Early in the North – Utilization of Animal Resources in Northern Finland during Prehistory
Abstract
Animal bones from archaeological sites, the so called refuse faunas, can give valuable information about the economy of prehistoric peoples, provided problems connected with the burnt, fragmented material and the dating of the sites are understood and considered in the interpretation of the analyses. In this paper I present some methods and tools for reliable interpretation of the problematic bone material available in Finland. I discuss the composition of the refuse fauna in northern Finland, its variation in time and space and its affinities with the cultural phases, the character of hunting at different sites, and finally the treatment of the game at the sites. The final aim of the paper is to encourage archaeologists to use this data combined with other archaeological information, like artefacts and structures, in order to reach better understanding of the functions of the individual sites and the character of the hunter-gatherer communities in northern regions.
