Hedningahällan Settlement or not? : A comparison of artifact compositions from neolithic settlements in Hälsingland and Gästrikland

Is Hedningahällan a settlement or is it not? With help of spatial analysis and comparing Hedningahällan with other settlements in the form of comparing scattering maps of finds, bone, ceramic sherds from Hedningahällan and the other investigated neolithic sites in southern Norrland. The site is mysterious and there is a missing link based on its location and its position in the landscape. Firstly, a settlement without any traces of house remains, and with finds indicating that we might have up to 4 cultures at least having some sort of contacts with each other. bone artifacts such as beads and amulets together with clay figurines and battleaxes and miniature axes shows evidence of something more ceremonial in nature. The whole settlement that we know of are located on a giant boulder and only hearth pits and ceramics are providing more solid evidence of continuous habitation. All other settlements from the neolithic are located at ground level usually on an ancient beach. I’ve therefore compared Hedningahällan with other sites from Gävleborg. The comparisons made between Hedningahällan and the other settlements clearly proofs its unique nature and therefore has it never been a regular settlement like the others ones presented in this study