This thesis focuses on the use of the semi-subterranean house on the coast of Norrbotten during the period 5000–2000 BC. The term semi-subterranean house (in Swedish boplatsvall) became a new category of prehistoric remains in Norrbotten during the 1980s. In 1984, the Swedish National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet) started surveying the eastern part of Norrbotten, thus initiating a new interpretation of the history of Stone Age coastal societies. The aim of this study is to observe and analyse how the semi-subterranean house developed through time in eastern Norrbotten and to place this information into context. For this thesis, I have studied a number of 631 semi-subterranean remains on a number of sites dating from the Mesolithic era to the early Metal Age. A number of settlements belonging to different eras have been compared. Several archaeological investigations on sites from the late Mesolithic and the Neolithic periods have also provided important information. The thesis shows that throughout the Mesolithic period, the semi-subterranean house was usually less than 12 m2, with an average of approximately 9 m2 . Around 5000 BC, there appears to have been an increase in the number of this type of house being constructed. The number of known sites with semisubterranean houses is at its highest around the late Mesolithic period. Subsistence seems to have been based on the hunting of large terrestrial animals, such as elk and perhaps reindeer. Other animals found in the bone material are seal, beaver, salmon, perch, pike as well as some bird species. At the beginning of the Neolithic period, the number of sites with semi-subterranean houses decreases while the number of houses at each site increases. Also, the floor area increases to an average size of 15 m2 and the floor shape changes from circular to rectangular. The bone material consists at this time of seal bones, while elk and reindeer remains are scarce. Most of the sites are concentrated in the area around the mouths of the Kalix and Torne Rivers. At the middle and end of the Neolithic period, the numbers of sites increase as do the number of houses on each site and the size of the fl oor areas. The average floor area is 28 m2. The bone material now contains no elk or reindeer remains, while seal and various fi sh species are common. Around 2300 BC, the number of semi-subterranean houses decreases dramatically. The semi-subterranean house was probably exchanged for another sort of dwelling more suited to the needs of society. After 2300 BC, there is a total decline in known sites in the area. This could be explained by a reorganisation of the settlements as a result of greater interaction with the south Scandinavian battle-axe culture, together with higher interaction and cultural identification with neighbouring groups in the north and around the Bothnian Bay on the Finnish side.

The main archaeological features studied in this thesis are semi-subterranean house remains in the woodlands of middle northern Sweden, east of the high mountains and some 100 km from the coast. The period during which they were occupied has been delimited to 4500-2500 BC. The house remains consist of circular or sometimes rectangular depressions in the ground, surrounded by mounds of refuse and large amounts of fire-cracked stone. Eighty house remains of this kind have been discovered so far and 20 features have been excavated. They are found at 29 different localities that cover an area of more than 60,000 km2. The question put forward is whether these house remains show patterning in site location, economy and material culture, suggesting that they belonged to one people sharing a similar language and values. The majority of the locations include more than one house and because of the dug-out-floors and the large amounts of fire-cracked stone they are interpreted as winter villages. The distributions of the villages show a settlement pattern in which the locales are separated by a mean distance of approximately 35 km. In one of the regions, Vilhelmina parish, summer camps have been located by smaller lakes where the waterways from 3 different winter villages connect. Other possible summer camp sites are suggested, based on their location in areas where waterways connect two or three winter villages. The winter sites were associated with local bands, according to the social structure of hunting societies in North America, suggested by June Helm. Several local bands form a regional band that camp together during certain periods of the year. All regional bands form the tribe or the language family. No traces of social differences between groups or families have been revealed in the material and it is therefore assumed that the remains of the houses represent a hunting/gathering band society. Among the artifacts in the houses is a predominance of small scrapers of quartz and quartzite. There is also a very high representation of elk (moose) in the bone material from the house remains. Prehistoric and later pit-falls as well as paintings and carvings of elk are distributed within the same area. This shows that elk were a very important prey and this has been emphasized when discussing the explanations of the uniformity in house type and artefacts. Finally the importance of the slate tools, in particular those of red slate, is briefly discussed. The manufacture of slate tools increase during the neolithic period. In the inland of middle Norrland artifacts of red slate dominate over the grey and black slate artifacts in most of the houses and on many other sites. The raw material is, in most cases, found close to the high mountains, but the red slate is otherwise rare compared to the black and grey, which suggests that it has been highly valued. The knowledge of, and access to, red slate is suggested as having symbolized the unity of this band society. / digitalisering@umu