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| Kongemose | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kongemose culture |
| Period | Mesolithic |
| Dates | c. 6400–5400 BCE |
| Region | Southern Scandinavia, Baltic Sea coast |
| Major sites | Maglemose, Ertebølle, Vedbæk, Tybrind Vig |
| Preceded by | Maglemosian culture |
| Followed by | Ertebølle culture, Funnelbeaker culture |
Kongemose
The Kongemose culture was a Mesolithic hunter‑fisher‑gatherer tradition of southern Scandinavia along the Baltic Sea and western Øresund coasts dated to roughly 6400–5400 BCE. It is recognised through distinctive lithic industries, coastal and lacustrine settlements, and mobile subsistence strategies that bridge earlier Maglemosian culture adaptations and later Neolithic interactions with Funnelbeaker culture and Ertebølle culture groups. Archaeological study of Kongemose assemblages has informed debates about post‑glacial recolonisation of northern Europe after the Younger Dryas and the spread of Mesolithic technologies across the Baltic Sea littoral.
The Kongemose horizon is defined primarily by a characteristic toolkit dominated by large, finely retouched backed blades and transverse arrowheads found from southern Scania to Zealand and on the islands of the Danish archipelago. Investigations at coastal localities near Kattegat, Great Belt, and Bornholm show continuity with contemporaneous traditions in northern Germany and southern Sweden while also reflecting local responses to shifting shoreline environments after the Holocene transgression. Kongemose material culture is frequently discussed alongside neighbouring Mesolithic entities such as the Hamburgian culture and the Maglemosian culture, and its chronology is anchored by radiocarbon dates correlated with early Mesolithic sequences at sites like Vedbæk and Tybrind Vig.
Kongemose spans the middle Mesolithic, approximately 6400–5400 BCE, occupying coasts and inland lakeshores in what is now Denmark, southern Sweden (Skåne), and parts of northern Germany along the Baltic Sea. The culture follows the Maglemosian culture in Denmark and overlaps temporally with late Mesolithic groups in Poland and the Baltic states. Sea‑level rise during the early Holocene reshaped occupation zones along the Kattegat and Øresund, producing submerged sites preserved in anoxic conditions comparable to Tybrind Vig and Kokkedal, which have yielded well‑preserved organic remains and high‑resolution chronologies.
Kongemose lithics emphasize blade production from prepared cores, with long, backed blades, geometric microliths, and distinctive flaked and polished tools. Projectile technology includes small, trapeze‑shaped backed points and slender microlithic arrowheads used with composite hafts and foreshafts akin to those recovered at Vedbæk and Ertebølle contexts. Organic technology features dugout canoes, bone harpoons, antler toggles, and worked wood, paralleling finds from submerged Mesolithic localities such as Rønne and Tybrind Vig. Raw material procurement connected Kongemose communities to sources of high‑quality flint from Møns Klint and Rügen, and to amber exchange networks reaching Jutland and the Curonian Lagoon.
Kongemose economies were broad‑spectrum, exploiting marine fisheries, coastal mammals, migratory birds, and freshwater resources. Stable isotope analyses of human and faunal remains from coastal cemeteries indicate a diet heavily weighted toward fish and seal, with seasonal exploitation of sturgeon, cod, and flatfish in the Baltic Sea and small‑game hunting in adjacent woodlands. Paleobotanical and pollen sequences from nearby peatlands and lake sediments show mixed deciduous forests with elm, oak, and hazel during much of the Kongemose phase, shifting under pressure from climate oscillations and later agricultural encroachment associated with incoming Neolithic populations like those related to the Funnelbeaker culture.
Kongemose sites occur along sheltered bays, estuaries, and inland lakeshores, often forming seasonal base camps with evidence for repeated occupation. Key localities include coastal shell middens and hearth clusters at sites in Zealand, Lolland, and southern Sweden where concentrations of lithics, faunal refuse, and structural postholes indicate wooden huts and open‑air activity areas. Submerged settlements such as Tybrind Vig and Vedbæk preserve waterlogged organic artefacts, providing exceptional insights into Kongemose craft, organic tool use, and seafaring. Trade and mobility are inferred from non‑local materials and stylistic affinities with industries in northern Poland and northern Germany.
Burial evidence for Kongemose communities is comparatively sparse but includes inhumations and scattered grave goods at cemeteries like Vedbæk and other coastal burial locales where human remains are associated with flint tools, bone pins, and occasional ornaments such as amber beads. Funerary practices show similarities with later Ertebølle culture interments and with broader Mesolithic commemorative behaviours across the Baltic region, indicating social networks and ritualised deposition of personal items. Mortuary variability and the presence of red ochre at some graves suggest symbolic practices and social differentiation within Kongemose groups.
The Kongemose concept emerged in early 20th‑century Scandinavian archaeology through typological studies of flint industries and coastal site surveys, refined by radiocarbon chronology, underwater archaeology, and palaeoenvironmental studies in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Scholars have debated its boundaries vis‑à‑vis the Maglemosian culture and Ertebølle culture, and ongoing research integrates methods from zooarchaeology, ancient DNA, and geoarchaeology to trace population dynamics and subsistence shifts. Major institutions contributing to Kongemose research include the National Museum of Denmark, the Museum of Copenhagen, the Swedish History Museum, and universities at Copenhagen, Lund, and Stockholm. Continued underwater surveys and AMS radiocarbon dating aim to clarify Kongemose chronology, mobility, and connections with Neolithic dispersals such as those associated with the Funnelbeaker culture.
Category:Mesolithic cultures Category:Archaeology of Denmark Category:Archaeology of Sweden