Ancient fish traps reveal early human transport of trout to Norwegian mountains

The discovery of 7,000-year-old wooden fish traps in Lake Tesse, in the mountains of southern Norway, has revealed that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers intentionally transported trout to alpine lakes where the species could not reach naturally. The findings, published in Antiquity, push back the timeline of deliberate human ecosystem management by thousands of years before agriculture Source: lavanguardia, elconfidencial.

The Discovery

Archaeologists from the University of Oslo, led by Axel Mjærum, uncovered well-preserved wooden traps at Lake Tesse. Radiocarbon dating placed their use from around 5000 BC, during the Scandinavian Mesolithic period Source: lavanguardia. The traps were found as glaciers retreated, exposing artifacts that had been frozen for millennia Source: elconfidencial.

Intentional Introduction

The traps prove that people deliberately introduced brown trout (Salmo trutta) into lakes that lacked fish due to natural barriers like waterfalls. "This implies that the fish — specifically the brown trout — were transported to that region by hunter-fisher-gatherers during the Scandinavian Mesolithic," explains Mjærum Source: lavanguardia. The trout was chosen for its size, caloric value, and ease of capture Source: elconfidencial.

Implications

• This practice is considered an early form of food production, showing that pre-agricultural societies actively shaped their environment Source: lavanguardia.