The prehistory of Scandinavia is defined by its gradual emergence from the grip of the ice age and the evolution of human cultures that adapted to changing climates, landscapes, and resources. The Stone Age in this region began later than in much of Europe, owing to the thick glacial cover that only began to retreat around 12,000 BCE, allowing the first nomadic hunters from central Europe to make sporadic visits. By 12,000 BCE, permanent, albeit nomadic, human habitation took root.
As the glaciers receded, tundra emerged, first supporting the spread of reindeer herds into Denmark and southern Sweden. This attracted the Hamburg culture, a group of nomadic hunters who followed the reindeer migrations, moving across vast expanses of the barren landscape. These early settlers lived in simple structures such as teepees and traversed their territory using primitive tools to hunt and survive. Slowly, as the climate warmed, patches of taiga forest began to develop.
Around 11,400 BCE, the Bromme culture appeared in southern Scandinavia. With the increasingly warm climate, more substantial game animals were available, although the reindeer remained a primary resource. This culture established the first semi-permanent settlements in southern Scandinavia, though their lifestyle remained largely nomadic.
By around 10,500 BCE, a temporary cooling period altered the landscape, replacing the taiga with tundra once more and causing a return to older traditions of reindeer hunting. The Ahrensburg culture emerged during this time, thriving in these colder conditions. As the climate began to warm again around 9,500 BCE, marking the pre-Boreal era, the Ahrensburg culture extended its presence further northward, settling in what is now northern Scandinavia.
The Mesolithic era saw further climate warming, particularly in the 7th millennium BCE, as Scandinavia transitioned from the Boreal to the Atlantic period. Forests spread, and reindeer hunters moved further north, creating opportunities for more diverse human cultures to develop. The Maglemosian culture emerged in Denmark and southern Sweden, while the Fosna-Hensbacka culture settled in Norway and western Sweden, living in seasonal camps along the coasts. These groups relied on fire, boats, and stone tools, with a lifestyle centered around hunting, fishing, and gathering, adapting to the seasonal availability of resources.
By the 6th millennium BCE, the climate had become even warmer and more humid, allowing lush forests to flourish across southern Scandinavia. Large animals like aurochs, wisent, moose, and red deer roamed these forests, providing ample game for the Kongemose culture in Denmark and southern Sweden. Meanwhile, the Nøstvet and Lihult cultures thrived further north, evolving from the earlier Fosna and Hensbacka traditions. As sea levels rose, the Kongemose culture gave way to the Ertebølle culture, which adapted to the changing environment by incorporating pottery and other techniques from neighboring groups.
Genetic studies have revealed that the hunter-gatherers of Scandinavia descended from two distinct groups: the Western Hunter-Gatherers, who migrated from what is now modern-day Germany, and the Eastern Hunter-Gatherers, who came from the Upper Volga region in modern Russia. These groups intermingled in Scandinavia, forming a unique cultural and genetic group known as the Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers.
By the Neolithic period, beginning around 4000 BCE, the Ertebølle culture began to practice agriculture and animal husbandry, influenced by neighboring tribes to the south. This transition marked their integration into the megalithic Funnelbeaker culture, known for building dolmens and expanding their influence into southern Sweden. The Nøstvet and Lihult tribes, while absorbing new technologies, maintained their hunting and gathering lifestyle, eventually evolving into the Pitted Ware culture. This culture's resistance to the agricultural lifestyle halted the northward advance of farming communities, leading to instances of cultural blending, such as at the Alvastra pile-dwelling site.
The arrival of the Corded Ware culture around 2800 BCE brought significant changes to southern Scandinavia, with many scholars linking these newcomers to the spread of Proto-Indo-European languages. These tribes, known locally as the Battle-Axe culture, were cattle herders who introduced the use of battle axes as status symbols and brought about the adoption of more advanced metalworking techniques. Their arrival marked the full transition of southern Scandinavia into the Neolithic period.
Around 2400 BCE, the Bell Beaker culture arrived in Jutland, introducing new technologies in mining and sailing. They initiated large-scale flint mining for the production of flint daggers, which spread throughout Scandinavia during what became known as the Dagger Period (2400–1800 BCE). Copper metallurgy appeared around this time, though it remained limited, with flint tools continuing to mimic the shapes of copper and bronze implements.
By 2000 BCE, the first signs of a more hierarchical society emerged, as large "chiefly" houses began to appear in southern Scandinavia, similar to those of the Unetice culture. This development marked the rise of more complex social structures. The subsequent introduction and widespread use of bronze tools around 1750 BCE signified the end of the Neolithic period and the beginning of the Nordic Bronze Age, setting the stage for the next chapter in Scandinavian prehistory.