Abstract:

This volume brings together twenty peer-reviewed studies honouring the scholarly career of Berit V. Eriksen, whose research has been highly influential in the study of Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in central Europe and southern Scandinavia. The contributions focus on the Late Glacial and Early Holocene, a time marked by profound environmental, social, and technological transformations that reshaped hunter-gatherer lifeways.

Reflecting both Eriksen’s research interests and current debates in the field, the contributions address a broad range of themes in hunter-gatherer research. These include lithic technology and raw material procurement, long-distance connections and exotic materials, subsistence strategies, burial practices, and aesthetic expression. Several contributions emphasise methodological and theoretical innovation, employing approaches such as geophysical survey, palynology, isotopic analyses, and taphonomic studies to refine chronologies, reconstruct past environments and human-environmental interactions.

Geographically, the volume spans across northern Germany, Denmark, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic region, and adjacent areas, offering case studies that illuminate both regional variability and wider patterns of transition. Particular attention is given to processes of change and continuity, including the emergence of Mesolithic lifeways, shifting relationships between humans, animals, and environments, and the complex responses of hunter-gatherer societies to climatic and ecological challenges. Together, the contributions question linear narratives of cultural development and highlight the diversity and dynamism of Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic worlds.

Aimed at researchers, students, and readers with an interest in early prehistory, this volume presents new data, innovative interpretations, and critical reflections that advance our understanding of hunter-gatherer societies at the end of the Ice Age and the beginning of the Holocene, while celebrating Berit V. Eriksen’s lasting impact on the discipline.

Contents

Sisterhood in archaeology: Berit Valentin Eriksen as mentor
Sonja B. Grimm, Helene Agerskov Rose, Katrine Balsgaard Juul, Charlotte Damm and Inger Marie Berg-Hansen

Technical Practices and Social Dynamics: A Comparative Study of Havelte Group and Federmesser-Gruppen in Late Glacial Northern Europe
Tobias Reuter

Questioning the linear evolution of the Federmesser-Gruppen /Late Azilian lithic assemblages. Insights from Northern Germany and the Paris Basin
Tobias Reuter, Sofiane Bouziane, Mara-Julia Weber and Ludovic Mevel

Taphonomy, stratigraphy, chronology, and settlement choice at the Blätterhöhle – new results and open questions
Florian Gumboldt, Tom Noack, Michael Baales, Jörg Orschiedt, Wolfgang Heuschen and Andreas Maier

Swiderian sites on the shores of Kalviai Lake, southern Lithuania
Tomas Rimkus

From Ice Age to Insight: The study of the Ahrensburg Tunnel Valley through time
Moiken Hinrichs and Katja Winkler

Not just red. Identification of red Heligoland Flint by macroscopic and microscopic characteristics
Hauke Jürgens, Sönke Hartz and Joachim Schönfeld

The colour of magic: exotic raw materials, prospecting, and the Late Palaeolithic of northern Europe
Felix Riede

‘Lyngby axes’ from Ahrensburg (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) – Supplementary material
Éva David

Active and passive seismic measurements for mapping and investigating kettle holes: an example from Tyrsted (Jutland, Denmark)
Erica Corradini, Stine Detjens, Manuel Zolchow, Martin Thorwart, Nina Kallinich and Wolfgang Rabbel

Green shadows beneath the waves – a speculative vegetation survey of Doggerland during the GS-1
Sascha Krüger and Benjamin R. Gearey

Isotopic niche partitioning between reindeer and horse in Northwest Europe during the Final Upper Palaeolithic
Dorothée G. Drucker

Looking for diachronic patterns in Danish Mesolithic diets
John Meadows and Anders Fischer

Becoming Mesolithic. Reflections on the mesolithisation in southern Scandinavia and northern Germany
Mikkel Sørensen

Sticks, Stones and Bones. Recent Early Mesolithic finds from Lolland, Denmark
Daniel Groß, Peter Deichmann, Sandra Söderlind, Ulrich Schmölcke and Bente Philippsen

The Northwest-German Mesolithic gap and how to fill it – A survey for water-logged Mesolithic sites
Svea Mahlstedt, Annette Siegmüller, Martina Karle and Steffen Wolters

Hunter-Gatherers in the Sorge River Valley (Rendsburg-Eckernförde district) – A Mesolithic Settlement Hotspot in the 7th millennium BCE in northern Schleswig-Holstein
Sönke Hartz, Ingo Clausen and Fynn Rohweder

Engravings, decorations and feathers. Aesthetics at two sites in a Late Mesolithic perspective
Lars Larsson

The fire between life and death: Mesolithic cremation at Hammelev as a ritual transformation
Mari Tõrv

Two lithic sickle blades from the neolithic wooden structure of Bad Buchau-Möwenweg
Julia Goldhammer