“ Women’s graves often contain splendid ornaments, though gold and silver are rare in grave-finds, and the large oval-headed pins and the oblong or trefoil-shaped clasps found in them are usually of bronze, while in other finds silver ornaments are common. Silver is as characteristic of this period as gold of the preceding one, Denmark alone yielding no less than 25 important silver finds, some of them consisting of necklaces of very fine filigree work, or of dexterously woven silver wires. ”

“ These become common in Norway, fairly frequent in Sweden, and even in Finland, but only one grave containing remains of a boat has so far been found in Denmark. The details of the earlier Swedish ship-burials are somewhat obscured for us because the ship and all its contents have been burnt, but we can see that in these the dead man sits at the stern, as if about to set forth on a journey, while in later graves of the Viking Period, both burnt and unburnt, the corpse seems to have been laid on a bed in a chamber built amidships for the purpose. ”

“ Men have left traces of their occupation of Denmark from the time when firs were still the prevailing trees in that country, and a few tools of elk and reindeer horn appear to belong to an even earlier period. Sweden and Norway were probably not inhabited until later, though it seems that men were present in Sweden while the Baltic was still a fresh-water lake. ”

“ Wood was no doubt much used, but it is only by a fortunate chance that wooden vessels and a wooden spoon have been preserved to us in Denmark. It is probable that wool was used as well as skins for clothing, but if so it must be supposed that the spinning and weaving implements were of too perishable a material to have come down to us. Awls are constantly found, but not needles. Bone pins were used for fastening the clothes. The ornaments were chiefly pierced teeth of various wild animals, and objects of amber and bone, many of them in the form of minute axes. ”

“ The weapons found are swords, knives, sickles, battle-axes, spears and arrows. The sword is two-edged, with a wooden hilt often beautifully decorated with silver. The axe is very broad-bladed, and evidently of great importance, being often the only weapon found in graves. Helmets and coats of mail are not found in Norway, but are comparatively common in Sweden.
We owe much of our knowledge of this period to the unburnt burials which were fortunately usual. In Denmark grave-chambers of wood, such as those at Jellinge, stand nearest to the ship-graves. ”

“ The battle axes are of many forms, perfectly symmetrical and beautifully ground and polished. Those of other stone than flint have holes bored through them for the shaft. Wooden shafts were usually attached at right angles to the flint axes. Of these latter the thin-necked axe is the most characteristic. The distribution of flint implements reveals a considerable trading activity, as flint-bearing strata only occur in certain parts of Denmark and in Skåne, whence it must have been distributed over the whole of Southern Sweden through the channels of commerce. ”

“ Besides the elk- and reindeer-horn tools mentioned above, a few rough flint implements seem to be the earliest traces of man in Scandinavia. In Norway and Sweden these are only found in the extreme south. The kjøkkenmøddinger or skaldynger, variously called in English kitchen-middens, refuse-heaps, or shell-mounds, are characteristic of Denmark in the next period. In these we find remains of primitive meals, consisting chiefly of oyster, mussel and other shells, and the bones of various fish, birds and animals, including deer, wild boar, seals, wolves and aurochs. ”

“ Helmets and shields are extraordinarily thin, almost flimsy, possibly in imitation of the inferior Roman goods of the period, possibly in the case of the shields, at any rate, because they were only intended to protect from arrows or spears flung from a distance, or because dependence was mainly placed on the strength of the boss. ”

“ The tools include chisels, borers, knives, saws and axes, but the finest workmanship seems to have been reserved for weapons. Arrow-heads and spear-points of flint have chipped blades of marvellous fineness and symmetry. Daggers with handle and blade all made of one piece of flint are characteristic of the Northern Stone Age, and show how much weight was laid on ornamental appearance, since wooden handles would have been equally effective and far less troublesome to make. ”

“ In some parts of Sweden and Norway rude carvings on bare granite rocks, executed in a stiff and conventional style, have been identified as belonging to this period, and from these, in combination with the finds, we can deduce a considerable fund of information. Horses were used for riding, driving and ploughing. From the impress left on earthenware vessels we find that wheat, barley and oats were cultivated. Large boats, almost invariably without mast or sail, are very frequently depicted. ”

“ By far the greatest proportion of the remains of the Stone Age are found in Denmark. While there are not more than five to six hundred Stone-Age graves known in Sweden, and only two or three in Norway, there are between three and four thousand on the island of Seeland alone. ”

“ The pottery is of good material and form, though still made without the aid of the potter's wheel. The indentations of the pattern are frequently filled in with a white chalk like substance. Many of the vessels are rounded at the bottom, and perforations or handles show that they are meant to hang. ”

“ The remains at Nöstvet in the Christiania fjord show traces of a considerable population. Ground slate implements are found scattered along the coasts of Norway and Sweden, and are attributed to a nomadic people, whose arctic culture persisted much longer in these countries than in the much earlier flint civilization of the Kitchen-middens in Denmark. ”

“ These are supplemented by articles of bone, horn and clay, including arrow or spear points, axes of horn, and bone combs. Earthenware vessels must have been much used, but only fragments have been found, made, of course, without the use of the wheel. Rare attempts at decoration consist of a few cuts or impressions round the top. The only ornaments found are the pierced teeth of animals and shells. In Norway and Sweden implements similar to those of the Danish shell-mounds have been found, but usually without the organic remains, except at Viste, near Stavanger, excavated in 1907. ”

“ Later Stone Age.—The remains of the Later Stone Age show a very much more advanced civilization of a pastoral and later of an agricultural type, with domestic animals, such as cattle, horses, pigs, sheep and goats. ”

“ These graves seldom contain more than one skeleton, and mark the end of the Stone Age. Inhumation was practised throughout the period, though the bones found in the great graves are often marked by fire owing to the practice, apparently prevalent, of lighting fires in the grave chambers. The chambers are often full of remains up to within a foot of the roof, and in some cases parts of as many as a hundred skeletons have been found. ”