Hunter-gatherer society in systems of trade : Åsele Lappmark Neolithic - Bronze Age

This thesis is an attempt to explain economic and cultural changes during the Neolithic and Bronze Agefocusing on Asele Lappmark in Northern Sweden. The transitions are apparent in changing lithic technology,settlement structure traditions, land-uje patterning and the introduction of metallurgy. The subsistenceeconomy remained dependent on, fishing, hunting and gathering. Hunters and gatherers, however, becameinvolved in fur-trading and other resource-supplying exchange networks.This economy for trade, became so dominant that optimising models normally applied to huntergatherereconomies, are inapplicable. Instead explanations should be sought among a variety of economicworld-systems where hunter-gatherer sub-systems are included. In Asele Lappmark subsistence during theNeolithic was dependent on moose and beaver hunting. During the Bronze Age moose were still hunted butreindeer became more important and evidendy trade-networks were being established.Winter sites were moved to the main river routes, previously used as summer meeting-grounds. Thislocalisation is probably an effect of the increasing importance of trade. Reindeer herding is suggested tohave developed during the Bronze Age as the inland population took advantage of their geographicalknowledge and possession, and developed a middleman-function in an exchange network.These trade activities called for a means of transportation of trade goods across the mountains of theScandinavian peninsula, and one important role of reindeer in this context was as a beast of burden.Metallurgical knowledge is evident from the finds of moulds and crucibles for bronze-casting. The relativelyscanty evidence, however, suggests that bronze was not major trade-item, but that craftsmanship was importantto ri tually maintain cultural identity between trading groups.digitalisering@um