Bjerck et al./Marine Ventures, 7. Two Case Studies in the Initial Early Holocene Colonisation in Parts of Europe's Atlantic Edges

This paper examines the issues associated with the expansion of human populations into the N. W. Atlantic peripheries at the beginning of the Holocene. It is based on a comparison between Ireland in the West and Arctic Norway. It suggests that movements into new lands are not so much an event but rather a series of processes that take place over time. The rapidity of initial settlement is not simply based on the closeness of new lands but is rather conditioned by ecological differences which in turn impact on economic and social matters. It also suggests that after a short phase of initial arrival, there will usually be a period of adapting to the particular challenges of these new landscapes.