The
Fosna/Hensbacka (ca. 8300 BC - 7300 BC, or 12000 cal.BP - 10500 cal.BP), were two very similar
Late Palaeolithic/early Mesolithic cultures in
Scandinavia, and are often subsumed under the name
Fosna-Hensbacka culture. This complex includes the
Komsa culture that, notwithstanding different types of
tools, is also considered to be a part of the Fosna culture group.
[1] The main difference is that the Fosna/Komsa culture was distributed along the coast of Northern
Norway, whereas the Hensbacka culture had a more eastern distribution along the coast of western Sweden; primarily in central
Bohuslän to the north of
Göteborg.
Recent investigations indicate that this particular area, i.e. central
Bohuslän, may well have had the largest seasonal population in
northern Europe during the Late
Palaeolithic/early
Mesolithic transition. This was due to environmental circumstances brought about by the relationship between the
Vänern basin in the east, and topographical features in the
North Sea basin to the west.
[2][3]
The Hensbacka culture evolved into the later
Sandarna culture which is found along the coast of western
Sweden.
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