The Norwegian population in the stone age was in all probability
not very numerous; the Scandinavian cultural centre of the
stone age lay farther to the south, and it is therefore only by inferences
from Sweden and Denmark, that any idea can be formed
of the life in Norway during the stone age. I t is probable that
up to the end of the stone age, the population of Norway continued
to be a hunting and fishing people, while in the neighbouring
countries it can be proved that cattle-rearing was carried on.
The stone age here in the north continued longer, and was
therefore able to develop more than elsewhere in Europe. The
antiquities in Norway also — bear .witness of a far-advanced
culture, and are remarkable for their beautiful, often elegant shapes
and careful workmanship.
The most populous parts at this time were the coast districts
round the Kristiania Ejord, Jaederen, and the districts round the
Trondh jem Ejord. Antiquities from the stone age that have been
buried with their owners are very rarely found in Norway. They
are almost exclusively found in fields, that is to. say, have found
their way into the earth quite unconnected with any burial; as a
rule, they have beeit lost, or hidden away during war or danger,
or from religious motives. I t cannot be said with certainty when
the stone age ended, but a knowledge of metals certainly came here
between 1500 and 1000 years before the birth of Christ.
The so-called arctic stone implements form a characteristic
group. They are remarkable both for their peculiar shapes and
for the kind of stone of which they are made. The ordinary stone-
age implements are of flint, sandstone, or some kind of eruptive
rock, while the arctic stone implements are almost exclusively of
slate. They are chiefly found in the most northerly districts of
the country, where the ordinary stone implements are never, or
hardly ever found. In Sweden, it is the same. I t is therefore believed
that the so-called artic stone implements did not belong to
the same race of people, and the same culture, as those which have
left their evidences elsewhere in Scandinavia. I t is believed that
this stone-age culture belonged to the forefathers of the Lapps,
who inhabited those northern regions even in prehistoric times.
As it is historically certain that the Lapps long continued to use
stone implements, several of the so-called arctic stone articles, may
be from fairly recent times. The only kitchen-midden from the stone
age, hitherto found in Norway, contained only arctic stone implements.
The first metal that the people of the north became acquainted
with was bronze, a mixture of copper and tin. Copper, which is
found in great quantities in many places, though not in the north,
was first used alone. I t was gradually discovered, however, that
a harder metal could be obtained by adding a little tin to the
copper. Implements made of pure copper are, however, also found
in the north. Bronze is very superior to stone and the other
materials used in the stone age. I t was therefore easy for it to
supersede stone, the difficulty being that all bronze had to be imported
from southern lands, and it was therefore very costly. Stone
implements have therefore also been employed to no small extent
in the bronze age. A great many, especially stone axes, were used
far on into the bronze age; but no certain distinguishing mark
has been found between the stone articles from the stone age' and
those from the bronze age. In the Scandinavian museums, therefore,
all. stone implements are classed under the stone age, unless
they are actually known to have been found with bronze things.
We cannot of course expect to find any close connection between
the forms of the stone age and those of the bronze age, as
the materials are so different. Moreover, the acquaintance with
metals came from foreign nations, and the primitive types were
developed on foreign soil. The earliest bronze articles arrived here
in a ready-made condition; and it is these, and not the forms of
the stone age, that have been the foundation for the forms of the
Scandinavian bronze age. During the bronze \age, the knowledge
of yet another metal was possessed, namely, gold, which was used
for trinkets.-' The ornaments of the bronze age are' very characteristic,
and it is therefore easy to distinguish them from those of
other periods. By the discovery of moulds, etc., it has been proved
beyond doubt that weapons and implements were manufactured
by the people dwelling here.
“ 'TTp-to the present, there have been few discoveries of articles
from the bronze age in Norway, as compared with Sweden and
Denmark; but as most of them have been made within the last
25 years, it is certain that many more will follow. We have hardly
any graves from the stone age, while from the bronze age, we have
many. I t can be proved that in the early part of the bronze age,
the dead bodies were not burnt before burial, while cremation was
general in the second, later part. A large proportion of our antiquities
from this period, however, do not come from graves, but