Inger Marie Berg-Hansen

Selected publications

• Berg-Hansen, I. M. & Damlien, H. (2023). Away with the borders! Variation in lithic technological practises in Northern Europe. Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic (10 900–7000 BCE). In J. Apel & L. Sundström (eds.): Stones. Current Stone Age research in Northern Europe. Occasional Papers in Archaeology, OPIA 81, Department of Archaeology, Uppsala University.
• Berg-Hansen, I. M., Mjærum, A., Roalkvam, I., Solheim, S. & Schülke, A. (2023). Coast-concepts in Norwegian Stone Age archaeology. In Marchand, G., Stephan, P. (eds.): Investigate the shore, sound the past: new methods and practices of Maritime Prehistory, Société Préhistorique Française, Proceedings (Séances de la Société préhistorique française), 19, p. 45-60. ISSN : 2263-3847 – ISBN : 978-2-913745-92-6. https://www.prehistoire.org/515_p_57837/accEs-libre-seance-19-investigate-the-shore-sounding-the-past.html
• Schülke, A., Berg-Hansen, I. M., Mjærum, A., Roalkvam, I. & Solheim, S. (2023). New Perspectives on Old Shores: Current approaches on the Mesolithic in south-eastern Norway and their potential. In Marchand, G., Stephan, P. (eds.): Investigate the shore, sound the past: new methods and practices of Maritime Prehistory, Société Préhistorique Française, Proceedings (Séances de la Société préhistorique française), 19, p. 123-142. ISSN : 2263-3847 – ISBN : 978-2-913745-92-6. https://www.prehistoire.org/515_p_57837/accEs-libre-seance-19-investigate-the-shore-sounding-the-past.html
• Nielsen, Svein Vatsvåg; Mansrud, Anja; Austvoll, Knut Ivar; Denham, Sean Dexter; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Persson, Per [Vis alle 8 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2023). Hunting, fishing, gardening: Re-evaluating Middle Neolithic mobility and cultural diversity on the Norwegian Skagerrak coast. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. ISSN 2352-409X. 51. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104139.
• Berg-Hansen, I., Hårstad, S., Granados, T., Reitan, G., Romundset, A., Johannessen, L. & Solheim, S. (2022). Enculturating Coastal Environments in the Middle Mesolithic (8300–6300 cal BCE) – Site Variability, Human–Environment Relations, and Mobility Patterns in Northern Vestfold, SE-Norway. Open Archaeology, 8(1), 634-669. https://doi-org.ezproxy.universitetetioslo.no/10.1515/opar-2022-0251
• Berg-Hansen, I. M. (2021). Tidligmesolitikum (kapittel 3.2). I Damlien, H., Berg-Hansen, I. M., Melheim, L., Mjærum, A., Persson, P., Schülke, A., Solheim, S. (red.). Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge. Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk, 72-85. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.141
• Berg-Hansen, I. M., Damlien, H. & Melheim, L. (2021). Nye faglige satsningsområder - Teknologi (kapittel 4.1.1). I Damlien, H., Berg-Hansen, I. M., Melheim, L., Mjærum, A., Persson, P., Schülke, A., Solheim, S. (red.). Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge. Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk, 137-149. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.141
• Berg-Hansen, I. M. & Persson, P. (2021). Forskningsaktiviteten etter år 2000 (kapittel 3.1.2). I Damlien, H., Berg-Hansen, I. M., Melheim, L., Mjærum, A., Persson, P., Schülke, A., Solheim, S. (red.). Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge. Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk, 67-72. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.141
• Persson, P., Berg-Hansen, I. M. & Damlien, H. (2021). Strategier for funnbehandling og dokumentasjon (kapittel 4.2.3). I Damlien, H., Berg-Hansen, I. M., Melheim, L., Mjærum, A., Persson, P., Schülke, A., Solheim, S. (red.). Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge. Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk, 176-178. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.141
• Berg-Hansen, I. M., (2021). Data og datainnsamling - Buskerud (kapittel 2.2.3). Damlien, H., Berg-Hansen, I. M., Melheim, L., Mjærum, A., Persson, P., Schülke, A., Solheim, S. (red.) Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge. Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk,  33-35. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.141
• Damlien, H., Berg-Hansen, I. M., Melheim, L., Mjærum, A., Persson, P., Schülke, A., Solheim, S. red. (2021). Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge. Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.141
• Mansrud, A. & Berg-Hansen, I. M. (2021). Animist Ontologies in the Third Millennium BCE? Hunter-Gatherer Persistency and Human–Animal Relations in Southern Norway: The Alveberget Case. Open Archaeology, vol. 7, no. 1, 2021, pp. 868-888. https://doi-org.ezproxy.universitetetioslo.no/10.1515/opar-2020-0176
• Mithen, Steve, Wicks, Karen & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2020):  Chapter 7. The Mesolithic coastal exploitation of western Scotland: The impacts of climate change and use of favoured locations. In A. Schülke (ed.):  The Coastal Landscapes of the Mesolithic - Human Engagement with the Coast from the Atlantic to the Baltic Sea. Routledge, 147-178. https://www.routledge.com/Coastal-Landscapes-of-the-Mesolithic-Human-Engagement-with-the-Coast-from/Schulke/p/book/9781138303607
• Berg-Hansen, I. M., Damlien, H. Zagorska, I. (2019): The northern fringe of the Swiderian technological tradition – Salaspils Laukskola revisited. Archaeologia Baltica, vol. 26, 12-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15181/ab.v26i0.2020
• Berg-Hansen, I. M., Damlien, H. Zagorska, I., Kalniņš, M., Bērziņš, V., & Schülke, A. (2019): Long-term variation in lithic technological traditions and social interaction: the Stone Age of the Eastern Baltic (Latvia), 10,500–2900 calBC. Fennoscandia archaeologica XXXVI, 6-32. https://journal.fi/fennoscandiaarchaeologica/article/view/126561 
• Mevel, L., Weber, M.-J. & Berg-Hansen, I. M. (2019): Towards a reconstruction of the techno-economic variability of the Ahrensburgian in Schleswig-Holstein. Préhistoire de l’Europe du Nord-Ouest: mobilité, climats et entités culturelles. XXVIII e Congrès préhistorique de France – Amiens, 30 mai-4 juin 2016. Congrès préhistoriques de France. Volume 2 : Paléolithique supérieur ancien, Paléolithique final – Mésolithique. Société préhistorique française. Paris, 433-453. http://www.prehistoire.org/shop_515-47838-0-0/c28v2eme-cpf28v2-amiens-30-mai-4-juin-2016.html
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie, Wicks, Karen & Mithen, Steve  (2019): A tanged point and two blade technologies from Rubha Port an T-Seilich, Isle of Islay, Western Scotland. Journal of Lithic Studies, vol. 6, nr. 1. https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.2892 , http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/article/view/2892
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2019). Alt Duvenstedt LA121 revisited - Blade technology in Ahrensburgian culture. Eriksen, B. V., Rensink, E., & Harris, S. (eds.): The Final Palaeolithic of Northern Eurasia. Proceedings of the Amersfoort, Schleswig and Burgos UISPP Commission Meetings. Schriften des Museums für Archäologie Schloss Gottorf. Ergänzungsreihe. Band 13. Kiel, Verlag Ludwig: 169-191.
• Damlien, H., Berg-Hansen, I.M., Zagorska, I., Kalniņš, M., Nielsen, S.V., Koxvold, L.U., Bērziņš, V., & Schülke, A. (2018). A Technological Crossroads: Exploring Diversity in the Pressure Blade Technology of Mesolithic Lativa. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 37(3): 229-246. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12126
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2018). Continuity and change in Late Glacial and Postglacial social networks; knowledge transmission and blade production methods in Ahrensburgian and Early Mesolithic North West Europe. Knutsson, K., Knutsson, H., Apel, J., & Glørstad, H., (eds.): Technology of Early Settlement in Northern Europe - Transmission of Knowledge and Culture (Volume 2). Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 63-98 Apr 2018. ISBN 9781781795163. https://www-equinoxpub-com.ezproxy.universitetetioslo.no/home/view-chapter/?id=30719. Date accessed: 29 Aug 2021 doi: 10.1558/equinox.30719. Apr 2018. https://www-equinoxpub-com.ezproxy.universitetetioslo.no/home/view-chapter/?id=30719
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2017). Den sosiale teknologien. Teknologi og tradisjon i Nord-Europa ved slutten av istida, 10 900 - 8500 f.Kr. PhD-avhandling, Universitetet i Oslo. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.19378.00963 
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie, ed. (2015). Arkeologiske undersøkelser 2005-2006, Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo [Archaeological excavations 2005-2006, Museum of Cultural history, University of Oslo]. Portal forlag. 174 pages. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.49
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2014). Kommentar til Leif Inge Åstveit: Noen synspunkt på den tidlig-mesolittiske bosetningen i Sør-Norge [Comment on Leif Inge Åstveit: Some perspective on the early Mesolithic settlement in southern Norway]. Primitive tider 16:105-109.
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2010). På sporet av tidlig gårdsstruktur : Kjelsvika - en marginal bosetning fra bronsealder og jernalder i et sentralområde på Lista, Vest-Agder fylke. Viking 73:121 - 142. ISSN 0332-608X. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Inger_Berg-Hansen/research
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2009). Steinalderregistrering. Metodologi og forskningshistorie i Norge 1900-2000, med en feltstudie fra Lista i Vest-Agder. [Stone Age Survey. Methodology and research history in Norway between 1900 and 2000, - including a field study from Lista, Vest-Agder.]  Kulturhistorisk museum, Fornminneseksjonen, Universitetet i Oslo.  ISBN 978-82-8084-048-6.  197 s. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Inger_Berg-Hansen/research
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2009). Vognhjulet i brønnen - sjeldent funn fra en førromersk boplass på Borgenhaugen i Sarpsborg, Østfold. Varia 77: 95-114.  ISSN 1504-3266. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Inger_Berg-Hansen/research
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (1999). The Availability of flint at Lista and Jæren, Southwestern Norway. Universitetets Oldsaksamlings Skrifter, 22: 255 - 266. ISSN 0806-3907. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Inger_Berg-Hansen/research

• Pirrone, Giada; Daire, Marie-Yvane & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2026). A Tool for Understanding Taskscapes in Stone Age Coastal Hunter-Fisher-Gatherer Societies: Theoretical Aspects of Building a Relational Database (NAUTICC) for Large-Scale Analysis. Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology. 9(1), p. 348–365. doi: 10.5334/jcaa.244. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper introduces the design process behind NAUTICC (Norms and Uses of Techniques in Prehistoric Coastal Communities), a relational database developed to collect, standardise, and analyse data related to hunter-fisher-gatherer (HFG) taskscapes across different geographical regions and chronological periods. The database is structured around a find-oriented approach, linking material evidence to interpretative categories derived from socio-anthropological theory, such as taskscapes, tasks, and bodily techniques. The paper outlines the theoretical framework underpinning the database design, the conceptual and relational modelling process, and the tools and workflows adopted for data management and FAIR-compliant dissemination. Particular attention is given to the challenges posed by the variability of available sources and the heterogeneity of archaeological data, as well as to the methodological choices made to balance standardisation and interpretative flexibility. NAUTICC is presented as a valuable research tool for large-scale, multi-regional and multi-period analysis, enabling the formulation of plausible archaeo-anthropological interpretations. It is currently being implemented on prehistoric coastal HFG communities in Brittany, southeastern Norway, and the Latvian coastal regions; however, its overall design remains flexible, allowing for potential future expansion to additional geographical areas and chronological periods.

• B., Grimm, Sonja; Rose, Helene Agerskov; Juul, Katrine Balsgaard; Damm, Charlotte Brysting & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2026). Sisterhood in archaeology: Berit Valentin Eriksen as mentor. In Krüger, Sascha & Groß, Daniel (Ed.), Between Thy and Tübingen. Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherer worlds in transition. Studies in honour of Berit V. Eriksen.. Sidestone Press. ISSN 9789464271560. p. 11–24. doi: https:/www.sidestone.com/books/between-thy-and-tuebingen. Full text in Research Archive
• Maričević, Darko; Mithen, Steven; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Elliott, Sarah; Fry, Robert & Pelling, Ruth [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2023). Excavation and survey at the Giant’s Grave, Slochd Measach, Nereabolls, a Neolithic chambered cairn on the Isle of Islay, Argyll & Bute: chronology, architecture, reuse and demise. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. ISSN 0081-1564. 152, p. 9–52. doi: 10.9750/PSAS.152.1357. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The ‘Giant’s Grave’, formally known as Slochd Measach, Nereabolls, (SM3927) is located on the Isle of Islay in western Scotland and is one of seven confirmed Clyde Cairns on the island. We describe the standing remains and excavations between 2015-18 intended to address the origin, architecture and use of this monument. We found that the cairn was most likely constructed between 3516-336 cal BC in one continuous effort. It was modified and reused on at least four occasions during the Early and Late Bronze Age, and extensively robbed during the Iron Age. This post-Neolithic activity left a small collection of ceramic vessels may have been used for funerary purposes of votive offerings. We compare the architecture of the Giant’s Grave with that of other cairns on Islay and in the wider region.

• Schülke, Almut; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel Johan; Roalkvam, Isak & Solheim, Steinar (2023). New Perspectives on Old Shores: Current Approaches to the Mesolithic in South-Eastern Norway and their Potential. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Research on coastal societies in Mesolithic south-eastern Norway (9300-3900 cal. BC) has increased significantly in recent years, against the backdrop of a much larger, more substantial and constantly growing source material over the last two decades, but also through the adoption of different theoretical frameworks and methodological tools. Thus, various new insights into Mesolithic coastal living have been gathered. However, the diversity in theoretical and methodological approaches has received rather little theoretical reflection concerning the aims and potential of these various ways of dealing with the archaeological material. This article presents and discusses a number of current approaches on human relations with the shore in the Mesolithic in south-eastern Norway. It reflects on differences and similarities with respect to underlying concepts, theory, and methodology within these approaches. We ask which aspects of our topic do the different approaches actually shed light on, and whether the approaches are compatible. By comparing these approaches this article aims at clarifying the investigatory breadth present, but also at highlighting challenges and limitations pertaining to individual analytical perspectives. This can contribute a better understanding of hunter-gatherer lifeways on the Mesolithic coast, potentially through a combination of approaches that have so far been applied separately. We will focus on five thematic areas and on the potential for combining them: population dynamics and radiocarbon dates, settlement patterns and site location, adaptation and choice of place, moving and dwelling, and technology as tradition.

• Nielsen, Svein Vatsvåg; Mansrud, Anja; Austvoll, Knut Ivar; Denham, Sean Dexter; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Persson, Per [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2023). Hunting, fishing, gardening: Re-evaluating Middle Neolithic mobility and cultural diversity on the Norwegian Skagerrak coast. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. ISSN 2352-409X. 51. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104139. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel; Roalkvam, Isak; Solheim, Steinar & Schülke, Almut (2023). Coast-concepts in Norwegian Stone Age archaeology. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française. 19, p. 45–60. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The sea and coast have always been central to Norwegian Stone Age research, and most of the archaeological sites we know from the period are located along the coast. Natural conditions associated with the land uplift after the last Ice Age have provided unique opportunities for exploring the coastal settlement of the Stone Age. The general sentiment in the literature is that the Stone Age hunter-gatherers on the Scandinavian Peninsula mainly hunted, moved and settled along the coastline. Less attention has been paid to the areas behind the coast – the coastal hinterland –, although a number of sites are also known further inland and in mountain areas. Central to this perception is the ‘shoreline model’, which has developed gradually over a century of research. While this model has resulted in the identification of thousands of sites, it does have a simplistic eco-functional foundation. Is it possible that such a conceptual starting point in some ways limits our opportunities to explore the coastal landscape from other perspectives, or even prevents us from discovering archaeological material in other landscape settings? To explore this possibility, we ask whether there are conditions in our research, or circumstances in its underlying framework that have contributed to the strong coastal focus. How did today’s concepts and knowledge of the Stone Age coastal settlement come about, and what roles have been played by the natural environment and topographical character of the landscape? How has this influenced our perception of Stone Age settlement, and what other factors have been important? We identify five main factors that each work toward strengthening the coastal focus in different ways. Furthermore, we examine strengths and challenges of the coastal concepts employed in present research and suggest possible future exploration of Stone Age coasts within a broader perspective of a ‘landscape of practice’. Although the coast was central to the people of the Stone Age, this article argues that a one-sided focus on the coast and coastline may hinder a broader knowledge of Stone Age society and human life. Keywords: Stone Age, Mesolithic, shoreline displacement, coastal adaption, archipelago landscape, hinterland, site location, archaeological survey methods, site concepts, Norway.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Damlien, Hege (2023). Away with the borders! Variation in lithic technological practises in Northern Europe. Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic (10 900-7000 BCE). Occasional papers in archaeology / Societas Archaeologica Upsaliensis. ISSN 1100-6358. 81. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Traditionally, the Stone Age of Northern Europe has been studied employing typological approaches to formal tool types. Focus has been on establishing typologies and chronologies on national or regional geographical scales. In this paper, we take a new approach, mapping variation in lithic technological practice by identifying the development of methods and concepts for blade blank production at a transregional level and in a long-term perspective. Until now, there have been few attempts to describe the methods for blade production in detail, and compile them in a long-term perspective within a wider geographical context. We present a detailed description of blade production methods from the Final Palaeolithic to the Middle Mesolithic (10 900-7000 cal. BCE) in Scandinavia and Northwest Germany based on a compilation and technological analysis of 52 excavated sites. Our studies reveal a common technological development in this area. The development during this time-span is initially characterised by continuity, followed by modification and finally introduction of a new technology and the disappearance of the old. !e results contrast previous typologically based conclusions, and provide new insights that can form a more solid foundation for future understanding of interaction dynamics and the culture-historical development of the Stone Age of Northern Europe.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Hårstad, Silje; Granados, Tina Jensen; Reitan, Gaute; Romundset, Anders & Johannessen, Linnea Syversætre [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2022). Enculturating Coastal Environments in the Middle Mesolithic (8300-6300 cal BCE)-Site Variability, Human-Environment Relations, and Mobility Patterns in Northern Vestfold, SE-Norway. Open Archaeology. 8(1), p. 634–669. doi: 10.1515/opar-2022-0251. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The coastal settlement in Middle Mesolithic (MM) Southeast Norway is generally described as a dynamic system of small, short-lived sites and large sites that were visited repeatedly over a long time. It has been suggested that in this period – compared to the preceding Early Mesolithic (EM) – an increased attraction towards the large archipelagos along the Norwegian coast, and their broad spectrum of both marine and terrestrial food sources, took place. This has, however, been debated. An important background for the discussion is the documented population influx and the abrupt shift in tool technology around 8300 cal BCE. The question remains whether this great social and technological upheaval was followed by a transformation or break in the environmental knowledge and changes in the ways of living, such as new human–environment relations, settlement systems, and mobility patterns. We propose that the continuous process of enculturation of the land and environment would have played a decisive role in the societal development. In this article, we therefore investigate details of site construction and mobility patterns, as well as the marking of the land by the establishment of settlement sites and exploitation of lithic raw materials on a larger scale. We concentrate our investigation on the on-site activity, site location, lithic raw material economy, and technological organisation, which brings renewed opportunities for discussing enculturation processes in the period. Our results document a diverse settlement pattern, as well as diachronic variation, suggesting an internal duality within the sociocultural development process in the area. The article presents the new results from the InterCity Vestfold project, situated by the Oslofjord west coast. Our data comprise a total of eight excavated and 69 surveyed sites from 4 municipalities. A strong isostatic land uplift caused continuous and rapid changes in the shoreline configuration and its nearby environments, in the Oslofjord area throughout the Mesolithic. To enable the discussion of human–environment relations, we therefore present a new relative sea level (RSL) curve, supplying detailed data on the shoreline development in the project area.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2021). Tidligmesolitikum. In Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Melheim, Anne Lene; Mjærum, Axel; Persson, Per; Schülke, Almut & Solheim, Steinar (Ed.), Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge: Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202737030. p. 72–85. doi: 10.23865/noasp.141. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Damlien, Hege & Melheim, Anne Lene (2021). Nye faglige satsningsområder - Teknologi. In Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Melheim, Anne Lene; Mjærum, Axel; Persson, Per; Schülke, Almut & Solheim, Steinar (Ed.), Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge: Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202737030. p. 137–149. doi: 10.23865/noasp.141. Full text in Research Archive
• Mansrud, Anja & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2021). Animist Ontologies in the Third Millennium BCE? Hunter-Gatherer Persistency and Human-Animal Relations in Southern Norway: The Alveberget Case. Open Archaeology. 7(1), p. 868–888. doi: 10.1515/opar-2020-0176. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article aims to contribute novel data and perspectives into the long-standing debate about economic strategies in the fourth and third millennium in South Norway, by introducing novel results from a Pitted Ware coastal site in Agder County, southern Norway. The analysis of artifactual and faunal assemblages as well as lipid analysis from ceramics indicate a varied subsistence economy with terrestrial hunting, gathering, and specialized marine fishing strategies, targeting Atlantic bluefin tuna and seals. These procurement strategies were maintained throughout the middle and into the late Neolithic period (c. 3300–2200 BCE). No unequivocal evidence of cultivation was documented before the early Bronze Age, around 1700 BCE. This article maintains that exploring and explaining long-time continuity, and the environmental, cultural, and social mechanisms, which underwrite enduring traditions, remains a pertinent issue in Neolithic archeology. To broaden our understanding of the causes underlying cultural persistence, we need to move beyond a view of foraging peoples as either ecologically adapted or as economically optimized and employ a perspective that acknowledges the fundamental importance of human–animal relations in prehistoric lives and worldviews. Drawing on insights from relational anthropology and multi-species archaeology, we maintain that an animist ontology endured among the Pitted Ware groups and endorsed the foraging persistency characterizing the third millennium in Southern Norway.

• Mithen, Steven; Wicks, Karen & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2020). The Mesolithic coastal exploitation of western Scotland. The impacts of climate change and use of favoured locations. In Schülke, Almut (Eds.), Coastal landscapes of the Mesolithic : Human engagement with the coast from the Atlantic to the Baltic Sea. Routledge. ISSN 9781138303607. p. 147–178. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Damlien, Hege & Zagorska, Ilga (2019). The northern fringe of the Swiderian technological tradition: Salaspils Laukskola revisited. Archaeologia Baltica. ISSN 1392-5520. 26, p. 12–31. doi: 10.15181/ab.v26i0.2020. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The earliest settlement of Latvia occurred at the very end of the Late Glacial, after the retreat of the ice sheet. Important evidence of this earliest occupation is the wellknown site Salaspils Laukskola. Previous research has focused on the typological aspects of this assemblage, and the use of lithic raw materials, suggesting an affiliation to the Swidry tradition. However, a wider technological perspective on this assemblage comprising a rich lithic inventory has recently proven fruitful. We present a detailed new technological analysis of the Laukskola assemblage, as well as five small lithic assemblages from Latvia based on a chaîne opératoire approach. While supporting the Swidry connection, this allows for a renewed discussion of the Final Palaeolithic settlement of Latvia, and its relationship with adjacent areas of northeast Europe.

• Mevel, Ludovic; Weber, Mara-Julia & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2019). Towards a reconstruction of the techno-economic variability of the Ahrensburgian in Schleswig-Holstein. In Montoya, Cyril; Fagnart, Jean-Pierre & Locht, Jean-Luc (Ed.), Préhistoire de l’Europe du Nord-Ouest: mobilité, climats et entités culturelles. XXVIII e Congrès préhistorique de France – Amiens, 30 mai-4 juin 2016. Congrès préhistoriques de France. Volume 2 : Paléolithique supérieur ancien, Paléolithique final – Mésolithique. Société préhistorique française. ISSN 9782913745797. p. 433–453. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Northernmost Germany represents one of the regions in North-West Europe where a succession of Late Palaeolithic traditions makes it possible to describe the techno-economic changes which led from the Late Upper Palaeolithic to the beginning of the Mesolithic. The aim of this paper will be to propose a model of the techno-economic evolution of the Ahrensburgian that culminated in exceptional lithic productions at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, and to put it into perspective by discussing the changes which occurred throughout this tradition on the basis of several Ahrensburgian settlements. These conclusions will be drawn from evidence obtained on lithic industries from different sites in Schleswig-Holstein. In the absence of direct dating, the lithic industries from Teltwisch 2 and Teltwisch-Mitte in the Ahrensburg tunnel valley were regarded as sufficiently characteristic to attribute these sites to two different phases of the Ahrensburgian: the recent phase with Long Blades and Zonhoven points (Eggstedt-Stellmoor-Gruppe) in the case of Teltwisch 2 and an older phase lacking these elements in the case of Teltwisch-Mitte. Based on refitting and a detailed techno-economic analysis of these inventories, their similarities and differences will be presented in a more reliable way and a hypothesis for the Ahrensburgian trajectory will be proposed. This hypothesis will be checked by a comparison with other Ahrensburgian lithic industries: a partially refitted surface collection from Klein Nordende that comprises characteristic elements of the most recent phase of the Ahrensburgian and the assemblage from Alt Duvenstedt LA 121 + 123 representing one of the oldest Ahrensburgian sites known thus far. The latter site is not only radiocarbon-dated but also well-documented in a palaeoethnographic way, and its exhaustively refitted lithic industry offers the rare possibility to describe and analyse entire chaînes opératoires.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2019). Alt Duvenstedt LA 121 revisited – Blade technology in Ahrensburgian culture. In Eriksen, Berit Valentin; Rensink, Elco & Harris, Susan (Ed.), The Final Palaeolithic of Northern Eurasia Proceedings of the Amersfoort, Schleswig and Burgos UISPP Commission Meetings SCHRIFTEN DES MUSEUMS FÜR ARCHÄOLOGIE SCHLOSS GOTTORF. Verlag Ludwig. ISSN 9783869353630. p. 169–191. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Wicks, Karen & Mithen, Steve (2019). A tanged point and two blade technologies from Rubha Port an T-Seilich, Isle of Islay, Western Scotland. Journal of Lithic Studies. 6(1). doi: 10.2218/jls.2892. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  We describe a tanged point and a blade technology from Rubha Port an t-Seilich, Isle of Islay, Scotland that provides further support to a Late Pleistocene or Early Holocene presence in Scotland prior to the establishment of the narrow blade Mesolithic industry. The existing evidence for a Late Pleistocene or early Holocene presence comes from isolated finds of tanged points (Tiree, Shieldig, Brodgar), undated assemblages from disturbed contexts that are most likely Late Pleistocene in date (Howburn, Kilmefort Cave), and undated assemblages containing broad blade microliths (e.g., Glenbatrick, Morton). This article provides a summary of recent excavations and the stratigraphy at Rubha Port an t-Seilich, and a detailed analysis the lithic blade blank production at the site, which is, we believe, the first application of a chaîne opératoire based approach to a Scottish assemblage. The study includes comparisons with contemporary assemblages from north-western Europe. The significance of the Rubha Port an t-Seilich finds is threefold: (1) the relative large size of the assemblage that allows a technological analysis; (2) the finds partially derive from a stratified context below a narrow blade assemblage, associated with radiocarbon dates 9301-7750 cal. BP; and (3) further excavation can increase the sample size and potentially expose an in situ Late Pleistocene or early Holocene cultural horizon.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Damlien, Hege; Zagorska, Ilga; Kalniņš, Mārcis; Bērziņš, Valdis & Schülke, Almut (2019). Long-term variation in lithic technological traditions and social interaction: the Stone Age of the Eastern Baltic (Latvia), 10,500–2900 calBC. Fennoscandia Archaeologica. ISSN 0781-7126. XXXVI, p. 6–32. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Eastern Baltic Stone Age is characterized by several major shifts in tool technology. Our picture of cultural change is currently based on typological variation in well-preserved bone tools, ceramics, stone tools, and on diversity in lithic raw-material use. These variations have partly been interpreted as the result of external influences, and partly as internal development. However, the understanding of relations with neighbouring regions is still limited. Recent decades have seen a growing interest in the chaîne opératoire approach and technological analysis, and their relevance for studying intra-site activity and development of skill, and for describing ancient technologies has been demonstrated. Technological and cultural relationships in the North European Stone Age have also been discussed within this frame. In this article, we take a new approach, employing variation in lithic technological craft traditions as proxy for investigating long-term development and variability in lines of communication. This study addresses three chronological contexts of the Latvian Stone Age, based on technological analysis of 26 sites. In describing the overall development in stone technology during the period c 10 500–2900 calBC, the article demonstrates not only technological variations but also affirms fluctuation/change in directions of social contacts throughout the Stone Age, demonstrating variation in knowledge transmission and communication routes across large geographical areas.

• Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Zagorska, Ilga; Kalniņš, Mārcis; Koxvold, Lucia Uchermann & Nielsen, Svein Vatsvåg [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2018). A technological crossroads: Exploring diversity in the pressure blade technology of Mesolithic Latvia. Oxford Journal of Archaeology. ISSN 0262-5253. 37(3), p. 229–246. doi: 10.1111/ojoa.12139. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  A long‐standing debate in archaeology concerns the sources of technological diversification among prehistoric hunter‐gatherers. This includes the study of the emergence and spread of pressure blade technology in Northern Europe during the Early Holocene. Until now, there has been little technological study of lithic collections from the East Baltic region, and our knowledge of the development and spread of this technology in the area is inadequate. This article presents for the first time a technological analysis of lithic assemblages from seven Early and Middle Mesolithic sites in the territory of present‐day Latvia, offering new possibilities for discussing pressure blade technology and research objectives connected with it. Furthermore, variation in elements of this technology is explored in relation to raw‐material characteristics through experimental flint knapping. Finally, the factors influencing diversity in craft traditions, as well as large‐scale communication and shifting spheres of interaction within Northern Europe during the Mesolithic, are discussed.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2017). Continuity and Change in Late- and Post-glacial Social Networks: Knowledge Transmission and Blade Production Methods in Ahrensburgian and Early Mesolithic North West Europe. In Glørstad, Håkon; Knutsson, Kjel; Knutsson, Helena & Apel, Jan (Ed.), The Technology of Early Settlement in Northern Europe: Transmission of Knowledge and Culture The Early Settlement of Northern Europe, Vol 2. Equinox Publishing. ISSN 9781781795163. p. 63–98. doi: 10.1558/equinox. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This volume explores technology and communication among the early settlements of Northern Europe. The articles discuss case-studies and present overviews from the Early and Middle Mesolithic of Northern Europe. Special emphasis is placed on the spatial and temporal transmission of knowledge and culture. This subject addresses themes such as the transmission of specialised knowledge, the generative transmission of knowledge, the understanding of technology as somatic or incorporated culture in human society and the role of pedagogies and teaching in cultural sustainment and transformation. Other papers discuss the relation between demography and technological developments, as well as the natural and cultural context for the transmission of culture. The understanding of the transmission of technology is, again, closely interrelated to the nature and efficiency of social networks of contact and their social and physical framework.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2015). Overblikk over Kulturhistorisk museums arkeologiske undersøkelser 2006. In Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (Eds.), Arkeologiske undersøkelser 2005-2006, Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo. Portal forlag. ISSN 9788283140309. p. 52–56. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Boken gir en samlet fremstilling av arkeologiske under­søkelser foretatt i feltsesongene 2005 og 2006 innenfor de ti Østlands- og Sørlands-fylkene som utgjør det geografiske ansvarsområdet til Kulturhistorisk museum. Første del av boken inneholder kataloger for hen­holdsvis 2005 og 2006 med kortfattete presentasjoner av samtlige undersøkelser, mens siste del består av fem fagartikler. Formålet med en slik publisering er først og fremst å gjøre materialet fra de forvalt­ningsinitierte undersøkelsene kjent og tilgjengelig for fagmiljøet. På denne måten håper vi at utgrav­ningsresultatene i større grad vil bli tatt i bruk som grunnlag for forskning, formidling og forvaltning. Boken er en oppfølging av Varia 62 (2007) og Varia 77 (2009), som inneholdt presentasjoner av utgrav­ningene fra henholdsvis 2001-2002 og 2003-2004. Tilbakemeldingene på disse utgivelsene var svært positive, og våre intensjoner var å følge opp med nye utgivelser annet hvert år. Forliggende bok var slik sett planlagt utgitt allerede i 2011.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2015). Overblikk over Kulturhistorisk museums arkeologiske undersøkelser i 2005. In Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (Eds.), Arkeologiske undersøkelser 2005-2006, Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo. Portal forlag. ISSN 9788283140309. p. 10–14. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Boken gir en samlet fremstilling av arkeologiske under­søkelser foretatt i feltsesongene 2005 og 2006 innenfor de ti Østlands- og Sørlands-fylkene som utgjør det geografiske ansvarsområdet til Kulturhistorisk museum. Første del av boken inneholder kataloger for hen­holdsvis 2005 og 2006 med kortfattete presentasjoner av samtlige undersøkelser, mens siste del består av fem fagartikler. Formålet med en slik publisering er først og fremst å gjøre materialet fra de forvalt­ningsinitierte undersøkelsene kjent og tilgjengelig for fagmiljøet. På denne måten håper vi at utgrav­ningsresultatene i større grad vil bli tatt i bruk som grunnlag for forskning, formidling og forvaltning. Boken er en oppfølging av Varia 62 (2007) og Varia 77 (2009), som inneholdt presentasjoner av utgrav­ningene fra henholdsvis 2001-2002 og 2003-2004. Tilbakemeldingene på disse utgivelsene var svært positive, og våre intensjoner var å følge opp med nye utgivelser annet hvert år. Forliggende bok var slik sett planlagt utgitt allerede i 2011.

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• Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Melheim, Anne Lene; Mjærum, Axel; Persson, Per Åke & Schülke, Almut [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2021). Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge. Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISBN 9788202737030. 260 p. doi: 10.23865/noasp.141. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge. Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum inneholder en helhetlig oversikt over utgravinger av 430 boplasser, begravelser, depoter, fangstanlegg m.m. fra år 2000 til 2017, og presenterer en bred og oppdatert redegjørelse for forskningsstatus knyttet til steinalderen (ca. 9500–1700 f.Kr.) i regionen. I presentasjonen av forskningsstatus synliggjøres ikke bare det vi vet per i dag, men også betydelige kunnskapshull. Den manglede kunnskapen har dannet utgangspunkt for formuleringen av fire framtidige satsingsområder: Teknologi Bosetning og landskapsbruk Ressursgrunnlag og økonomi Ritualer og ritualisert praksis I dette faglige programmet for steinalderundersøkelser presenteres konkrete forslag til strategier og tiltak som vil bidra til å tette disse kunnskapshullene, skape faglig utvikling og danne grunnlag for videre forskning. Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge er skrevet for forskere, forvaltere, studenter og andre som vil gjøre dypdykk i vår eldste forhistorie. Boken vil være et viktig verktøy for planlegging og gjennomføring av kommende steinalderutgravninger ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Den vil også danne et grunnlag for de rådene museet gir i forbindelse med forvaltningen av våre eldste kulturminner.

• Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Melheim, Anne Lene; Mjærum, Axel; Persson, Per & Schülke, Almut [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2021). Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge: Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISBN 9788202737030. 260 p. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2015). Arkeologiske undersøkelser 2005-2006, Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo. Portal forlag. ISBN 9788283140309. 171 p. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Boken gir en samlet fremstilling av arkeologiske under­søkelser foretatt i feltsesongene 2005 og 2006 innenfor de ti Østlands- og Sørlands-fylkene som utgjør det geografiske ansvarsområdet til Kulturhistorisk museum. Første del av boken inneholder kataloger for hen­holdsvis 2005 og 2006 med kortfattete presentasjoner av samtlige undersøkelser, mens siste del består av fem fagartikler. Formålet med en slik publisering er først og fremst å gjøre materialet fra de forvalt­ningsinitierte undersøkelsene kjent og tilgjengelig for fagmiljøet. På denne måten håper vi at utgrav­ningsresultatene i større grad vil bli tatt i bruk som grunnlag for forskning, formidling og forvaltning. Boken er en oppfølging av Varia 62 (2007) og Varia 77 (2009), som inneholdt presentasjoner av utgrav­ningene fra henholdsvis 2001-2002 og 2003-2004. Tilbakemeldingene på disse utgivelsene var svært positive, og våre intensjoner var å følge opp med nye utgivelser annet hvert år. Forliggende bok var slik sett planlagt utgitt allerede i 2011.

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• Riel, Sjoerd Joost van; Pantos, George Alexis; Handberg, Søren; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Damlien, Hege & Kimball, Justin (2026). Facilitating Teaching with Digital 3D Models of Archaeological Artefacts. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  A fundamental part of teaching archaeology at a university level revolves around the analysis of artefacts. Access to these artefacts for teaching purposes can be limited by practical or safety considerations. For these reasons, but also to enhance the study of artefacts in ways that physical handling cannot facilitate, the use of digital 3D models of artefacts in teaching archaeology at universities has become commonplace. In our presentation, we will present our experiences using digital 3D models of artefacts for teaching undergraduate students. The cases revolve around the development of two learning scenarios in conjunction with the Erasmus+ project Virtual Worlds in Teaching Archaeology. Using the browser based BItFROST platform, the students got access to 3D models of archaeological artefacts. Through integrated functionalities in the platform, the students were given access to several tools for studying digital 3D models, such as measuring- and sectioning tools. Combined with traditional learning material such as handouts and online reference collections, the students used the integrated spots and notes functions to create spatially located notes. This was considered to be a powerful tool, since the ability of the students to observe characteristic features and describe their spatial relevance, are considered an important learning outcome for the courses. The notes could then be sent to, and opened by, the teachers on their own PC, maintaining the spatial relationship between the written notes and the features in 3D space which they describe. The presentation will focus on the implications of these learning scenarios on the teaching as well as how they were perceived by the students, through the results of a survey conducted after the scenarios were implemented.

• Fergestad, Maren Skullerud & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2026). Slik jaktet neandertalerne på den utdødde kjempen. [Internet]. Forskning.no. doi: https:/www.forskning.no/arkeologi-dyreverden-neandertalere/slik-jaktet-neandertalerne-pa-den-utdodde-kjempen/2645827. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Gigantiske skogselefanter vandret over store deler av Europa for 125.000 år siden. Nå viser nye analyser hvordan de levde og hvordan neandertalerne jaktet på dem.

• Fossum, Guro; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Calvo-Gómez, Jorge; Damlien, Hege; Granados, Tina Jensen & Koxvold, Lucia Uchermann [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2025). Late Mesolithic blade core concepts in Southeast Norway: characterizing their variability through time and space . Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Fossum, Guro (2025). PalaeoTECH: Studying Late Mesolithic social variability in Southeast Norway through lithic blade core concepts. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

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• Riel, Sjoerd Joost van; Pantos, George Alexis; Andreassen, Ingvild Solberg; Handberg, Søren; Damlien, Hege & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2025). Using Virtual Worlds in Communicating Archaeology. doi: 10.2312/dh.20253100. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo, Norway, has a long history of digitizing cultural heritage in 3D. Applications vary from exhibitions and public outreach to academic research, university and elementary school teaching.To truly engage our audiences, we are forced to think creatively. This poster presents examples from recent projects at the museum that have been exploring ways to facilitate people to look closer and use digital 3D models as a gateway to further exploration.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2024). Keynote: Technological traditions, tools, and raw materials at the coast. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Damlien, Hege (2024). Final Palaeolithc and Mesolithic (c. 10,900 - 7000 BCE) projectile variability in northwest Europe: Changing social contexts for tool production. Archaeologia Baltica. ISSN 1392-5520. 31, p. 134–134. doi: 10.15181/ab.v31i0.2669. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Variation in projectile inventory has long been used for dividing the Stone age archeological record into separate cultural and temporal units. The Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic of Northern Europe are good examples of periods where regional and local typologies have dominated the understanding of prehistory. Recent critiques, based on new methodological perspectives, have raised doubts as to the validity of such typological approaches since they often fail to account for the internal variation seen in the morphologically defined groups. Moreover, recent large-scale, technological studies of lithic blade technologies from Northwest Europe contradicts the assumption of numerous independent regional groups during the Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic by demonstrating a shared and uninterrupted tradition of blade-making, indicating technological relatedness within large areas. Here we present results from a study of variability in morphological and metrical attributes of the projectile inventory from 53 excavated sites dated from the Final Palaeolithic to the Middle Mesolithic (10 900-7000 BC) in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Northwest Germany. We see three important trends in our data. First, the projectile inventory does not fall into meaningful regional or temporal morphological groupings but exhibit variation both within and between groups. Second, the variation in point morphology seems to occur independently of the development in blade production methods in Final Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic. At the onset to the Middle Mesolithic the two developments coincide. More importantly, our finds show that this development does not occur simultaneously in the study area, rather we see varied trajectories of change in the different regions. The third is increased use of microliths. In this paper we discuss how the two datasets (projectile morphology and blade production methods) combined can offer a new understanding of interaction dynamics and the culture-historical development of the Stone Age of Northwest Europe.

• Calvo-Gómez, Jorge; Schülke, Almut; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Macāne, Aija (2024). Session 452 - Coastal Technology among Stone Age Hunter-Gatherers and Early Agropastoral Communities. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  During the Early Holocene period, coastal environments were occupied and exploited by human groups, both hunter-fisher-gatherers as well as the first agropastoral communities. Much of the previous research in these contexts has been based on a theoretical perspective from which human technology and tools would have been fundamental actors in the exploitation of coastal and marine resources. For example, fishing, collecting seafood, hunting marine mammals, or navigating along the seashore are some of the activities developed by coastal human groups that would have required specific techniques and knowledge. However, to understand the lifeways of the coastal prehistoric groups, many technological perspectives still need to be explored. Can we identify technological features specific to the coast and the exploitation of coastal and marine resources in the archaeological record? Are the tools produced or used differently in the coastal areas compared to those in inland environments? To what extent can we consider these technological features as a socialized perception of the coastal environment? We invite contributors to present theoretical and methodological perspectives to the study of the coastal techniques, as well as new study cases, including contributions comprising technological, functional, or raw material studies of Mesolithic and Neolithic coastal groups.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Damlien, Hege (2024). Projectile variability in Northwest Europe Final Paleolithic and Mesolithic (10 900-7000 BCE) - changing social contexts for tool production. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2024). PalaeoTECH - Sosiale aspekter ved steinalderens teknologi. Full text in Research Archive
• Damlien, Hege & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2024). The Zvejnieki II settlement site–results from lithic analysis. Full text in Research Archive
• Mithen, Steven & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2024). The Early to Late Mesolithic transition in Britain: Exploring technological change within a stratified Mesolithic sequence from pre-10,500 to 5000 BP from Western Scotland. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2024). PalaeoTECH workshop - innledning og presentasjon av forskning. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2024). Technological traditions, tools, and raw materials at the coast (Key note lecture). Full text in Research Archive
• Schülke, Almut & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2023). Aktiviteter i PrehCoast-gruppa 2023. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2023). Bosetting omkring Oslofjorden etter siste istid - hvor kom de fra og hvordan levde de? Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2023). Large-scale and Long-term - understanding social processes in Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic, NW-Europe. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2023). Coastal living in the Mesolithic – a technological approach. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In mobile societies, settlement is as much about movement as about choosing a place between movements, and it activates a wide range of considerations and knowledge that depend on different fields of experience. Living and moving in coastal landscapes requires specific knowledge and know-how. To ensure safety and success in the variety of everyday activities, a certain insight into the local environment and its potential and challenges is a necessity. This presentation will attempt an approach to settlement and mobility as technologies, including both material and immaterial aspects. Discussing examples from the Mesolithic and Neolithic in South Norway, the approach allows the exploration of the significance of knowledge transmission and experience for phenomena such as site location, dwelling practices and movement in coastal areas. Keywords: mobility, site variability, technology, Mesolithic/Neolithic, South Norway

• Mithen, Steven & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2022). Rubha Port an t-Seilich, Isle of Islay: stratigraphy, dates, artefacts and cultural affiliations. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2022). The socio-technological approach as the basis for studies of prehistoric societies. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2022). Åpen dag på utgravningsfeltet på Remmen. [Journal]. Halden Arbeiderblad. Full text in Research Archive
• Mithen, Steven & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2022). Rubha Port an t-Seilich, Isle of Islay 2022 excavation: stratigraphy, dates, artefacts and technological investigations. Full text in Research Archive
• Schülke, Almut; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel Johan; Solheim, Steinar; Roalkvam, Isak & Damlien, Hege (2021). Forskergruppe PrehCOAST - Status og veien videre. Full text in Research Archive
• Mansrud, Anja; Nielsen, Svein Vatsvåg; Austvoll, Knut Ivar; Denham, Sean Dexter; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Persson, Per [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2021). Rethinking the sub-Neolithic in Norway: Submissive and vulgar or creative and affluent? Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2021). Tause vitner eller samfunnsspeil? - Steinalderteknologiens sosiale sider. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2021). Coast concepts in Norwegian Stone Age archaeology. Full text in Research Archive
• Schülke, Almut; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel & Roalkvam, Isak (2020). Forskergruppe PrehCOAST: Formål, planer, resultater. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel; Roalkvam, Isak; Solheim, Steinar & Schülke, Almut (2020). Coast-concepts in Norwegian Stone Age Archaeology. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The coast plays a major role in Norwegian Stone Age archaeology. Hundreds of sites from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods were situated close to or directly at the shorelines. They witness of the economic, social and ritual importance of the coastal zone. However, the “normality” of coastal sites seems to have prevented further reflections about the concepts that have been applied to study coastal sites and the relevance of the coast in the Stone Age. Our talk will identify concepts and epistemological perspectives of how archaeologists have dealt with coastal issues in Stone Age archaeology in a research historic perspective – from early geoarchaeological studies focus-sing on land uplift and coastal sites (“the beach model”), via more processually oriented division of landscape spaces and their environmental characteristics. We will also discuss the sites’ economic functions, based on more recent, ethnoarchaeologically influenced, perspectives on taskscapes, movement in and experience of the coastal zone.

• Schülke, Almut; Solheim, Steinar; Roalkvam, Isak; Mjærum, Axel & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2020). New Perspectives on Old Shores: Current approaches on the Stone Age in Eastern Norway. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The coastal and inland areas landscapes of southeastern Norway offered resource rich environments for Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to settle in. This human activity has left an extensive dataset for archaeologist to study settlement and activity from the seashores to the high mountain areas. In recent years, there has been a development in archaeological analysis of human activity in the region applying the large amount of data generated by recent archaeological excavations and surveys in novel ways, especially in the regions former coastal areas. The use of archaeological big-data, such as radiocarbon dates and surveyed sites, has given new insights to past population dynamics, and coupled with environmental data this has offered us possible explanations to variation in settlement patterns. Further, detailed analysis of lithic technology have provided insight into raw material procurement, movement of people and shifting social networks. Moreover, the identification of some hinterland sites opens up for a better understanding of the importance and use of the coastal hinterland. In this paper, we will look closer at the recent development in archaeological research on coastal societies in southeastern Norway. We will present cur-rent perspectives as well as which future avenues we will explore in order to increase our knowledge on hunter-gatherers settlement, mobility and economy in coastal areas.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2020). The technological turn – or how to make social sense of lithics. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract: During the last decades, a growing number of scholars have taken an interest in a technological approach to the archaeological record. This turn in how technology is studied opens up for new progress in our understanding of the relationship between the archaeological record and the agents and societies that produced it. So far, the focus has mainly been on agents and individual actions, while the relations to larger social and cultural processes and practises have not received the same attention. Whereas some theoretical and methodological advances have been made, the theoretical foundation of such an approach is still in need of development and discussion. The paper will concentrate on the potential in the technological approach to explore large-scale sociocultural processes, as well as the theoretical and methodological basis on which we can build such an approach by combining Mauss’ technological perspective with cultural knowledge transmission theory and Durkheim’s concept of social density. The paper suggests a model of the relationship between social organisation, knowledge transmission and cultural variability, as well as illustrates its application with archaeological examples.

• Schülke, Almut; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel & Solheim, Steinar (2019). The Coast and Coastal Societies - Concepts and Terminology. Southeastern Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2019). «Patchwork or network» - Technological traditions, mobility and communication in the Final Mesolithic and Early Neolithic of southern Scandinavia. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Stokke, Jo-Simon Frøshaug (2019). Finner flint fra steinalderen på Tangen. [Journal]. Stangeavisa. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Damlien, Hege (2019). Points or blades? Variations in typological and technological elements in chipped stone assemblages c. 10 900-7000 BC, NW Europe. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2019). Stone Age Technology – Lab: Dynamic-Technological classification and attribute analysis. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2019). Nå har du mulighet til å reise tilbake i tid. [Journal]. Tønsbergs Blad. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Mansrud, Anja (2019). Foraging persistency: The Neolithic (?) in South-Eastern Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2019). Stone Technology in Social context: Introduction into different production methods in different societies. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2019). Mobility and connectivity in Final Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic, NW-Europe. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2019). Alveberget – Neolittisk kulturlagslokalitet med gode bevaringsforhold - en mellomneolittisk fangstlokalitet på Tromøya, Arendal. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Stokke, Jo-Simon Frøshaug (2019). De bodde på Tangen for 6000 år siden. [Journal]. Stangeavisa. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Stokke, Jo-Simon Frøshaug (2019). Funnet på Tangen får arkeologene til å sperre opp øynene. [Journal]. Hamar Arbeiderblad. Full text in Research Archive
• Damlien, Hege & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2018). Technology or typology? Blade production methods versus projectile point morphology as basis for Final Palaeolithic/Mesolithic social studies in Northwest-Europe. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2018). Chaîne opératoire - en inngang til teknologi som tradisjon. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Damlien, Hege (2018). Continuity, modification and break in lithic technological practice during the Stone Age (10 900-7000 BC) of Northwest Europe. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Zagorska, Ilga (2018). Salaspils Laukskola - the northern fringe of the Swiderian technological tradition. Full text in Research Archive
• Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Schülke, Almut; Zagorska, Ilga; Bērziņš, Valdis & Kalniņš, Mārcis (2018). Long-term variation in communication and social relations during the Stone Age of Eastern Baltic (10500 – 6500 BC) – a technological approach. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2017). Flekkeproduksjon I Skandinavia omkring slutten av istida - kontinuitet og variasjon i håndverkstradisjoner. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Damlien, Hege (2017). Fra massemateriale til teknologisk tradisjon. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Weber, Mara- Julia & Mevel, Ludovic (2017). Techno-economic changes manifested in lithic industries of the Federmesser-Gruppen and the Ahrensburgian of northernmost Germany. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2017). Fra individ til samfunn tur-retur. Potensialet og utfordringer i å lese seinpaleolittisk og tidligmesolittisk flintteknologi som uttrykk for sosiale prosesser på populasjonsnivå. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2017). Technological traditions as proxy for social contact and cultural development. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2016). The social technology – technology and tradition in Northern Europe by the Pleistocene – Holocene transition (10 900 – 8500 BC). Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mevel, Ludovic; Weber, Mara- Julia & Grimm, Sonja (2016). Techno-economic changes manifested in lithic industries of the Federmesser-Gruppen and the Ahrensburgian of northernmost Germany. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Damlien, Hege (2016). Introduction to the chaîne opératoire approach in lithic studies. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Sørensen, Mikkel (2016). Lithic blank production in Scandinavian during Final Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic. Full text in Research Archive
• Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie & Kalninsh, Marcis (2016). Lithic technology and communication in Stone Age Latvia. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2015). Technological and social change in north-west Europe at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2015). Blade technology in Ahrensburg Culture - a comparative study of four sites. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2014). Kommentar til Leif Inge Åstveit: "Noen synspunkter på den tidligmesolittiske bosetningen i Sør-Norge". Primitive tider. ISSN 1501-0430. 16, p. 105–109. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2014). Continuity and change in Late- and Post-Glacial social networks - knowledge transmission and blade production methods in Ahrensburg and Early Mesolithic Northwestern Europe. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2014). Mennesker, teknologi og kommunikasjon i pionerbosetting - teknologiske strategier i senpaleolitikum og tidligmesolitikum. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2013). Blade Technology in Ahrensburg culture and Northern Scandinavian Early Mesolithic - preliminary results from a comparative study. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2013). Introduction to Preboreal settlement in Rogaland county, Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2011). Ufint hærverk på Hellvik. [Journal]. Akershus Amtstidende. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2011). Steinalderen på Lista. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2011). Steinalderen i Oslofjordområdet. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2011). Fascinert 5. trinn - 10-åringer fengslet av arkeologi på Hellvik; Sju tusen år tilbake i tiden var det liv laga. [Journal]. Akershus Amtstidende. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2010). Jernalderhus på Vøien. Årbok for Asker og Bærum Historielag. ISSN 1504-3649. p. 8–15. Full text in Research Archive
• Stokke, Jo-Simon Frøshaug & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2025). Vålane. Boplassfunn, mellomneolitikum A. Eidsjordet, 65/26. Lillesand, Agder. Kulturhistorisk museum – arkeologisk undersøkelse Rapport 2025/7. Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo, Arkeologisk seksjon . Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Høsten 2019 gjennomførte arkeologer fra Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo, utgravningen av en steinalder lokalitet ved Høvåg i Lillesand kommune. Undersøkelsen skjedde i forbindelse med byggingen av et boligfelt på Rauvigheia, langs Vålane. Lokaliteten lå skjermet til på sørsiden av heia, på en plan flate mellom lave bergknatter, cirka 10 meter over havet. Etter innledende undersøkelser var det tydelig at lokaliteten var delvis dekket av moderne matjord over et mulig kulturlag. Matjorden ble derfor fjernet maskinelt, før kulturlaget ble gravd stratigrafisk. Steingjenstandene lå delvis konsentrert til samme område som kulturlaget, men basert på C14-datering av kull fra laget viste det seg å være dannet i seinmiddelalder/tidlig nyere tid. 26746 gjenstander, hvorav 26739 av flint, 3 av kvarts og 4 av skifer ble samlet inn fra flaten. Både flekke- og avslagsproduksjon har foregått på lokaliteten. I tillegg ble det samlet inn 412 keramikkskår som til sammen veide 700 gram. Det ble ikke avdekket ildsteder eller andre strukturer. Pilspisser med tange av typen A, B og C og keramikk med snorstempel daterer aktiviteten på lokaliteten til cirka 3300–2700 f.Kr. Prosjektleder: Inger Marie Berg-Hansen.

• Granum, Solfrid & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2025). Bo- og aktivitetsområde fra eldre steinalder. Vestveien 7, Øraker, 10/296, Oslo kommune. Kulturhistorisk museum – arkeologisk undersøkelse Rapport 2025/27. Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo, Arkeologisk seksjon . Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  I forbindelse med utbygging av privatboliger og rivning av hus i Vestveien 7 i Oslo ble det høsten 2023 gjennomført en arkeologisk undersøkelse av et automatisk fredet kulturminne, id 287105. Lokaliteten ligger 53-55 moh., og vil ha ligget nær stranden i fase 3 av seinmesolitikum (nøstvetfasen, 6300 – 4500 f.Kr.). Den gang lå lokaliteten på sørsiden av et lite nes med utsyn ut mot fjorden. På vestsiden av neset strakte en fjordarm seg lenger inn i landet der Lysakerelven går i dag. Lokaliteten lå i en privat hage med et tykt matjordslag og forholdsvis lite moderne forstyrrelser i undergrunnen utenom selve huset og jordbruksaktivitet i øverste lag av lokaliteten. I løpet av undersøkelsen ble det samlet inn 2642 funn fordelt på to materialgrupper; gjenstander av bergart og flint, der bergart utgjorde hovedvekten med 2608 funn. Funn av bergartsavslag, knakkestein og fragmenter av slipeplater viser at det har vært produsert økser eller økseemner på plassen. Ved registreringen ble det også funnet et emne til en øks av finkornet, mellomgrå diabas, et materiale som også finnes blant avslagene og fragmentene. Flintgjenstandene (mikroflekker, avslag mm) viser at det er brukt og produsert flintredskaper eller sammensatte redskaper med egger av flint. Undersøkelsen har påvist et ildsted og en struktur med ukjent funksjon (mulig ildsted). Vedartsbestemte kullprøver er C14-daterte til to ulike deler av seinmesolitikum, hhv. 5206 – 4942 f.Kr (fase 3) og 4350 – 4249 f.Kr. (fase 4). Den yngste av dateringene er fra strukturen med ukjent funksjon.

• Ferrari, Giada; Garcia, Lourdes Martinez; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mansrud, Anja & Star, Bastiaan (2020). Ancient DNA of Tuna bones from the Alveberget excavation in Arendal, Norway. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2017). Den sosiale teknologien - Teknologi og tradisjon i Nord-Europa ved slutten av istida, 10 900 - 8500 f.Kr. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Avhandlingen diskuterer hvordan teknologi kan danne utgangspunkt for undersøkelser av sosiale forhold i forhistoriske samfunn, og bygger på teori om sammenhengen mellom teknologi, handling og samfunn som er utviklet innenfor fransk sosiologi og etnologi. Dette danner basisen for en undersøkelse av den langsiktige utviklingen av sosiale forbindelser og organiseringen av samfunnet i Nord-Europa i siste del av seinpaleolitikum og tidligmesolitikum. Undersøkelsen omfatter dessuten sosiale prosesser omkring den første innvandringen til den skandinaviske halvøya. Det empiriske grunnlaget er komparative teknologiske analyser av produksjonsavfall og steinredskaper fra 20 steinalderlokaliteter i Nordvest-Tyskland, Danmark, Vest-Sverige og Norge, og omfatter chaîne opératoire-analyse, dynamisk-teknologisk analyse og attributtanalyse. En kartlegging av variasjoner i metoder for produksjon av flekker og flekkeredskaper mellom arkeologiske funngrupper (Ahrensburgkultur, tidlig Maglemose, Fosna, Hensbacka og Fase 1/Komsa), utgjør basisen for identifisering av teknologiske tradisjoner. Analysen viser at det skjedde en utvikling fra standardiserte og enhetlige produksjonskonsepter i siste del av seinpaleolitikum, til varierte og fleksible konsepter i tidligmesolitikum. Samtidig ble grunnleggende teknologiske konsepter videreført gjennom hele tidsrommet. På dette grunnlaget er det mulig å skissere samfunnsutviklingen: I siste del av seinpaleolitikum var befolkningen liten, men knyttet sammen i sosiale nettverk over store områder. Videre tyder undersøkelsen på at det både var kontinuitet, og en økning, i befolkningen omkring overgangen til tidligmesolitikum. Et nært teknologisk slektskap mellom de tidligmesolittiske gruppene, viser at det fantes etablerte sosiale nettverk ved innvandringen til Vest-Sverige og Norge. I løpet av tidligmesolitikum skjedde det en tettere tilknytning til ulike regioner. Innvandringen og bosetningen på den skandinaviske halvøya i preboreal tid foregikk som en gradvis ekspansjon, gjennom etablering av familiegrupper og utvidelse av territorier.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2014). Jernvinneanlegg. Løten allmenning, 273/220, Løten kommune, Hedmark. Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet I Oslo, Fornminneseksjonen. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  I løpet av en dag gjennomførte representanter fra KHM og Hedmark fylkeskommune en sikringsundersøkelse av et jernutvinningsanlegg som var skadet i forbindelse med bygging av skianlegg. Det ble dokumenter to kullgroper og to slagghauger, samt en mindre haug/slaggansamling. Det ble ikke påvist noen ovn eller tuft. Hele området var tidligere skadet som følge av hogst/markberedning. Undersøkelsen omfattet en enkel dokumentasjon ved hjelp av prøvestikk med jordbor og spade, tegning, foto og innmåling med GPS. Et profil ble renset fram i kanten av en skadet slagghaug, og kullprøver ble tatt fra denne og fra en skadet kullgrop. Det er ikke utført radiologisk datering av prøvene. Anlegget representerer minst ett jernutvinningsanlegg fra yngre jernalder/middelalder.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2013). Hovedvannledningsprosjektet delrapport 1. Sammenfattende rapport, Tanum, 45/1 og 2, Staver, 56/1, Bjerke, 59/1, Vøien, 78/1, og Bryn, 92/1, Bærum kommune, Akershus. Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet I Oslo, Fornminneseksjonen. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Prosjektet omfatter utgravninger i forbindelse med bygging av Hovedvannledning Staver - Bryn som skal sikre reservevannforsyningen i Bærum. Til sammen sju automatisk fredete kulturminner ble utgravd. To lokaliteter ble avskrevet. Kulturminnene spenner over tidsrommet yngre steinalder (tidligneolitikum) til middelalder. Bosetnings- og jordbrukshistorie har vært et sentralt tema i prosjektet, og undersøkelsene har delvis vært fokusert omkring gårdene Vøien og Tanum. Alle lokalitetene ligger i dyrka mark, og bevaringstilstanden har derfor vært varierende. Formidling i felt har vært et særskilt satsningsområde i prosjektet. Det er utarbeidet separate rapporter for hver lokalitet (jf. tabell s. 4). Denne rapporten presenterer en oversikt over organiseringen av prosjektet, og inneholder dessuten en sammenfatning av resultatene av utgravningene. Prosjektleder: Inger M. Berg-Hansen.

• Berge, Sara Langvik & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2010). Kokegroper. Vevla 26/1, Guåker 94/1, Tønsaker 107/1, Stange kommune, Hedmark. Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet I Oslo, Fornminneseksjonen. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  01.09.-18.09.2008 ble det i forbindelse med ny overføringsledning for vann mellom Hamar og Stange kommuner foretatt en undersøkelse av tre forskjellige lokaliteter langs vannledningstraseen. De undersøkte lokalitetene var Vevla 26/1 (id109482, kokegroplokalitet), Guåker søndre 94/1 (id109488, kokegroplokalitet) og Tønsaker 107/1 (id 109773, antatt dyrkningsspor). Det registrerte dyrkningslaget på Tønsaker ble avskrevet, mens det på Vevla ble funnet åtte kokegroper, tre rydningsrøyser og et mulig dyrkningslag, alle sterkt skadet av jordbruksaktivitet. På Guåker søndre ble det funnet ti godt bevarte kokegroper. I flaten var seks av disse kokegropene runde, to ovale, en ujevn og en rektangulær. Den rektangulære kokegropa hadde hele forkullede trestokker i bunnen, plassert i lengderetningen. Åtte kokegroper fra Guåker søndre fikk datering til romertid/folkevandringstid. To kokegroper fra Vevla fikk samme datering som på Guåker søndre, mens to andre ble datert til førromersk jernalder. Prosjektleder: Inger Marie Berg-Hansen.

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