The Norwegian human history timeline
Historians divide Norwegian human history into distinct periods, each contributing to the gradual development of a unique Norwegian culture.
First came the Ice Ages
Over millions of years, the Earth went through many ice ages. Enormous glaciers covered vast areas of the planet, including the Scandinavian Peninsula, and reshaped the landscape beneath them completely.
But the ice was never constant. During warmer intervals, called interglacials, plants and animals returned. In Norway, scientists have found fragmentary remains of mammoths, muskoxen, and woolly rhinoceroses from these periods. However, as far as we know today, there were no humans in this region before or during the ice ages.
The first humans
In Scandinavia, the most recent glacial cycle lasted from approximately 115,000 BC to 9500 BC.
It took thousands of years for the glaciers to melt, first along the coastline and then gradually further inland. As temperatures rose, a rich variety of plants and animals again populated the land. The ocean along Norway’s coastline was rich in marine life.
As reindeer and other animals appeared, so did the predators, and now also the humans. They arrived from the northeast — from what is today Finland and Russia — as well as from the European mainland to the south.
Small human family groups populated much of the coastline within a relatively short period of time. They were nomadic or semi-nomadic hunter-fisher-gatherers, moving with the seasons and the movements of their prey. From 4000 BC onwards, we see the first signs of Scandinavian agriculture.
NORWEGIAN HISTORICAL PERIODS
The Ice Ages | millions of years to 9500 BC
The Early Stone Age | 9500 – 4000 BC
The Later Stone Age (agriculture begins) | 4000 – 1700 BC
The Bronze Age | 1700 – 500 BC
Pre-Roman Iron Age | 500 BC – AD 0
The Roman Age | AD 0 – 400
The Migration Period | AD 400 – 550
The Merovingian Age | AD 550 – 800
The Viking Age | AD 800 – 1050
The High Middle Ages | AD 1050 – 1350
The Late Middle Ages (Danish influence) | AD 1350 – 1537
The Early Modern Period (Danish rule) | AD 1537 – 1814
The rebirth of Norway as a nation (constitution) | AD 1814
In union with Sweden (emigration) | AD 1814 – 1905
Full independence | AD 1905
Development and World War I | AD 1905 – 1940
World War II (German occupation) | AD 1940 – 1945
The post-war era | AD 1945 – 1970
Restructuring and neoliberalism | AD 1970 – 1990
Technology and globalisation | AD 1990 – today
Please note that the Scandinavian historical periods may differ from similarly named periods in other parts of the world.
Universitetet i Oslo norgeshistorie.no. | Store Norske Leksikon snl.no.