The Karelian Culture after the Crusade Period

The Crusade Period (ca. AD 1050–1300) is widely considered as the period when ancient Karelia flourished. There are, however, many unanswered questions regarding its chronology, especially during the later stages of the period. From an archaeological point of view, the Middle Ages (ca. AD 1300–1500) have remained very poorly visible, and our understanding of the period has been based almost totally on written sources – which are very few in number. Especially the material culture of rural areas – where the vast majority of people lived – has been poorly understood. Recent results of archaeological studies show that several of the classical artefact types of the Karelian culture were still used in the Middle Ages. The cultural continuation is even more obvious in the form of some archaeological sites, most notably cemeteries. It is fair to state that the Karelian culture of the Crusade Period still prevailed during the first century of the historical era. Especially in Käkisalmi Karelia, there is a degree of continuation of material culture until the 17th century. At the same time, the major changes that are present in the medieval written sources are not very visible in the archaeological record

Two Burial Traditions of the Crusade Period on the Karelian Isthmus and in Ladoga Karelia

The Ladoga Archaeological Expedition of the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera; MAE) RAS, St Petersburg, jointly with the University of Turku (Finland), has recently excavated several funerary sites on the Karelian Isthmus and in the Ladoga Karelia region. The materials yielded by these investigations enable the reconsideration of information from previous excavations. Among the recent exceptional finds are the burials on the slopes of the Sänkinmäki and Pihlajamäki hills in the northern extremity of the island of Kilpolansaari. The material from these sites, as well as radiocarbon dating, demonstrates that in the 13th century, a part of the medieval Karelian population, at least in the Ladoga Karelia region, continued to practise archaic rites that includedcremations on the ground surface

Politisoitunut perustuslakivaliokunta? Perustuslakivaliokunta uuden valtiosääntöistymisen valossa, tarkastelussa perustuslakivaliokunnan toiminta Sipilän hallituksen sote- ja maakuntauudistushankkeen yhteydessä

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on havainnoida yhtäläisyyksiä uuden valtiosääntöistymisen kehityskulun ja perustuslakivaliokunnan toiminnan vuosien 2015-2019 sote-uudistushankkeen yhteydessä. Tutkimuksessa pyritään tarjoamaan uusia näkökulmia perustuslakivaliokunnan toimintaa koskevaan keskusteluun ja erityisesti sote-uudistuksen yhteydessä esitettyyn perustuslakivaliokunnan politisoitumiskritiikkiin. Tutkimus kohdistuu case-tyyppisesti perustuslakivaliokunnan vuosien 2015-2019 sote-uudistuksesta antamaan lausuntoon PeVL 26/2017. Tarkastelun näkökulmat haetaan erityisesti julkisuudessa perustuslakivaliokunnan toiminnasta esitettyjen kannanottojen ja puheenvuorojen kautta. Tutkimus asemoituu valtiosääntöoikeuden ei-dogmaattiseen lohkoon ja sen tutkimusmetodi on ensi sijassa vertailu. Tutkimuksessa todetaan, että perustuslakivaliokunnan toiminnan ja uuden valtiosääntöistymisen välillä on yhteyksiä ainakin perustuslain ja perusoikeuksien roolin kasvun osalta. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa esitetään, ettei uuteen valtiosääntöistymiseen liitettyjä poliittisen vallan siirtymiä demokraattisten instituutioiden ja perustuslakikontrollista vastaavien tuomioistuinten välillä voida perustuslakivaliokunnan kohdalla havaita, vaan politisoitumiskritiikki selittynee paremmin politiikan oikeudellistumisen kautta. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksinä esitetään, että viimeistään sote-uudistus, poikkeuksellisen suuren mittaluokkansa ja uusien perustuslainmukaisuutta koskevien kysymysten takia toi näkyväksi ne perusoikeuskäsitystä ja perustuslakikontrollia koskeneet muutokset, jotka laitettiin liikkeelle perusoikeusuudistuksen yhteydessä. Samalla myös tältä osin voidaan havaita yhteys uuden valtiosääntöistymisen kehityskulkuun. Edelleen tutkimuksessa esitetään, että perustuslakivaliokunnan roolia ja perusoikeuksien kasvavaa merkitystä koskeva avoin yhteiskunnallinen keskustelu on tervetullutta, jotta perustuslakivaliokunta kykenee myös tulevaisuudessa yhteensovittamaan perusoikeuksien oletettavasti kasvavan merkityksen ja kehityksen mukanaan tuomat perustuslakikontrolliin kohdistuvat poliittiset paineet

Papinniemi i Uukuniemi och andra ortodoxa gravfält i östra Finland: Utgångspunkter och aktuell forskningsproblematik

Papinniemi in Uukuniemi and other orthodox village cemeteries in Eastern Finland – basis for and problems of research By Ville Laakso At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries Sweden conquered an area in Karelia known as the Käkisalmi Province (fig. 1). The people living in this area were Greek orthodox Karelians, and their culture was somewhat different from the Lutheran population of the Swedish state. Because of Lutheranization and heavy taxation, majority of this orthodox population moved to Russia during the 17th century. Today part of this area is Finland, part of it was ceded by Soviet Union during the Second World War. From an archaeological point of view, characteristic for this cultural area is the use of village cemeteries. There are probably a few hundred of them in the area, but there is still very little research material of these sites. They date mainly from 14th to 17th centuries, some of them have been in use until the 19th or even 20th century. Research problems of the cemeteries include lack of systematic surveys and larger excavations, poor documentation of early fieldwork, and lack of datings from unfurnished graves. On the other hand, there is rich oral tradition as well as some ethnographic data and written sources that provide us with information about these sites. Systematic archaeological surveys and excavations of the cemeteries have recently been started in Eastern Finland. Future themes of research are for example comparison between different categories of source material connected with these sites, christianization of the area, details of orthodox burial customs, and the historical orthodox cultural landscape. The most extensive archaeological excavations in connection with this cultural phase have been conducted by the University of Turku at the deserted village of Papinniemi in the parish of Uukuniemi, Eastern Finland. There has been an orthodox church, a cemetery and several houses in the area, which has been completely deserted since the mid-17th century

Determination of surface-accessible acidic hydroxyls and surface area of lignin by cationic dye adsorption

A new colorimetric method for determining the surface-accessible acidic lignin hydroxyl groups in lignocellulose solid fractions was developed. The method is based on selective adsorption of Azure B, a basic dye, onto acidic hydroxyl groups of lignin. Selectivity of adsorption of Azure B on lignin was demonstrated using lignin and cellulose materials as adsorbents. Adsorption isotherms of Azure B on wheat straw (WS), sugarcane bagasse (SGB), oat husk, and isolated lignin materials were determined. The maximum adsorption capacities predicted by the Langmuir isotherms were used to calculate the amounts of surface-accessible acidic hydroxyl groups. WS contained 1.7-times more acidic hydroxyls (0.21 mmol/g) and higher surface area of lignin (84 m2/g) than SGB or oat husk materials. Equations for determining the amount of surface-accessible acidic hydroxyls in solid fractions of the three plant materials by a single point measurement were developed. A method for high-throughput characterization of lignocellulosic materials is now available