Reconstructing Maglemose bone fishhooks – a craftsmanship from Zealand

ABSTRACT

The first fishhooks that have been found on the Danish territory date back to the Maglemose period (c. 9600/9500–6700 B.C.), and they are made of bone and antler. Most of them were excavated at the start of the twentieth century in settlements next to inland bogs and lakes and have since then only been studied in a very few cases. The aim of this paper is to analyse the assemblage of at least 30 fishhooks and 23 manufacturing products from that period and produce new knowledge about the Maglemose culture through fishhook typology, technology and comparison with the North European bone production.

KEYWORDS:

• Danish Mesolithic
• Maglemose culture
• fishhooks
• bone technology
• prehistoric fishing practices
• experiments