Centuries before farming, hunter-gatherers introduced fish to the Norwegian mountains

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Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of 7,000-year-old fish traps in the mountains of southern Norway, indicating that fish were intentionally introduced to upland lakes by Mesolithic hunter-fisher-gatherers and showing that human management of nature was not limited to agricultural societies.

Following glacial retreat about 8000 B.C., humans first began migrating into the mountains of inland southern Norway, but natural barriers such as waterfalls prevented fish from swimming into the region on their own. Instead, freshwater fish were introduced to upstream lakes and rivers by humans, who moved them from their natural habitats to harvest them. It was unknown, however, when this took place.

"For more than 100 years, it has been known that the fish inhabiting watercourses in the Norwegian mountains are descended from specimens translocated by humans," said lead author Axel Mjærum of the University of Oslo. "However, until now, it has remained unclear when people first began transporting fish upstream into lakes and rivers that originally lacked natural fish."

Therefore, the discovery of several preserved wooden fish traps at Lake Tesse in the southern Norwegian mountains provided an opportunity to tackle this problem.

Axel Mjærum et al, The introduction of fish to the Scandinavian mountains by hunter-fisher-gatherers 5000 BC, Antiquity (2026). doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2026.10392