Kristiina Mannermaa

Neolithic dairy farming at the extreme of agriculture in northern Europe

The conventional ‘Neolithic package’ comprised animals and plants originally domesticated in the Near East. As farming spread on a generally northwest trajectory across Europe, early pastoralists would have been faced with the challenge of making farming viable in regions in which the organisms were poorly adapted to providing optimal yields or even surviving. Hence, it has long been debated whether Neolithic economies were ever established at the modern limits of agriculture. Here, we examine food residues in pottery, testing a hypothesis that Neolithic farming was practiced beyond the 60th parallel north. Our findings, based on diagnostic biomarker lipids and δ13C values of preserved fatty acids, reveal a transition at ca 2500 BC from the exploitation of aquatic organisms to processing of ruminant products, specifically milk, confirming farming was practiced at high latitudes. Combining this with genetic, environmental and archaeological information, we demonstrate the origins of dairying probably accompanied an incoming, genetically distinct, population successfully establishing this new subsistence ‘package’.

New evidence of the presence of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Finland during early Holocene: Dispersal restricted by snow and hunting?

New radiocarbon dates from bones of the wild boar (Sus scrofa) found in archaeological contexts in Finland indicate the presence of the species in Southern Finland c. 9000–8000 cal. BP, that is, before the Holocene thermal optimum. However, the number of wild boar was never large enough to support a permanent population. Reasons for the scarcity of wild boars even during the warmer periods may have been the thick snow cover, the growing human population near the distribution route, as well as hunting.

Tracing the rattle of animal tooth pendants from the Middle Neolithic graves of Ajvide, Gotland, Sweden

Abstract Strung rattles of teeth, shells and hooves have traditionally been thought to be among the earliest musical instruments. These sound producers, which are suspended from the neck, arms, legs or clothing, are often used to highlight dancing. This study seeks to explore whether similar rattles can be traced to the northern European Middle Neolithic. The research material comprised fifty-three animal tooth pendants from graves at Ajvide, Gotland, Sweden (c. 2900–2300 cal. bc). Microscopic analysis showed that the pendants from Ajvide are well-worn and abraded, especially on their opposing perforated sides. Because the pendants usually appear in clusters or hem-like rows on the hips or legs of the deceased, a plausible explanation for their use-wear is that they once struck each other. This concussion resulting from the wearer’s movements would have created a rattling sound. The acoustical properties of this sound can be demonstrated with copies of animal teeth. This article aims to provide insight into the previously little explored world of Neolithic sound.

Mesowear Analysis on Finnish Medieval Horses

Mesowear analysis is a powerful tool for paleodiet reconstruction in ungulates. In this study, we apply this method to archeological data. We conduct mesowear analysis on cheek teeth of medieval horses from the Levänluhta site in Ostrobothnia, western Finland and, for comparison, we study medieval and post-medieval horse teeth from Viljandi and Tallinn, Estonia. Our results show attrition-dominated mesowear indicating browsing diet for the medieval Levänluhta horses, while the Viljandi horses have mesowear indicating more mixed diet. Mesowear on teeth from Tallinn horses suggest primarily grazing-like abrasive diet. Differences maybe due to different diet of horses in Finland and Estonia, or may point to seasonal differences in diet and thus indicate different times of death for these horses.

A tall rostral hook in a medieval horse premolar tooth

Development of dental abnormalities due to improper occlusal wear is common among modern domestic horses. This phenomenon often is attributed to jaw conformation. Rostral mandibular hooks may develop in horses with underjet or mandibular prognathism, a condition where the lower jaw protrudes forward, beyond the upper jaw. Less abrasive diet, free of phytoliths and matrix-like plant fibers, also may promote enamel and focal overgrowths of equine dentition. Here we report a rostral mandibular hook in a lower premolar tooth of a medieval horse, found in a spring deposit in Levänluhta, Osthrobothnia, Finland. To our knowledge, this is the first such report from a medieval horse.

The population history of northeastern Siberia since the Pleistocene

Far northeastern Siberia has been occupied by humans for more than 40 thousand years. Yet, owing to a scarcity of early archaeological sites and human remains, its population history and relationship to ancient and modern populations across Eurasia and the Americas are poorly understood. Here, we analyze 34 ancient genome sequences, including two from fragmented milk teeth found at the ~31.6 thousand-year-old (kya) Yana RHS site, the earliest and northernmost Pleistocene human remains found. These genomes reveal complex patterns of past population admixture and replacement events throughout northeastern Siberia, with evidence for at least three large-scale human migrations into the region. The first inhabitants, a previously unknown population of “Ancient North Siberians” (ANS), represented by Yana RHS, diverged ~38 kya from Western Eurasians, soon after the latter split from East Asians. Between 20 and 11 kya, the ANS population was largely replaced by peoples with ancestry related to present-day East Asians, giving rise to ancestral Native Americans and “Ancient Paleosiberians” (AP), represented by a 9.8 kya skeleton from Kolyma River. AP are closely related to the Siberian ancestors of Native Americans, and ancestral to contemporary communities such as Koryaks and Itelmen. Paleoclimatic modelling shows evidence for a refuge during the last glacial maximum (LGM) in southeastern Beringia, suggesting Beringia as a possible location for the admixture forming both ancestral Native Americans and AP. Between 11 and 4 kya, AP were in turn largely replaced by another group of peoples with ancestry from East Asia, the “Neosiberians” from which many contemporary Siberians derive. We detect gene flow events in both directions across the Bering Strait during this time, influencing the genetic composition of Inuit, as well as Na Dene-speaking Northern Native Americans, whose Siberian-related ancestry components is closely related to AP. Our analyses reveal that the population history of northeastern Siberia was highly dynamic throughout the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The pattern observed in northeastern Siberia, with earlier, once widespread populations being replaced by distinct peoples, seems to have taken place across northern Eurasia, as far west as Scandinavia.

Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Teeth from a Female Burial in Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov, Northwestern Russia (c. 6200 cal BC) – Local Rarities or Transported Goods?

ABSTRACT Tooth pendants of European elk, Eurasian beaver and brown bear are the most common artefact type in graves at Late Mesolithic Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov on Lake Onega, northwestern Russia. In one burial of a 20-35-year-old woman, 18 fragments of wild boar tooth pendants from at least five individuals were found. Wild boar was not a regular part of local fauna in the Mesolithic, and if these wild boars were hunted locally, they were very unusual game. These wild boar tooth pendants may also represent imported goods that came to Onega from a more southern area via exchange. It is also possible that the woman was not local but came from a region where wild boars were abundant and common game for Mesolithic people.

Fish bones from the Old Town of Helsinki (Finland) sixteenth–seventeenth century

Historical sources, such as tax rolls and accounts, can provide information about mediaeval fishing and fish trade, but this subject can also be investigated through archaeological methods. Archaeological research on the mediaeval and early historical fishing in Finland has not been undertaken in any detail. Research from neighbouring areas, mainly Sweden and Estonia, has provided information about mediaeval fishing in northern Europe. This paper presents the results of a osteological examination of a sample of archaeological fish bones excavated in the Old Town of Helsinki in 1993. The sample derives from the remains of a cellar in a house, used in late-sixteenth or early-seventeenth century by a wealthy person, probably a merchant.