Fosna-Hensbacka Culture - Fosna/Hensbacka Culture Group

Fosna/Hensbacka Culture Group

The name Fosna takes its name of a location in Kristiansund, and it is an umbrella term for the oldest settlements along the Norwegian coast, from Hordaland to Nordland. The oldest settlements in Bohuslän on the Swedish west coast (the Hensbacka), derive from the Ahrensburgian culture group from Northern Germany. The oldest Fosna settlements in Eastern Norway are found at Høgnipen in Østfold. New finds (2008) on Pauler in Larvik seem to be even older.

The settlements were located close to the contemporary seashore but, due to constant land uplift after deglaciation, they are now 60–70 m above present-day sea level in western Norway, while Høgnipen is as high as 150 m above present-day sea level, the difference being due to the greater crustal rebound on the Baltic side of the Scandinavian peninsula. Site locations indicate that fishing and seal hunting were important for the economy and it is assumed that hide covered wooden framed boats were used in that the majority of Hensbacka sites (ca.75%) are located on islands in the outer archipelago. The Fosna/Hensbacka culture represent a pure hunter-gatherer culture. On settlements, archaeologists have only found stone tools and the remains of the production of the same. Characteristic tools include flake axes, lanceolates and tanged arrowheads.