Dating Ängersjö

Trenching Lynchets in Quest of the Origin and Development of a Boreal Forest Village

Abstract

Archaeological work in Ängersjö in Hälsingland is presented, with special emphasis on an investigation of the village infields. Through a series of 14C datings and palynological results a still hypothetical development is described. With a prehistory as a probable transhumance cum hunting/trapping station, sedentary settlement was established in the 13th century. A seemingly continuous development led up to the situation known from cadastral records and early maps, where Ängersjö is a relatively large village. The results are put into the context of the interdisciplinary discussions about early medieval colonization, the late medieval agrarian crisis and the impact of the core elites on peripheral societies. A working hypothesis for future research is formulated.