The skeletal remains of a 4,000-year-old Scandinavian man were discovered in 1916. Hitla island, Norway.
The male Hitra was approximately 169 cm tall, had blond hair and blue eyes. Image courtesy of Thomas Foldberg/Åge Hojem/NTNU University Museum.
“In 1916, the road up the hill to the Fausland farm on the island of Hitra was being renovated using gravel from the coast along the deepest part of Balmsfjorden,” said Dr. Birgitte Skarr of the NTNU University Museum. a colleague said.
“Suddenly, the workers noticed human bones among the sand and stones.”
“The bones belonged to an approximately 25-year-old man who died at the end of the Stone Age, 4,000 years ago.”
“He is believed to have drowned. At the time of his death, the sea level would have been 12.5 meters higher than it is now, and the site of his discovery would have been at a depth of 4 meters.”
Archaeologists also found and studied a Hitraean dagger and arm guard.
“The arm guard is a rectangular bone with two holes that would have been attached to the wrist of the bow hand,” they said.
“The guard protects your wrist from the impact of the bowstring when you shoot an arrow.”
“These pieces of equipment may indicate that he was a warrior.”
“It is impossible to determine whether the drowning was the result of a fight or an accident,” Dr. Skarr said.
“What we do know is that the Hitraeans lived in a very turbulent time.”
“Up until that point, most people lived as hunter-gatherers, and agriculture only became fully established in Norway at the end of the Stone Age, during the time of the Hitra people.”
“Although elements of agriculture had been introduced earlier in southern and eastern Norway, agriculture was first established during this period in central Norway, along the coast of western Norway, and in northern Norway.”
“We believe that agriculture was introduced by settlers who came to Norway to obtain more land, and they were willing to use weapons to do so.”
“So we have to expect violent clashes between the people who were already living here and the newcomers.”
“New people brought new knowledge to the country, not just about animal husbandry and agriculture, but also about other ways of organizing society.”
“They lived in a class society, had different worldviews, different religions, and large networks that spanned Europe.”
“This knowledge led to major political, economic, and social changes.”
“There is still much we don’t know about this dramatic period in Scandinavian history, and research continues.”
“His DNA is currently being analyzed at the Lundbeck Foundation Geogenetics Center at the University of Copenhagen.”
Source: www.sci.news
