Research on the Mesolithic of North Karelia in 2003–2017 - Implications for the early postglacial archaeology of Northern Europe

In this paper we describe the results of small-scale archaeological fieldwork projects carried out i North Karelia, Finland, in 2003–2014, which ended up having a far greater research impact than anyone could have anticipated. The projects yielded a multitude of new and relevant information, especially on the Early Mesolithic, including the earliest radiocarbon dates for human occupation in Eastern Fennoscandia. Results of this research have been published in a variety of venues. We use this opportunity to present the first summary of these results and to emphasize that even with discontinuous short-term funding it is possible to carry out ambitious and influential research. Over the years, Karelia has been one of the main focus areas of Mika Lavento’s research. We want to honour Mika’s 60th birthday by providing an overview of the results of our studies conducted in the northern parts of this large geographical and administrative area.Peer reviewe

Research on the Mesolithic of North Karelia in 2003–2017 - Implications for the early postglacial archaeology of Northern Europe

In this paper we describe the results of small-scale archaeological fieldwork projects carried out i North Karelia, Finland, in 2003–2014, which ended up having a far greater research impact than anyone could have anticipated. The projects yielded a multitude of new and relevant information, especially on the Early Mesolithic, including the earliest radiocarbon dates for human occupation in Eastern Fennoscandia. Results of this research have been published in a variety of venues. We use this opportunity to present the first summary of these results and to emphasize that even with discontinuous short-term funding it is possible to carry out ambitious and influential research. Over the years, Karelia has been one of the main focus areas of Mika Lavento’s research. We want to honour Mika’s 60th birthday by providing an overview of the results of our studies conducted in the northern parts of this large geographical and administrative area.Peer reviewe

Preservation of microscopic fur, feather, and bast fibers in the Mesolithic ochre grave of Majoonsuo, Eastern Finland

The study of animal and plant fibers related to grave furnishing, garments, and grave goods in thousands-of-year-old burials provides new insights into these funerary practices. Their preservation presupposes favorable conditions, where bacterial and fungal activity is at a minimum, as in anaerobic, wet, salty, arid, or frozen environments. The extreme acidic-soil environments (i.e., podzols) of Finland pose a challenge when it comes to studying funerary deposits, as human remains are rarely found. However, its potential to preserve microparticles allows us to approach the funerary event from a totally different point of view. Here, we present the first multiproxy analyses of a Mesolithic deposit from Finland. A red-ochre burial of a child found in Majoonsuo is studied by analyzing 1) microscopic fibers, 2) fatty acids, and 3) physical-chemical (CIELab color, pH, grain size) properties of 60 soil samples and associated materials. The microscopic fibers evidenced the remains of waterfowl downy feathers, a falcon feather fragment, canid and small rodent hairs as well as bast fibers. These could have been used in furnishing the grave and as ornaments or clothes. Canid hairs could belong to a dog inhumation, or more likely to canid fur used as grave good/ clothes. Samples with microparticles have more long-chain and unsaturated fatty acids, although animal species identification was not possible. Soil properties indicate that the burial was made in the local soil, adding homogeneous red ochre and removing the coarser material; no bioturbation was found. The highly acidic sandy soil, together with a slight increase in finer particles when ochre is abundant, probably resulted in micro-scale, anoxic conditions that prevented bacterial attack. This study reveals the first animal hairs and feathers from a Finnish Mesolithic funerary context, and provides clues about how their preservation was possible.Peer reviewe

Postglacial pioneer settlement in the Lake Sarvinki area, eastern Finland

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