COAST INLAND RELATIONS IN THE MESOLITHIC OF SOUTHERN NORWAY

The paper discusses regional Mesolithic interactions in southern Norwa y. The earliest coastal sites have been dated to c. 10,500-10,000 BP, and all through the Mesolithic the dissected coastlines of Norway reta ined a position as prime areas for subsistence and settlement. An impo rtant point is that there was coast/inland interaction in certain area s already soon after deglaciation. A premise for this is that western groups seasonally moved through the intermediate zones into the mounta ins. Due to short distances and easy access between coast and mountain s, Southwest Norway in particular holds potential insights concerning hunter-gatherers' use of different ecological zones in the course of a single year. However, lack of evidence in the intermediate zones, and the paucity of faunal remains and radiocarbon dates at the coastal si tes, make it difficult to specify regional patterns of seasonality.