The Appreciation of Reindeer: Rock Carvings and Sami Reindeer Knowledge

Accepted manuscript version, licensed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Source at https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/perspectives-differences-rock-art/.On the Stone Age rock carving panels at Jiepmaluokta, Alta, Norway, more than one third of all the known figures, over one thousand, are classified as reindeer. A recent comparative study of Fennoscandian rock carvings suggests that variation in amounts of different animals depicted at each site refers to differences in relations between people and the specific local environment, including local species (Gjerde 2010). Taking this as a starting point, it is suggested that the Jiepmaluokta panels refer to meetings between humans and animals, here primarily reindeer. The depictions are interpreted as expressions of a hunter-gatherer ontology with close human-animal relations. This paper is based in part on a dialogue at the site regarding the depictions of reindeer figures between a Sámi reindeer owner with summer grazing for his herd in the Alta region as well as being a scholar of traditional reindeer knowledge, and the archaeologist author

Markus Fjellström Food Cultures in Sápmi: An interdisciplinary approach to the study of the heterogeneous cultural landscape of northern Fennoscandia AD 600–1900

Markus Fjellström has presented a substantial doctoral work in scientific archaeology, comprising six articles and an 80-page synthesis. The papers were published between 2015 and 2021. For the first time on such a large and systematic scale, these papers and thesis bring together specialists in Sámi and scientific/laborative archaeology to address the early history of the Sámi. The papers are co-authored by Fjellström and various archaeologists in Sweden, Finland and Norway. Fjellström’s thesis comprises seven main chapters written in plain academic English, which allows the results and the general subject to be easily accessible outside the Nordic countries. It includes two summaries, written in Swedish and Pite-Sámi, respectively. The main objective of the thesis is ‘to highlight the heterogeneous cultural landscape in Sápmi through the study of food’ (Fjellström 2020:1), focusing on the period AD 600–1900. Overarching questions are: 1) if cultural diversity is reflected in food practices, 2) how individual life histories and mobility contribute to understanding of life in Sápmi, 3) what role reindeer had in local diets, and 4) what impact mining activity had on the well-being of local populations (Fjellström 2020:3–4). Fjellström’s specialist field is in isotope and element analysis. Stable carbon (13C), nitrogen (15N) and sulphur ( 34S) isotope analyses are performed on different collagen-containing materials from humans and animals, supported by stable isotope analysis of strontium and elemental analysis of lead. All methods are clearly presented in the synthesis. The results are held together with zooarchaeological analysis and radiocarbon dating, providing new insights into local lives in Sápmi. While all the papers follow strict scientific specialist presentation protocols, the thesis provides information on the Sápmi socio-historical context and ethical considerations on a more introductory level. This variety of approaches, both in terms of themes and presentation forms, has made it challenging to structure a short review. I have chosen to follow the main questions raised by Fjellström

A Neolithic Corridor between East and West.

Source at http://www.sarks.fi/masf/masf_10/masf_10.html.The discovery of an amber bead and an unusual type of slate knife at a site near Tromsø, Norway instigated reflection upon inter-regional mobility and possible travel routes in northern Fennoscandia. In combination with finds near Kilpisjärvi, Finland, these early Neolithic objects found far from their main distribution area allow us to suggest that the Torne River and its connected waterways provided a corridor for contact between the Atlantic coast and the Bothnian coast

Preliminary geochemical analysis of asbestos minerals from geological and archaeological contexts in Finnmark, north Norway Evaluating the potential for sourcing tempers in asbestos ceramics

Source at http://www.sarks.fi/masf/masf_10/masf_10.html.This is a preliminary study of the potential for sourcing asbestos minerals used as temper in ceramics from Early Metal Age sites in Finnmark, northern Norway. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS/EDX) is used to analyze samples from geological sources and archaeological sites. Although tempers were highly portable, the results of the analysis mostly indicate local procurement, however non-local sources are possible in some cases

Tidlig, nordlig kamkeramikk. Typologi, kronologi, kultur

Arkeologiske typologier er alltid basert på bare en del av et større materiale. I vår søken etter distinkte egenskaper trekkes det unike eller sjeldne gjerne fram som det spesielle som kjennetegner en ”type”. I avhandlingen analyseres den faktiske variasjonen innenfor Tidlig nordlig kamkeramikk (TNKK) opp mot den etablerte morfologiske forståelsen av den såkalte Säräisniemi 1-keramikken (Sär 1). Hovedfokus er på materialet fra Finnmark (Varanger), og keramikken herfra sammenlignes med tidlig finsk og russisk kamkeramikk. Etableringen og vedlikeholdelsen av ”Sär 1” som en egen type vurderes i lys av forskningshistoriske og fagpolitiske betingelser. De nye analysene av keramikken, vurderinger av det tilhørende steinmaterialet og bosettingsmønster, samt nye dateringer som gir den en tidsramme mellom ca. 5300 f.Kr. og 4100 f.Kr., danner grunnlag for drøftinger av keramikken sosio-kulturelle kontekst og rolle. I denne diskusjonen vurderes relevansen av fenomenene etnisitet og territorialitet for å forstå overgangen fra eldre til yngre steinalder i nordre Fennoskandia

Farmers at the Frontier. A Pan-European Perspective on Neolithisation. Kurt J. Gron, Lasse Sørensen & Peter Rowley-Conwy (eds.): Oxbow books, Oxford/Philadelphia, 2020, 464 pp. ISBN 9781789251401

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the Norwegian Archaeological Review on 6 July 2021, available at https://doi.org/10.1080/00293652.2021.1928744

The Appreciation of Reindeer: Rock Carvings and Sami Reindeer Knowledge

On the Stone Age rock carving panels at Jiepmaluokta, Alta, Norway, more than one third of all the known figures, over one thousand, are classified as reindeer. A recent comparative study of Fennoscandian rock carvings suggests that variation in amounts of different animals depicted at each site refers to differences in relations between people and the specific local environment, including local species (Gjerde 2010). Taking this as a starting point, it is suggested that the Jiepmaluokta panels refer to meetings between humans and animals, here primarily reindeer. The depictions are interpreted as expressions of a hunter-gatherer ontology with close human-animal relations. This paper is based in part on a dialogue at the site regarding the depictions of reindeer figures between a Sámi reindeer owner with summer grazing for his herd in the Alta region as well as being a scholar of traditional reindeer knowledge, and the archaeologist author

Hunting for Hide. Investigating an Other-Than-Food Relationship Between Stone Age Hunters and Wild Animals in Northern Europe

In archaeological hunter-gatherer research, animals are primarily seen as food. Alternatively, they are proposed to serve as symbols and devices for social structuring of human societies. A growing body of literature in humanities and social sciences now looks into the role of animals as social and sentient co-beings. It is becoming increasingly clear that the roles of animals as other-than-food providers are severely overlooked in Mesolithic research. This article considers hide as a vital resource in northern hunter-gatherer societies. Hide processing and manufacture in ethnographic records from the circumpolar region and experimental investigations are presented, followed by an analytical review of archaeological data from mid-Holocene coastal habitation sites in Norway. The results show that hide work was a central activity, and that various stages of hide processing may have taken place at different sites. It is suggested that hide procurement and processing would have required close planning and scheduling. Based on ethnographic accounts it is suggested that the different processing stages, combining raw materials and animal qualities into man-made objects, are articulations of human-animal social entanglements. Identifying practices related to hide processing in the archaeological record and viewing them as expressions of human-animal relationships, can contribute to fuller insight into Stone Age hunter-gatherer societies