Source Criticism or Dilettanti? Some thoughts on "Scandinavia's Oldest House" in Tingby near Kalmar, Småland

Abstract

ln a number of articles the so-called Tingby House is presented as a feature from the Boreal Period, a sensationally early date for so distinct a house remnant. This article questions the dating and, more particularly, the way in which it was obtained. lnadequate source criticism, improper use of ¹⁴C dating and the lack of rigorous presentation of evidence in the argument itself means that both the date and the excavators' method must be regarded with considerable skepticism. The probability that the Tingby settlement is a multi-component site is supported by the ¹⁴C date from 9 millennia, among other evidence, but is explained away in a methodologically unacceptable way by the excavators. The following article is thus a purely mcthodological comment, not a contribution to the Mesolithic debate.