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a flake axe Östergötland

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. The main difference is that the Fosna culture was distributed along the coast of southern 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 may well have had the largest seasonal population in northern Europe during the Late Glacial/early Mesolithic transition. This was due to environmental circumstances brought about by the relationship between the Vänern basin and topographical features in the North Sea basin. The Henbacka culture evolved into the later Sandarna culture which is found along the coast of western Sweden.

The name Fosna takes its name of a location near Kristiansund, and it is an umbrella term for the oldest settlements along the Norwegian coast, from Hordaland to Nordland. The oldest settlements in Bohuslän on the Swedish west coast(the Hensbacka), derive from the Ahrensburgian culture group from Northern Germany. The oldest Fosna settlements in Eastern Norway are found at Høgnipen in Østfold.

A core axe, from Skåne

The settlements were close to the contemporary seashore, but due to the constant elevation of the land, they are now 60–70 m above sea level in western Norway, while Høgnipen is as high as 150 m above sea level. Site locations indicate that fishing and seal hunting were important for the economy and it is assumed that hide covered wooden framed boats were used in that the majority of Hensbacka sites (ca.75%) are located on islands in the outer archipelago. The Fosna/Hensbacka culture represent a pure hunter-gatherer culture. On settlements, archaeologists have only found stone tools and the remains of the production of the same. Characteristic tools include flake axes, lanceolates and tanged arrowheads.

• Nationalencyklopedin

• Komsa
• History of Norway
• () For Hensbacka, see Oxford Journal of Archaeology, Vol.25 No.1, 2006; Vol.18 No.4,1999 & Vol.13 No.3, 1994.

• The Swedish National Historic Museum on the Hensbacka culture
• The Swedish National Historic Museum on the Fosna culture
• Images of Hensbacka tools
• Images of Hensbacka tools 2