Almut Schülke

• Schülke, Almut & Hofmann, Kerstin P. (2023). Mensch - Körper - Tod: Ansätze zur archäologischen Erforschung des Umgangs mit Tod und Toten. In Balkowski, Nadia; Hofmann, Kerstin P.; Hohle, Isabel A. & Schülke, Almut (Ed.), Mensch-Körper-Tod. Der Umgang mit menschlichen Überresten im Neolithikum Mitteleuropas. . Sidestone Press. ISSN 978-94-6427-054-9. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Death confronts the living with the challenges of how to deal with the material legacies of the deceased and with an ambivalent relationship between the presence and absence of the dead. Death is universal, but how we deal with death and the dead is culturally shaped – as is the study of these issues. Although burials are one of the main types of archaeological sources, (transformative) bodily practices and processes associated with death have been rarely addressed. In the introduction to this anthology, we argue for a process-oriented, contextual and praxeological consideration of the complex network of relations between human being, body and death instead of viewing the burial as a static archaeological record. First, we deal with the question of how and when boundaries are drawn between living and dead, then with transformative body practices and processes. Finally, we address the socio-spatial location of death and the dead, which takes place right in the middle of life and only sometimes brings with it a strict spatial separation of the living and the dead.

• Schülke, Almut; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel Johan; Roalkvam, Isak & Solheim, Steinar (2023). New Perspectives on Old Shores: Current Approaches to the Mesolithic in South-Eastern Norway and their Potential. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Research on coastal societies in Mesolithic south-eastern Norway (9300-3900 cal. BC) has increased significantly in recent years, against the backdrop of a much larger, more substantial and constantly growing source material over the last two decades, but also through the adoption of different theoretical frameworks and methodological tools. Thus, various new insights into Mesolithic coastal living have been gathered. However, the diversity in theoretical and methodological approaches has received rather little theoretical reflection concerning the aims and potential of these various ways of dealing with the archaeological material. This article presents and discusses a number of current approaches on human relations with the shore in the Mesolithic in south-eastern Norway. It reflects on differences and similarities with respect to underlying concepts, theory, and methodology within these approaches. We ask which aspects of our topic do the different approaches actually shed light on, and whether the approaches are compatible. By comparing these approaches this article aims at clarifying the investigatory breadth present, but also at highlighting challenges and limitations pertaining to individual analytical perspectives. This can contribute a better understanding of hunter-gatherer lifeways on the Mesolithic coast, potentially through a combination of approaches that have so far been applied separately. We will focus on five thematic areas and on the potential for combining them: population dynamics and radiocarbon dates, settlement patterns and site location, adaptation and choice of place, moving and dwelling, and technology as tradition.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel; Roalkvam, Isak; Solheim, Steinar & Schülke, Almut (2023). Coast-concepts in Norwegian Stone Age archaeology. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française. 19, p. 45–60. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The sea and coast have always been central to Norwegian Stone Age research, and most of the archaeological sites we know from the period are located along the coast. Natural conditions associated with the land uplift after the last Ice Age have provided unique opportunities for exploring the coastal settlement of the Stone Age. The general sentiment in the literature is that the Stone Age hunter-gatherers on the Scandinavian Peninsula mainly hunted, moved and settled along the coastline. Less attention has been paid to the areas behind the coast – the coastal hinterland –, although a number of sites are also known further inland and in mountain areas. Central to this perception is the ‘shoreline model’, which has developed gradually over a century of research. While this model has resulted in the identification of thousands of sites, it does have a simplistic eco-functional foundation. Is it possible that such a conceptual starting point in some ways limits our opportunities to explore the coastal landscape from other perspectives, or even prevents us from discovering archaeological material in other landscape settings? To explore this possibility, we ask whether there are conditions in our research, or circumstances in its underlying framework that have contributed to the strong coastal focus. How did today’s concepts and knowledge of the Stone Age coastal settlement come about, and what roles have been played by the natural environment and topographical character of the landscape? How has this influenced our perception of Stone Age settlement, and what other factors have been important? We identify five main factors that each work toward strengthening the coastal focus in different ways. Furthermore, we examine strengths and challenges of the coastal concepts employed in present research and suggest possible future exploration of Stone Age coasts within a broader perspective of a ‘landscape of practice’. Although the coast was central to the people of the Stone Age, this article argues that a one-sided focus on the coast and coastline may hinder a broader knowledge of Stone Age society and human life. Keywords: Stone Age, Mesolithic, shoreline displacement, coastal adaption, archipelago landscape, hinterland, site location, archaeological survey methods, site concepts, Norway.

• Schülke, Almut (2023). From Coastal Sites to Elevated Hinterland Locations in the Mesolithic - Discussing Human-Woodland Interaction in the Oslo Fjord Region, Southeast Norway. Open Archaeology. ISSN 2300-6560. 9(1), p. 1–32. doi: 10.1515/opar-2022-0290. Full text in Research Archive
• Schülke, Almut (2022). Maria Wunderlich, Megalithic Monuments and Social Structures. Comparative Studies on Recent and Funnel Beaker Societies. Germania. ISSN 0016-8874. 100(100), p. 364–369. doi: 10.11588/ger.2022.99132.
• Schülke, Almut (2022). Placing - fragmenting - circulating: Mesolithic burial and mortuary practices in Norway in a Northern European perspective. In Olsen, Dag Erik Færø (Eds.), The Stone Age Conference in Bergen 2017. Universitetet i Bergen. ISSN 978-82-8436-002-7. p. 123–154. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This contribution investigates burial and mortuary practice in the Mesolithic period (9300–3900 BC) in what today is defined as Norway. This issue has received little attention, as poor preservation conditions for bone material in the forest zone of the North has led to a low number of finds. Recent excavations of single burials at e.g. Brunstad and Sømmevågen trigger off a reassessment of the topic. The twelve sites with human bones, which could be identified, dating to the Middle and Late Mesolithic, were studied and compared. Even though statistically not significant, they exhibit some common traits: Human remains are mainly found in the places of the living: on coastal settlement sites, including caves/rockshelters and open-air sites. This broad spectrum of sites indicates human engagement with different natural and cultural elements when dealing with the dead: hollows, water, earth and cultural debris. Both graves with apparently intact human bodies and single (loose) human bones can be identified. Together with sites found in wetlands with seemingly selected types of bones, these bear witness to a broad range of mortuary practices, including inhumation, the fragmenting of corpses and the circulation of selected bones. This is in line with practices observed in other parts of Northern Europe; a special closeness to finds from Western Sweden is observed. As in other areas it is most likely that only a small number of people were actually buried, while most of them received other treatment in death, not easily visible archaeologically. The identification of these various phenomena will hopefully make it possible to identify other find contexts in future, and will be important when discussing social and ritual aspects of Mesolithic hunter-gatherer societies, not least regarding studies on genetics and mobility.

• Schülke, Almut (2021). A portable object in motion - Complex layers of meaning embedded in an ornamented sandstone Object from the Late Mesoltihic site of Brunstad (Norway). In Borić, Dušan; Antonović, Dragana & Mihailović, Bojana (Ed.), Foraging Assemblages 2. Serbian Archaeological Society. ISSN 978-86-80094-16-8. p. 590–594. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This contribution deals with an ornamented and pierced sandstone tablet found at the Late Mesolithic coastal site of Brunstad (Vestfold/Norway) in 2013. The delicately incised decoration comprise net-, wave-, and pigtail-patterns on both sides, as well as an anthropomorphic or fish figure. While the combination of the object’s form, material, and decoration is unique, each of the three aspects have parallels in Middle and Late Mesolithic cultural traditions. Stylistically, the decorative motifs are similar to other pieces of portable ‘art‘ known from the Middle and Late Mesolithic periods, while the material resembles sandstone knives known from Norwegian sites. However, it is difficult to determine the function of the object. Through a visual analysis of the object, and with the help of the RTI technology, changes in the object’s form and decoration can be observed. These changes indicate several layers of meaning that are imbedded in the Brunstad object, and can be interpreted with regard to aspects of the object’s changing meaning over time, mobility, and social contexts in which it was used.

• Schülke, Almut (2020). First visit or revisit? Motivations of mobility and the use and reuse of sites in the changing coastal areas of Mesolithic southeastern Norway. In Schülke, Almut (Eds.), Coastal landscapes of the Mesolithic : Human engagement with the coast from the Atlantic to the Baltic Sea. Routledge. ISSN 9781138303607. p. 359–393. doi: https:/doi.org/10.4324/9780203730942. Full text in Research Archive
• Schülke, Almut (2020). Coastal landscapes of the Mesolithic: Diversities, challenges and perspectives on human-coast relations between the Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. In Schülke, Almut (Eds.), Coastal landscapes of the Mesolithic : Human engagement with the coast from the Atlantic to the Baltic Sea. Routledge. ISSN 9781138303607. p. 1–24. doi: https:/doi.org/10.4324/9780203730942. Full text in Research Archive
• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Damlien, Hege; Zagorska, Ilga; Kalniņš, Mārcis; Bērziņš, Valdis & Schülke, Almut (2019). Long-term variation in lithic technological traditions and social interaction: the Stone Age of the Eastern Baltic (Latvia), 10,500–2900 calBC. Fennoscandia Archaeologica. ISSN 0781-7126. XXXVI, p. 6–32. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Eastern Baltic Stone Age is characterized by several major shifts in tool technology. Our picture of cultural change is currently based on typological variation in well-preserved bone tools, ceramics, stone tools, and on diversity in lithic raw-material use. These variations have partly been interpreted as the result of external influences, and partly as internal development. However, the understanding of relations with neighbouring regions is still limited. Recent decades have seen a growing interest in the chaîne opératoire approach and technological analysis, and their relevance for studying intra-site activity and development of skill, and for describing ancient technologies has been demonstrated. Technological and cultural relationships in the North European Stone Age have also been discussed within this frame. In this article, we take a new approach, employing variation in lithic technological craft traditions as proxy for investigating long-term development and variability in lines of communication. This study addresses three chronological contexts of the Latvian Stone Age, based on technological analysis of 26 sites. In describing the overall development in stone technology during the period c 10 500–2900 calBC, the article demonstrates not only technological variations but also affirms fluctuation/change in directions of social contacts throughout the Stone Age, demonstrating variation in knowledge transmission and communication routes across large geographical areas.

• Reitan, Gaute; Danielsen, Christina Fredrikke; Gummesson, Sara & Schülke, Almut (2019). Brunstad in Vestfold, Southeast Norway – a repeatedly visited settlement area from c. 6000 cal. BC, with a grave and other traces of ritual depositions. Viking. ISSN 0332-608X. LXXXII, p. 33–62. doi: 10.5617/viking.7115. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper presents the results from the archaeological investigation of two Mesolithic sites, lok. 24 and lok. 25, at Brunstad in Stokke, south of Tønsberg in Vestfold, Southeast Norway. At their time of use the two sites, separated only by a rocky outcrop, were situated by a cove on a small island in the archipelago of the Oslo Fjord. A total of c. 16,000 artefacts, predominantly of flint, were recorded, as well as c. 60 hearths. Radiocarbon dates witness to repeated stays on this island between c. 6400 and 5600 cal. BC. Towards the south lok. 24 was delimited by a small marsh, which also existed at the time when the Brunstad sites were inhabited. Four complete and two fragmented stone adzes found directly in the wetland, may indicate deliberate (ritual) depositions. The find of a decorated, broken sandstone plate from the northern edge of the wetland might strengthen such an interpretation. On lok. 25 an inhumation was uncovered. In a carefully stone-lined grave-pit, an adult individual had been buried with flexed hip and knees. The grave, dated to c. 5900 BC, is the first recorded Mesolithic grave in East Norway, and one of very few Mesolithic graves from Norway overall. The grave and traces of other ritual actions are discussed in relation to the settlement site as well as in a wider Scandinavian context.

• Schülke, Almut (2019). Megalithic tombs and wetland depositions as markers of old and new places in the Early Neolithic: Break or inversion of ritualized practice? In Müller, Johannes; Hinz, Martin & Wunderlich, Maria (Ed.), Megaliths-Societies-Landscapes. Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation in Neolithic Europe. Verlag Dr. Rudolf Habelt GMBH. ISSN 978-3-7749-4213-4. p. 465–486.
• Schülke, Almut; Eriksen, Kristin; Gummesson, Sara & Reitan, Gaute (2019). The Mesolithic inhumation at Brunstad - A two-step multidisciplinary excavation Method enables rare Insights into hunter-gatherer mortuary practice in Norway. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. ISSN 2352-409X. 23(February 2019), p. 662–673. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.11.025. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Mesolithic burial from Brunstad, Vestfold, Eastern Norway, dating to c. 5900 cal BC, represents rare evidence of Mesolithic mortuary practice in Norway. While Mesolithic settlement finds are abundant in the region, evidence of mortuary ritual is virtually absent in the record. In this article we present the method and the results of the multidisciplinary excavation, on-site and in the laboratory. The challenging Brunstad find was excavated in two steps, and later reconstructed, involving osteology, 3D photogrammetry and conservation. Moreover, the burial is discussed in its local, regional and supra-regional context. While the inhumation of an adult individual in a flexed body position is rare in its regional context, it exhibits typical features known from Mesolithic graves in Scandinavia as well as from other parts of Europe. These include the shore-based island location and proximity to a settlement site, the body position, as well as certain features of mortuary ritual. In the light of Mesolithic mortuary practices in Scandinavia and the Baltic region, from where many Mesolithic graves are known, we suggest that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in Eastern Norway and the Skagerrak region handled and disposed of their dead in various ways, some of which might not have left archaeological traces. We conclude that the Brunstad grave represents a distinct mode of burial at the time.

• Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Zagorska, Ilga; Kalniņš, Mārcis; Koxvold, Lucia Uchermann & Nielsen, Svein Vatsvåg [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2018). A technological crossroads: Exploring diversity in the pressure blade technology of Mesolithic Latvia. Oxford Journal of Archaeology. ISSN 0262-5253. 37(3), p. 229–246. doi: 10.1111/ojoa.12139. Full text in Research Archive
• Wieckowska-Lüth, Magdalena; Solheim, Steinar; Schülke, Almut & Kirleis, Wiebke (2018). Towards a refined understanding of the use of coastal zones in the Mesolithic: New investigations on human–environment interactions in Telemark, southeastern Norway. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. ISSN 2352-409X. 17, p. 839–851. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.12.045. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The study of the effects of human presence on vegetation in the Mesolithic has been controversial. It is often assumed that hunter-gatherers did not change or affect their environment in a way that can be detected by means of pollen analysis. In this paper, we explore potential human impact on the vegetation during the Mesolithic by comparing pollen data from a high-resolution sediment core from Lake Skogstjern with archaeological data obtained through extensive excavation and survey in Bamble, in the county of Telemark, southeastern Norway. The aim of this interdisciplinary approach is to reach a better understanding of the development and use of Mesolithic woodlands with regard to the availability of different resources, but also to put the question of human impact on Mesolithic vegetation on the agenda. Mesolithic settlement in southeastern Norway was to a very large degree shore bound, and the pollen analysis from Lake Skogstjern, situated in the coastal hinterland, allows for new perspectives on and interpretations of the use of the coastal wider landscape.

• Schülke, Almut (2017). Prosjektplan og faglige problemstillinger for E18 Rugtvedt-Dørdal. Menneske og kystsonen i steinalderen - variasjon og kontinuitet. E18 Rugtvedt-Dørdal. Arkeologiske undersøkelser av lokaliteter fra steinalder og jernalder i Bamble kommune, Telemark fylke.. Portal forlag. ISSN 9788202566241. p. 27–28.
• Schülke, Almut (2016). Refining landscape archaeology – a study of the social relations between humans and their surroundings as embedded in megalithic tombs. Praehistorische Zeitschrift. ISSN 0079-4848. 91(2), p. 317–352. doi: 10.1515/pz-2016-0028.
• Schülke, Almut & Hegdal, Håvard (2015). Et unikt mesolittisk anheng fra Brunstad i Vestfold. Viking. ISSN 0332-608X. 78, p. 27–46.
• Schülke, Almut (2015). The diversity of settings. Ritual and social aspects of tradition and innovation in megalithic landscapes. In Brink, Kristian; Hyden, Susan; Jennbert, Kristina; Larsson, Lars & Olausson, Deborah (Ed.), Neolithic Diversities. Perspectives from a Conference in Lund, Sweden. Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Lund. ISSN 9789189578609. p. 188–200.
• Schülke, Almut (2014). Archäologie und Kunst. In Mölders, Doreen & Wolfram, Sabine (Ed.), Schlüsselbegriffe der Prähistorischen Archäologie. Tübinger Archäologische Taschenbücher 11. Waxmann Verlag. ISSN 978-3-8309-3176-8. p. 29–31.

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• Balkowski, Nadia; Hofmann, Kerstin P.; Hohle, Isabel A. & Schülke, Almut (2023). Mensch-Körper-Tod. Der Umgang mit menschlichen Überresten im Neolithikum Mitteleuropas. . Sidestone Press. ISBN 978-94-6427-054-9. 307 p. Show summary

  Das europäische Neolithikum zeichnet sich durch eine Vielzahl von Umgangsweisen mit menschlichen Körpern von Toten aus. Der archäologische Diskurs zu Mensch, Körper und Tod stützte sich für das Neolithikum traditionell jedoch auf Körperbestattungen. Dies ist unter anderem auf die in der westlichen Welt vorherrschende Idealvorstellung von Totenruhe und der Deponierung eines Körpers an einem, oft separat dafür vorgesehenen Ort zurückzuführen. In der letzten Zeit gerieten jedoch Deponierungen fragmentierter und mitunter auch manipulierter menschlicher Überreste in den Fokus des Interesses, nicht zuletzt durch die Zunahme neuer archäologischer Funde, die sich mit traditionellen Begriffen und Konzepten nicht ohne weiteres erklären lassen. Eine wachsende Zahl solcher Funde fordert die Archäologie heraus, sich mit diesen Themen aus neuen Perspektiven zu beschäftigen. Der vorliegende Band integriert theoretische Reflexionen zur Bedeutung des menschlichen Körpers und zur Wahrnehmung des Übergangs vom Leben zum Tod, wie sie anhand von Bestattungen und Deponierungen menschlicher Überreste und archäologischer Funde untersucht werden können. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt liegt dabei auf dem neolithischen Mitteleuropa. Mit Hilfe verschiedener interdisziplinärer und theoretischer Ansätze wird anhand von Fallstudien deutlich, dass etablierte Praktiken und performative Akte des Umgangs mit dem menschlichen Körper hochkomplex sind und daher auch gemeinsam aus unterschiedlichen Blickwinkeln betrachtet werden sollten. Der aus einer Tagungssektion in Würzburg 2019 hervorgegangene Sammelband vereint dabei Beiträge zu verschiedenen Gebieten und neolithischen Subperioden, wie der Linearbandkeramik, der Trichterbecherkultur und dem subalpinen Spätneolithikum, darunter prominente Fundkomplexe. Eingerahmt werden diese von Aufsätzen, die sich kritisch mit der archäologischen Erforschung des Umgangs von Tod und mit Toten auseinandersetzen und einem zusammenfassenden Überblick zu den Beiträgen des Sammelbandes geben

• Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Melheim, Anne Lene; Mjærum, Axel; Persson, Per & Schülke, Almut [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2021). Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge: Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISBN 9788202737030 . 260 p.
• Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Melheim, Anne Lene; Mjærum, Axel; Persson, Per Åke & Schülke, Almut [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2021). Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge. Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISBN 9788202737030. 260 p. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge. Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum inneholder en helhetlig oversikt over utgravinger av 430 boplasser, begravelser, depoter, fangstanlegg m.m. fra år 2000 til 2017, og presenterer en bred og oppdatert redegjørelse for forskningsstatus knyttet til steinalderen (ca. 9500–1700 f.Kr.) i regionen. I presentasjonen av forskningsstatus synliggjøres ikke bare det vi vet per i dag, men også betydelige kunnskapshull. Den manglede kunnskapen har dannet utgangspunkt for formuleringen av fire framtidige satsingsområder: Teknologi Bosetning og landskapsbruk Ressursgrunnlag og økonomi Ritualer og ritualisert praksis I dette faglige programmet for steinalderundersøkelser presenteres konkrete forslag til strategier og tiltak som vil bidra til å tette disse kunnskapshullene, skape faglig utvikling og danne grunnlag for videre forskning. Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge er skrevet for forskere, forvaltere, studenter og andre som vil gjøre dypdykk i vår eldste forhistorie. Boken vil være et viktig verktøy for planlegging og gjennomføring av kommende steinalderutgravninger ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Den vil også danne et grunnlag for de rådene museet gir i forbindelse med forvaltningen av våre eldste kulturminner.

• Schülke, Almut (2020). Coastal landscapes of the Mesolithic : Human engagement with the coast from the Atlantic to the Baltic Sea. Routledge. ISBN 9781138303607. 432 p.

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• Schülke, Almut & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2023). Aktiviteter i PrehCoast-gruppa 2023.
• Schülke, Almut (2023). Narrative 3: Coping with new surroundings in Neolithic Norway. In Hofmann, Daniela; Frieman, Catherine J & Nyland, Astrid Johanne (Ed.), Migration narratives in Archaeology. Sidestone Press. ISSN 9789464262025. p. 56–57. doi: 10.59641/ukr271lm.
• Schülke, Almut (2023). Fortelling 3: Måter å håndtere nye omgivelser i Norge i yngre steinalder. In Hofmann, Daniela; Frieman, Catherine J & Nyland, Astrid Johanne (Ed.), Arkeologiske fortellinger om migrasjon. Sidestone Press. ISSN 9789464262155. p. 56–57. doi: 10.59641/q4699tc.
• Schülke, Almut (2023). Forskning og formidling innenfor og om forvaltningsprosjekter: Noen tanker om a bringe fortiden inn i nåtiden for fremtiden.
• Lewis, Carenza; Darvill, Tim; Rummel, Christoph & Schülke, Almut (2023). Session #568 - Beyond bean counting: Current, emerging and anticipated approaches to benefitting people and places through archaeology - Introduction to this session.
• Lewis, Carenza; Darvill, Tim; Rummel, Christoph; Schülke, Almut & Fernández Fernández, Jesús (2023). The Future of the Past: How the EAA Public Benefits Advisory Group aims to help archaeology, people and places, now and into the future.
• Schülke, Almut (2023). Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral network "ArCHe – Archaeological Coastal Heritage: Past, present and future of a hidden prehistoric legacy".
• Schülke, Almut (2023). Technique or randomness – on the practice of placemaking.
• Schülke, Almut (2023). The role of ritual in placemaking – dolmens and flint axe depositions in SE-Norway give insights into social encounters in the Early Neolithic of N-Europe.
• Granados, Tina Jensen; Stubberud, Sverre Magnus; Kamphuis Hansen, Nora Sophia & Schülke, Almut (2023). Der fjorden møter havet Siste nytt om fangstfolk ved Frierfjorden og Skagerrakkysten. Arkeologiske undersøkingar i samband med Fv.353 Rugtvedt–Surtebogen.
• Schülke, Almut (2023). Megalittanlegg i på Rødtangen - Rituelle praktiker gir innsyn i overregionale møter og nettverk i yngre steinalder.
• Schülke, Almut (2022). Megalittanlegg i Oslofjordområdet - Rituelle praktiker gir innsyn i overregionale møter og nettverk i yngre steinalder .
• Schülke, Almut (2022). Megaliths at the periphery – Understanding the social setting of the dolmens in the Oslo Fjord area, Norway .
• Schülke, Almut (2022). At the threshold to the mountains: Social relevance and meaning of monuments along coastal waterways in Neolithic Southeast Norway .
• Schülke, Almut & Solheim, Steinar (2022). Participation in CAS-project "Exploring the Archaeological Migration Narrative: The introduction of farming and animal husbandry in Southern Norway" .
• Solheim, Steinar & Schülke, Almut (2022). Exploring the Archaeological Migration Narrative: The Introduction of Farming and Animal Husbandry in Southern Norway.
• Schülke, Almut & Mjærum, Axel (2022). Steinaldervandring på Ekeberg.
• Schülke, Almut (2022). Fortid - nåtid- fremtid: (Undervisnings-)perspektiver på steinalderens kystlokaliteter som ikke-fornybar ressurs.
• Schülke, Almut; Lechterbeck, Jutta; Bergsvik, Knut Andreas & Kirleis, Wiebke (2022). Landscapes of action in the Neolithic periphery of the North: Understanding social processes, encounters and economic change in coastal and hinterland areas in the 4th and 3rd millenium BC.
• Schülke, Almut; Kirleis, Wiebke; Lechterbeck, Jutta & Bergsvik, Knut Andreas (2022). Marking the land in the Neolithic. Case studies from western and eastern Norway.
• Mjærum, Axel & Schülke, Almut (2021). Kulturvandring gjennom Oslos steinalderlandskap. Show summary

  Visste du at det nåværende Oslo sentrum lå under havflaten og at Maridalsvannet og Sognsvann en gang var fjordarmer med sel og torsk? Steinalderens kystboplasser ligger nå høyt over havet – inne skogen og midt i byen. Bli med arkeologene på en vandring for å utforske steinalderens kystlandskap og menneskene som oppholdt seg der. I Ekebergåsen er det mange spor etter steinalderens kystboplasser, og her ligger til og med noen av Østlandets eldste helleristninger. Disse funnstedene illustrerer godt de enorme landskapsendringene siden slutten av istiden.

• Schülke, Almut; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel Johan; Solheim, Steinar; Roalkvam, Isak & Damlien, Hege (2021). Forskergruppe PrehCOAST - Status og veien videre.
• Schülke, Almut (2021). Into the woods … Approaching coast-hinterland relations in the Late Mesolithic of Southeast Norway. Show summary

  This paper explores how human engagement with the wooded hinterland in the Late Mesolithic of Southeast Norway can be approached archaeologically. Hunter-gatherer engagement with the environment is, especially in Scandinavia, often discussed from a maritime perspective, as many archaeological sites are placed at the coast. They are today either submerged or located on uplifted land. In Southeast Norway constant landuplift since Late Glacial times has resulted in the preservation of hundreds of Mesolithic coastal sites on dry land. Their placement in areas which today are exposed to infrastructure development has not only led to a high number of excavated former coastal sites, but has also enhanced the idea that the coast and marine resources played a major role for Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. A generally accepted model on a semi-sedentary way of life prevails, where larger shorebased locations are interpreted as base-camps. But how and to what extend the people who lived in these coastal areas used and were attached to the coastal hinterlands and its extensive woodlands is still is little discussed, even though there are growing indications of such use. These include the evidence of visits of hinterland locations, the human manipulation of forested areas as attested by pollenanalysis, bones of terrestrial animals and depictions of such on rock art, which can indicate (seasonal?) movement and mobility patterns into and across the woods. This contribution aims at setting indications of hinterland and woodland use on the agenda, and asks which possibilities these open for a thicker understanding of human-nature encounter at the time – in social, economic, and cosmological terms.

• Schülke, Almut (2021). I de levendes verden … Håndtering av død og de døde i norsk mesolitikum.
• Schülke, Almut (2020). Digital bokslipp for antologien "Coastal Landscapes of the Mesolithic. Human Engagement with the Coast from the Atlantic to the Baltic Sea".
• Schülke, Almut; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel & Roalkvam, Isak (2020). Forskergruppe PrehCOAST: Formål, planer, resultater .
• Schülke, Almut (2020). Rezension zu: Schultrich, S. (2018). Das Jungneolithikum in Schleswig-Holstein (Scales of Transformation in Prehistoric and Archaic Societies, 1). Leiden: Sidestone. Archäologische Informationen 43. Archäologische Informationen. ISSN 0341-2873. 43.
• Schülke, Almut (2020). Time depth in changing environments – From Early Mesolithic coastal sites to strategic observation points in the hinterland in later Mesolithic times. Show summary

  Throughout all of the Mesolithic, glacial retreat, isostatic rebound and sea-level changes have continuously changed the coastal areas of Southeast Norway. Constantly retreating coastlines led to the replacement of human activity connected to marine exploitation, manifested in an overall relocation of coastal sites following the shoreline. The significance of coastal resources for hunter-gatherer economy has been an important research topic in recent years. Little attention has however been paid to the marked growth of landmasses that took place at the same time, and to Mesolithic people’s experience of the growing areas of dried out land. The use of these coastal hinterland areas and people’s adaptation to them has hardly been studied. This talk deals with the emergence of the coastal hinterland and its archaeological significance. Starting point are a number Early Mesolithic settlements/occupational sites, which today are located inland, but which in Early Mesolithic times were placed directly at the coast and very close to deep sea beds. Radiocarbon dates from these sites exhibit later Mesolithic dates – despite the typical Early Mesolithic artefacts. These late dates have hitherto been considered as outliers, interpreted as signs of later forest-fires. GIS-modelling of the topographic character of the placement of these sites against the backdrop of land-upheaval processes that transformed these coastal areas through time indicates that they were placed at potentially excellent view-points overlooking marked valleys (former sea beds, now placed several kilometres from the coast) at the times of these later Mesolithic dates. Thus, the later radiocarbon dates might indicate a pattern of Late Mesolithic hinterland sites with excellent views, which might have served as places in a communication system, such as observation spots of human and animal movement. As places with a deep human and natural history, they might also have served as places of memory. Setting the coastal hinterland on the agenda adds a new dimension to our understanding of the diversity of adaptive strategies of coastal groups, and opens up new paths for a better understanding of the use of and movement in Mesolithic environments in general.

• Schülke, Almut (2020). Materialities of Coping – Coping with materialities. Show summary

  Opening speaker and Chair of Session: Materialities of Coping - Coping With Materialities

• Schülke, Almut; Solheim, Steinar; Roalkvam, Isak; Mjærum, Axel & Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie (2020). New Perspectives on Old Shores: Current approaches on the Stone Age in Eastern Norway. Show summary

  The coastal and inland areas landscapes of southeastern Norway offered resource rich environments for Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to settle in. This human activity has left an extensive dataset for archaeologist to study settlement and activity from the seashores to the high mountain areas. In recent years, there has been a development in archaeological analysis of human activity in the region applying the large amount of data generated by recent archaeological excavations and surveys in novel ways, especially in the regions former coastal areas. The use of archaeological big-data, such as radiocarbon dates and surveyed sites, has given new insights to past population dynamics, and coupled with environmental data this has offered us possible explanations to variation in settlement patterns. Further, detailed analysis of lithic technology have provided insight into raw material procurement, movement of people and shifting social networks. Moreover, the identification of some hinterland sites opens up for a better understanding of the importance and use of the coastal hinterland. In this paper, we will look closer at the recent development in archaeological research on coastal societies in southeastern Norway. We will present cur-rent perspectives as well as which future avenues we will explore in order to increase our knowledge on hunter-gatherers settlement, mobility and economy in coastal areas.

• Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel; Roalkvam, Isak; Solheim, Steinar & Schülke, Almut (2020). Coast-concepts in Norwegian Stone Age Archaeology. Show summary

  The coast plays a major role in Norwegian Stone Age archaeology. Hundreds of sites from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods were situated close to or directly at the shorelines. They witness of the economic, social and ritual importance of the coastal zone. However, the “normality” of coastal sites seems to have prevented further reflections about the concepts that have been applied to study coastal sites and the relevance of the coast in the Stone Age. Our talk will identify concepts and epistemological perspectives of how archaeologists have dealt with coastal issues in Stone Age archaeology in a research historic perspective – from early geoarchaeological studies focus-sing on land uplift and coastal sites (“the beach model”), via more processually oriented division of landscape spaces and their environmental characteristics. We will also discuss the sites’ economic functions, based on more recent, ethnoarchaeologically influenced, perspectives on taskscapes, movement in and experience of the coastal zone.

• Schülke, Almut & Mjærum, Axel (2020). Kulturvandring gjennom Oslos steinalderlandskap. Show summary

  Bli med på en vandring gjennom et Oslo som ikke eksisterer lenger, og bli kjent med steinaldersporene rundt oss. Visste du at det nåværende Oslo sentrum lå under havflaten for 2000 år siden og at Maridalsvannet og Sognsvann en gang var fjordarmer med sel og torsk? Steinalderens kystboplasser ligger nå høyt over havet – inne skogen og midt i byen. Bli med arkeologene på en vandring for å utforske steinalderens kystlandskap og menneskene som oppholdt seg der. I Ekebergåsen er det mange spor etter steinalderens kystboplasser, og her ligger til og med noen av Østlandets eldste helleristninger. Disse funnstedene illustrerer godt de enorme landskapsendringene siden slutten av istiden. På vandringen forteller arkeologene Axel Mjærum og Almut Schülke hvordan mennesket tilpasset seg en kyst i kontinuerlig endring gjennom tiden, hvordan vi kan utforske dette arkeologisk og å vise noen av sporene av steinalderen som finnes i dagens landskap. Turen går rundt i Ekebergpark-området, på tilrettelagte stier, men med stigninger, og stopper ved relevante steder. God fottøy og klær etter vær anbefales.

• Schülke, Almut (2020). Preface and acknowledgements. In Schülke, Almut (Eds.), Coastal landscapes of the Mesolithic : Human engagement with the coast from the Atlantic to the Baltic Sea. Routledge. ISSN 9781138303607. p. XVIII–XX. doi: https:/doi.org/10.4324/9780203730942.
• Schülke, Almut (2019). Introduction to the topic Coastal mobility/coast-inland mobility in hunter-gatherer societies.
• Schülke, Almut (2019). The relevance of PrehCOAST for Southeast Norway.
• Schülke, Almut (2019). Rezension/Review:JUDITH M. GRÜNBERG, BERNHARD GRAMSCH, LARS LARSSON, JÖRG ORSCHIEDT UND HARALD MELLER (red.), Mesolithic Burials – Rites, Symbols and Social Organisation of Early Post-Glacial Communities. Mesolithische Bestattungen – Riten, Symbole und soziale Organisation früher postglazialer Gemeinschaften. International Conference Halle (Saale), Germany, 18th–21st September 2013. Tagungen des Landesmuseums für Vorgeschichte Halle 13/I, II. Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-A. Germania. ISSN 0016-8874. 2018, 96(1-2), p. 245–250. doi: 10.11588/ger.2018.65866.
• Schülke, Almut (2019). Mensch - Material - Ort. Ein praxistheoretischer Ansatz zur Erforschung von Mobilität und (Kultur)kontakt im Mesolithikum und Neolithikum Südskandinaviens.
• Schülke, Almut; Balkowski, Nadja; Hofmann, Kerstin; Hohle, Isabel & Müller-Scheessel, Nils (2019). Mensch - Körper - Tod. Der Umgang mit menschlichen Überresten im Neolithikum. Einführungsvortrag.
• Schülke, Almut (2019). Brunstad, Vestfold, og mesolittiske graver.
• Schülke, Almut (2019). Coast-inland relations: Perception and mobility.
• Schülke, Almut; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel & Solheim, Steinar (2019). The Coast and Coastal Societies - Concepts and Terminology. Southeastern Norway.
• Schülke, Almut (2018). Mellom fjord og hav. Utgravningsprosjekt Labo Nordre. [Internet]. www.norark.no.
• Schülke, Almut (2018). Personlig-krise - samfunnskrise: Barnedød i steinalderen.
• Schülke, Almut (2018). Hunter-gatherer landscapes challenged (and transformed?): Megalithic Tombs in 4th millennium Eastern Norway.
• Schülke, Almut (2018). From coast to hinterland in the Eastern Norwegian Mesolithic: spatiotemporal aspects of the land-uplift and their impact on hunter-gatherer communities.
• Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Schülke, Almut; Zagorska, Ilga; Bērziņš, Valdis & Kalniņš, Mārcis (2018). Long-term variation in communication and social relations during the Stone Age of Eastern Baltic (10500 – 6500 BC) – a technological approach.
• Schülke, Almut (2017). Våtmarksfunn fra steinalderen - et glimt fra Vestsibir.
• Schülke, Almut (2017). A portable object in motion - the Late Mesolithic ornamented stone-plate from Brunstad (Southeast Norway) and its cultural context.
• Schülke, Almut (2017). Hvor ble de døde av? Spor av mesolittiske begravelsesritualer i Norge i et Skandinavisk perspektiv.
• Eriksen, Kristin & Schülke, Almut (2016). The 3D-photogrammetry documentation of the Mesolithic grave from Brunstad, Norway.
• Schülke, Almut (2016). Paleoecological training: The archaeological aims and questions in the light of Stone Age Research in the Oslofjord region With regard to the New lake-coring.
• Schülke, Almut (2016). Key-note Lecture International Summer School: Exploring humans in shifting surroundings: Theories and concepts in landscape archaeology.
• Schülke, Almut (2016). Newly frequented or revisited? Diverging concepts of historicity in the changing coastal landscapes of the Mesolithic in Southeastern Norway.
• Schülke, Almut (2016). Welcome and Introduction.
• Schülke, Almut & Zagorska, Ilga (2016). Environment and people on both sides of the Baltic Basin during the Stone Age (Norway-Latvia).
• Schülke, Almut; Solheim, Steinar; Wieckowska-Lüth, Magdalena; Dörfler, Walter & Kirleis, Wiebke (2016). A more than 10500 years high resolution record of land use history, vegetation dynamics and erosion history from Lake Skogstjern, Southeastern Norway.
• Schülke, Almut & Eriksen, Kristin (2016). Graven fra Brunstad - et unikt funn fra steinalderen.
• Schülke, Almut & Kristin, Eriksen (2016). The 3D-photogrammetry documentation of the Mesolithic grave from Brunstad, Norway.
• Eriksen, Kristin & Schülke, Almut (2015). The 3D documentation of the Stone Age burial at Brunstad.
• Schülke, Almut; Solheim, Steinar; Koxvold, Lucia Uchermann & Havstein, John Asbjørn (2015). Arkeologiske undersøkelser langs E18 Rugtvedt-Dørdal.
• Schülke, Almut (2015). A portable object in motion - Layers of meaning as seen on the ornamented sandstone-object from the Late Mesolithic site of Brunstad (Vestfold, Norway).
• Schülke, Almut; Eriksen, Kristin; Gummesson, Sara & Reitan, Gaute (2015). Brunstad lok. 25 - A newly discovered Mesolithic grave from Southern Norway.
• Schülke, Almut (2015). Megalithic Monuments and depositions in Wetlands. Different elements, places and Expressions of ritual in a TRB-landscpae - a case from Denmark.
• Solheim, Steinar; Wieckowska-Lüth, Magdalena; Schülke, Almut; Kirleis, Wiebke & Dörfler, Walter (2015). Towards a refined understanding of Mesolithic coastal landscapes - new investigations on human-environment interactions in Telemark, Norway.
• Schülke, Almut (2015). Fant 8000 år gammelt skjelett i Stokke. [TV]. TV Vestfold.
• Schülke, Almut (2015). 8000-åringen fra Brunstad. [Radio]. NRK, P2, Ekko-hovedsending.
• Schülke, Almut (2015). Sensasjonellt skelettfynd i Norge. [Newspaper]. Dagens Nyheter.
• Schülke, Almut (2015). Skjelett-sensasjonen i Stokke. [Internet]. forskning.no.
• Schülke, Almut (2015). Norges eldste kjendis? [Newspaper]. Aftenposten.
• Schülke, Almut (2015). Norges eldste skjelett ut av jorden. Brunstadmannen (eller muligens -kvinnen) kan bli Norges eldste kjendis, 8000 år gammel, dersom arkeologenes hypoteser om gravfunnet ved Stokke i Vestfold stemmer. [Newspaper]. aftenposten.no.
• Schülke, Almut (2015). Steinaldergraven fra Brunstad vekker oppsikt - Et sensasjonelt funn. [Newspaper]. Tønsberg Blad.
• Schülke, Almut (2015). Norges største arkeologifunn i 2014. [Internet]. forskning.no.
• Schülke, Almut (2014). Between "Whole landscapes" and "Perspectives" - the Challenges of Landscape archaeology.
• Schülke, Almut & Reitan, Gaute (2014). Dyp grop, gamle bein. En steinaldergrav på Brunstad i Stokke, Vestfold.
• Schülke, Almut & Reitan, Gaute (2014). Brunstad lok. 25 - Status of Research for a newly discovered mesolithic grave from Vestfold.
• Nielsen, Svein Vatsvåg; Schülke, Almut & Knut Andreas, Bergsvik (2022). In the Wake of Farming: Studies of Demographic and Economic Variability in Southern Norway in the Period 4500-1700 BCE. Universitetet i Oslo.

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