He was probably a warrior of about 25 years old who drowned on the island of Hitra (Norway) 4,000 years ago, at the end of the Stone Age. His body was discovered in 1916 while workers were collecting gravel from the inner coast of Barmfjorden to improve a path up the hill to Fausland farm.
The workers noticed the existence of some human bones between the sand and stones. When the protagonist of this story died, the sea level was 12.5 meters higher than today and the place where his remains ended up was at a depth of four meters.
If this whole story has returned to the foreground it is because researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have just recreated the Hitra man based on several factors. His skeletal measurements indicate that he was approximately 169 centimeters tall and the color of his hair, skin and eyes were obtained from DNA analysis of other individuals from the same period.
“At the University Museum we also carry out isotope analysis. This, among other things, provides information about what she ate and whether he migrated great distances during his lifetime. We already know that the vast majority of the food she ate came from the earth,” says archaeologist Birgitte Skar.
Even so, there is still much that is not known about this dramatic story. That is why its genetic code is being analyzed at the Lundbeck Foundation Geogenetics Center at the University of Copenhagen. “Parts of the skeleton are well preserved. They must have been covered by sand and shells at the bottom of the sea shortly after their death,” adds Skar.
Along with the skeletal remains, a dagger and an arm guard were also found. The small shield is an oblong piece of bone with two holes that would have been attached to the wrist of the hand holding a bow. The plate would protect the wrist from the blow caused by the bowstring when shooting arrows.
“These pieces of equipment may indicate that he was a warrior,” says the NTNU University researcher. What is difficult to determine is whether the drowning occurred as a result of combat or whether it was an accident.
What is known is that the man from Hitra lived in a very turbulent period in the history of Scandinavia. Until that time, most people lived as hunter-gatherers, but towards the end of the Stone Age agriculture was fully established in the territory that is now part of Norway.
“In the south and east,” says Birgitte Skar, “agricultural elements had been introduced before, but in central Norway, along the west coast and in the north, agriculture was first established in this period through of migrants who came to obtain more land and were willing to use weapons to do so. We must assume that there were violent clashes between the native people and the newcomers.”
The new people brought new knowledge about livestock and agriculture, but also a different way of organizing society. “They lived in hierarchical societies, had a different understanding of the world, another religion and a large network of contacts in Europe. This knowledge led to important political, economic and social changes,” concludes Skar.
