Neolithic (5000 - 2000 B.C.)

Stone arrow points found at Elgsnes. Ill.: L. B. Myklevoll

Flense-knife and little axe. Ill.: L. B. Myklevoll

There have been many Neolithic finds at Elgsnes, especially from the period 5000 - 3000 B.C. There seem to have been major settlements at both Øverlandet and Storbakkan. There were visible remains of houses at Storbakkan right through to the early 20th century.

Excavations in Finnmark have shown us that the Neolithic houses were rectangular, with turf walls and wooden framework. They had stone-built hearths and the smoke from the fire-place went up through a hole in the roof. The houses stood in line, adjacent to the sea-shore. As the land rose, new houses had to be built at a lower terrace. Therefore the sites at Storbakkan are younger than the finds at Øverlandet.

As the stone age progressed, the houses became larger. This indicates that people steadily became more settled, a tendency that probably began already in the Mesolithic. Over time people became more specialised and exploited the marine resources for increasingly longer periods of the year.

Several unifacial slate knives have been found at Elgsnes. The knives were probably flense-knives, used to flay the skin and blubber of seals and small whales. A large amount of polished slate arrow- and spear-points have also been found. Several of the various kinds of points have probably been used for hunting marine mammals. Several sinkers of stone show that fish played an important part in the diet. Polished axes made of various rocks witness to the large amount of woodworking in the period. The largest axes were used to fell trees and to the coarser wood-work, like the construction of a framework for the houses, and the frames for the hide-boats. The small axes may have been used for small-scale work. The majority of the tools have nonetheless probably been made of wood, bone or horn, which have whithered away in the ground.

Conflicts, such as dissatisfaction with the leaders’ decisions, are easily solved in mobile societies, by the displacement of the discontented, who can then join another group. With a more permanently settled population, conflicts need to be settled on the spot. Many researchers are therefore of the opinion that a need for stricter social structures, with more authority to the leaders, arose in the Neolithic. Gradually this may have led to a socially stratified society.