Norwegian Sketches; 1

The. Bigger. The bigger. Bigger. We invite you to join us for a Norwegian newscast. It's. A program of music and commentary produced from materials provided by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Heard on this program will be like musical selections and a documentary on nomadic hunting. The opening composition on our program is a minuet by Christiane hogger performed by the Norwegian broadcasting orchestra and the conductor is on even Tibet. I'm with.

Luke. The Norwegian broadcasting Orchestra under the direction of all even the better performing Christian huggers minuet next on Norwegian sketches radio Norway presents the first in a series on archaeology and archaeological finds in Norway. And may we ask you to travel with us far back in time. Ice covers the last and and the waters and that is no night. No birds gnaw fish. Nor mammals. All this I and endlessness of time. Our search for the origins of human life in Norway must begin at the edge of

the retreating ice cap after the last great ice age. Some 15000 years ago the land may have been inhabited before. In the periods between the various ice ages which we know descended of in northern Europe in our distant past. But the ice reformed the land and left no trace of human life and activity. As the ice retreated northwards and left the coasts paradise free with a sea land fish and arctic sea birds in the water and reindeer on the inland tundra the nomadic hunters followed after they were used to life in an Arctic climate and their life was dependent upon the animals they hunted. It is therefore quite natural that we have found some of the elders great lakes of human life in Norway in the very north in Finmark where conditions even today resemble the Arctic environment of those days. The fines are not spectacular from a modern point of view. All that is left to see are the remnants of

tools made of stone and the fall off from the production of stone implements such as small and large arrowheads scrapers to prepare skins axes heads and the sharp edges of knives made of stone and all else the handles and shafts of wood. The tools and weapons made of holes in the skins for clothing tents and boots which must also have been in use. All this has been worn down by wind and water on the open house grounds next to the Arctic Ocean although the period we call the Stone Age stretches of a many thousand years and stone age sites have been found in all parts of Norway. Hunting is always the dominant factor. And the really fundamental changes in the life of the hunter people are those caused by a gradual change in climate vegetation and animal life. Always the

choice of site is decided by the fundamental need the hump for the animals on the inland and the fish in the water. This same need keeps us there in age for fathers on the road following the animals over large areas and probably moving from one sees no dwelling place to the other. Let's visit one of these stone age sites and see what there is to find. We have taken our recorder now up to a mountain lake of Elm about 3500 feet above sea level. Hemmed in by barren wild mountain sides. This lake lies on the high land between East and West of Norway. Here a team of young archaeologists and students are working to unveil the traces of a Stone Age settlement in remand at the northern end of the plate. And we are sitting now

in the middle of the excavating field with the leader of the expedition. He's working with a small triangular spade. Scraping off the top Blairs of the ground the finds are made not deep down just Moss. And the white stone there's easily to be seen clearly not part of the natural environment here and these white stones they are the proofs you are there. Yes there is no doubt that the stones made by people because we don't find such stone in the surroundings here. But they look just like you. Well they look like nothing they look just like

stone. What are they. What all about you. I should think fall off from the production of real improvements. What kind of stone is this. The most common material is what we call parts of it by hard stone much harder than glass. About the same hardness as in stone I should say. Where do they get the stem from if it's not found here. We have found the quarry where they got this material about three miles from here and there are certain signs in this quarry that they have got out the material from the rock. Are there any theories on how they set about to make their weapons.

The most common theory is that they chipped the stone chip the flakes off the rock with another stone. But we don't know exactly I should say but. It's the most or the most common method between primitive people today. We've talked about a stone age settlement but have these fines been dated. Yes the most commentary about the age of the fans is that they are from the period between 7000 years before Crist down to perhaps 2000 years before Christ. Looking around that the landscape here I wouldn't exactly call it fruitful. There are barren mountains on all sides. Why did people settle here.

That's one of the chief problems connected with this excavations. I should think that the reindeer hunting is the chief reason why people settle here. But we don't know it exactly. Perhaps they're a leg. Perhaps they were these people from. Certainly they have. I don't know any other source of subsistence here in the mountains than hunting and perhaps fishing as he said. Yes. Have you found actual arrow heads or other weapons on this particular place. Yes we have found a few arrow heads for instance this one. Three angular arrow head made of the common white stone rounded in the corner CONUS shaped from both sides

about 1 inch long. But could that kill a reindeer do you think. How did they lose it. It must have been an hour of that. But apart from that we don't know anything about the hunting methods used here in the mountains. But the Arrowhead is here and they musta used it to sell it. Have you found anything else here any material or anything else but these stones that through this one are the chief problem here in the mountains. All organic material has completely disappeared in the soil here and the things left to us are only a stone. No bone of wood and so on.

Fireplace ashes so I says yes. Fireplaces are found commonly on various dwelling places. But they must have had some sort of shelter if they lived here. Summer and Winter in this cold windy region that arrives is still one problem. Did the people live here all the year round or did they live in the low land during winter and only during summer in the mountains. We don't know it. There are many questions to be answered and as far as I understand you are at the beginning of a new side of archaeological finds in Norway through these mountain settlements. Is that right. Yeah that's right. In connection with a hydroelectric power plants the shores of the lakes are

systematically investigated before the construction of the dams and investigations. We find the polling places usually near to the shore. So much for the mountainside if you will move with us now from the Highland down to the coastline district of Vista a nest of anger and also a little forward in time. I would like is to visit another stone age dwelling here. The general pattern of stone as the only preserved material is no longer valid in a cave under Laz of seashells and other fall of a large number of bone material is preserved and can give us a more varied picture of life in the latest in age. It is a strange feeling to sit here in this small and rather dark cave knowing that it has once given shelter to apprehend starry

ancestors. Here they sat with that same stone roof jutting out of the entrance to ward off the wind or rain or snow and with the same surrounding low hills to hide the cave from sight. And with the same view of the sea the fjord with its many islands and inlets are my room and deciding to write about it it really looked the same at that time some 5000 years ago. The cave itself of course is the same but the surroundings help changed a lot. I'm not thinking of the houses flying between the caves. The present shoreline but the fact that the sea level of the main settling period was about 12 metres higher than today. You have to do a lot of imagination trying to look back into the past. What about the climate. Was that the same at that time.

The cave has been inhabited during a period of more than 3000 years and the climate has changed more than once. In the main settling period in the Neolithic times the climate was warmer and drier than today. The landscape around us today is almost without natural grown tree at the time all of it was covered with big forests containing animals we have to go down to the European continent to find again today. This type gives a better shelter than a tent. Could we call this the beginning this other kind of home our house. The bone finds in the West a cave shows that the cave has been used as a welding place only during the summer. In other words the hunters had their permanent dwelling going as other places and stayed out with only during the hunting seasons.

You mentioned the bones. Could you tell us a bit about what has been found in this place among the relics you can see arrow heads of flint and bone fishing hooks harpoons of bone and other points of bone and under grated corals pottery. All of the artifacts show that they wish to kill is a typical hunting station in addition to the great number of bone implements it contained rich and very gated phoner. It included for instance at least 70 animals including 37 bird twenty two mammal and 11 fish business. Must have been quite a pair how and where were these things found. Well it was a layer about one and a half metre thick mostly are which was our shells of different types.

That explains why so much of the bone material has been preserved up to present day. You mention that the people living here were hunters and you mention the forests and the animals that the disk lies near to the sea and I suppose the sea has also been an important source of living in the fish places prove that fishing took place both in shallow and deep waters. The ling for instance is only a phone found at the death of 40 fathoms outside the wish to bay. That proves that sort of boat probably boat of the Eskimo type must have been owned and used. Culturally you also contain on about 1 meter thick layer of shells which tell us that gathering all shells must have been an important part of the book

during the settlement. We also have net breakers which show that most have used nets to catch their fish. We've talked about that way of living but we haven't talked about that way of thinking. Do the science here tell us anything on that side of the story. I'm afraid very little in the cultural stratum was also a human skeleton. I bought about 14 to 18 years old he was and hope to be buried here close to the cave. Wall of where the head leaning against it. There are some similar burials found dating from this can even Stone Age but it certainly was not a usual custom among the relics we also can find some bone and stone amulets which probably protect the

bearers from evil gods of the forest see but we only have to use our imagination to find out or to think what they thought. You are. And that was the first in a series on the search for Norway's past produced by Google Kraus doll of radio Norway. To conclude this program to short musical selections as performed by the Norwegian broadcasting orchestra.

The first is called party by Finn looked and the second overture in miniature by Ed thought he played great conducting is live and die. Yes. The boy. Ha ha.

The bread. You.

Yeah.

The Arab. The will of. The own. The bomb.

The boy. Eh eh. Eh eh. Denny.

Say. That was party by Finn looked at overture in miniature by Edward Bing including this program of Norwegian Skechers the Norwegian broadcasting orchestra was conducted by believing that. This program was prepared at the University of Michigan by Marianne Watson. This is Fred Hiatt. Join us again next week. This is ANY our of the national educational radio network.