From antler to stone - from stone to antler. An antler object with a strange shape and ornamentation from a 9000-year-old settlement in central Scania, southern Sweden

Abstract

During an excavation of a settlement at the edge of a former lake in the bog Ageröds mosse, central Scania, southernmost part of Sweden, a strange object with a handle-hole was found in the refuse. By the date of the deposit where the object was found, it is approximately 9000 years old and belongs to the Late Maglemose Culture. The object of antler has a shape and decoration that is unique to the Mesolithic. It is shaped with a lower ridge in the middle and a shelf near the point. The most obvious motif is a large spiral made of small impressions. On both sides, a curved zigzag made in several rows of impressions can be identified.
The best parallel is found on stone pickaxes from western Sweden and western Norway. The spiral is also found on rock carvings in western Norway, which makes the Ageröd object’s origin from that region most likely.
In contrast to the most realistic paintings and carvings found during the later Ice Age cultures in southern Europe, the decorations during the ensuing period among hunter-gatherers, the Mesolithic (ca. 9000–4000 cal. BCE) consist of geometric motifs that for us today can almost be described as abstract (Plonka 2003). They occur throughout Europe, but since they are mainly coated as carvings on antler and bone tools, most are found in southern Scandinavia, where the conservation environment for organic material is particularly favorable for this type of material remains.