Oula Seitsonen
University of Helsinki, Department of History, Philosophy, Culture and Art Studies, Researcher (GIS/archaeology)
Peer-reviewed papers marked with *
I am a Finnish geographer and archaeologist. Through the years I have been occupied with whatever has paid my bills, most importantly the archaeology of pastoralist societies in Mongolia, East Africa and Fennoscandia, GIS and remote sensing applications in archaeology, the past of Lapland’s wilderness areas, and the archaeology of Karelian Isthmus, Russia. I have also been acting, for instance, as a field archaeologist, cartographer, surveying equipments salesman, and GIS engineer, for example in northern Siberia, Alaska, and Norway. At the moment I work in the project Domestication in Action, wondering about the domestication of reindeer in Sápmi from a landscape perspective. My other ongoing research deals with, for instance, prehistoric pastoralism in Mongolia and Archaeology of Mannerheim Line, the Finnish Winter War (1939-1940) defensive line in Karelian isthmus, nowadays Russia. I have been working since 2006 with the archaeology of Hitler’s arctic war in Lapland. Our largescale ‘Lapland’s Dark Heritage’ project in 2014-2018 had its origin back in 2009 in our archaeological studies of a German WWII military base in the Muotkatunturit Wilderness Area, and grew from that humble seed into something much bigger and better. In my PhD I marveled the landscapes and materialities of Hitler's Arctic war, for instance, how the various communities have related, signified and engaged with those both during and after the WWII.
I am a Finnish geographer and archaeologist. Through the years I have been occupied with whatever has paid my bills, most importantly the archaeology of pastoralist societies in Mongolia, East Africa and Fennoscandia, GIS and remote sensing applications in archaeology, the past of Lapland’s wilderness areas, and the archaeology of Karelian Isthmus, Russia. I have also been acting, for instance, as a field archaeologist, cartographer, surveying equipments salesman, and GIS engineer, for example in northern Siberia, Alaska, and Norway. At the moment I work in the project Domestication in Action, wondering about the domestication of reindeer in Sápmi from a landscape perspective. My other ongoing research deals with, for instance, prehistoric pastoralism in Mongolia and Archaeology of Mannerheim Line, the Finnish Winter War (1939-1940) defensive line in Karelian isthmus, nowadays Russia. I have been working since 2006 with the archaeology of Hitler’s arctic war in Lapland. Our largescale ‘Lapland’s Dark Heritage’ project in 2014-2018 had its origin back in 2009 in our archaeological studies of a German WWII military base in the Muotkatunturit Wilderness Area, and grew from that humble seed into something much bigger and better. In my PhD I marveled the landscapes and materialities of Hitler's Arctic war, for instance, how the various communities have related, signified and engaged with those both during and after the WWII.
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Oula Seitsonen (Sakarin-Pentin Ilarin Oula) is an archaeologist and geographer at the University of Oulu and University of Helsinki, Finland.
Finnish: Tämä väitöskirja käsittelee arkeologisten ja monitieteisten tutkimusten kautta saksalaisten toisen maailmansodan aikaisen sotilaallisen läsnäolon materiaalista kulttuuriperintöä Suomen Lapissa. Natsisaksan joukkojen läsnäolo aseveljinä Pohjois-Suomessa on ollut sodanjälkeisinä vuosikymmeninä vaikea ja vähätelty aihe. Tämä työ on ensimmäinen laaja-alainen, teoreettisesti suuntautunut tutkimus saksalaisjoukkojen materiaalisten jäänteiden arkeologiasta, materiaalisuudesta ja perinnöstä Suomen Lapissa. Tämäkin tutkimus kuitenkin raaputtaa vain hieman tämän monikerroksisen aiheen pintaa ja tarjoaa tulevia tutkimussuuntia. Toisen maailmansodan kokemukset Lapissa erosivat merkittävästi muusta maasta. Saksalaisjoukoilla oli rintamavastuu pohjoisessa 1941–1944 ja enimmillään alueella oli enemmän saksalaisjoukkoja ja heidän monikansallisia vankejaan kuin paikallista väestöä. Suomen tehtyä tulitauon Neuvostoliiton kanssa 1944, entisten liittolaisten välille puhkesi Lapin sota (1944–1945). Koska saksalaisten läsnäoloa on pitkään vältelty kansallisella tasolla, myös pohjoissuomalainen ja saamelainen sotakokemus on jäänyt syrjään. Vastaavasti saksalaisten materiaaliset jäänteitä on usein vähättelevästi nimetty ”sotaromuksi”, joka sotkee Lapin luonnon. Paikallisille nämä jäänteet ovat kuitenkin olleet tunnettuja ja tärkeitä läpi vuosikymmenien osana paikallista kulttuurimaisemaa sekä yhteisöllisten ja yksilöllisten muistojen aktiivisina materiaalisina ilmentyminä. Tällä työllä on kaksi päätarkoitusta. Ensinnäkin tutkin saksalaisten ja heidän vankiensa sodan aikaisia kokemuksia Lapissa materiaalisten jäänteiden ja arkeologisen tutkimuksen avulla. Toisekseen selvitän tapoja, joilla eri yhteisöt ovat merkityksellistäneet näitä jälkiä sodan jälkeen. Materiaaliset jäänteet heijastelevat monilla tavoin saksalaisten ja heidän vankiensa sotakokemuksia vieraassa pohjoisessa ympäristössä. Sodanjälkeiset näkemykset saksalaisjäänteiden merkityksestä alleviivaavat niiden sosiaalista arvoa osana paikallista pitkän aikavälin kulttuuriperintöä ja –maisemaa. Monet paikalliset näkevät itsensä ”oman menneisyytensä” vartijoina ja toivovat voivansa valvoa ulkopuolisten toimintaa sota-aikaisilla kohteilla. Lisäksi he usein kokevat, että viranomaiset ylenkatsovat heidän kulttuuriperintöänsä. Tämän johdosta saksalaisten jäljet maisemassa ovat muodostuneet myös nykyisen Pohjois- ja Etelä-Suomen vastakkainasettelun sekä pohjoisen marginalisoinnin symboleiksi. Nämä näkemykset heijastelevat myös Lapin pitkää kolonialistista historiaa. Erilaiset tavat lähestyä saksalaisten toisen maailmansodan jäänteitä vaikuttavat olevan lähtöisin perustavanlaatuisista eroista maailmankatsomuksessa ja tavassa tulkita maisemaa. ”Sotaromun puhdistamista” kannattavat henkilöt näyttävät lähestyvän aihetta ”länsimaisella” katseella, joka vetää rajan ”luonnon” ja ”kulttuurin” välille. Tämä leimaa samalla paikallisten historiallisen kulttuurimaiseman tyhjäksi, luonnolliseksi erämaaksi. Toisaalta pohjoisessa ympäristötietoisuudessa ei ole mielekästä erotella “luontoa” ja “kulttuuria”. Sen sijaan maisema ja sen eri kerrostumat muodostavat kognitiivisesti kontrolloitujen ja kehollistuneiden suhteiden kokonaisuuden, joka sitoo yhteen menneen, nykyisen ja tulevan. Eri toimijoiden tulisikin tiedostaa ja hyväksyä toistensa eroavat lähtökohdat, ennen kuin he pystyvät rakentavaan keskusteluun aiheesta.
Current research project blog by Oula Seitsonen
Our expedition will be re-tracing in the summer 2019 the trail of the 1909 Finnish Mongolia expedition, 110 years after the original expedition by Finnish linguist G.J. Ramstedt and archaeologist Sakari Pälsi.
Researchers: Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan (National Museum of Mongolia) and Oula Seitsonen (University of Helsinki / University of Oulu, Finland).
The expedition is generously funded by the Nordenskiöld-samfundet (Finland).
However, on the conflict sites that have been left on the Russian side of the border, hardly any archaeological or other field research has been done. An exception are archeological surveys of Finnish Civil War (1918) sites, for example at the Ahvola Battlefield, and the activity of some keen Finnish and Russian enthusiasts. Russian archaeologists and cultural heritage authorities do not usually perceive the Second World War heritage as interesting for research or official protection. This has left the wartime sites as open prey for the so-called “black diggers” who use metal detectors to find treasures from the battlefields.
Mannerheim Line is internationally perhaps the single most famous and legendary scene of the Finnish Winter War in 1939-1940. Getting it under heritage protection in Russia is of primary importance, so that this important war historical monument would not be eradicated for instance by the modern landuse, but would be preserved for the future generations. Archaeology of the Mannerheim Line project aims at mapping the current state of the Mannerheim Line fortifications and recognizing sites with good archaeological research and cultural heritage preservation potential. Also the project aims at mapping the extent of looting by “black diggers” along the line, and marketing the cultural heritage value, historical significance and cultural tourism potential of the Second World War sites especially for the Russian collaborators and cultural heritage authorities.
LiDAR by Oula Seitsonen
for semi-automated detection of tar production kilns using new Finnish high-density Airborne Laser
Scanning (ALS) data in the boreal taiga forest zone. The historical significance of tar production,
an important livelihood for centuries, has had extensive environmental and ecological impacts,
particularly in the thinly inhabited northern and eastern parts of Finland. Despite being one of
the most widespread archaeological features in the country, tar kilns have received relatively little
attention until recently. The authors employed a Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) U-Net-based
algorithm to detect these features from the ALS data, which proved to be more accurate, faster, and
capable of covering systematically larger spatial areas than human actors. It also produces more
consistent, replicable, and ethically sustainable results. This semi-automated approach enabled
the efficient location of a vast number of previously unknown archaeological features, significantly
increasing the number of tar kilns in each study area compared to the previous situation. This
has implications also for the cultural resource management in Finland. The authors’ findings have
influenced the preparation of the renewal of the Finnish Antiquities Act, raising concerns about the
perceived impacts on cultural heritage management and land use sectors due to the projected tenfold
increase in archaeological site detection using deep learning algorithms. The use of environmental
remote sensing data may provide a means of examining the long-term cultural and ecological impacts
of tar production in greater detail. Our pilot studies suggest that artificial intelligence and deep
learning techniques have the potential to revolutionize archaeological research and cultural resource
management in Finland, offering promising avenues for future exploration.
Keywords: airborne laser scanning; archaeology; feature detection; deep learning; tar production;
boreal forest; Finland
Conflict studies by Oula Seitsonen
Palavras-chave: Monumentos de guerra; Segunda Guerra Mundial; Patrimônio Cultural.
Abstract: The article presents the results of research produced on Soviet monuments, fortifications and graves in Finnish territory (region of Lapland), historically constituted since the first phase of the Second World War unfolded in that territory, known as the Winter War (1939-1940). After the World War, Soviet memorials were produced throughout the whole north of Finland, with special emphasis on areas close to the border with Russia, thus creating complex tensions and negotiations related to the memories and forgetfulness of the Soviet war presence in that area. The authors had the opportunity to visit some of these places and interview important figures involved in the constitution of these memorials in the year of 2016, under the auspices of a wider research project on Second World War heritage in its northern European theatre.
Keywords: War memorials; Second World War; Cultural Heritage.
Oula Seitsonen (Sakarin-Pentin Ilarin Oula) is an archaeologist and geographer at the University of Oulu and University of Helsinki, Finland.
Finnish: Tämä väitöskirja käsittelee arkeologisten ja monitieteisten tutkimusten kautta saksalaisten toisen maailmansodan aikaisen sotilaallisen läsnäolon materiaalista kulttuuriperintöä Suomen Lapissa. Natsisaksan joukkojen läsnäolo aseveljinä Pohjois-Suomessa on ollut sodanjälkeisinä vuosikymmeninä vaikea ja vähätelty aihe. Tämä työ on ensimmäinen laaja-alainen, teoreettisesti suuntautunut tutkimus saksalaisjoukkojen materiaalisten jäänteiden arkeologiasta, materiaalisuudesta ja perinnöstä Suomen Lapissa. Tämäkin tutkimus kuitenkin raaputtaa vain hieman tämän monikerroksisen aiheen pintaa ja tarjoaa tulevia tutkimussuuntia. Toisen maailmansodan kokemukset Lapissa erosivat merkittävästi muusta maasta. Saksalaisjoukoilla oli rintamavastuu pohjoisessa 1941–1944 ja enimmillään alueella oli enemmän saksalaisjoukkoja ja heidän monikansallisia vankejaan kuin paikallista väestöä. Suomen tehtyä tulitauon Neuvostoliiton kanssa 1944, entisten liittolaisten välille puhkesi Lapin sota (1944–1945). Koska saksalaisten läsnäoloa on pitkään vältelty kansallisella tasolla, myös pohjoissuomalainen ja saamelainen sotakokemus on jäänyt syrjään. Vastaavasti saksalaisten materiaaliset jäänteitä on usein vähättelevästi nimetty ”sotaromuksi”, joka sotkee Lapin luonnon. Paikallisille nämä jäänteet ovat kuitenkin olleet tunnettuja ja tärkeitä läpi vuosikymmenien osana paikallista kulttuurimaisemaa sekä yhteisöllisten ja yksilöllisten muistojen aktiivisina materiaalisina ilmentyminä. Tällä työllä on kaksi päätarkoitusta. Ensinnäkin tutkin saksalaisten ja heidän vankiensa sodan aikaisia kokemuksia Lapissa materiaalisten jäänteiden ja arkeologisen tutkimuksen avulla. Toisekseen selvitän tapoja, joilla eri yhteisöt ovat merkityksellistäneet näitä jälkiä sodan jälkeen. Materiaaliset jäänteet heijastelevat monilla tavoin saksalaisten ja heidän vankiensa sotakokemuksia vieraassa pohjoisessa ympäristössä. Sodanjälkeiset näkemykset saksalaisjäänteiden merkityksestä alleviivaavat niiden sosiaalista arvoa osana paikallista pitkän aikavälin kulttuuriperintöä ja –maisemaa. Monet paikalliset näkevät itsensä ”oman menneisyytensä” vartijoina ja toivovat voivansa valvoa ulkopuolisten toimintaa sota-aikaisilla kohteilla. Lisäksi he usein kokevat, että viranomaiset ylenkatsovat heidän kulttuuriperintöänsä. Tämän johdosta saksalaisten jäljet maisemassa ovat muodostuneet myös nykyisen Pohjois- ja Etelä-Suomen vastakkainasettelun sekä pohjoisen marginalisoinnin symboleiksi. Nämä näkemykset heijastelevat myös Lapin pitkää kolonialistista historiaa. Erilaiset tavat lähestyä saksalaisten toisen maailmansodan jäänteitä vaikuttavat olevan lähtöisin perustavanlaatuisista eroista maailmankatsomuksessa ja tavassa tulkita maisemaa. ”Sotaromun puhdistamista” kannattavat henkilöt näyttävät lähestyvän aihetta ”länsimaisella” katseella, joka vetää rajan ”luonnon” ja ”kulttuurin” välille. Tämä leimaa samalla paikallisten historiallisen kulttuurimaiseman tyhjäksi, luonnolliseksi erämaaksi. Toisaalta pohjoisessa ympäristötietoisuudessa ei ole mielekästä erotella “luontoa” ja “kulttuuria”. Sen sijaan maisema ja sen eri kerrostumat muodostavat kognitiivisesti kontrolloitujen ja kehollistuneiden suhteiden kokonaisuuden, joka sitoo yhteen menneen, nykyisen ja tulevan. Eri toimijoiden tulisikin tiedostaa ja hyväksyä toistensa eroavat lähtökohdat, ennen kuin he pystyvät rakentavaan keskusteluun aiheesta.
Our expedition will be re-tracing in the summer 2019 the trail of the 1909 Finnish Mongolia expedition, 110 years after the original expedition by Finnish linguist G.J. Ramstedt and archaeologist Sakari Pälsi.
Researchers: Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan (National Museum of Mongolia) and Oula Seitsonen (University of Helsinki / University of Oulu, Finland).
The expedition is generously funded by the Nordenskiöld-samfundet (Finland).
However, on the conflict sites that have been left on the Russian side of the border, hardly any archaeological or other field research has been done. An exception are archeological surveys of Finnish Civil War (1918) sites, for example at the Ahvola Battlefield, and the activity of some keen Finnish and Russian enthusiasts. Russian archaeologists and cultural heritage authorities do not usually perceive the Second World War heritage as interesting for research or official protection. This has left the wartime sites as open prey for the so-called “black diggers” who use metal detectors to find treasures from the battlefields.
Mannerheim Line is internationally perhaps the single most famous and legendary scene of the Finnish Winter War in 1939-1940. Getting it under heritage protection in Russia is of primary importance, so that this important war historical monument would not be eradicated for instance by the modern landuse, but would be preserved for the future generations. Archaeology of the Mannerheim Line project aims at mapping the current state of the Mannerheim Line fortifications and recognizing sites with good archaeological research and cultural heritage preservation potential. Also the project aims at mapping the extent of looting by “black diggers” along the line, and marketing the cultural heritage value, historical significance and cultural tourism potential of the Second World War sites especially for the Russian collaborators and cultural heritage authorities.
for semi-automated detection of tar production kilns using new Finnish high-density Airborne Laser
Scanning (ALS) data in the boreal taiga forest zone. The historical significance of tar production,
an important livelihood for centuries, has had extensive environmental and ecological impacts,
particularly in the thinly inhabited northern and eastern parts of Finland. Despite being one of
the most widespread archaeological features in the country, tar kilns have received relatively little
attention until recently. The authors employed a Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) U-Net-based
algorithm to detect these features from the ALS data, which proved to be more accurate, faster, and
capable of covering systematically larger spatial areas than human actors. It also produces more
consistent, replicable, and ethically sustainable results. This semi-automated approach enabled
the efficient location of a vast number of previously unknown archaeological features, significantly
increasing the number of tar kilns in each study area compared to the previous situation. This
has implications also for the cultural resource management in Finland. The authors’ findings have
influenced the preparation of the renewal of the Finnish Antiquities Act, raising concerns about the
perceived impacts on cultural heritage management and land use sectors due to the projected tenfold
increase in archaeological site detection using deep learning algorithms. The use of environmental
remote sensing data may provide a means of examining the long-term cultural and ecological impacts
of tar production in greater detail. Our pilot studies suggest that artificial intelligence and deep
learning techniques have the potential to revolutionize archaeological research and cultural resource
management in Finland, offering promising avenues for future exploration.
Keywords: airborne laser scanning; archaeology; feature detection; deep learning; tar production;
boreal forest; Finland
Palavras-chave: Monumentos de guerra; Segunda Guerra Mundial; Patrimônio Cultural.
Abstract: The article presents the results of research produced on Soviet monuments, fortifications and graves in Finnish territory (region of Lapland), historically constituted since the first phase of the Second World War unfolded in that territory, known as the Winter War (1939-1940). After the World War, Soviet memorials were produced throughout the whole north of Finland, with special emphasis on areas close to the border with Russia, thus creating complex tensions and negotiations related to the memories and forgetfulness of the Soviet war presence in that area. The authors had the opportunity to visit some of these places and interview important figures involved in the constitution of these memorials in the year of 2016, under the auspices of a wider research project on Second World War heritage in its northern European theatre.
Keywords: War memorials; Second World War; Cultural Heritage.
in recent years in archaeology and in cultural
heritage studies more broadly. Its origins lie in
the somewhat more specific field of “dark tourism”
studies. Both dark heritage and dark tourism
are rather vague terms in their current usage, but
they generally revolve around places of death,
suffering, and disaster, whether battlefields, concentration
camps, or notorious sites of disaster
such as Chernobyl. Indeed, dark tourism studies
have tended to assume that death, and an attraction
to death, is a central trope of both dark heritage
and dark tourism. However, dark heritage is
better seen in broader terms, that is, as an attempt
to expand the scope of heritage studies.
in Finnish Lapland during the Second World War. We will analyze
the German photographic representation of Lapland from the perspective
of how the Germans portrayed and experienced this northern
land, with a focus on Fahrbahn Lappland (Lapland’s Roadway), a
coffee-table book by the German photojournalist Mabre (Max
Martin Brehm). It affords interesting insights into German perceptions
of and engagements with the Far North of the European
world. The photographs in Fahrbahn reflect a sense of dislocation on
the one hand and an attempt to neutralize the physically and mentally
threatening northern wilderness on the other. In addition to
capturing the “spirit” of the German experience of Lapland through
his photographs, Mabre’s work resonates with a dystopian tradition
of representing the North of Europe dating back to the early modern
period and beyond. It presents Lapland as a “blank slate” by distancing
the locals from the view and showing the region as a
virtually unoccupied periphery on the fringe of the modern world.
This can perhaps be understood as making “mental groundwork”
for the anticipated Nazi German rule in the North of Europe after
the war.
Keywords: Conflict archaeology, Second World War, mobility, German, Prisoner of War, Lapland, Finland
campsites. The discussion is based on three case study sites situated at the Lake Gilbbesjávri region (Finland) in northern Sápmi. All the sites are historical-period reindeer herder camps, likely used as temporary summer encampments by the nomadic herders in the 17th–19th centuries. The sites were prospected with systematic soil sampling and geoarchaeological analyses, which have been previously successfully applied in the study of Sámi habitation sites on both intrasite and intra-dwelling levels. The changes in the soil phosphate, pH and electric conductivity values were analysed and interpreted based on ethnographic analogies. These allow insight into the outwardly invisible taskscapes and spatialities of the herders and their animals at the campsites. The different geoarchaeological factors highlight differing aspects of the use of space at the historical Sámi reindeer pastoralist campsites, such as potential reindeer corralling areas, and provide comparative material for the analyses of prehistoric Sámi hunter-gatherer-herder sites.
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Rohttu badjosiin? Sámi boazodoalločuozáhagaid áiggálaš saji gávdnan Eanodaga Giehtaruohttasis
Dán artihkkalis ovdanbuktojuvvojit ođđa radiočitnaáigemeroštallamat Eanodaga Giehtaruohttasa guovllus rájirasttildeaddji Sámis, mii lea Eurohpa áidna álgoálbmot sápmelaččaid ruovttueanan. Arkelogalaš čuozáhagain čoggojuvvoje 50 ođđa áigemeroštallančájánasa, mat laktásit bohcco seatnadeapmái ja boazodoalu gárggiideapmái. Radičitnaáigemeroštallama vuođul orru leame nu, ahte bivdi-čoaggiservošis johttáhuvvon smávvahápmásaš boazodoallu álggii guovllus maŋemusat 900-1000-logu molsašumis máá ja gárggiidii ealloboazodoallun 1400–1500-loguid máá. Báikkálaš radiočitnakronologiijas lea mearkkašahtti boatka 1300-logus, dego maid Norgga sis-Romsa guovllus. Dát boatka speadjalastá jáhkehahttivuođa mielde bivdi-čoaggiadaptašuvnna ja johtti ealloboazodoalu jorggáldaga, mii gávdná saji ovttaáigásažžan viiddes sosioekonomalaš ja biraslaš iežáhuvvamiiguin. Dát leat ovdamearkka dihte dálkkádaga čoaskun Smávvajiekŋabaji áigge ja 1300-logu beallemutto Čáhppes sorbmi -pandemiija.
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Keywords: Sápmi, reindeer herding, pastoralism, radiocarbon dating, Finland
Čoavddasánit: Sápmi, boazodoallu, ealloboazodoallu, radiočitnaáigemeroštallan, Suopma
Asiasanat: Saami, poronhoito, poropaimentolaisuus, radiohiiliajoitus, Suomi
has hampered our understanding not only of khirigsuurs and their related cosmology but also of the contemporary economy, owing to a research paradigm that was monument-focused until very recently. The identification of domestic bovids in these features thus has profound
implications for our approach to studying the society of this period and region. These implications, including a well-developed cosmology and economy which included the ritual sacrifice of at least three different kinds of livestock, are introduced here.
on the African continent over four decades. Finnish travelers have visited Africa already much earlier and some of them did also good and useful ethnographic observations. Finnish investigations have been concentrating mainly south of Sahara. All the research based at the University of Helsinki has been connected to the life work of our late emeritus professor Ari Siiriäinen (1939-2004). This article deals with the history of the Finnish archaeological research in Africa and reviews its current state.
monia piirteitä, joista tuli leimaa-antavia Pälsin myöhemmille reissuille. Mongolian matkalla olikin ilmeisen huomattava vaikutus Pälsin myöhemmän uran muotoutumisen kannalta.
Jack-of-all-trades Sakari Pälsi was especially renowned for his journeys abroad. However, he was able to depart on his first expedition only in the age of 26, comparatively late from a contemporary
perspective. Pälsi had, the year before, successfully completed his archaeological studies at the university and was looking for opportunities to put his newly acquired qualification to use. Gustaf
John Ramstedt (1873–1950), who was already then a renowned linguist and explorer, was leaving for his sixth expedition to East Asia.
Ramstedt had already earlier studied Mongolian language and culture, but was keen to broaden the timescale of his research to include prehistory and was in search of a suitable traveling companion. Pälsi jumped at the chance to travel with Ramstedt, and the expedition-of-two headed for a six-month exploratory journey to the Mongolian steppes in the spring of 1909. Many aspects of this journey were
to become a model for Pälsi’s later trips. This journey to Mongolia had a remarkable impact on the formation of Pälsi’s later career.
compilation of all the zooarchaeological material recovered from the Stone Age and Early Metal Period huntergatherer
sites in the area analysed and published up to 2014. All the faunal remains preserved in the acidic
soils are small pieces of calcined bone, except for two sites where anaerobic conditions have also preserved unburnt
bones. An overview of the analysed assemblages, including identified species and carcass treatment is presented,
and the chronological trends briefly summarised. Based on the zooarchaeological material the prehistoric
subsistence base was aquatically oriented throughout the Stone Age and Early Metal Period. Day-to-day subsistence
seems based on fishing near the campsites, supplemented with seasonal food sources. Prehistoric inhabitants
of Lake Ladoga were also committed to invest technology, time, and human resources in the specialised,
risky sealing forays. The abundant lake resources offered a stable, self-renewing resource base for the area's population
and, for example, fishing maintained its importance in subsistence even after the introduction of cultivation
– in places into the 20th century.
studies, the number of Stone Age and Early Metal Period sites in the area increased tenfold, and the exceptional, well-stratified settlement site of Kunnianniemi with nearly three-metre deep archaeological deposits was located. Recent studies provide reference material for the recently studied nearby areas and a working framework for further inquiries related to, for instance, the spatio-temporal changes in the settlement pattern, material culture, subsistence base, socio-cultural structure, and contact networks.
myös mielenkiintoisia mielipiteitä miesten ja naisten välisestä työnjaosta esihistorian vuosituhansina: hän esitti muun muassa, että kivikaudella merkittävä, jokapäiväisen elannon tuottanut kalastuselinkeino olisi ollut pääasiassa naisten vastuulla.
Sakari Pälsi described the life in the Finnish Stone Age in a popular style in his book ”Glimpses of the Stone Age Culture”, published in 1916. He was a pioneer in trying to create a complete picture of the era and its people’s life. In the book we also find interesting opinions about the division of work between men and women in prehistoric millennia: he suggested that during the Stone Age, fishing, which was a remarkable source of livelihood, was on women’s responsibility.
Sakari Pälsi left behind many personal notebooks. These valuable archival sources illustrate new sides of Sakari Pälsi.
гару с ранненеолитической керамики (спер-
рингс/ранняя гребенчатая керамика), значе-
ния которых позволяют предположить влияние на них
резервуарного эффекта. Обе даты были получены
по материалам с памятников, расположенных на побе-
режье Литоринового моря. Глиняная посуда появляется
на Карельском перешейке, как представляется сейчас,
на несколько сотен лет раньше, чем считалось прежде.
Также эти результаты позволяют предположить, что ке-
рамика использовалась для приготовления продуктов
из речной среды.
What is the position of the archaeologists in this field of possibly conflicting meanings? How are archaeologists to reckon with the highly emotional meaning of these places? Can emotion be a reason to do archaeological research, or on the contrary: a reason to refrain from research?
The aim of the session is to investigate best practices of archaeological approaches towards battlefields and conflict sites. Ultimate goal is to formulate a set of ‘rules of engagement’ for archaeological research on battlefields. We focus on modern warfare and conflict (WWI, WWII, post- WWII). We want to have an extended, in-depth discussion on the theme in a discussion-session (PechaKucha); we want to avoid a discussion on policy or legal issues. We invite colleagues to give a short introduction of their own experiences and dilemmas.
Main question is how we should deal with these topics:
- personal experiences/viewpoints of relatives of war victims;
- the archaeologists own personal experience/viewpoint;
- metaldectorists on battlefields;
- battlefields as a touristic site;
- battlefields as places that should not be disturbed;
- battlefields as places of commemoration;
- sharing of sensitive research results with the public;
- the nationalities of the conflict (perpetrator heritage);
- the present day comrades of the soldiers who fought on a historic battlefield;
- …
The session is a success if the discussion leads up to a set of ‘rules of engagement.’
is directly neighbouring this intensively studied region on its southern side, but practically no archaeological research had been conducted in the large area stretching from the northern branch of River Vuoksi to the Lake Ladoga. An idea developed to see what kind of image of Stone
Age can be obtained by applying modern fieldwork methodology from the beginning vis-à-vis the neighbouring region studied for over 100 years. Another aim was to simply collect more material about the human habitation of Karelian Isthmus. In targeted intensive surveys in
2005–2008 altogether 50 new Stone Age and Early Metal Period sites were located. Of these, six localities were test-excavated in 2006, and more extensive excavations carried out at the multi-layered Kunnianiemi (Komsomolskoe 3) site in 2006 and 2007, revealing nearly three meters deep stratified archaeological deposits with sealed cultural contexts. In this poster the main results of project’s fieldwork will be summarized.
has revealed yet another group of locations, deeply stratified multilayer sites. These sites are settlements with several subsequent occupational phases more or less clearly separated by transgression layers. They therefore deviate from the majority of previously known sites with
mixed contexts and provide unique opportunity to study closed contexts with perfect temporal control. The most imposing of such sites are the stratified Kunnianiemi (Komsomolskoe 3) site in Pyhäjärvi (Plodovoe), the Telkkälä Silino site in Muolaa (Pravdino), and Ohta 1 at the mouth
of River Ohta in St. Petersburg, but also other sites like Ozernoe 3 in Heinjoki (Veshchevo) are known. Multilayer sites have been found and studied in the field campaigns by Kunstkamera, Russian Academy of Sciences and IIMK/RAN (St. Petersburg, Russia), University of Helsinki
(Finland) and City Museum of Lahti (Finland). This poster presents briefly the key sites, their chronology, and archaeological material.