Axel Johan Mjærum

• Mjærum, Axel Johan; Kirchhefer, Andreas Joachim; Friis, Ellen Kathrine; Grøndahl, Finn Audun & Gunnarson, Björn (2024). Middelalderfiske, fellefangst og fraflytting En dendrokronologisk undersøkelse av et 1300-talls stasjonært fiskeanlegg i Nord-Mesna, Sørøst-Norge. Fornvännen. ISSN 0015-7813. 2024(1), s. 25–44. doi: 10.62077/R0KF8N.QJEQQN. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Fishing in rivers and lakes has traditionally been a longstanding and dependable means of sustenance for the people of inland Scandinavia. However, our understanding of pre-modern fishing traditions has been hampered by a lack of written sources, as well as a scarcity of archaeological data. However, a recent excavation and comprehensive dendrochronological analysis of a fish trapping enclosure system in Lake Nord-Mesna (520 masl.), in the boreal forests of inland Norway, has provided unique insight into freshwater fishing traditions, techniques and organization. The excavated structure, believed to be a fish weir with lath screen traps set into shallow water, was established in the late 1200s. In the following years it was regularly maintained in the spring/early summer. The last documented repair was in 1343. Its abandonment is interpreted as resulting from a recession likely induced by factors such as plague and climatic deterioration, that affected inland areas of Scandinavia in the 1300s. These results provide archaeological evidence of medieval utilization of effective enclosure traps in the region. This contradicts the prevailing notion that this form of fishing was later introduced by Forest Finns who migrated to the area in the 17th century. In addition, the findings give new and significant information about the organization and practice of medieval fishing in inland Scandinavia.

• McGraw, Jessica Leigh & Mjærum, Axel (2024). Tools of Different Trades? Merging Skill Sets in Metalworking at Viking Age Kaupang. European Journal of Archaeology. ISSN 1461-9571. s. 1–21. doi: 10.1017/eaa.2023.42. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  In Old Norse poetic literature, the smiðr was a master of the arts, able to control and shape multiple materials into various kinds of objects. While the mythological smiðr has been regarded as separate from the real-world blacksmiths and metalworkers of gold, silver, and copper alloys, the archaeological evidence recovered in towns and workshops of the Viking Age, as well as medieval written sources, provide a different perspective. In 2015, a hitherto unknown, well-preserved workshop was excavated in the Viking town of Kaupang in Norway, containing evidence of complex metalworking requiring the skills of blacksmiths and workers of soft metals. In this article, the authors venture beyond the Old Norse myths, into the world of the proficient smiths as multi-crafters and their tools of the trade.

• 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. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  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, s. 45–60. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  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.

• Sand-Eriksen, Anette & Mjærum, Axel Johan (2023). Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age settlements and agro-pastoral developments in the Oslo Fjord area, southeastern Norway. Danish Journal of Archaeology. ISSN 2166-2282. doi: 10.7146/dja.v12i1.134206. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Mansrud, Anja; Nielsen, Ellen Mette; Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (2022). Encircling the craft traditions of freshwater fishing: an archaeological and experimental study of wheel-shaped net sinkers in the Scandinavian interior (AD 800–1300). Fennoscandia Archaeologica. ISSN 0781-7126. XXXIX, s. 76–95. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  This paper investigates wheel-shaped net sinkers, that is hoops made of rods and with plaited birch bark fibres, clasping a sinker stone in the centre. Recently recovered from forest and mountain lakes of central Scandinavia, and dated to AD 800–1300, these sinkers offer a glimpse into the use of birch bark during the Viking Age and the medieval period. By combining archaeological analysis and experimental replication, this paper firstly aims to explore the knowledge and skills involved in the making. Secondly, we investigate the relationship between the specific crafting process and the broader craft traditions and technologies of which the sinkers were a part, and we suggest that birch bark plaiting represents a technological and aesthetic craft tradition originating in Karelia and Estonia. The sinkers were utilised in freshwater fishing and attached to the bottom line of gill or seine nets. We propose that this specific net fishing technology was introduced to central Scandinavia as a result of agricul tural expansion from east to west around AD 800.

• Mjærum, Axel; Friis, Ellen Kathrine & Lie, Ragnar Orten (2022). Sagn og fremgravd «virkelighet» om Vonde-Sveinung og den ihjelslagne dvergen Fegge. Viking. ISSN 0332-608X. LXXXVI, s. 93–112. doi: 10.5617/viking.9859. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  A legend tells the dramatic and colourful story of the farmer Sveinung the Cruel and how he killed a dwarf (in Norwegian tusse/dverg) named Fegge in his smithy at the farm Heggtveit in Kviteseid, Norway. In the story the smithy is positioned below the hill Smiuberget (lit. Smithy Hill). In 2020, a relatively well-preserved smithy from the 13th century was excavated at the place described in the legend. The discovery offered a unique opportunity to explore the complex and dynamic relationship between the rich record of Norwegian folklore, excavated “reality” and the history of place names. Because of this complexity, the authors argue that to seek the “real” roots of the legend is a difficult and maybe also a meaningless task. Rather, they argue that the history of Fegge`s death and other legends are valuable sources to immaterial aspects of the region’s Medieval and Renaissance metal crafting.

• Mjærum, Axel (2022). A Matter of Scale: Responses to Landscape Changes in the Oslo Fjord, Norway, in the Mesolithic. Open Archaeology. ISSN 2300-6560. 8(1), s. 62–84. doi: 10.1515/opar-2022-0225. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Present-day global warming has great consequences, both for individuals and on a larger scale for society as a whole. However, environmental changes also affected everyday life in the past. The purpose of this article is to apply perspectives developed in studies of how contemporary societies adapt to shore-level changes and to use this insight in a study of the way Mesolithic populations handled a situation of large land uplift. More specifically, the author discusses four common adaptation strategies devised to cope with changing sea level, both on a site level and on a regional scale – to accommodate, relocate, protect, or not respond to the changing environment. In the Oslo Fjord in Norway, the shorelines moved from approximately 200–40 m above the present-day sea level in the period 9300–3900 cal BC, caused by the strong post-glacial rebound. Along the shores lived populations that based much of their life on the local marine resources. Building on information from the large habitation area Havsjødalen and a statistical analysis of 529 critically selected sites in the region, the author concludes that single sites were systematically accommodated or relocated when the distance to the shores receded. However, sea level changes caused more dramatic regional landscape transformation and a less bountiful environment c. 5000 cal BC, with a period of maladaptation and a subsequent population collapse as a result. Like modern societies facing human-caused climate changes, the Mesolithic population had difficulties in handling the need for large-scale shifts in their society.

• Mjærum, Axel; Loftsgarden, Kjetil & Solheim, Steinar (2022). Human-vegetation dynamics in Holocene south-eastern Norway based on radiocarbon dated charcoal from archaeological excavations. The Holocene. ISSN 0959-6836. 32(7), s. 690–702. doi: 10.1177/09596836221088242. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Charcoal from archaeological contexts differs from off-site pollen samples as it is mainly a product of intentional human action. As such, analysis of charcoal from excavations is a valuable addition to studies of past vegetation and the interaction between humans and the environment. In this paper, we use a dataset consisting of 6186 dated tree species samples from 1239 archaeological sites as a proxy to explore parts of the Holocene forest development and human-vegetation dynamics in South-Eastern Norway. From the middle of the Late Neolithic (from c. 2000 BC) throughout the Early Iron Age (to c. AD 550) the region’s agriculture is characterized by fields, pastures and fallow. Based on our data, we argue that these practices, combined with forest management, clearly altered the natural distribution of trees and favoured some species of broadleaved trees. The past distribution of hazel (Corylus avellana) is an example of human impact on the vegetation. Today, hazel is not even among the 15 most common tree species, while it is one of the most prevalent species in the archaeological record before AD 550. The data indicate that this species was favoured already by the region’s Mesolithic hunter-fisher-gatherers, and that it was among the species that thrived extremely well in the early farming landscape. Secondly, our analysis also indicates that spruce (Picea abies) first formed large stands in the south-eastern parts of Norway c. 500 BC, centuries earlier than previously assumed. It is argued that this event, and a further westward expansion of spruce, was partly a consequence of a specific historical event – the first millennium BC farming expansion.

• Mjærum, Axel & Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen (2020). Ingen vei utenom. I Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Mjærum, Axel (Red.), Ingen vei utenom. Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med etablering av ny rv. 3/25 i Løten og Elverum kommuner, Innlandet. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202632229. s. 345–347. doi: https:/doi.org/10.23865/noasp.97. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The exploitation of the borderland, where Løten and Elverum represent contact points for the interaction between the agricultural areas Hedmarken and areas of dense forest in inland Norway, is the focus point of this book. The two districts have been complimenting each other throughout prehistory. However, the agricultural production in Glomma Valley (chapters 2 and 6) and the charcoal production, moose traps and pasture in today’s Løten (chapter 2), make it clear that the story is not without nuances. Being nodal points for travel, Løten and Elverum play a prominent role in historical development of the region. The road connections through Løten and Elverum via Midtskogen and Rokosjøen have been of particular importance. These roads were established in the Stone Age and are traceable through the Middle Ages and up to our day. There has simply been no way around.

• Mjærum, Axel (2020). Jordbruk i grenseland –Utviklingen av jordbruket på Hedmarken og i Østerdalen frem til ca. 570 e.Kr. I Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Mjærum, Axel (Red.), Ingen vei utenom. Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med etablering av ny rv. 3/25 i Løten og Elverum kommuner, Innlandet. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202632229. s. 137–155. doi: https:/doi.org/10.23865/noasp.97. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Agricultural history in pre-modern societies is commonly characterized by relatively long periods of stability, interspersed by a small number of large- scale transformations. The main aim of this article is to identify major shifts and general features of the early agricultural history in two regions in the inland area of eastern Norway consisting of today’s Hedmarken and Østerdalen regions. This paper is based on a statistical modelling of 594 radiocarbon dates, survey data, excavations results, and pollen analysis from these two regions and from eastern Norway in general. A period of extensive farming has been identified in Hedmarken between c. 2350–800 BC, followed by a transitional period (c. 800–400 BC) and a period during which livestock breeding and arable cultivation were more closely integrated (from c. 400 BC). The author concludes that this latter tradition was closely associated with the clearance-cairn fields. However, other parts of the landscape were also in use for the production of crops and animal feed. Because of the limited data available, the developments of early farming in Østerdalen are less clear. However, it is indisputable that a mixed farming economy emerged in the southern parts of this valley in the Roman Iron Age (AD 1–400) with the cultivation of both clearance-cairn fields and of sandy terraces.

• Kile-Vesik, Jakob Jan Edvin; Mjærum, Axel; Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen; Linderholm, Johan & Mikkelsen, Peter hambro (2020). Et jernaldergravfelt på Skillingstad i Løten. I Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Mjærum, Axel (Red.), Ingen vei utenom. Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med etablering av ny rv. 3/25 i Løten og Elverum kommuner, Innlandet. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202632229. s. 77–100. doi: https:/doi.org/10.23865/noasp.97. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The entire site at Skillingstad, id 140788, consisted of 109 features. However only the eastern part of the site was directly affected by road construction. 41 cairns and five charcoal pits were excavated during this project. The construction of the cairns at Skillingstad was relatively homogeneous and most of the graves were built up in the same way, although the size of the cairns varied a bit. They often had an outer chain of bigger stones and, on the inside of this, a dense filling of smaller stones measuring around 10 cm in diameter. A large stone was quite often placed in the centre of the cairn. Most of the cairns had a diameter of around 5 meters and a height of around 0.5 meters. The burial must have taken place at ground level or in the actual fill since no pits were found under the cairns. No human bones were unearthed. However, a tweezer, arrowheads, a key, knives, and undetermined fragments of metal were among the 46 artefacts found during the excavation. The lack of human bones and the scarcity of artefacts can partly be explained by the acid ground at Skillingstad. The cairns were also relatively open and the elements had easy access to artefacts and remains inside of the cairns. The graves are mostly from the Late Iron Age, from around 400 BC to AD 600. Later on no graves were constructed, although the finds of two arrowheads and a knife prove activity at the site between c. AD 600–800. A clear phase of coal production starts in AD 1050 and this lasts for around 200 years. No indicators pointing towards direct agriculture were found during the excavation. However, the area was probably cleared for pasture. Some cooking pits have been located in a field a short distance from Skillingstad, dated to Roman Iron Age/Migration Period. These two sites can probably be seen in light of each other and they tell a story about a larger context than just a gravesite connected to a single farm.

• Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Mjærum, Axel (2020). Et fortidens grenseland – landskap, ferdsel og kulturminner i Løten og Elverum gjennom 10 000 år. I Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Mjærum, Axel (Red.), Ingen vei utenom. Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med etablering av ny rv. 3/25 i Løten og Elverum kommuner, Innlandet. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202632229. s. 19–75. doi: https:/doi.org/10.23865/noasp.97. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  2.8 ABSTRACT: A PAST BORDERLAND – LANDSCAPES, COMMUNICATION ROUTES AND THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDS OF LØTEN AND ELVERUM IN EASTERN NORWAY The rich soils in the central parts of the region of Hedmarken in the inland region of eastern Norway offer good farming conditions. Meanwhile the neighbouring valley of Østerdalen mainly consists of forested areas which are rich in wild game and iron ore. The Løten and Elverum municipalities form the border between the two regions, and in the article, the archaeological record from this frontier zone is compiled and compared in detail. By applying a longue durée perspective, the authors argue that the differences in natural conditions were essential for a long-lasting, mutual relationship between Hedmarken and Østerdalen. The areas were linked by the roads that were in use during the Iron Age (c. 500 BC–AD 1050), and that were probably established even earlier in prehistory. The farms By in Løten and Åker in the central part of Hedmarken were strategically positioned on lines of communication: both on the road system and on routes using waterways. Their localizations at nodal points for travel is crucial to an understanding of the development of By, and especially of Åker, as places of regional power.

• Mjærum, Axel & Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen (2020). De lengste linjene. I Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Mjærum, Axel (Red.), Ingen vei utenom. Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med etablering av ny rv. 3/25 i Løten og Elverum kommuner, Innlandet. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202632229. s. 15–17. doi: https:/doi.org/10.23865/noasp.97. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  When studying the physical remains from an excavation, focus is naturally at the microscopic level. Fernand Braudel emphasized the necessity to rise above the explanation of individual events and of limited periods, highlighting the resilient and long-lasting trends (la longue durée). In this book we intend to overcome this dichotomy by switching between a micro and a macro perspective. A broad perspective makes it possible both to study the landscape of agriculture over a long period of time, and to delve into details at the local level. Elverum and Løten are situated in a frontier zone – a place where the forested areas with a lean soil extend towards the more fertile soils of Hedmarken. This zone has always been a region of considerable prosperity, partly as a result of its position as a border zone for travel between the neighbouring agricultural and forested areas, thus benefiting from local and regional trade.

• Mjærum, Axel (2020). The emergence of mixed farming in eastern Norway. Agricultural History Review. ISSN 0002-1490. 68(1), s. 1–21. Vis sammendrag

  Farming societies in large parts of northern Europe until the last century were founded on a close integration between livestock breeding and the cultivation of arable land. The emergence of this mixed farming economy represented a fundamental change in the history of the region. The main aim of this paper is to study this process of transformation in greater detail by using statistical modelling of radiocarbon dates and results from excavations in eastern Norway. The article discusses the details of a clear shift in farming traditions 1000–500 BC, including a large-scale expansion of farming land into areas of stone-rich moraine. It concludes that this represents the emergence of farming systems practised until recently in eastern Norway and that this change was an important part of the social and cultural developments that took place in the last part of the Bronze Age in Northern Europe.

• Mjærum, Axel & Mansrud, Anja (2020). Resource management in Late Mesolithic Eastern Norway : Fishing in the coastal, interior and mountain areas and its socio-economic implications. I Schülke, Almut (Red.), Coastal landscapes of the Mesolithic : Human engagement with the coast from the Atlantic to the Baltic Sea. Routledge. ISSN 9781138303607. s. 264–299. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  This chapter addresses the economic and societal importance of coastal and freshwater fishing during the Mesolithic of Eastern Norway. Here, new archaeological evidence of fishbone, fishing gear and site locations from different topographic environments – the coastal zone, the eastern interior zone and the mountain areas – are compiled and discussed. Increased use of aquatic resources is noticeable during the Middle and Late Mesolithic (c. 8200–6350 cal BC), even though the studied organic archaeological record are severely affected by techonomic loss. Based on general data from the region, selected key sites and comparison with diachronic finds from Western Norway, Sweden, and Southern Scandinavia, we maintain that increased use of temporally and spatially predictable aquatic foods are linked with socio-economic consequences such as reduced mobility, delay return systems, and economic and social differentiation. We further argue that rather than passively adapting to the environment, late Mesolithic populations actively intervened, transformed their landscapes and managed its resources. There is ample ethnographic evidence that indigenous non-agrarian people employed management techniques that allowed them to enhance the productivity of the local environment, and sustain supplies of key species. Based on archaeological evidence we suggest that such resource management included transportation of living trout to the upper part of the large watercourses during the last part of the Mesolithic period.

• Mjærum, Axel (2019). Hinterland Discoveries. Middle Mesolithic Woodland Utilization and the Case of the Eidsberg Site, Eastern Norway. Current Swedish Archaeology. ISSN 1102-7355. 26, s. 159–188. Vis sammendrag

  Research on the Middle Mesolithic (c. 8300−6350 cal. BC) of Scandinavia north of the Skagerrak Strait has been based mainly on data from the thousands of settlements found along the former sea, lake, and river shores. Far fewer sites have been located or investi¬gated further away from these waters. The excavation of three Middle Mesolithic pit houses at Eidsberg in eastern Norway has therefore provided an unprecedented opportunity to gain detailed knowledge of Mesolithic activities in the hitherto under-explored forested inland. In this article, the newly discovered site and a range of other data are discussed in an ethnographical framework to understand the utilization of this hinterland as part of a semi-sedentary lifestyle.

• Mjærum, Axel (2017). Hunting Elk at the Foot of the Mountains: Remains from 8000 Years of Foraging at the Edge of the Hardangervidda Plateau in Southern Norway. I Persson, Per; Riede, Felix; Skar, Birgitte; Breivik, Heidi Mjelva & Jonsson, Leif (Red.), The Ecology of Early Settlement in Northern Europe. Conditions for Subsistence and Survival. The Early Settlement of Northern Europe, Volume 1. Equinox Publishing. ISSN 9781781796030. s. 167–196. Vis sammendrag

  Parallel with a massive deglaciation in the Early Mesolithic of Norway, the open landscape with an ice age fauna was replaced by forest and less cold-tolerant species. Elk (Alces alces) soon established routs of seasonal migration, and from early on strategic places along these paths became important hunting grounds. The Røytjønna area (c. 740 m above sea level) forms a bottleneck through which a elk migration route runs. A high number of elk passes this bottleneck formation every spring and autumn. Excavation of 21 Stone Age sites, combined with surface surveys, has resulted in the recovery of large quantities of cremated bone, lithic artefacts, a house pit and hearths. This gives a detailed insight into the past hunting activity. Artifacts and radiocarbon dating of bones dates the beginning of this hunting tradition to the Middle Mesolithic (c. 6500 BC). In addition, sites from Late Mesolithic and younger periods have been studied. This paper will discuss the beginning and developments in this extremely long-lasting hunting tradition, within a local and regional perspective.

• Mjærum, Axel & Friis, Ellen Kathrine (2016). Epilog. Noen pessimistiske tanker om tilstanden til kulturminnene ved våre fjellvann. I Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (Red.), Fjellfiske i fortiden. Årtusener med svømmende rikdom. Portal forlag. ISSN 9788283140781.
• Hufthammer, Anne Karin & Mjærum, Axel (2016). Fjellfunn og fiskebein – Om fiske og bruken av fjellet i fortiden. I Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (Red.), Fjellfiske i fortiden. Årtusener med svømmende rikdom. Portal forlag. ISSN 9788283140781.
• Bjørkli, Birgitte; Friis, Ellen Kathrine; Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (2016). Prolog. Tesse – et arkeologisk eldorado og en innfallsport til fjellfisket som et tverrfaglig tema. I Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (Red.), Fjellfiske i fortiden. Årtusener med svømmende rikdom. Portal forlag. ISSN 9788283140781.
• Mjærum, Axel (2016). De første fiskerne i fjellet. I Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (Red.), Fjellfiske i fortiden. Årtusener med svømmende rikdom. Portal forlag. ISSN 9788283140781. Vis sammendrag

  From around 9500 BC, a rapid deglaciation took place in the inland. This enabled the migration of species less well adapted to a cold climate into these areas. Mammals and birds could quite easily move into this new landscape, while waterfalls and steep elevation made it impossible for the fish to naturally migrate to large parts of these areas. The first human visitors thereby met a special situation, a large area with rivers and lakes without fish. This article discusses when the practice of transporting fish and the cultivation of the watercourses started. The vantage points are archaeological material from sites in the mountain areas as well as the knowledge of the importance and complexity of Scandinavian Stone Age fishing in general. The article discusses the possibility of using the location of Stone Age sites to approach the question of early fishing and the context and age of burned fish bones found along the shores of two of the main watercourses in the southern Norwegian inland. The article emphasizes the many source-critical aspects related to the material but concludes that the mountain fishing most likely started in the Stone Age (before 1700 BC) and maybe already in the last part of the Mesolithic (before 3800 BC). It is also argued that the transportation of fish to mountain lakes and rivers made it possible to base the existence on a wider specter of activities, and combine unpredictable activities like big game hunting with more predictable net fishing.

Sjå alle arbeida i Cristin

• Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Melheim, Anne Lene; Mjærum, Axel; Persson, Per & Schülke, Almut [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2021). Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge: Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISBN 9788202737030 . 260 s.
• Damlien, Hege; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Melheim, Anne Lene; Mjærum, Axel; Persson, Per Åke & Schülke, Almut [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2021). Steinalderen i Sørøst-Norge. Faglig program for steinalderundersøkelser ved Kulturhistorisk museum. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISBN 9788202737030. 260 s. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  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.

• Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Mjærum, Axel (2020). Ingen vei utenom. Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med etablering av ny rv. 3/25 i Løten og Elverum kommuner, Innlandet. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISBN 9788202632229. 354 s. Vis sammendrag

  I 2015 gjennomføre Kulturhistorisk museum utgravninger i Løten og Elverum kommuner, region Innlandet. Bakgrunnen var Statens vegvesens planer om å bygge ut riksveiene 3 og 25 for å skape en bedre veiforbindelse mellom skogene i Østerdalen og jordbruksbygdene på Hedmarken. Hele 79 kulturminneområder fra yngre steinalder til middelalder ble gravd ut, blant annet gravminner på det store Skillingstadgravfeltet, jernvinneovner, fangstanlegg, kullgroper, kokegropsfelt og gamle åkre. I tillegg presenteres utgravningsresultater fra tilgrensende områder, deriblant en smie fra Ringsaker og et smeddepot fra Elverum. I denne boken gjøres det rede for de viktigste faglige resultatene, samtidig som resultatene settes inn i en bred, kulturhistorisk sammenheng. Gjennom utgravningene og etterarbeidet er det generert ny og sentral kunnskap som belyser forhistorien i Sørøst-Norge, men som også har relevans langt utenfor regionens grenser. Prosjektet har blant annet gitt en unik mulighet til å belyse hvordan gårdsbebyggelsen og utmarksbruken var knyttet tett sammen i jernalderen. Samtidig har prosjektarbeidet synliggjort Løtens og Elverums strategiske beliggenhet for ferdselen mellom Østerdalen og Hedmarken – det var ingen vei utenom.

• Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (2016). Fjellfiske i fortiden. Årtusener med svømmende rikdom. Portal forlag. ISBN 9788283140781. 304 s.

Sjå alle arbeida i Cristin

• Mjærum, Axel (2024). Arkeologene jobber på spreng i Lesja. [TV]. NRK.
• Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (2023). Arkeologiske spor i ferskvann - tusener av år med fjellfiske i Tesse.
• Mjærum, Axel (2023). Kvinner kan ha vært bedre jegere enn menn i steinalderen, viser to nye studier. [Internett]. Forskning.no.
• Damlien, Hege; Mjærum, Axel & Rosenvinge, Carine Sofie (2023). Før Nesodden ble til. Livet i det indre av Oslofjorden i ledre steinalder. Sopelimen. 2023, s. 7–17. Vis sammendrag

  6000 f.Kr. sto havet ca. 60 meter høyere enn i dag i det indre av Oslofjorden. På denne tiden skar Havsjødalensundet over foten av Nesoddlandet, og skapte den store «Nesøya». Nesodden var altså ennå ikke skapt. Rundt øya var det tidevannsstrømmer og et rikt naturmiljø – optimale forhold for datidens jegere, fiskere og sankere.

• Mjærum, Axel (2023). 7,000-year old fish traps excavated in Norwegian mountain lake – a race against time as the water is coming in. [Internett]. Sciencenorway.no. Vis sammendrag

  Four Stone Age fish traps were discovered by chance in the Norwegian mountains last summer. Archaeologists are now working against the clock to secure finds before the area is again covered in water.

• Mjærum, Axel (2023). Kulturminneloven kan stoppe Svelviksands planer. [Avis]. Svelviksposten.
• Mjærum, Axel & Rosenvinge, Carine Sofie (2023). Gammelt nytt. Om den eldste steinalderen i indre Oslofjord.
• Mjærum, Axel (2023). Indre Oslofjord har noen av de mest spennende sporene etter steinaldermennesker i Europa. [Internett]. Forskning.no. Vis sammendrag

  Arkeologer ser nå hvordan et landskap av fjorder, sund og øyer trakk til seg menneskene i eldre steinalder. Få andre steder i Europa er så egnet til å studere steinalderfolks liv og forsvinning.

• Mjærum, Axel (2022). Sagn og fremgravd "virkelighet" om Vonde-Sveinung og den ihjelslagne dvergen Fegge.
• Mansrud, Anja; Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (2022). Catch and release? Cultivating trout in Mesolithic South-Eastern Norway . Vis sammendrag

  Catch and release? Cultivating trout in Mesolithic South-Eastern Norway South Norway is one of the few regions in Europe where postglacial coastlines are not submerged, and where maritime subsistence and settlement patterns are documented throughout Mesolithic period (c. 9300–4000 cal. BC), evidenced by numerous coastal settlement sites with fishbones, fishhooks, sinkers, harpoons leisters and other fishing implements. Although fish-imagery occasionally occur on rock art panels, pointing to the symbolic and social importance of fishing, fish is commonly considered just an economic resource and has gained little attention beyond its economic importance as a staple food. This contribution addresses the socio-environmental aspects of freshwater fishing, suggesting that living trout (Salmo trutta) or eggs were transferred from creeks to empty glacier lakes in the mountains by humans during the Late Mesolithic (c. 6500–4000 cal. BC). Framing human-trout engagement in multispecies and etiological perspectives, we argue that Mesolithic foragers were actively cultivating relations with this colourful and biologically flexible species of fish.

• Sand-Eriksen, Anette & Mjærum, Axel (2022). Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age agricultural developments in the Oslo Fjord area, Norway. Vis sammendrag

  Like in most other parts of northwest Europe the transition to the Late Neolithic (c.2350 BC) was a time with large-scale cultural and economic changes in the Oslo Fjord area. A significant part of this watershed was the final breakthrough of farming. Over the last decades, scholars have strongly argued that these changes were initiated by a northward migration of agro-pastoral people. For long it has been a lack of data from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age farming societies in the Oslo Fjord area, and therefore also an absence of detailed information that can be used to study the outcome of the Late Neolithic transition in the region. However, recent archaeological excavations have provided data that bring nuances to the developments in the early farming communities. As we will argue, this could point towards a more complex development trajectory than hitherto stated. Drawing from cases studies and aggregated data from the region, our aim is to provide a better understanding of the agricultural developments in the aftermath of the Late Neolithic revolution. With two newly excavated complex settlements at Løveskogen and Opstad as vantage points, as well as by implementing the historical process prior to the Late Neolithic transition, we seek to demonstrate how farming societies gradually and in (balanced?) steps adapted to their new environment in the Oslo Fjord region.

• Mjærum, Axel Johan (2022). Developments in the Concept of Resource Management in the Archaeology of Southern Norway. Vis sammendrag

  Archaeologists at the beginning of the 20th century considered the Mesolithic period in the southern part of Norway as “raw”; originating in the most primitive of all civilizations. Based in new empirical and theoretical perspectives, this view has been modified and challenged during later research. Considering the comprehensive archaeological record, it is now commonly argued for the existence of semi-sedimentary complex hunter-fisher-gatherer societies as far back as the Middle Mesolithic (c. 8000 BCE). It is also believed that the Mesolithic inhabitants of Southern Norway were, to some extent, capable and willing to control and regulate their ambient ecosystems. The changing perspectives on past resource management capture the quintessence of archaeologists’ views on Mesolithic societies and how they look at the dichotomy between the “Mesolithic” and the “Neolithic”. This paper presents an overview of the last 150 years of research on foragers’ ability to actively intervene, transform, and cul tivate flora and fauna in Southern Norway, and recapitulates overall trends in the perspectives on the early past. Besides offering this general review of existing data on the topic of resource management, this paper will present a summary of previous positions and arguments concerning early management of nature and place them in the prop er research context. Finally, these previous studies will be used to point out questions for further research.

• Mjærum, Axel Johan; Boethius, Adam; Groß, Daniel; Živaljević, Ivana & Mansrud, Anja (2022). Session #109: Animal and Plant Management in Prehistoric Hunter-Fisher-Gatherer Communities . Vis sammendrag

  he aim of this session is to challenge the conceptual dichotomy between the “Mesolithic” and “Neolithic”, by focusing on animal and plant management in prehistoric hunter-fisher-gatherer communities. The shift from foraging to farming and animal husbandry is often narrated as a turning point where humanity’s relationship with the environment was profoundly altered. Resource management is fundamental to concept of the Neolithic and further linked to aspects such as storage, surplus accumulation, and social complexity. Recent findings however show that human involvement with the environment was biologically, socially and economically complex long before the transition to agriculture. Multiple archaeological records point towards the existence of various resource management practices among hunter-fisher-gatherers long before, and independent of, the Neolithization process. Rather than being just “ecologically adapted” Mesolithic foragers actively engaged with, intervened, transformed, and cultivated the flora and fauna in their local landscapes. Examples include introducing novel plants to their environments, transferring fish fry between rivers and lakes, altering habitats attract grazing animals by burning and weeding, and constructing permanent trapping systems for various fish species and deer species. We invite papers addressing this topic independent of geographical scope and spatial scale. Contributions may focus on specific methods, models, case studies or theoretical frameworks such as niche construction theory and multispecies archaeology.

• Schülke, Almut & Mjærum, Axel (2022). Steinaldervandring på Ekeberg.
• Mjærum, Axel (2022). Nytt om langhus og bønder i Løveskogen og Huseby hage.
• Mjærum, Axel & Schülke, Almut (2021). Kulturvandring gjennom Oslos steinalderlandskap. Vis sammendrag

  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.

• Mjærum, Axel & Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen (2021). Løten – møtet mellom frodige Hedmarken og skogens rike. Fortidsfunn i forbindelse med utbyggingen av riksvei 3/25. Lautin. Lokalhistorisk årbok for Løten.. ISSN 0333-0893. 47, s. 7–20.
• Schülke, Almut; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel Johan; Solheim, Steinar; Roalkvam, Isak & Damlien, Hege (2021). Forskergruppe PrehCOAST - Status og veien videre.
• Mjærum, Axel (2021). Jakten på den første messendøl – må tusenvis av år tilbake i tid. [Avis]. Ringsaker blad.
• Mjærum, Axel (2021). Oversvømmet by har dukket opp igjen. [Radio]. NRK P2, Studio 2. Vis sammendrag

  Radioinnslag om oversvømte kulturminner

• Schülke, Almut; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel & Roalkvam, Isak (2020). Forskergruppe PrehCOAST: Formål, planer, resultater .
• 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. Vis sammendrag

  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. Vis sammendrag

  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. Vis sammendrag

  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.

• Mjærum, Axel (2020). Accommodate or relocate. Adaption strategies to shore level displacement in eastern Norway during the Mesolithic. Vis sammendrag

  Present-day global warming has great consequences, both for individuals and on a larger scale. However, environmental changes also affected people's everyday life in the past. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how Early Holocene populations coped with landscapes in transformation. In the Oslofjord area the shorelines moved from approximately 200 to 40 above present day sea level during the Mesolithic (c.9300–3900 cal BC), and shore line displacements and landscape changes were thereby also a key factor for the population that lived in the regions archipelago landscape. Based on analysis of 535 critically selected Stone Age sites and excavation results from the centrally positioned residential area Havsjødalen in Norway, the author discuss four common adaption strategies to a changing sea level, both for single sites and regionally; to accommodate, relocate, protect, or not respond to the changing environment.

• Mjærum, Axel (2020). Heggtveit – smie, myte og middelalder. [Internett]. Norark.
• Mjærum, Axel (2020). Dvergsmeddrap i Telemark. [Internett]. Norark.no.
• Mjærum, Axel & Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen (2020). Forord. I Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Mjærum, Axel (Red.), Ingen vei utenom. Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med etablering av ny rv. 3/25 i Løten og Elverum kommuner, Innlandet. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202632229. s. 5–5. doi: https:/doi.org/10.23865/noasp.97. Vis sammendrag

  I 2015 gjennomføre Kulturhistorisk museum utgravninger i Løten og Elverum kommuner, region Innlandet. Bakgrunnen var Statens vegvesens planer om å bygge ut riksveiene 3 og 25 for å skape en bedre veiforbindelse mellom skogene i Østerdalen og jordbruksbygdene på Hedmarken. Hele 79 kulturminneområder fra yngre steinalder til middelalder ble gravd ut, blant annet gravminner på det store Skillingstadgravfeltet, jernvinneovner, fangstanlegg, kullgroper, kokegropsfelt og gamle åkre. I tillegg presenteres utgravningsresultater fra tilgrensende områder, deriblant en smie fra Ringsaker og et smeddepot fra Elverum. I denne boken gjøres det rede for de viktigste faglige resultatene, samtidig som resultatene settes inn i en bred, kulturhistorisk sammenheng. Gjennom utgravningene og etterarbeidet er det generert ny og sentral kunnskap som belyser forhistorien i Sørøst-Norge, men som også har relevans langt utenfor regionens grenser. Prosjektet har blant annet gitt en unik mulighet til å belyse hvordan gårdsbebyggelsen og utmarksbruken var knyttet tett sammen i jernalderen. Samtidig har prosjektarbeidet synliggjort Løtens og Elverums strategiske beliggenhet for ferdselen mellom Østerdalen og Hedmarken – det var ingen vei utenom.

• Mjærum, Axel; Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Kile-Vesik, Jakob Jan Edvin (2020). Forvaltningsprosjektet rv. 3/25. I Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Mjærum, Axel (Red.), Ingen vei utenom. Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med etablering av ny rv. 3/25 i Løten og Elverum kommuner, Innlandet. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202632229. s. 351–354. doi: https:/doi.org/10.23865/noasp.97. Vis sammendrag

  I 2015 gjennomføre Kulturhistorisk museum utgravninger i Løten og Elverum kommuner, region Innlandet. Bakgrunnen var Statens vegvesens planer om å bygge ut riksveiene 3 og 25 for å skape en bedre veiforbindelse mellom skogene i Østerdalen og jordbruksbygdene på Hedmarken. Hele 79 kulturminneområder fra yngre steinalder til middelalder ble gravd ut, blant annet gravminner på det store Skillingstadgravfeltet, jernvinneovner, fangstanlegg, kullgroper, kokegropsfelt og gamle åkre. I tillegg presenteres utgravningsresultater fra tilgrensende områder, deriblant en smie fra Ringsaker og et smeddepot fra Elverum. I denne boken gjøres det rede for de viktigste faglige resultatene, samtidig som resultatene settes inn i en bred, kulturhistorisk sammenheng. Gjennom utgravningene og etterarbeidet er det generert ny og sentral kunnskap som belyser forhistorien i Sørøst-Norge, men som også har relevans langt utenfor regionens grenser. Prosjektet har blant annet gitt en unik mulighet til å belyse hvordan gårdsbebyggelsen og utmarksbruken var knyttet tett sammen i jernalderen. Samtidig har prosjektarbeidet synliggjort Løtens og Elverums strategiske beliggenhet for ferdselen mellom Østerdalen og Hedmarken – det var ingen vei utenom.

• Mjærum, Axel; Friis, Ellen Kathrine & Skogstrand, Lisbeth (2020). Noen pessimistiske tanker om tilstanden til kulturminnene i regulerte vann. I Skogstrand, Lisbeth (Red.), Arkeologiske undersøkelser i vassdrag. Faglig program for Midt- og Nord-Norge. Riksantikvaren. ISSN 978-82-7574052-4. s. 197–205.
• Mjærum, Axel; Friis, Ellen Kathrine; Martens, Vibeke Vandrup & Skogstrand, Lisbeth (2020). Erosjon i vannkraftmagasinene - et frislipp av naturkreftene. I Skogstrand, Lisbeth (Red.), Arkeologiske undersøkelser i vassdrag. Faglig program for Midt- og Nord-Norge. Riksantikvaren. ISSN 978-82-7574052-4. s. 194–195.
• Mjærum, Axel; Mansrud, Anja & Wammer, Elling Utvik (2019). The fish farmers of the Stone Age. The introduction of brown trout (Salmo trutta) into south Norwegian mountain lakes. Vis sammendrag

  This paper address two main research questions, when did humans introduce fish to the mountain areas in southern Norway and how could we understand this way of domesticating the landscape. The background of topics is that the mountains in Southern Norway became free of ice during the Preboreal climate phase, and that a landscape with large fish-free lakes and rivers emerged. Physical obstructions like waterfalls however prevented fish to establish themselves naturally in the mountain lakes. The oldest written source of fish introduction in the lakes of the region are a runic inscription from the 11 th century AD. The archaeological record of trout bones and fishing gear, as well as Late Mesolithic (6350-3900 cal. BC) and Neolithic (3900-1700 cal. BC) settlement patterns, however indicate a practice that reach far further back in time. A more robust date can probably been gained by analysing sedimentary aDNA from lake cores, and we will presents our first experience of using this method to obtain more precise dates. Despite the uncertainties of the exact date, we conclude that the population in eastern Norway have had the knowledge, skills and motivation to transport trout to the upper part of the large watercourses for a long time, and thereby to "cultivate" the mountain waters that hitherto had been without fish. Rather than a passive adaptation to the constraints of the environment, people then actively intervened, transformed and affected their landscape, and by doing so, they introduced a new key resource to the mountain zone. In this paper, we therefore argue that the transport and maintenance of trout in the mountain areas can be considered as resource management, even as a type of low-scale food production, which predated much of the farming and husbandry in the region.

• Mjærum, Axel & Havstein, John Asbjørn (2019). Bronsealderhusene på Opstad. [Internett]. Norark.no.
• Sand-Eriksen, Anette & Mjærum, Axel (2019). En dolk, en åker og mange stolper – spor av brosealdergården i Tjølling. [Internett]. Norark.no.
• Mjærum, Axel & Johannessen, Jørgen (2019). En tusen år gammel fiskefelle fra skogsvannet Grunna i Buskerud. [Internett]. norark.no.
• Mjærum, Axel Johan & Solheim, Steinar (2019). Feltkurs som læringsform. 50 år med arkeologisk feltutdanning ved Universitetet i Oslo. Primitive tider. ISSN 1501-0430. 21, s. 121–141. Vis sammendrag

  The archaeological field course is the forum where many archaeology students meet and take part in an archaeological excavation for the first time. To excavate and generate scientific data through excavations is at the core of the archaeological discipline. For that reason, introducing students for theoretical and practical knowledge about field archaeology have been a central part of the discipline for the last 150 years at Norwegian universities. In this paper, we look closer at how the field course has developed at the University of Oslo during the last half century. Based on a compiled overview of field courses, we discuss how the field course has developed and changed over time in relation to the development in the discipline and higher education at large. A central question is whether the field course succeed in giving the students skills to perform an excavation and document the process. A main find is that collegial knowledge transfer run as a thread through the disciplines’ history as the most important way of training new archaeologists.

• Mjærum, Axel (2019). "Fra steinøks til goretex" i Ekkos programmserie Refleks. [Radio]. NRK, P2. Vis sammendrag

  Ekkos vitenskapelige temasending. Nordmenns friluftsliv - fra steinalder til nåtid.

• Mjærum, Axel & Stokke, Jo-Simon Frøshaug (2019). Levende og døde ved Stokkeland bru. [Internett]. Norark.no.
• Schure, Anna Theresia Maria ter; Mjærum, Axel; Wammer, Elling Utvik & Boessenkool, Sanne (2019). Reconstructing the introduction of Salmo trutta to mountain lake ecosystems by sedimentary aDNA metabarcoding.
• Wenn, Camilla Cecilie; Mjærum, Axel & McGraw, Jessica Leigh (2019). Jernproduksjon i Øyer i vikingtid og middelalder. Vis sammendrag

  Undersøkelser av fem jernproduksjonsanlegg i Øyer har gitt dateringer til vikingtid og middelalder, og viser overgangen mellom to teknologiske tradisjoner.

• Schülke, Almut; Berg-Hansen, Inger Marie; Mjærum, Axel & Solheim, Steinar (2019). The Coast and Coastal Societies - Concepts and Terminology. Southeastern Norway.
• Mjærum, Axel; Lønaas, Ole Christian; Viken, Synnøve & Reitan, Gaute (2018). Prosjektplan og faglige problemstillinger for E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal-prosjektet. I Reitan, Gaute & Sundström, Lars (Red.), Kystens steinalder i Aust-Agder. Arkeologiske undersøkelser i forbindelse med ny E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal. . Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202566289. s. 31–32. Vis sammendrag

  I forkant av byggingen av ny E18 mellom Tvedestrand og Arendal i Aust-Agder gjennomførte Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo, omfattende arkeologiske utgravninger i årene 2014 til 2016. Innenfor den 23 km lange traséen ble til sammen 34 lokaliteter fra steinalderen undersøkt. I tid spenner lokalitetene fra ca. 9000 f.Kr. til 1700 f.Kr. og dekker med det nesten hele steinalderen fra tidligmesolitikum til og med seinneolitikum. I tillegg ble en lokalitet med gravhauger og hulveier fra jernalderen undersøkt. Resultatene fra undersøkelsene presenteres i denne publikasjonen. Resultatene fra E18 Tvedestrand-Arendal-prosjektet bidrar med ny og viktig kunnskap om steinalderen langs kysten i Aust-Agder, et område hvor steinalderen fram til nå har vært lite undersøkt. I tillegg til å øke kunnskapen om steinalderen i Aust-Agders kystlandskap har dette nylig framgravde, arkeologiske kildematerialet også et stort vitenskapelig potensial i overregionale og internasjonale sammenhenger.

• Mjærum, Axel (2018). Forhistorien er ikke skrevet, den er hugget. [Internett]. Forskning.no, gjenstandsbloggen.
• Martinsen, Julian Robert Post; Mjærum, Axel; Rødsrud, Christian Løchsen & Gundersen, Ingar Mørkestøl (2018). Arkeologi mellom Hedemarken og Østerdalen. Utgravninger knyttet til bygging av ny rv. 3/25.
• Mjærum, Axel (2018). Fra brønn til metalverksted. Resultater fra utgravning på handelsplassen Kaupang i 2015 .
• Mjærum, Axel (2018). A matter of perspective. Responses to landscape changes in the Oslo Fjord area during the Mesolithic . Vis sammendrag

  Content Deglaciation, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and oceanic shifts during the Early and Mid-Holocene had a major impact on human life. Within the last decade, several studies have made important new insights into how strongly these natural forces affected human life on a large scale. The degree of environmental influence at a micro-level of individuals, households and groups, however, has been studied to a lesser extent. A large Post-glacial rebound at the Oslo fjord in Norway resulted in the appearance and disappearance of small islands and inlets during the Early and Mid-Holocene. On a micro level, this occasionally caused dramatic changes in the availability of resources. The large settlements by the strait of Havsjødalen were positioned by a tidal current c. 5000 BC. Around 200 years later, this environmental hotspot disappeared due to land rising. This paper examines the relation between humans and their environment through a micro-perspective, emphasizing the impact of environmental upheavals on household and groups in everyday life of the Mesolithic at Havsjødalen. These results are further compared with a macro-perspective based upon collected data from c. 500 Mesolithic sites at the interior of the Oslo Fjord. By applying a dualistic approach, my objective is to achieve a thick description of the impact of changing landscapes in the past. This enables a better understanding of how these landscapes affected human society and in what way this became embodied by the material culture of the Mesolithic people in the Oslo fjord.

• Mjærum, Axel (2018). Nytt fra Norges tak – om bygningsrester og jernproduksjon på Hovden. [Internett]. Norark.no.
• Mjærum, Axel (2018). Vikingasägen prövas med modern DNA-teknik. [Radio]. Sveriges radio, Vetandets värd. Vis sammendrag

  Stämmer det som stod på en runsten, att Elifir Elg inplanterade fisk i sjön för 1000 år sedan? Modern DNA-teknik ska ge svaret.

• Eymundsson, Carine S.R.; Fossum, Guro; Koxvold, Lucia Uchermann; Mansrud, Anja & Mjærum, Axel (2017). Axes in transformation: a bifocal view of axe technology in the Oslo Fjord area, Norway, c. 9200–6000 cal BC. I Glørstad, Håkon; Knutsson, Kjel Sten Åke; Knutsson, Helena & Apel, Jan (Red.), The Technology of Early Settlement in Northern Europe Transmission of Knowledge and Culture (Volume 2). Equinox Publishing. ISSN 978-178-17951-6-3. s. 201–229. Vis sammendrag

  The first Mesolithic core axes were produced in South Eastern Norway c. 9000 BC. The raw material was flint, and morphologically the axes had a bifacial shape which closely resembles axes from other parts of Northern Europe. 3000 years later core axes were still produced, but they were made of locally available non-flint raw material. Nøstvet axes from the 6th millennium BC were produced with a very different three-sided production strategy. The article discuss the numerous transitions and variations in morphology, technology and raw material of Mesolithic core axes from South Eastern Norway, in the period between c. 9000 – c. 6000 cal. BC. This is based on finds of axes and debitage from axe production at sites in the Oslofjord area. The article also links changes in technology to changes in society, from a highly mobile pioneer culture to a situation with increased sedentism and regionalization.

• Mjærum, Axel (2017). Skogen innenfor. Bak kyststripen for 9000 år siden. [Internett]. Norark.no. Vis sammendrag

  For mer enn 9000 år siden ble det reist tre hytter i skogen ved Momarken i Eidsberg, Østfold. Valget av byggetomt var uvanlig og vekker undring. Hva gjorde steinaldermenneskene i storskogen, 1,2 km fra nærmeste fjordarm, nesten 100 meter over havet og i god avstand til elver og innsjøer?

• Mjærum, Axel (2017). Fiskets betydning i forhistorien – Grunnlag og sannsynlighet for fiskevær i steinalderen.
• Mjærum, Axel & Eymundsson, Carine S.R. (2017). Isfjell i Oslofjorden - Pionerbosetninger i steinalderen. [Radio]. NRK, P2. Vis sammendrag

  På Klemetsrud helt sør i Oslo stakk noen øyer opp av den iskalde Oslofjorden 9300 år før vår tidsregning. I dag er det et fint turterreng med skog, tjern og åser. For elleve tusen år siden sto havet 194 høyere enn i dag og landskapet hadde en sparsommelig høyfjellsflora. - Men her var det rikt fiske, de første pionerene jaktet rein og fjellrev på land og fanget sel og fisk i havkanten, sier arkeolog Axel Mjærum fra Kulturhistorisk Museum. Hvor kom de fra? Og hvorfor kom de? Hvor skulle de når de reiste videre ? Bare ved å studere det store funnmaterialet av pilspisser, flekker og flintavslag kan stipendiat i arkeologi ved Universitetet i Oslo si mye om akkurat det. - Omtrent ved Skedsmokorset lå iskanten til den enorme isbreen som dekket hele Norge og store deler av Sverige og Finland. Så de som fant sine fangstboplasser ved Elgsrud hadde kommet sørfra. Kanskje fra områdene i Sønderjylland eller ved dagens Hamburg. Det er det mulig å se på den teknikken de brukte for å lage økser, sier Eymundsson. - På en av boplassene her må det ha vært en familiegruppe med to små barn. Kanskje en treåring og en litt eldre søster eller bror. Det ser vi på flintavslagene og restene etter økseproduksjonen. Den ene var ganske god, den andre ganske ubehjelpelig og ennå ikke i stand til å mestre teknikken. Og så har det vært noen som var virkelig gode. Jeg ser for meg en mamma med to barn som lager redskaper, sier Eymundsson. Programleder Øyvind Arntsen - Vi må heller ikke glemme at dette var en tid med enorme klimaendringer. Isen trakk seg tilbake med hele 200 meter pr år og landet steg med 10 cm hvert år. Det betyr at det store, synlige endringer i landskapet fra sesong til sesong. Får oss til å tenke litt på hvordan det kan bli ved fremtidige miljøkatastrofer, sier Mjærum.

• Mjærum, Axel (2017). Havsjødalen i Frogn. Et møtepunkt i steinalderen.
• Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (2017). Sprellende kulturhistorie. [Tidsskrift]. Harvest.as.
• Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (2017). Fjellørreten er innvandrer. [Avis]. Aftenposten.
• Mjærum, Axel (2016). Stone Age fishing in Southeastern Norway.
• Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (2016). Fjellfiske i dag og i fortiden. I Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (Red.), Fjellfiske i fortiden. Årtusener med svømmende rikdom. Portal forlag. ISSN 9788283140781. s. 11–13.
• Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (2016). Forord. I Mjærum, Axel & Wammer, Elling Utvik (Red.), Fjellfiske i fortiden. Årtusener med svømmende rikdom. Portal forlag. ISSN 9788283140781. s. 9–9.
• Eymundsson, Carine S.R. & Mjærum, Axel (2015). I fotsporene til steinalderpionerene – En utgravning av pionerboplassene på Elgsrud i Sørmarka. Follominne. ISSN 0333-337X.
• Mjærum, Axel & Eymundsson, Carine S.R. (2015). Noen små stykker av norgeshistorien –Spor etter de første som krysset Oslofjorden. [Internett]. http://norark.no.
• Mjærum, Axel (2015). Fortidens fjellfiske - Nytt om fiske i den sørnorske fjellheimen fra steinalder til middelalder.
• Mjærum, Axel (2015). Fortidens fjellfiske.
• Mjærum, Axel & Eymundsson, Carine S.R. (2015). Steinalderen i Havsjødalen. Presentasjon av ny, fremgravd kunnskap om nøstvetfasen.
• Mjærum, Axel (2015). Hunting moose at the foot of the mountains – 8500 years of hunting at Pålsbufjorden in southern Norway. Vis sammendrag

  Parallel with a massive deglaciation in the Early Mesolithic of Norway, the open landscape with an ice age fauna was replaced by forest and less cold-tolerant species. Moose (Alces alces) soon established routs of seasonal migration, and from early on strategic places along these paths became important hunting grounds. The western side of the lake Pålsbufjorden (ca. 740 masl) forms a bottleneck through which a moose migration route runs. A high number of moose passes this bottleneck formation every spring and autumn. Excavation of 24 Stone Age sites, combined with surface surveys, has resulted in the recovery of large quantities of charred bone, lithic artefacts, a house pit and hearths. This gives a detailed insight into the past hunting activity. Artefacts and 14C analysis of bones dates the beginning of this hunting tradition to the Middle Mesolithic (ca. 6500 cal. BC). In addition, sites from Late Mesolithic and younger periods have been studied. This paper will discuss the beginning and developments in this extremely long-lasting hunting tradition, within a local and regional perspective.

• Mjærum, Axel (2015). Mountain fishing in the past -Archaeological investigations at lake Tesse in Southern Norway. Vis sammendrag

  The lake Tesse is mentioned in one of the most important Norwegian Medieval texts about mountain fishing, and the lake is known for its unique material of fishing gear from the Viking and Medieval period. It is also well known as a good fishing lake for trout. During excavations in 2013 and 2014 archaeologists have succeeded in gaining additional knowledge of fishing methods and how fishing was organized at Tesse, from the earliest utilization in the Stone Age until the 16th century AD. The presentation will focus on results gained from the Stone Age part of this excavation, and use these as a vantage point for a broader discussion of Stone Age fisheries in the south Norwegian mountains. The Tesse excavation is a project of dam archaeology and part of a national system which investigate regulated rivers and lakes in Norway. This is one of four submitted abstracts related to dam archaeology in Southern Norway.

• Mjærum, Axel (2015). Dette er en 7500 år gammel hytte. Utgravning av steinalderboplass i havsjødalen i Frogn. [Internett]. NRK.no.
• Mjærum, Axel (2015). De første fiskerne – fjell, fiske og samfunn i steinalderen.
• Mjærum, Axel (2015). Museeum. Fortidens fiske. [Radio]. NRK, P2. Vis sammendrag

  I fjellvannet Tesse i Lom kommune i Oppland, er det funnet flere titalls usedvanlig flotte garnsøkker i biologisk materiale. De eldste er datert helt tilbake til år 700-. Funnene bidrar til å opplyse om fortiden fiske i våre fjellvann. «For oss arkeologer er disse funnene helt unike. Vi gjør sjelden funn i høyfjellet som har med fiske å gjøre, sier arkeolog Axel Mjærum ved Kulturhistorisk Museum. Han og tre kolleger har i flere år nå arbeidet med fjellvannet Tesse. Det er gjort utgravninger av steinalderboplasser. Disse ligger ved de beste fiskeplassene i vannet og kan sannsynliggjøre at fiske også var viktig for mennesker i yngre steinalder, altså for 3000-4000 år siden. Under seminaret «Fjellfiske i fortiden» på Norsk Fjellmuseum på Lom, ble fjellfiske belyst fra mange synsvinkler. Genetiker Jan Heggenes kunne fortelle at ørreten i norske fjellvann opprinnelig komer fra elver i Sør-Frankrike – ifølge DNA-analyser. Ferskvannsbiolog Trygve Hesthagen slår fast at fisken ikke har svømt til fjells, nei den er båret opp. Og det begynte de trolig med allerede i steinalderen. Osteolog Anne Karin Hufthammer forteller at bein etter laksefisker er sprøde og derfor brytes raskt ned. Det forklarer hvorfor det er gjort relativt få funn av fiskebein ved arkeologiske utgravinger. Foredragene under seminaret skal redigeres og utgis som bok i løpet av ett års tid.

• Mjærum, Axel (2015). Fortidens fiske i innsjøen Tesse.
• Mjærum, Axel & Sundström, Lars (2015). En rapport fra pågående steinalderutgravninger på Sørlandet –resultater og jobbmuligheter.
• Mjærum, Axel (2015). Et nytt blikk på nøstvetfasen i det indre av Oslofjorden. [Internett]. norark.no.
• Mjærum, Axel & Larsen, Jan Henning (2014). Jernvinna i Setesdal – selvforsyning og storindustri, Spor i setesdalsjord. Bokbyen forlag. ISSN 9788283160116. s. 101–119.
• Mjærum, Axel (2014). Skjeviga – et sommerparadis også i forhistorien? [Internett]. Norark.no.
• Mjærum, Axel (2014). Tesse – et fiskeeventyr. [Internett]. Norark.no.

Sjå alle arbeida i Cristin