Club head fragmentSilje Hårstad/Museum of Cultural History
Rock crystal toolSilje Hårstad/Museum of Cultural History
Posted on 10/14/2025 11:10:50 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
An excavation in eastern Norway has uncovered traces of a dwelling and thousands of artifacts marking a shift some 9,000 years ago from nomadic hunting and gathering to a more sedentary lifestyle featuring fishing and the development of new technologies. At the time, the dwelling sat on high ground near a cove. Archaeologist Silje Hårstad of the Museum of Cultural History told Science Norway that a variety of tools were recovered from the site, including half of a shaft-hole club. "It was round, slightly oval, with a distinct drilled hole in the middle where a shaft was once attached," she said. Wear marks on this club suggest that it had been used as a tool, perhaps to pound fibers to soften them, Hårstad added. Fishhooks, a tool made of rock crystal, part of a polished ax blade, and an unfinished step ax were also recovered. Hårstad and her colleagues will analyze samples of the burned bones at the site for information on what sorts of animals were consumed and soil samples from the dwelling to look for evidence of bark mats that may have been used as flooring. They will also radiocarbon date hazelnuts from the site for an accurate timeline of the occupation. "All these finds point to a period of intense activity, enough to build up these layers of artifacts and bone remains," Hårstad said. "As well as the fact that they invested resources in a solid house construction instead of just putting up a tent." To read more about Norwegian archaeology, go to "Hidden Messages."
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
Club head fragmentSilje Hårstad/Museum of Cultural History
Rock crystal toolSilje Hårstad/Museum of Cultural History
Half of the rest of the Paleolithic keyword, sorted:
Thank you for this post. Important discoveries for sure.
I asked ChatGpt about drilling the hole in the oval head using a bow drill and a stone or wooden drill bit with sand as an abrasive (3/4” hole in 1” granite)...
Average penetration rate = 0.25 mm/hour (realistic for bow drill + sand), Then total time = 25.4 mm/0.25 mm/hour =
102 hours
Even if you achieved 1 mm/hour (very optimistic), it would still take ~25 hours of active drilling.
Wow!
No lutefisk remains?..................
Here is the drawing.
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