Jussi-Pekka Taavitsainen

Cultivation History Beyond the Periphery: Early Agriculture in the North European Boreal Forest

We have investigated the environmental history of human occupation and the development of agriculture in the eastern interior Lake District of Finland. The material consists of archaeological data, which is reviewed in topographical and agrogeological context, and pollen analytical evidence of agricultural indices from eight precisely dated (varved) lake sediment sequences. Before the Viking Age, archaeological evidence, consisting of stray finds, dwelling sites, and graves, is very scarce. Iron Age finds are clearly confined to the lowland environs with silty and clayey soils. During the Viking Age, the number of stray finds multiplies and the first cemeteries are established. Comparison between Viking and Crusade Period finds reveals a topographic shift toward higher locations and morainic soils. Most of the cup-stones are located on upland sites—that is, not in connection with known Iron Age sites. These are interpreted as medieval indicators of slash-and-burn farming of the fertile but stony supraaquatic morainic soils. There is pollen analytical evidence of sporadic cultivation in the area from the Bronze Age onward. Afterca. AD 700, the occurrence of cereal pollen grains becomes regular but remains discontinuous at each site until after the turn of the millennium. There is then an exponential rise in the cereal pollen rain, indicating a fully agricultural population.

High Lactose Tolerance in North Europeans: A Result of Migration, Not In Situ Milk Consumption

The main carbohydrate in milk is lactose, which must be hydrolyzed to glucose and galactose before the sugars can be digested. While 65% or more of the total human population are lactose intolerant, in some human populations lactase activity commonly persists into adulthood. Lactose tolerance is exceptionally widespread in Northern European countries such as Sweden and Finland, with tolerance levels of 74% and 82%, respectively. Theoretically, this may result either from a strong local selection pressure for lactose tolerance, or from immigration of lactose tolerant people to Northern Europe. We provide several lines of archaeological and historical evidence suggesting that the high lactose tolerance in North Europeans cannot be explained by selection from in situ milk consumption. First, fresh cow milk has not belonged to the traditional diet of Swedes or Finns until recent times. Second, not enough milk has been available for adult consumption. Cattle herding has been neither widespread nor productive enough in Northern Europe to have provided constant access to fresh milk. We suggest that the high prevalence of lactose tolerance in Finland in particular may be explained by immigration of people representing so-called Corded Ware Culture, an early culture representing agricultural development in Europe.

Mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomal diversity in ancient populations of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) in Finland: comparison with contemporary sheep breeds

BackgroundSeveral molecular and population genetic studies have focused on the native sheep breeds of Finland. In this work, we investigated their ancestral sheep populations from Iron Age, Medieval and Post-Medieval periods by sequencing a partial mitochondrial DNA D-loop and the 5’-promoter region of the SRY gene. We compared the maternal (mitochondrial DNA haplotypes) and paternal (SNP oY 1) genetic diversity of ancient sheep in Finland with modern domestic sheep populations in Europe and Asia to study temporal changes in genetic variation and affinities between ancient and modern populations.ResultsA 523-bp mitochondrial DNA sequence was successfully amplified for 26 of 36 sheep ancient samples i.e. five, seven and 14 samples representative of Iron Age, Medieval and Post-Medieval sheep, respectively. Genetic diversity was analyzed within the cohorts. This ancient dataset was compared with present-day data consisting of 94 animals from 10 contemporary European breeds and with GenBank DNA sequence data to carry out a haplotype sharing analysis. Among the 18 ancient mitochondrial DNA haplotypes identified, 14 were present in the modern breeds. Ancient haplotypes were assigned to the highly divergent ovine haplogroups A and B, haplogroup B being the major lineage within the cohorts. Only two haplotypes were detected in the Iron Age samples, while the genetic diversity of the Medieval and Post-Medieval cohorts was higher. For three of the ancient DNA samples, Y-chromosome SRY gene sequences were amplified indicating that they originated from rams. The SRY gene of these three ancient ram samples contained SNP G-oY 1, which is frequent in modern north-European sheep breeds.ConclusionsOur study did not reveal any sign of major population replacement of native sheep in Finland since the Iron Age. Variations in the availability of archaeological remains may explain differences in genetic diversity estimates and patterns within the cohorts rather than demographic events that occurred in the past. Our ancient DNA results fit well with the genetic context of domestic sheep as determined by analyses of modern north-European sheep breeds.

Stone Age to recent land-use history at Pegrema, northern Lake Onega, Russian Karelia

Abstract. The village of Pegrema in Karelia may be regarded as a Stone Age innovation centre in the large Lake Onega area. Two pollen and plant macrofossil diagrams are presented which represent the first contribution to the study of human impact in the area using anthropogenic pollen indicators. A continuous but sporadic human presence from the Mesolithic onwards is demonstrated. While there is no archaeological evidence relating to the period 4200–3000 B.P., the pollen data suggest continuous, though rather sparse human presence. The data do not support any natural catastrophes in Pegrema as has been suggested elsewhere. Cerealia pollen is recorded earlier than expected (c. 5000 B.P.=. In the Bronce Age and Iron Age, the settlement of the Zaonezhye peninsula is reflected by a slight increase in herb pollen representation, sporadic Cerealia pollen and several periods of regression in Picea. The long introductory period of agriculture to the area, as well as the similarities and discrepancies between different sources of evidence (palaeoecological, archaeological and historical) are discussed at some length. The start of land clearance for permanent cultivation in the profile Pegrema S was dated to the late 13th century. The beginning of more intensive field cultivation in the 15th century is clearly seen in the pollen succession at both localities. The fluctuation in anthropogenic indicators can be related to population density based on historical data. The village of Pegrema was depopulated in 1956 which is reflected in a distinct decline in settlement indicators.

Temporal Fluctuation in North East Baltic Sea Region Cattle Population Revealed by Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosomal DNA Analyses

Background Ancient DNA analysis offers a way to detect changes in populations over time. To date, most studies of ancient cattle have focused on their domestication in prehistory, while only a limited number of studies have analysed later periods. Conversely, the genetic structure of modern cattle populations is well known given the undertaking of several molecular and population genetic studies. Results Bones and teeth from ancient cattle populations from the North-East Baltic Sea region dated to the Prehistoric (Late Bronze and Iron Age, 5 samples), Medieval (14), and Post-Medieval (26) periods were investigated by sequencing 667 base pairs (bp) from the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and 155 bp of intron 19 in the Y-chromosomal UTY gene. Comparison of maternal (mtDNA haplotypes) genetic diversity in ancient cattle (45 samples) with modern cattle populations in Europe and Asia (2094 samples) revealed 30 ancient mtDNA haplotypes, 24 of which were shared with modern breeds, while 6 were unique to the ancient samples. Of seven Y-chromosomal sequences determined from ancient samples, six were Y2 and one Y1 haplotype. Combined data including Swedish samples from the same periods (64 samples) was compared with the occurrence of Y-chromosomal haplotypes in modern cattle (1614 samples). Conclusions The diversity of haplogroups was highest in the Prehistoric samples, where many haplotypes were unique. The Medieval and Post-Medieval samples also show a high diversity with new haplotypes. Some of these haplotypes have become frequent in modern breeds in the Nordic Countries and North-Western Russia while other haplotypes have remained in only a few local breeds or seem to have been lost. A temporal shift in Y-chromosomal haplotypes from Y2 to Y1 was detected that corresponds with the appearance of new mtDNA haplotypes in the Medieval and Post-Medieval period. This suggests a replacement of the Prehistoric mtDNA and Y chromosomal haplotypes by new types of cattle.

Welding Theory with Tourism: Past and Present of Industrial Archaeology in Finland

Abstract Industrial archaeology, like any other branch of archaeology, forms a place where past and present meet. That how and to what ends the meeting place have been set up, defines the reciprocal binding between the two. In Finnish industrial archaeology, efforts to construct this stage have been very patchy, occasional and machine-centred. The first proper archaeological excavation at an industrial site took place in the 1980s, and the first Finnish article discussing the term was published as late as 1977. The situation has changed radically during the late 1990s and early 2000s, fieldwork has become more common and more studies are being published. One crucial factor in this development has been the growth of cultural tourism which has made technical and museological demands on industrial heritage. Industrial tourism as a whole is a new challenge to heritage management and industrial archaeology, because Finland has traditionally profiled itself as a country of nature tourism. However, the implications of the tourist industry for industrial archaeology and heritage have neither been fully articulated nor analysed. The following article attempts firstly to present an overview of Finnish industrial archaeology and secondly to bring together three aspects of the current state of research: archaeological practice, tourism and theoretical reflection.

Volcanic dust veils from sixth century tree-ring isotopes linked to reduced irradiance, primary production and human health

The large volcanic eruptions of AD 536 and 540 led to climate cooling and contributed to hardships of Late Antiquity societies throughout Eurasia, and triggered a major environmental event in the historical Roman Empire. Our set of stable carbon isotope records from subfossil tree rings demonstrates a strong negative excursion in AD 536 and 541–544. Modern data from these sites show that carbon isotope variations are driven by solar radiation. A model based on sixth century isotopes reconstruct an irradiance anomaly for AD 536 and 541–544 of nearly three standard deviations below the mean value based on modern data. This anomaly can be explained by a volcanic dust veil reducing solar radiation and thus primary production threatening food security over a multitude of years. We offer a hypothesis that persistently low irradiance contributed to remarkably simultaneous outbreaks of famine and Justinianic plague in the eastern Roman Empire with adverse effects on crop production and photosynthesis of the vitamin D in human skin and thus, collectively, human health. Our results provide a hitherto unstudied proxy for exploring the mechanisms of ‘volcanic summers’ to demonstrate the post-eruption deficiencies in sunlight and to explain the human consequences during such calamity years.

Oscillating Between National and International: The Case of Finnish Archaeology

Finnish archaeology has never been a contingent phenomenon, but closely, even if indirectly, entangled with the surrounding society and with wider international disciplinary currents. An essential characteristic of Finnish archaeology is its establishment and development in close connection with nationalism. Language has been central in Finnish nationalism and this reflects on the understanding of Finnish archaeology. Consequently, the history of Finnish archaeology can be presented as a narrative of intra-disciplinary progress circling around the question of the origins of the Finnish people and language. Before Finnish archaeology was established as a modern academic discipline with a defined identity, its institutional and economic support was state organized. Prior to the nineteenth century, the clergy was the most important social group studying ancient monuments, but during the nineteenth century the driving forces of the nationalist movement included the middle class, while in the late nineteenth century further social differentiation among Finnish archaeologists occurred. The archaeological community grew during the decades after the Second World War, but is still rather small. Before the Second World War, Finnish archaeology was highly international, partly because of contacts with Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, but this came to an end due to changes in international geopolitics and Finnish nationalism. The research has again become more international in the late twentieth century, while the importance of archaeology in the nationalist project and its cultural impact has weakened considerably.

Interdisciplinary perspectives on the medieval relics and reliquaries of turku cathedral, finland

In 2007, an interdisciplinary project was launched at the Department of Archaeology, University of Turku, in southwest Finland, to study the surviving medieval relics of Turku Cathedral. in cloth, and a few gifts would be put into the grave (food, drink, a few simple trinkets). So, as far as we can tell, they expected to go to the same kind of afterlife as the wealthy, but they would have to manage without the help of the Book of the Dead and all the rich trappings of a high-status burial. A good reminder that religion is never separate from society and politics.

Finland in the Middle Ages

of the ninth century AD. Except for its western parts (see above), Uusimaa had been deserted for the greater part of the Iron Age, but there must have been activity in at least some places from the eighth century onwards. All these areas were repopulated by farmers from Sweden from the beginning of the twelfth century and continuing until the mid-fourteenth century. The Swedish settlers carried with them their Christian beliefs. In the Finnish-speaking permanent settlements elsewhere, Christianization seems to have started from the beginning of the eleventh century onwards. There is evidence, however, of some knowledge of Christian symbols in archaeological material dating to the sixth century. Earlier research has focused on crusades as the main factor of conversion, but during the last decades a development of longue duree has been stressed.