In 1916, construction workers in Norway made an unexpected discovery while building a road on Hitra Island. Amidst the sand and rocks, they uncovered human remains belonging to a 25-year-old man from the Stone Age, estimated to be 4,000 years old.

Since then, these remains have been a subject of study at the NTNU University Museum, where archaeologists and scientists have reconstructed the appearance of this ancient Norwegian warrior.

Archaeologist Birgitte Skar from NTNU University Museum explained that the man is believed to have drowned. At the time of his death, the sea level was 12.5 meters higher than it is today, and the site where his bones were found would have been four meters underwater. Parts of the skeleton are well-preserved and must have been covered by shell sand on the seabed shortly after his death, Skar noted.

The island of Hitra is located west of Trondheim, Norway
The island of Hitra is located west of Trondheim, Norway. Credit: Finkelsen / depositphotos.com

Along with the skeletal remains, the workers found a dagger and a bracer, suggesting that he might have been a warrior. The bracer was a piece of oblong bone with two holes, typically attached to the wrist to protect it from the bowstring’s snap when firing arrows.

While it’s unclear whether the man drowned in combat or by accident, he lived during a turbulent period when agriculture was first taking root in Norway.

The Stone Age was a time of transition for Norwegian society. Most people had lived as hunter-gatherers until this point, but during the man’s lifetime, agriculture was spreading across the country.

Archaeologists found this arm guard along with the skeletal remains
Archaeologists found this arm guard along with the skeletal remains. Credit: Jenny Kalseth

According to Skar, agriculture had been introduced earlier in southern and eastern Norway, but it was in the central region, as well as along the western and northern coasts, that it was established for the first time.

This shift could have led to tensions between the existing hunter-gatherer groups and the new agricultural settlers, potentially resulting in violent conflicts.

The knowledge and technologies brought by these new settlers introduced significant changes to Norwegian society. These newcomers lived in more hierarchical societies, with different religions and a broader network of contacts across Europe. This influx of new knowledge led to political, economic, and social changes in Norway during the Stone Age.

Bone remains of Hitra man
Bone remains of Hitra man. Credit: Ole Bjørn Pedersen

The reconstruction of the Hitra Island man was achieved through various techniques and analyses. His skeletal measurements indicated that he was around 169 cm tall, and the wear on his teeth suggested he was about 25 years old when he died. DNA analysis from other individuals of the same era with similar DNA provided clues about his hair, skin, and eye color.

Isotopic analyses were also conducted to understand his diet and whether he traveled across significant distances during his lifetime. Interestingly, despite being found in a location that was underwater at the time, his diet was primarily land-based, not reliant on seafood.

The case of the Hitra Island man offers a fascinating glimpse into the kind of information we can extract from ancient remains and how modern science helps us reconstruct the past.

Sources

NTNU Norwegian SciTech News

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