chest, has been found, and they were probably sacrifices to higher powers. At the settlements, archaeologists have found circles of stone, which probably were the foundations of hide teepees. Scandinavia, Hensbacka group The earliest reliable traces of habitation in the northern territories of Norway and western Sweden date to the transition period from the Younger Dryas to the Preboreal. More favourable living conditions, and past experience gained through seasonal rounds, prompted increased maritime resource exploitation in the northern territories. The Hensbacka group on the west coast of Sweden exemplifies the cultural fragmentation process that took place within the Continental Ahrensburgian. Instead of new immigrations at the beginning of the Mesolithic, the discovery of deposited bones and new dating indicate that there was no (significant) break in settlement continuity. New knowledge provides aspects for a further autochthonous development, with a rapid climatic change stimulating a swift cultural change. See also Late Glacial Maximum Paleolithic Europe References Archaeological cultures of Central Europe Archaeological cultures of Northern Europe Archaeological cultures of Western Europe Nordic Stone Age Paleolithic cultures of Europe Archaeological cultures in Belgium Archaeological cultures in Denmark Archaeological cultures in England Archaeological cultures in Germany Archaeological cultures in the Netherlands Archaeological cultures in Poland Upper Paleolithic cultures of Europe 10th millennium BC Peopling of Europe