Sweden: Submerged landscapes of the Early Mesolithic
Nilsson, B.; Hansson, A.; Sjöström, A. (2020). Sweden: Submerged landscapes of the Early Mesolithic, in: Bailey, G. et al. The archaeology of Europe’s drowned landscapes. Coastal Research Library, 35: pp. 77-93. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37367-2_4 In: Coastal Research Library. Springer: Cham. ISSN 2211-0577; e-ISSN 2211-0585, more |  |
| Author keywords | Submerged landscapes, Baltic Sea, Mesolithic, Yoldia Sea, Ancylus Lake, Littorina Sea, Hanö Bay, Haväng |
| Authors | | Top | - Nilsson, B.
- Hansson, A.
- Sjöström, A.
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| Abstract | In the Swedish waters of the south-western Baltic Sea, large areas (3500 km2) of inundated land are present. Due to the complex patterns of past sea-level oscillations, combined with cold and brackish water, conditions for preserved Early Mesolithic sites (11,500–8000 cal BP) are good. So far, only 44 archaeological sites, or clusters of sites, have been found. Recent geoarchaeological and diving surveys have resulted in new information about now-submerged terrestrial remains of forests, river valleys, lakes and bogs and suggest that Swedish waters hide many unrevealed sites with a high scientific potential. From both an environmental and a cultural heritage perspective, these remains are important‚ but they have limited protection, since many are not defined as archaeological sites. Novel interdisciplinary research efforts combining ecological, environmental and archaeological perspectives are now being devoted to changing the way submerged landscapes are treated and protected. |
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