Janne Ikäheimo

Cultivation of Perception and the Emergence of the Neolithic World

This article develops the idea that the emergence of the Neolithic world was closely linked to discovering and becoming aware of new aspects and dimensions of reality. Practices such as pottery making and cultivation promoted attentiveness to new aspects of things and the environment, which in turn generated a new kind of lived world that was, in a sense, richer, larger and deeper than before. It is proposed that new forms of material culture and new material practices – new ways of engaging with the material world – expanded people’s horizons of perception and thinking. This cultivation of perception was an important mechanism through which new ways of life and thought associated with the Neolithic came into being.

Daughters of magic: esoteric traditions, relational ontology and the archaeology of the post-medieval past

Abstract Animistic and other alternative ontologies have recently been discussed in archaeology and material culture studies, but these discussions, while not entirely unfamiliar to historical archaeology, have so far had a limited impact on our understanding of the post-medieval Western world. This paper uses Western esoteric thought and folk beliefs to engage with the idea of the relational constitution of reality. It is argued that forms of ‘magical thinking’ are relevant not only to the interpretation of particular ‘special’ activities and things but can provide new perspectives on the very dynamics of how people perceived and engaged with the world. The proposed reassessment of esoteric thought and folk beliefs has implications for, and is informed by, material culture studies. The paper begins with alchemy and proceeds to discuss broader issues.

Wretchedly poor, but amazingly practical: Archaeological and experimental evidence on the bone arrowheads of the Fenni

The paper discusses two assemblages of bone arrowheads found in the excavations of a Bronze Age and an Iron Age burial site in northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. Arrowheads of this type are mentioned in ad 98 by Tacitus, the Roman historian, as a feature underlining the poverty of the Fenni, a tribe which has been variedly identified as the ancestors of either the Finns or the Sámi. However, experiments carried out with replicas of the bone arrowheads recognized from the archaeological material provide evidence of objects characterized by excellent performance characteristics. Finally, based on the results of the experiments, as well as on archaeological evidence regarding the distribution of these artefacts, it is suspected that the use of bone arrowheads in prehistoric Fennoscandia was more widespread than has often been thought.

The ghost of Taavetti Lukkarinen and the haunting legacy of a 1916 hanging site

ABSTRACT On the fringe of the city centre of Oulu, Finland, stands a peculiar memorial commemorating the last death sentence by hanging in Finland. Here people remembered the ill-fate of Taavetti Lukkarinen, a young man in his early 30s, who was hanged for high treason by Russian officers in 1916. In 2014, archaeological excavation at the hanging tree memorial revealed an interesting group of finds consisting of a deliberately fractured proximal end of a calf tibia with two shards of clear glass and an iron wire inserted into its marrow channel, in addition to a rubber shoe heel pad. These finds can be interpreted as a deposit hidden in the base of the memorial to tie the presumably restless soul to the monument. Examples of this kind of magical thinking with connections to, for example, concealed shoes, are known from different parts of the world. The memorial of Taavetti Lukkarinen may therefore be regarded as an example of a place where both individual people and the society tried to deal with a dark and shameful part of their past.

Constructing a trumped-up future with the pastness of the present? Neo-relics and archaeological heritage

ABSTRACT Neo-relics, constructions borrowing their looks from ancient structures or sites ranging from the mighty Stonehenge to a humble Troy town, have recently been erected in different parts of Finland. In authorized heritage discourse, they are often seen as a potential threat. However, we demonstrate here, with a variety of examples from various social contexts, how ordinary people assign meanings and functions to archaeological heritage through them. We also approach the question of their authenticity by applying Cornelius Holtorf’s materialistically infused constructivist definition of pastness – a property related to an object’s age-value rather than its actual age – to find out why personal involvement, localness and stories are important features in enhancing pastness. Finally, instead of seeing neo-relics as a threat for archaeological heritage and interpretation, we propose that they be embraced as a novel way for people to experience and interact with the past.

Hanging tree as a place of memories – Encounters at a 1916 execution site

ABSTRACT Near the city centre of Oulu in northern Finland, one comes across a peculiar monument: a pine tree turned into a memorial that marks the site of the last official execution by hanging in the country. Archaeological excavations took place at the hanging site in August 2014, not only to gather archaeological evidence on the history and use of the memorial, but also in order to offer people a way to share their memories and recollections of this rather unusual place. In this article we discuss the data gained from interviews (N = 20) conducted in connection with the excavations. The interpretation of the data shows that the hanging tree memorial has been and continues to be a place of both private and communal memories. It has been used for private gatherings and visits as well as for nationalistic purposes. The authenticity of this site as the actual place of hanging can be reasonably questioned, but the place is still important for local people.

Lost in Narration: Rediscovering the Suomussalmi Copper Adze

The Suomussalmi copper adze is a native copper artefact discovered in 1980 on Kukkosaari Island (Suomussalmi, north-eastern Finland). Since then the artefact has been repeatedly used as an example when narrating the introduction of metal technology in prehistoric Finland, while its chronological position, function and significance have remained poorly studied. Here the object is reviewed both through the results of new metallographic analyses and by re-examining its position in the context of early metal use in north-eastern Europe during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. The results of metallographic analyses indicate that the adze was shaped by melting/casting followed by cold hammering; both techniques are shown to have been used in the research area – Finland and north-west Russia – as early as during the Neolithic. While the provenance of the metal remains to be assigned, possible domestic, Karelian as well as Uralian sources are assayed critically. Instead of plain analyses regarding techno-typology and function, the Suomussalmi adze is here connected to the general enrichment of the (material) world that took place multi-locally through the adoption of new raw materials and the increased interest in their real or presumed properties.