Northern Europe (9700 BC-AD 410): 06 DENMARK (Scandinavia), Mesolithic Period

Denmark is a flat, low-lying country located between the North and Baltic seas comprising Danish Jutland (continental or mainland Denmark), bounded to the south by the German state of Schleswig-Holstein (a former possession), and more than 400 islands (in the North Sea) the four largest being Zealand (E), North Jutlandic Island (N), Funen (C) and Lolland (SE) respectively.

The Baltic Sea connects to the North Sea via the Danish Straits, the Kattegat Sea between northeast Jutland and Sweden, and the Skagerrak Sea between the North Jutlandic Island and Norway.

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Mesolithic Period (9700-4000 BC) 

As the climate improved during the Pre-Boreal stage (birch; 8300-7700 BC) and Boreal stage (birch, pine; 7700-5500 BC), the forests spread over the tundra and the rising sea level seems to have brought less reliance on inland resources and greater exploitation of those along the coast.

The Maglemose culture (9000-6000 BC) is named after the excavation of Mullerup, situated in the Maglemose (‘big bog’), Kalundborg municipality, Zealand. They fished, trapped birds, hunted red deer, roe deer and wild ox, and foraged for roots, nuts and berries. Characteristic of the culture are microliths used for spear and arrowheads. 

Koelbjerg Man (8000 BC) is the oldest known bog body (a human cadaver mummified in a peat bog) A human skull and some bones dated to were recovered from a peat bog near Koelbjerg in the Assens municipality on Funen.

The Kongemose culture (6000-5200 BC) is named after Kongemosen, part of the Aamosen/Åmose bog in Zealand, and is typically known from coastal sites in southern Scandinavia where its people exploited forest and marine resources. Finds are characterised by long flintstone flakes,

The Ertebølle culture (5300-3950 BC), named after the type site facing the Limfjord in Northern Denmark, was the Final Mesolithic coastal kitchen midden culture found in southern Scandinavia. In addition to fishing and gathering, collecting oysters and other shellfish, the Ertebølle learned about pottery and agriculture from its neighbours to the south. 

During the Atlantic stage (oak; 5500-3000 BC) the deciduous temperate zone forests of south and central Europe extended northward to replace the Boreal mixed forest.

Mesolithic hunters probably used dugout canoes not just for riverine exploration but also the coast and between the islands of the Baltic. A dugout canoe from the submerged settlement at Tybrind Vig located in the Little Belt strait between the island of Funen and the Jutland peninsula, had a clay hearth implying its use in night fishing to attract eels.