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15.3.1 Late Palaeolithic Reindeer Hunters Around the Baltic Ice
Lake and Yoldia Sea
The deglaciation of the Baltic area was a long drawn-out process, reaching the var-
ious regions at different times. While the south-western and south-eastern parts of
the present Baltic rim were already free of ice around 15,000 cal. BC (Clausen 1997 ,
Eriksen 2002 ) and 12,000-10,000 cal. BC (Zagorska 1999 , Ukkonen et al. 2006 ),
respectively, the central and northern Baltic areas became ice-free not earlier than
8,500 cal. BC (Linden et al. 2006 , Berglund 2008 ). Deglaciation was followed by
a remarkable rise in temperature that permitted the emergence of tundra vegetation
characterized by bushes, low dwarf-birches and pine trees (Fig. 15.3 ). This new
landscape offered favourable conditions for the reindeer herds that subsequently
migrated into the whole area around the Baltic Ice Lake. Radiocarbon dates for
fossil bones and antlers (not found in a human settlement context and therefore
presumably not hunted game) indicate that the animals were very resistant and
could even survive the climatic conditions of the late Glacial and early Holocene
(Ukkonen et al. 2006 ). The oldest finds of reindeer remains are from Lithuania,
Estonia and Latvia; these are dated to 14,180-11,280 cal. BC. In Denmark and west-
ern Norway the species was present around 12,800 cal. BC, in southern Sweden
around 11,600 cal. BC, whereas north-western Russia and Finland first attracted
reindeer herds around 6,500 cal. BC.
Several centuries later, the herds were presumably followed by hunters who
specialized in hunting reindeer while the animals were crossing rivers (Terberger
2006a ). Archaeological evidence of this first phase of human presence in the
Baltic area is only known from northern Germany and southern Denmark (Grimm
and Weber 2008 ) and indicates that these communities set up their camps and
settlements along the reindeer migration routes. They belonged to the so-called
Hamburgian group, which came to the region during the Meiendorf interstadial
around 12,700 cal. BC, or to the Havelte group that developed from the former
group after 12,300 cal. BC.
The landscape changed considerably during the Allerød interstadial when the
temperature again rose remarkably by a total of more than 5 C (Clausen 1997 ).
This climate change permitted the growth of birch, aspen, rowan and pine trees in
the southern Baltic area. The area provided a habitat for elk as well as giant deer
and wild horses: there is evidence of the existence of open woodland that lasted for
1,200 years, from 11,900 to 10,700 cal. BC (Eriksen 2002 , Terberger 2006a ). In
this period, communities belonging to the Federmesser culture and the Brommian
culture inhabited the south-western part of the Baltic rim. Especially from Denmark
and Scania loads of Brommian finds and - less well represented - Federmesser finds
are known (Eriksen 2002 , Andersson and Cronberg 2007 ).
Throughout this whole period, the Baltic basin was gradually filling up with melt-
water as a consequence of deglaciation. A constantly expanding freshwater lake
developed - the Baltic Ice Lake (Björck 1995 ,Lemke 2004 ). For more than 3,500
years (13,000-9,500 cal. BC), this lake remained covered by ice for most of the
year. The Baltic Ice Lake was not connected to the North Sea, so its water level
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