Invisible Activities

Early Neolithic House Remains in Western Östergötland

Abstract

Stone Age research traditionally has a strong association with studies of artefacts, while our knowledge of settlement structures and variations in the disposition of the landscape is still deficient. This is not just a question of resource utilization but also of the link between material culture and spatial disposition, both at the habitation site and in a broader mentally organized landscape. The article mainly discusses two newly discovered Stone Age settlement sites, Hulje and Abbetorp in western Östergötland. The sites have several points in common as regards their date and the rype of remains, which include remains of several small houses. Unlike most excavated Stone Age sites, neither Abbetorp nor Hulje had any traditional find marerial. The remains of the houses and the absence of artefacts accentuates the question of the link berween activities and material expressions.