Fennoscandia Archaeologica

IN MEMORIAM: ALEKSANDR IVANOVICH SAKSA (11 AUG 1951‒14 AUG 2022)

Pirjo Uino — 2023-01-10

A PRE-ROMAN BURIAL SITE IN PUIJONSARVENNENÄ, KUOPIO, EASTERN FINLAND

Liisa Kunnas-Pusa — 2023-01-10

In 2019, a metal detector hobbyist found an iron spearhead, a knife, and some burnt bones from an ambiguous stone structure situated on the scenic cape of Puijonsarvennenä in Kuopio. Archaeological excavation and sub- sequent analyses of the find material confirmed that the site was a single cremation burial, which was radiocarbon dated to 410–355 calBC, in the Pre-Roman Iron Age. The find material included several fragments of bone artefacts and a small amount of asbestos-tempered ceramics. The burial and its finds seem to indicate that the deceased person engaged in hunting and possibly fur trading, setting Puijonsarvennenä into a continuum with similar burial sites known from interior and northern Finland from the Early Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age. Currently, Puijonsarvennenä is the only Iron Age burial site to have been excavated in the North Savo province.

BURIAL PRACTICES IN NORTHERN SWEDEN, NORTHERN FINLAND AND THE WHITE SEA COAST BETWEEN THE 9TH AND 16TH CENTURIES AD

Jari-Matti Kuusela — 2023-01-10

This paper presents an overview of known burials and burial practises in the region comprising of present-day northern Finland, Sweden, the Murmansk oblast and the White Sea coast in Northwest Russia during the study period, the Late Iron Age and Middle Ages (ca. 800–1600 AD). Burial sites offer a unique perspective on examining social structures and social change, as they are focused on the present of the community while still being rooted in tradition. We discuss how these burials represent the multicultural environment and the fluidity of adaptation of cultural features in the north, as well as the distinct similarities between the communities. We will also examine how the decentralised network, that the northern Fennoscandian communities formed, caused and maintained this multicultural environment during the Late Iron Age and the Middle Ages.

PROVENANCING ARCHAEOLOGICAL CHERT FINDS WITH pXRF

Janne Ikäheimo — 2023-01-10

We present the initial results of a research combining non-destructive chemical analyses with a quantitatively and chronologically representative research assemblage – 52 specimens from five sites – to examine the provenance of Late Neolithic and Bronze Age chert finds from the cluster of sites located near the city of Oulu on the eastern coast of the Bothnian Bay. The results confirm the previously observed transition in the use of raw material sources: eastern Carboniferous cherts high in iron were replaced by calcium-rich Cretaceous flints of Scandinavian or southern Baltic origin. We also consider the overall applicability of pXRF as a non-destructive research method to determine the provenance for archaeological chert finds recovered from the coniferous boreal zone, characterized by the impact of post-depositional weathering on the chemical composition of objects found in the soil matrix.

ENCIRCLING THE CRAFT TRADITIONS OF FRESHWATER FISHING

Ellen Mette Nielsen — 2023-01-10

This paper investigates wheel-shaped net sinkers, that is hoops made of rods and with plaited birch bark fibres, clasping a sinker stone in the centre. Recently recovered from forest and mountain lakes of central Scandinavia, and dated to AD 800–1300, these sinkers offer a glimpse into the use of birch bark during the Viking Age and the medieval period. By combining archaeological analysis and experimental replication, this paper firstly aims to explore the knowledge and skills involved in the making. Secondly, we investigate the relationship between the specific crafting process and the broader craft traditions and technologies of which the sinkers were a part, and we suggest that birch bark plaiting represents a technological and aesthetic craft tradition originating in Karelia and Estonia. The sinkers were utilised in freshwater fishing and attached to the bottom line of gill or seine nets. We propose that this specific net fishing technology was introduced to central Scandinavia as a result of agricultural expansion from east to west around AD 800.

DIETS IN THREE LATE MEDIEVAL TO EARLY MODERN COASTAL POPULATIONS IN FINLAND ACCORDING TO THE δ13C AND δ15N VALUES OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL BONE AND DENTIN COLLAGEN

Tiina Väre — 2023-01-10

We explored the diets in three populations (Iin Hamina, Oulu, Rauma) dating between the late Middle Ages and mid-19th century. We compared diets of mid-childhood, adolescence, and adulthood based on the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in dentin (PM2, M3) and bone collagen. The δ13C values were typical of terrestrial C3 environments and to be expected by the brackish Baltic Sea. The 13C content in the water decreases north- wards, which was reflected in the results. The analyses displayed overall elevated δ15N values, which is consistent with fish having been an important part of the nutrition of all the populations. The PM2 and bone collagen δ15N values diverged in the Iin Hamina population, implying different diets of children and adults.

THE CONSTRUCTION DATE OF THE DOMINICAN CONVENT OF ST OLAF IN TURKU, FINLAND

Visa Immonen — 2023-01-10

The foundation of the medieval Dominican Convent of St Olaf in Turku, South-West Finland, marked the connection of the country to an international network of contacts with the Latin West, and the establishment of taught education in Finland. However, the chronology of its construction has been a subject of scholarly debate since the early 20th century. The archaeological material from the convent is scant, and the only properly datable finds are a sample of timber from the structures and a collection of bricks recovered from the site. In this article we present the results of a wiggle-match dating of the timber, and OSL dating of eight bricks. The bricks were also analysed by pXRF. The building phase of brick masonry seems to date to the second half of the 14th century or around 1400AD.

Anna-Kaisa Salmi & Sirpa Niinimäki (eds): Archaeologies of Animal Movement. Animals on the Move. Themes in Contemporary Archaeology.

David Orton — 2023-01-10

Minna Silver & Pirjo Uino (eds.): Tiedenainen peilissä. Arkeologian professori Ella Kivikosken elämä ja tutkimuskentät. [A Female Scientist in a Mirror. Archaeology Professor Ella Kivikoski’s Life and Research Fields]. Bibliotheca Sigillumiana 9. Si

Liisa Kunnas-Pusa — 2023-01-10

Andrejs Vasks & Gunita Zariņa (eds.): Latvijas arheoloģijas rokasgrāmata. Zinātne, Rīga 2021.

Kerkko Nordqvist — 2023-01-10