Current research of the Early Mesolithic on Bornholm, Denmark

During the transition between Dryas III and Preboreal Bornholm was probably a northern part of a peninsula, which covered an area from Rügen, Germany to Bornholm. The oldest traces of human settlements on Bornholm are found in Vallensgård Mose [peat bog]. This material presumably belongs to the Bromme Culture in the Allerød interstadial. In the following Dryas III and Preboreal faunal remains of reindeer and elks have been registered on Bornholm, but there is no evidence of settlements from the Ahrensburg Culture and only little evidence from the earliest Maglemose Culture. The lack of settlements is discussed and four topics [reindeer, palaeogeography, climate and lithic technology] are discussed in order to clarify this particular problem.Current Mesolithic research on Bornholm has been concentrated on excavating settlements from the Maglemose Culture with detailed typological studies of the coastal settlement of Melsted, Nørre Sandegård, Kobbebro and the inland site of Ålyst. These settlements are connected with good fishing resources, which grew increasingly important, as Bornholm became an island during the Boreal period. Future research tasks on Bornholm can be summed up as follows: [1] A detailed field survey at typical topographic areas, indicating a Palaeolithic habitation. [2] A complete excavation of Ålyst, with a wide range of post-excavation analysis together with other selected Maglemose sites