suitably indicated. Statement of Copyright © The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without her prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Lisa Maye Hodgetts ANIMAL BONES AND HUMAN SOCIETY IN THE LATE YOUNGER STONE AGE OF ARCTIC NORWAY ABSTRACT In recent decades anthropologists and archaeologists have divided hunter-gatherer groups into two types; "simple" and "complex". However, many documented foraging communities display traits associated with both types, and the placement of past and present hunter-gatherers into either category is problematic. The substantial house remains of the late Younger Stone Age hunter-gatherers of Varanger^ord, North Norway, have been connected by many archaeologists with sedentism and, by extension, with "complexity" and permanent social hierarchies. This analysis takes a more direct approach social organisation, using faunal remains to better define the social relationships between households within this community. The large mammal remains from a series of houses are compared to determine whether all households had equal access to prey species and to different parts of large mammal carcasses. Towards this end, the climate and available resources are established for North Norway during the Younger Stone Age. Previous interpretations of the archaeology of the period, including the argument for "complexity" are then discussed. The study sites and associated faunal assemblages are presented. Seal hunting patterns are compared between households in terms of both the choice of species and the age breakdown of each hunted seal population. Local differences in the numbers of ringed seal are attributed to the preference of ringed seal for certain types of coastline. Strong similarities are noted between all sites in terms of both the season of seal hunting activity and the selection of aduh versus juvenile harp seal and ringed seal. Distribution of seal and reindeer body parts are also compared between and within houses. Again, there are more similarities than differences between households. Seals were returned whole to all houses and reindeer body part representation appears to be mediated by the utility of each part for artefact manufacture. The implication of these results are discussed in terms of the structure of social relationships, symbolic behaviour and territoriality. The utility of this approach in a broader context is also considered. TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume 1 page Declaration and Statement of Copyright i Abstract ii Table of Contents iii List of Tables vii List of Figures ix Acknowledgments xiii Chapter 1: Introduction: Hunter-gatherer zooarchaeology and the question of complexity 1 1.1 Hunter-gatherer "complexity" 1 1.2 The zooarchaeology of hunter-gatherers 2 1.3 A case study from Arctic Norway 5 Chapter 2: The Environmental Setting of Varangerfjord 8 2.1 Location and character of the fjord 8 2.2 The surrounding seas 9 2.3 Modern climate 10 2.4 Modern vegetation 11 2.5 Climate and vegetation change in Varanger 13 2.6 Fauna 13 2.6.1 Sea mammals 14 2.6.2 Land mammals 15 2.6.3 Birds 19 2.6.4 Fish 20 2.6.5 Shellfish 22 2.7 Setting the scene 23 Chapter 3: Changing Theories, Changing Models: The History of Younger Stone Age Archaeology in Varanger 25 3.1 The Stone Age cultural sequence 25 3.2 The Older Stone Age 26 3.3 The Younger Stone Age 28 3.4 The Early Metal Period 31 3.5 A caution 32 3.6 A history of Younger Stone Age archaeology 32 3.6.1 Circumpolar ethnography, egalitarian bands and the seasonal round 33 3.6.2 Sedentism, coastal resources and "complexity" 38 3.6.3 Structuration theory 40 3.6.4 A post-structural critique 46 HI 3.7 A final word on seasonality 47 3.8 Unresolved questions 49 Chapter 4: The Bone Assemblages 50 4.1 Introduction 50 4 2 The study sample 50 4.3 Bergeby 54 4.3.1 Bergeby 18 54 4.3.2 Fauna 55 4.4 Karlebotnbakken 61 4.4.1 Fauna 62 4.5 Advik 65 4.5.1 Advik B 65 4.5.2 Advik J 66 4.5.3 Fauna 67 4.6 Gressbakken Nedre Vest 69 4.6.1 Gressbakken 3 70 4.6.2 Gressbakken 4 73 4.6.3 Gressbakken 5 77 4.7 Gressbakken Nedre 0st 79 4.8 Kalkillebukta 81 4.8.1 Kalkillebukta 7 81 4.8.2 Kalkillebukta 17 82 4.9 H0ybukt 84 4.9.1 H0ybukt2 84 4.9.2 H0ybukt4 85 4.9.3 Fauna 85 4.10 General trends in late YSA faunal exploitation 86 4.10.1 Fish 86 4.10.2 Birds 87 4.10.3 Mammals 87 4.11 Summary 88 Chapter 5: The Trouble With Bones 89 5.1 Introduction to the taphonomy of the Varanger assemblages 89 5.2 Pre-depositional processes 90 5.2.1 Cutmarks 90 5.2.2 Marrow extraction 90 5.2.3 Carnivore activity 93 5.3 Depositional environment 94 5.4 Recovery 96 5.5 Quantification 102 5 .6 Conclusion; Limits and potential of the Varanger assemblages 106 Chapter 6: Spring Dawns: Seal Hunting in Varanger 107 6.1 Introduction 107 6.2 The seal species of Varanger 108 6.2.1 Harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) 108 6.2.2 Ringed seal {Phoca hispida) 110 6.2.3 Harbour seal {Phoca vituhna) 110 iv 6.2.4 Grey seal {Halichoerusgrypus) Ill 6.2.5 Bearded seal {Erignathus barbatus) 112 6.3 The identification of seal bones from archaeological sites 112 6.4 General trends in seal species representation 113 6.4.1 Relative importance of seal species at each house 116 6.5 The harp seal hunt 119 6.5.1 Tooth sections 119 6.5.2 Season 122 6.5.3 Long bone shaft measurements and timing of the harp seal hunt 123 6.5.4 Measurements and population structure 125 6.5.5 Epiphysial fusion 126 6.5 Hunting ringed seal 133 6.6.1 Season 133 6.6.2 Age distribution 135 6,7 Conclusion: Seal hunting techniques and prey selection 140 Chapter 7: Sea and Land: Seal and Reindeer Exploitation 143 7.1 Introduction 143 7.2 Seal body part representation 144 7.2.1 Identifiability 144 7.2.2 Spearman's rho: Testing trends statistically 146 7.2.3 Comparison of seal body part representation at each house 147 7.2.4 Skeletal element representation, bone mineral density and meat utility indices 149 7.2.5 Seal skulls and symbolic behaviour 153 7.2.6 Differential disposal in middens 159 7.2.7 Summary 162 7.3 Reindeer body part representation 162 7.3.1 Differential preservation 163 7.3.2 Differential transport 165 7.4 Artefacts of bone and antler 168 7.5 Sea and land 172 Chapter 8: Conclusion: Late Younger Stone Age social organisation in Varanger 174 8.1 Egalitarian or non-egalitarian? 174 8.1.1 Mobility 174 8.1.2 Diet 177 8.1.3 Large mammal remains 179 8.2 Territoriality 181 8.3 Suggestions for further work 187 Volume 2 Figures 191 Appendix A: Cutmarks, Marrow Extraction, Carnivore Damage and Fragmentation 289 Appendix B: A Manual for the Identification of Post-Cranial Skeletal Elements of North Atlantic Phocid Seals 296 B.l Introduction 296 B.2 Elements of the skull 299 B.2.1 Cranium 299 B.2.2 Auditory bulla (Pars petrosa) 307 B.2.3 Mandible 310 B.3 Scapula 313 B.3.1 Adult scapula 313 B. 3.2 Juvenile scapula 318 B.4 Humerus 321 B.4.1 Adult humerus 321 B.4.2 Juvenile humerus 330 B.5 Radius 334 B.5.1 Adult radius 334 B.5.2 Juvenile radius 340 B.6 Ulna 343 B.6.1 Aduh ulna 343 B.6.2 Juvenile ulna 347 B.7 Innominate (Pelvis) 352 B.7.1 Adult pelvis 352 B.7.2 Juvenile pelvis 356 B.8 Femur 361 B.8.1 Adult femur 361 B.8.2 Juvenile femur 364 B.9 Tibio-fibula 367 B.9.1 Adult tibia 367 B.9.2 Juvenile tibio-fibula 374 Appendix C: Reindeer Tooth Sections and Season of Death 378 Bibliography 380 VI LIST OF TABLES page Table 1.1 Simple versus complex hunter-gatherers 1 Table 3.1 The cultural sequence of Northern Norway 26 Table 3.2 Annual catch of cod, saithe and haddock in Finnmark county in 1949 36 Table 4.1 Radiocarbon dates from the YSA Period III features which comprise the study sample 52 Table 4.2 Representation of vertebrate taxa at Bergeby 18, SE midden 56 Table 4.3 Representation of vertebrate taxa at Bergeby 18, SW midden 57 Table 4.4 Representation of vertebrate taxa at Bergeby 18, middens combined ..