Iskos

Foreword

Marko Marila — 2023-12-11

Establishing academic education in archaeology in Helsinki between 1876–1923: Defining aims and ideologies

Timo Salminen — 2023-12-11

The first chair of archaeology in Finland was an extraordinary one for J.R. Aspelin at the Imperial Alexander University in Helsinki from 1878–1885. It was then considered that archaeology’s task was to evoke Finnish national consciousness; thus, the chair was opposed by Finland’s Swedish-minded circles. It was also debated whether archaeology should be taught at the university or at the Historical Museum. An ordinary chair was founded in 1921, after several attempts, as a part of building the academic structure of the newly independent republic of Finland. The first professor, A.M. Tallgren, was appointed at the end of 1923. Consequently, archaeology became both professionally and institutionally established in Finland. This article analyses academic archaeology’s significance in Finnish society prior to the ordinary chair, the founding process of the professorship and the election of the first professor. The article also briefly deals with the academic lectures and doctoral dissertations before 1923. This Finnish development is compared with that of other European countries.

Professor Ella Kivikoski’s groundbreaking archaeological path

Minna Silver — 2023-12-11

Ella Margareta Kivikoski (25 May 1901 in Tammela–27 July 1990 in Helsinki) was the first woman in Finland to defend her Doctoral thesis in Archaeology in 1939. Many duties in the State Archaeological Commission of Finland provided a good basis for her research career. In 1941 she received a docentship (an associate professorship) at the University of Helsinki in the Department of Archaeology of Finland and the Nordic Countries. In 1948 Kivikoski was appointed to the chair of the same department, becoming at the time the only female professor, the second in sequence, at the University of Helsinki and the first female professor in archaeology in the Nordic countries. After the appointment to a professorship, Kivikoski was called to the Finnish Academy of Sciences, becoming its first female member. She retired in 1969. The Finnish Iron Age was Kivikoski’s main speciality. Her published scientific production is wide, consisting of several monographs, articles and edited works. Her major publication is Die Eisenzeit Finnlands, the catalogue of Iron Age artefacts found in Finland, that is still used today. Kivikoski was well networked in the learned societies, internationally active and awarded many foreign distinctions of honour. Kivikoski was demanding, even abrupt, as a professor but many remember her warm interest in her students. She guided students to fieldwork, especially at Iron Age sites on the Åland Islands where she also initiated the study of Iron Age houses in Finland. Kivikoski kept to culture-historical approaches and comparative typological analyses of artefacts and solid remains.

Professor Carl Fredrik Meinander and a vision of modern archaeology

Minna Silver — 2023-12-11

Carl Fredrik Meinander (6 October 1916–23 August 2004) was professor in Finnish and Scandinavian Archaeology at the University of Helsinki in 1970–1982. In 1934 he enrolled to study archaeology under Professor A.M. Tallgren, who introduced him to the Bronze Age and the Montelian typological classification. Professor Aarne Äyräpää guided him to the Neolithic Stone Age. Meinander started working in the 1930s for the State Archaeological Commission in various capacities, acquiring a strong familiarity with field work and find material. He also served in between his archaeological career in WWII. He defended and published his doctoral dissertation in 1954 on Finland’s Bronze Age. He also published that year a monograph on the Late Neolithic Kiukainen culture that preceded the Bronze Age. His interests in the transitional features of cultural continuity then became clearly visible. He was appointed Docent/Associate Professor in 1955 and developed into a fine lecturer liked by his students. He had already participated in the 1960s in the computerisation of antiquities and the evaluation of the radiocarbon dating method. The culture-historical and migrationist approaches had been globally criticised since the late 1960s when the New Archaeology opened a vision for the development of cultural continuity with inherent features. As a professor, Meinander extended his studies to the Iron Age, especially to its society. Meinander found ‘a missing link’ at the Pre-Roman Iron Age site of Dåvits in Espoo for further evidence of the cultural continuity from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age in Finland. The Continuation theory concerning the occupation of the Finno-Ugric people from the Neolithic typical Combed Ware culture, promoted by Meinander, became accepted by various disciplines in 1980, a few years before his retirement.

How to use a trowel: Field school excavations at the University of Helsinki

Kristin Ilves — 2023-12-11

Teaching excavations are an inextricable part of university teaching in archaeology. Students studying at the University of Helsinki were involved in university-led fieldwork from the very beginning of the establishment of archaeology institution. Students participated in excavations led by the first archaeology professor, Aarne Michaёl Tallgren, and thereafter students continued to be part of the fieldwork driven by acting professors and other university staff members. However, such excavations only started to occur on a more regular basis at the time of Professor Ella Kivikoski, especially from the end of the 1950s onwards. Moreover, it was not until 1976 that field school excavations were officially incorporated into the archaeology teaching curriculum. The 1970s also marked a shift to teaching excavations becoming less dependent on the professor’s particular research interest, a process leading to university field schools being organized in cooperation with externally funded research projects and contributing to the research driven by a larger variety of scholars. In this article, we provide a historical overview of the field school excavations at the University of Helsinki and reflect on both the pedagogical role of field courses and their practical value to Finnish archaeology, as well as on their academic relevance and impact.

The living legacy of Ari Siiriäinen: Six decades of Finnish archaeological research on the African continent

Oula Seitsonen — 2023-12-11

Archaeological work on the African continent carried out by the researchers from the University of Helsinki has been an important part of the research output of the department of archaeology in the late-20th and early-21st centuries. This has been closely intertwined to the lifework of late professor Ari Siiriäinen (1939–2004). In this chapter, I review the research carried out in Africa by Finnish archaeologists, virtually all originating from the University of Helsinki, and the importance and future prospects of this work.

South American archaeology at the University of Helsinki in 1984–2023

Martti Pärssinen — 2023-12-11

South American archaeology became one of the focus areas of the Department of Archaeology of the University of Helsinki in the 1980s. Martti Pärssinen, then of the University of Turku, first contacted professor Ari Siiriäinen during that time, and these two developed a close partnership that resulted in four major archaeological-historical research projects in the Bolivian Andes and one in the Bolivian Amazon. Several students of archaeology took part in these projects, some of them (Antti Korpisaari, Sanna Saunaluoma, and Risto Kesseli) gradually developing into specialists in South American archaeology. From 1999, when Pärssinen became the first professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Helsinki, until the retirement of Siiriäinen in 2003 (and his premature death in 2004), South American archaeology was arguably at its strongest at the University of Helsinki. Since those years, the institutional home of this research in Helsinki has shifted to Latin American Studies, under the auspices of which archaeological research in Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile has continued to prosper. Considering the small number of researchers and the relatively meagre funding, Finnish archaeological research in South America has produced remarkable results. Two of its most important achievements are the discovery of the ceremonial ceramic destruction deposits of Pariti Island, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, which contained some of the finest pre-Columbian pottery ever found in the Andean highlands, and the scientific discovery and long-term, multidisciplinary study of the ancient geoglyph-building society of western Amazonia in the state of Acre, Brazil.

Over ten years of archaeological work in Syria – SYGIS, the archaeological survey and mapping project of Jebel Bishri in Syria

Minna Silver — 2023-12-11

SYGIS, the Finnish Archaeological Survey and Mapping Project of Jebel Bishri in Syria, was initiated in the late 1990s when the project plan was accepted by the Syrian General Directory of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) and NASA’s world monitoring programme. The cooperation with NASA meant receiving X-SAR Shuttle Mission 2000 remote-sensed data from Jebel Bishri, a mountainous region between the Syrian Desert and the Euphrates River. The Institute for Cultural Research at the University of Helsinki was then the home institution of the project led by Dr. Minna Lönnqvist (presently Silver), and the Academy of Finland provided the project’s initial funding. The aim of the project was to survey and map the largely archaeologically unexplored area of Jebel Bishri known as the mountain of the Amorites and Arameans in the ancient cuneiform sources. Based on the data, the main purpose was to study the relationship of pastoral nomads and sedentary people between the desert-steppe and the Euphrates River throughout the ages. The project used remote sensing, fieldwork and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for data capture, mapping and analysis. Apart from the mobile cultures, important finds were traced dating from the Roman and Byzantine period. The work was carried out in 2000–2010 and included a Nordic research training course funded by NorFA (NordForsk) and a GIS course for some staff members of DGAM funded by the Finnish Foreign Ministry. Nokia Co. sponsored the project. The final reports were published in the BAR International Series of Archaeopress, Oxford, England, in 2008 and 2011, in addition to dozens of other publications.

Archaeological cooperation in the Soviet Union and Russia from the 1950s to the early 2020s at the University of Helsinki

Kerkko Nordqvist — 2023-12-11

‘East archaeology’, research cooperation in the areas of present-day Russia, has been one part of the research activities of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Helsinki in the post-war era. The first steps were taken as part of the state-controlled Finnish-Soviet scientific cooperation between the 1950s and 1970s, but Glasnost and Perestroika opened up a whole new range of opportunities in the 1980s and 1990s. Initially, the collaboration focused primarily on the Karelian Iron Age, but soon expanded to the other periods of prehistory, the Stone Age and the Early Metal Period. A significant part of the research has been conducted in areas near Finland – the Karelian Isthmus and Ingria, the Karelian Republic, and the Kola Peninsula – but several other parts of Russia have also attracted attention over the years. The purpose of this article is to present the history of these ‘eastern’ studies from the beginning to the early 2020s; cooperation has currently been stopped as a consequence of Russian politics, which culminated in the war in Ukraine in 2022.

LaPio – The Lapland Pioneers Project

Jarmo Kankaanpää — 2023-12-11

The Lapland Pioneers Project focuses on the study of the earliest pioneer settlement of Lapland and its connections with other areas of northern Europe particularly as reflected by lithic technology. The project began in 2002 with a survey in Utsjoki, followed by excavations in 2004–2006, additional surveys in Utsjoki and in the Varangerfjord area in Norway in 2007–2015, collections research in several countries in 2008–2015, the founding of the international Nordic Blade Technology Network (NBTN) in 2009, and several international workshops and teaching workshops in 2009–2014. The project’s findings have led to a radical change in views concerning the early settling of Scandinavia.

Reading the landscape: A re-examination of the Brobacka multiperiod settlement and burial site in Raasepori, Southern Finland

Päivi Maaranen — 2023-12-11

This article presents the re-examination of the Brobacka multiperiod settlement and burial site. The site, which was discovered in the1960s, was subjected to several excavations during the second half of the 20th century. Following these studies, the site was dated back to the Early Iron Age. The Brobacka tenant farm and other archaeological remains of the historic settlement were also dated back to the Modern Period. The field survey in 2017 raised the poor level of the original studies of the historical sources and maps concerning the site. Thus, the re-examination was a form of archaeology that used written records and historical maps to complement the archaeological evidence found at the site. The study offered fresh insight and provided new information. There seemed to be later prehistoric re-use of the Early Iron Age grave. There were also apparently the Kegerbacka tenant farm on the site dating back to the Early Modern Period and the Kärrbacka village in the same place dating back to the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period.

Modern conflict archaeologies and dark heritages

Oula Seitsonen — 2023-12-11

In this article we reflect upon the development of conflict archaeology, especially in Finland, as well as the even more recent emergence of dark heritage as a field of academic enquiry. We trace how research at the University of Helsinki has influenced these fields both nationally and internationally, and draw parallels with current events including populism and (ultra) nationalist identities. Within the context of Finland, research on past conflicts especially of the Twentieth Century and especially within the Indigenous North, offer opportunity also to shine a light on important and often neglected debates on and experiences of Finnish coloniality. Since the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, debates and popular media in Finland has also started to draw parallels with the Finnish experience of Soviet warfare in the Second World War, showing that the past, especially that involving conflict and trauma, is never too far away from contemporary life.

Maritime archaeology at the University of Helsinki

Marko Marila — 2023-12-11

On the one hand, maritime archaeology in Finland has a long history that, depending on disciplinary definitions, extends back to the beginnings of the professionalisation of the field in the 1800s. On the other hand, the development that takes place in Finnish heritage management in the latter half of the 20th century gives birth to underwater archaeology and the study of sunken ships in particular. Building on and navigating these disciplinary boundaries, the article charts the history of higher education in maritime and underwater archaeology at the University of Helsinki. Maritime archaeological topics were introduced in the archaeology curriculum gradually and sporadically, with the first serious attempts to organise dedicated courses in the early 1970s and coming to full fruition in the early 1990s. Teaching of maritime archaeology in Helsinki has always been holistic and multidisciplinary, an approach that is also reflected in the thematic variation of maritime archaeological research projects carried out at the University of Helsinki. Recently, the thematic and methodological variation has also been complemented with a strong international focus.

A brief history of scientific artefact studies at the University of Helsinki

Elisabeth Holmqvist — 2023-12-11

This article provides an overview of archaeological science applications in artefact studies at the University of Helsinki. Since the first metal artefact analysis published in the 1860s, University of Helsinki researchers have carried out numerous nationally pioneering scientific artefact studies, developed new analytical procedures, and embraced the international trends of integrating chemical, microscopic, and isotopic analyses in archaeological artefact studies. Here, the focus is on inorganic archaeological artefacts, objects made of metals, ceramics, glass, and lithics. Scientific methods can help us to understand where, how, for what purpose, and when objects were made, certain raw materials were selected, specific technologies developed, and finished products distributed. In this way, scientific artefact data can help us to recognise and contextualise the different roles, values, and functions the objects had in the lives of the people who made and used them, and interpret the artefact evidence in the wider societal, inter-communal, and inter-cultural settings.

More than sixty years of osteoarchaeological research at the University of Helsinki

Kristiina Mannermaa — 2023-12-11

In the 1960s Björn Kurtén, Professor of Palaeontology at the University of Helsinki, took the first steps to analyse bone materials from archaeological sites. His main interests were ancient faunal populations and their distribution history. In the 1970s and afterwards, other scholars from the natural sciences– for example, Ann Forstén, Mikael Fortelius, Jukka Jernvall, Leif Blomqvist, Stella From, Sirpa Nummela and Pirkko Ukkonen – also began working with archaeological bone materials. The palaeontology and biology student Mikael Fortelius conducted his civil service at the National Board of Antiquities in the 1980s by analysing bones from archaeological sites. He published the first and so far, only guide of analysis of archaeological bones in Finnish, with focus on Finnish assemblages. The next important stage was when the biology and palaeontology student Pirkko Ukkonen began systematic analyses of archaeological bone assemblages and later finished a doctoral dissertation on faunal history based partly on these materials. This meant that osteology became an important part of archaeology in Finland. This also led to specialized osteology courses for students of zoology, palaeontology and archaeology at the University of Helsinki. More and more archaeology students at the University of Helsinki became involved in osteology, and they conducted analyses and wrote theses on archaeological bone assemblages from Finland and neighbouring countries.

Adventures on the crown of Finland 1984–1990: The Teno drainage survey and the Ala-Jalve excavations

Tuija Rankama — 2023-12-11

This paper provides a review of my archaeological research in Utsjoki, the northernmost municipality of Finland, starting in 1984. The fieldwork consisted of excavations at the Stone Age and Early Metal Period Ala-Jalve site over the field seasons of 1984–1987, sporadic archaeological surveys during the excavation periods and larger scale surveys in the summers of 1988–1990. Starting with the surveys, an outline of the fieldwork is presented and its results and scientific impact are discussed.

Bury my heart at Jabal Haroun: Reflections and memories of the Finnish excavations in Petra, Jordan

Antti Lahelma — 2023-12-11

Between 1998 and 2013, a team from the University of Helsinki conducted large-scale excavations and survey at Jabal Haroun (‘Mountain of Aaron’) in the outskirts of the ancient city of Petra, Jordan. The Finnish Jabal Haroun Project (FJHP), which remains probably the largest ever Finnish archaeological undertaking outside Finland’s borders, unearthed the remains of an Early Byzantine (late 5th century CE) monastic complex. The site, which features among other things a large basilica, a chapel, a baptismal font and a pilgrim hostel, can be securely identified as the ‘House of our Lord the Saint High-Priest Aaron’ mentioned in the 6th century CE Petra Papyri and later historical accounts. The excavations unveiled the rich and complex history of the site, considered sacred by the three religions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. At least equally significant, however, is the fact that the project – arranged in the exceptionally demanding conditions of an arid mountaintop – forged an extraordinary sense of community and gave scores of Finnish archaeologists a taste of Near Eastern archaeology. The lengthy field seasons, guided by strict daily routine and ascetic life, largely cut off from any information outlets, provided an opportunity for deep self-reflection and an experience that may in some ways have resembled that of the Byzantine monks. This paper presents some personal memories of working as a trench supervisor on the mountain, contains a lot of pictures, and reflects on the legacy of the project in still-continuing Finnish research on the archaeology of the Ancient Near East.

Why Finland? The Baltic Finns led the way to the East

Johan Callmer — 2023-12-11

Finnish archaeology: A love story

Ezra B. Zubrow — 2023-12-11

I was so young when I first saw you. I close my eyes and the flashback begins. The decades disappear. I am standing by the Sederholm house and my parents are taking me to Stockmann to buy school clothes. Little did I know that for someone who was not Finnish how important Finland would be in my professional and personal life. This chapter is an individual and somewhat idiosyncratic tribute to the celebration of a century of archaeology at the University of Helsinki and to Finnish archaeology generally. In addition to being a personal homage, it examines the history of Finnish archaeology from an outsider’s perspective, pointing out how integrated Finnish archaeology has been with world trends in archaeology. It considers some of the big substantive issues in Finnish archaeology – i.e., cultural heritage, the occupying process of post glacial Finland, and the origin of monumental architecture. Finally, it tries to make a modest contribution using statistics and simulations to understand the early occupiers and the occupation process.

Flashbacks of a foreigner studying archaeology in 1970s Helsinki, or a Caribbean Islander in C.F. Meinander’s course

Milton Núñez — 2023-12-11

This is an essay about a foreign student, myself, learning archaeology at the University of Helsinki in the early 1970s. A venture that was successful thanks to the positive attitude of the university and, especially, my two mentors, Professor of Geology and Palaeontology Joakim Donner and Professor of Archaeology Carl Fredrik Meinander. I had the privilege to begin my Archaeology studies as a member of the first group to study under C.F. Meinander and to participate in his first archaeology field school in 1970. Through descriptions and anecdotes, I try to provide glimpses of how things were, or I perceived them, some 50 years ago.

Archaeology at the University of Helsinki today

Mika Lavento — 2023-12-11

The archaeology of the 21st century: Being anthropological, scientific, and across disciplines (with a little help from AI)

Volker Heyd — 2023-12-11