Sexy beasts – animistic ontology, sexuality and hunter-gatherer rock art in Northern Fennoscandia

A wide range of rock art sites associated with hunter-gatherer populations in Northern Fennoscandia depict scenes where men, women and animals (usually elk or deer) are involved in a sexually charged act. For instance, at Namforsen (Sweden) and Kanozero (north-western Russia), elks appear to be 'monitoring' a human couple having sex. Ithyphallic figures accompanied by animals are found at several sites, such as Kanozero, where an ithyphallic figure brandishing an elk-headed staff is faced by a capercaillie. Even acts of zoophilia, or humans in sexual congress with animals, appear to be depicted at a number of sites. These scenes are here approached in the light of an animistic ontology and the notion of perspectivism, introduced by Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, where non-human beings are entangled in social and thus also sexual relations with humans. In the ethnographic sources pertaining to northern circumpolar cultures, hunting is perceived as a sexual act, where each kill involves seducing the prey. In northern and eastern parts of Finland and Karelia, this mentality persisted well into the historical period, as evidenced by hunting spells and ceremonies recorded in the 19th Century.Peer reviewe

Northern Archaeology and Cosmology

In its analysis of the archaeologies and histories of the northern fringe of Europe, this book provides a focus on animistic–shamanistic cosmologies and the associated human–environment relations from the Neolithic to modern times. The North has fascinated Europeans throughout history, as an enchanted world of natural and supernatural marvels: a land of light and dark, of northern lights and the midnight sun, of witches and magic and of riches ranging from amber to oil. Northern lands conflate fantasies and realities. Rich archaeological, historical, ethnographic and folkloric materials combine in this book with cutting-edge theoretical perspectives drawn from relational ontologies and epistemologies, producing a fresh approach to the prehistory and history of a region that is pivotal to understanding Europe-wide processes, such as Neolithization and modernization. This book examines the mythical and actual northern worlds, with northern relational modes of perceiving and engaging with the world on the one hand and the ‘place’ of the North in European culture on the other. This book is an indispensable read for scholars of archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies and folklore in northern Europe, as well as researchers interested in how the North is intertwined with developments in the broader European and Eurasian world. It provides a deep-time understanding of globally topical issues and conflicting interests, as expressed by debates and controversies around Arctic resources, nature preservation and indigenous rights

From Goddess to Prophet: 2000 Years of Continuity on the Mountain of Aaron near Petra, Jordan

The Mountain of Aaron (Jabal Haroun) near the ancient city of Petra, Jordan, is the traditional burial place of the Old Testament prophet and a site considered sacred by the three world religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Since 1997, a Finnish archaelological project has been investigating the mountain through the excavations of a Byzantine pilgramage complex on its high plateau and an intensive survey of its surroundings. In the course of the excavations, it has become clear that the Byzantine structures were preceded by a monumental building, probably a temple of the Nabataean-Roman period. Moreover, already in the pre-Christian period a pilgrim route probablty led from central Petra to Jabal Haroun. The article explores the history and archaeology of Jabal Haroun, which shows a remarkable degree of continuity and opens up the prospect that the local folk tradition may preserve elements of Nabataean religion. Using contemporary rituals and beliefs associated with the mountain as a reference point, we suggest that the pre-Christian 'deity of Jabal Haroun' can be identified as the Nabataean goddess al-'Uzza

A Touch of Red : Archaeological and Ethnographic Approaches to Interpreting Finnish Rock Paintings

Approximately 125 prehistoric rock paintings have been found in the modern territory of Finland. The paintings were done with red ochre and are almost without exception located on steep lakeshore cliffs associated with ancient water routes. Most of the sites are found in the central and eastern parts of the country, especially on the shores of Lakes Päijänne and Saimaa. Using shore displacement chronology, the art has been dated to ca. 5000 – 1500 BC. It was thus created mainly during the Stone Age and can be associated with the so-called ‘Comb Ware’ cultures of the Subneolithic period. The range of motifs is rather limited, consisting mainly of schematic depictions of stick-figure humans, elks, boats, handprints and geometric signs. Few paintings include any evidence of narrative scenes, making their interpretation a rather difficult task. In Finnish archaeological literature, the paintings have traditionally been associated with ’sympathetic’ hunting magic, or the belief that the ritual shooting of the painted animals would increase hunting luck. Some writers have also suggested totemistic and shamanistic readings of the art. This dissertation is a critical review of the interpretations offered of Finnish rock art and an exploration of the potentials of archaeological and ethnographic research in increasing our knowledge of its meaning. Methods used include ’formal’ approaches such as archaeological excavation, landscape analysis and the application of neuropsychological research to the study of rock art, as well as ethnographically ’informed’ approaches that make use of Saami and Baltic Finnish ethnohistorical sources in interpretation. In conclusion, it is argued that although North European hunter-gatherer rock art is often thought to lie beyond the reach of ‘informed’ knowledge, the exceptional continuity of prehistoric settlement in Finland validates the informed approach in the interpretation of Finnish rock paintings. The art can be confidently associated with shamanism of the kind still practiced by the Saami of Northern Fennoscandia in the historical period. Evidence of similar shamanistic practices, concepts and cosmology are also found in traditional Finnish-Karelian epic poetry. Previous readings of the art based on ‘hunting magic’ and totemism are rejected. Most of the paintings appear to depict experiences of falling into a trance, of shamanic metamorphosis and trance journeys, and of ‘spirit helper’ beings comparable to those employed by the Saami shaman (noaidi). As demonstrated by the results of an excavation at the rock painting of Valkeisaari, the painted cliffs themselves find a close parallel in the Saami cult of the 'sieidi', or sacred cliffs and boulders worshipped as expressing a supernatural power. Like the Saami, the prehistoric inhabitants of the Finnish Lake Region seem to have believed that certain cliffs were ’alive’ and inhabited by the spirit helpers of the shaman. The rock paintings can thus be associated with shamanic vision quests, and the making of ‘art’ with an effort to socialize the other members of the community, especially the ritual specialists, with trance visions. However, the paintings were not merely to be looked at. The red ochre handprints pressed on images of elks, as well as the fact that many paintings appear ’smeared’, indicate that they were also to be touched – perhaps in order to tap into the supernatural potency inherent in the cliff and in the paintings of spirit animals.Suomesta tunnetaan nykyään noin 125 esihistoriallista kalliomaalausta. Järvenrantakallioihin tehdyt punamultamaalaukset sijaitsevat pääasiassa muinaisten vesireittien varrella Keski- ja Itä-Suomessa, etenkin Saimaan ja Päijänteen vesistöalueilla. Nykytiedon mukaan ne on tehty noin 5000 - 1500 eaa ja liittyvät kivikautisten pyyntiyhteisöjen uskontoon. Maalausten kuvamaailma on varsin rajallinen. Tyypillisimpiä aiheita ovat ihmishahmot, hirvet, veneet, kädenjäljet ja erilaiset geometriset kuviot. Maalauksissa ei yleensä 'tapahdu' mitään, eikä niissä esiinny laajoja kompositioita, mikä tekee niiden tulkinnasta haastavan ongelman. Suomalaisessa arkeologisessa kirjallisuudessa kalliomaalaukset on yleensä yhdistetty metsästysmagiaan - siis käsitykseen, jonka mukaan hirvenkuvien rituaalinen ampuminen olisi lisännyt pyyntionnea. Myös shamanismiin ja totemismiin perustuvia tulkintamalleja on esitetty. Tutkimuksen päämääränä on luoda kriittinen katsaus kalliomaalauksista esitettyihin tulkintoihin sekä selvittää arkeologisen ja etnografisen tutkimuksen mahdollisuuksia tuoda lisätietoa esihistoriallisen kalliotaiteen kuvastamista uskomuksista. Tutkimuksessa sovelletaan kalliotaiteen tulkintaan muun muassa neuropsykologista tulkintamallia ja perinteisiä arkeologisia menetelmiä, kuten kaivauksia. Erityisen merkittävään osaan nousevat suomalais-saamelaisesta esikristillistä uskomusperinteestä haetut vertailukohdat. Työn keskeisin johtopäätös on, että pohjoisen Fennoskandian historiallisella ajalla talletetussa uskomusperinteessä on säilynyt arkaaisia, etenkin shamanimiin liittyviä piirteitä, joita on kuvattu jo kivikautisessa kalliotaiteessa. Vaikka kalliotaidetta esiintyy kautta Euroopan, sen tulkinnan kannalta relevanttia uskomusperinnettä on säilynyt hyvin harvoin. Suomessa tämän on mahdollistanut esihistoriallisen asutuksen poikkeuksellinen jatkuvuus ja pyyntielinkeinojen säilyminen merkittävänä toimeentulon lähteenä aina 1800-luvulle asti. Suuri osa kalliomaalausten aiheista on mahdollista tulkita shamanististen transsimatkojen ja muodonmuutosten kuvauksiksi. Maalausten eläinhahmot kuvannevat shamaanin eläimenhahmoisia henkiauttajia, joiden on kuviteltu asuvan kallion sisällä. Aiemmat yritykset tulkita kalliomaalauksia metsästysmagian tai totemismin avulla on syytä hylätä. Saamelaiseen uskontoon kuuluva seitakultti muodostaa luontevan vertailukohdan maalauskallioille. Maalausten tekemisen voidaan katsoa liittyvän rituaaliin, jolla on manattu esiin kalliossa asuvat, eläinhahmoiset henkiolennot. Hirvenkuvien päälle painetut kädenjäljet osoittavat, että kallion ja siihen tehtyjen kuvien koskettaminen oli olennainen osa rituaalia. Kosketuksen kautta pyhäksi koetun kallion yliluonnollinen voima on maagisen sähkön tavoin välittynyt koskijaan

Northern Archaeology and Cosmology

In its analysis of the archaeologies and histories of the northern fringe of Europe, this book provides a focus on animistic–shamanistic cosmologies and the associated human–environment relations from the Neolithic to modern times. The North has fascinated Europeans throughout history, as an enchanted world of natural and supernatural marvels: a land of light and dark, of northern lights and the midnight sun, of witches and magic and of riches ranging from amber to oil. Northern lands conflate fantasies and realities. Rich archaeological, historical, ethnographic and folkloric materials combine in this book with cutting-edge theoretical perspectives drawn from relational ontologies and epistemologies, producing a fresh approach to the prehistory and history of a region that is pivotal to understanding Europe-wide processes, such as Neolithization and modernization. This book examines the mythical and actual northern worlds, with northern relational modes of perceiving and engaging with the world on the one hand and the ‘place’ of the North in European culture on the other. This book is an indispensable read for scholars of archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies and folklore in northern Europe, as well as researchers interested in how the North is intertwined with developments in the broader European and Eurasian world. It provides a deep-time understanding of globally topical issues and conflicting interests, as expressed by debates and controversies around Arctic resources, nature preservation and indigenous rights

An odessay to golden mica – contextualising the burial of a Bronze Age “Odysseus”

Peer reviewe

An odessay to golden mica – contextualising the burial of a Bronze Age “Odysseus”

Peer reviewe