Fennoscandia archaeologica XIX (2002)
Articles:
- Janne Ikäheimo and Hannu Panttila, Explaining ceramic variability: The case of two tempers
- S.V. Studzitskaya and S.V. Kuzminykh, The Galich treasure as a set of shaman articles
- Aleksandr Saksa, Stanislav Belsky, Aleksandr Kurbatov, Nadezhda Polyakova and Mervi Suhonen,
New archaeological excavations in Viipuri. Results of Field Investigations
of the 1998 – 2001 Seasons and Current Research Problems of Urban History
Book reviews:
- Barry Cunliffe, Facing the Ocean - The Atlantic and its Peoples 8000 BC - AD 1500. Oxford University Press. Glasgow 2001, 600 p. Reviewed by Christian Ahlström.
Abstracts:
Janne Ikäheimo and Hannu Panttila
EXPLAINING CERAMIC VARIABILITY: THE CASE OF TWO TEMPERS
Abstract
The article revalues the significance of temper in Finnish prehistoric pottery
through the analysis of organic and talc tempered Textile ceramics found
in 1998-1999 from an Early Bronze Age dwelling-site of Muhos Hangaskangas
in the lower Oulujoki river valley. After a brief survey on the main characteristics
of the dwelling-site, its ceramic assemblage is introduced and mechanisms
contributing to its formation are identified. Macroscopic and petro-graphic
analysis are used to point out the similarities and the differences between
the two fabrics, which in turn are utilized to draw conclusions on the choice
of temper. It is put forward that the need to use particular temper arose
from the working properties of clay, availability of exotic tempering materials
or seasonal weather conditions rather than from potter’s need to manifest
ethnicity.
Keywords: pottery technology, temper interchangeability, production season, ethnicity.
S.V. Studzitskaya and S.V. Kuzminykh
THE GALICH TREASURE AS A SET OF SHAMAN ARTICLES
In memory of the first investigators of the Galich treasure A.A. Spitsyn, A.M. Tallgren and V.A. Gorodtsov
Abstract
In the present article the famous Galich treasure is considered as a set
of shamanistic artefacts. According to the authors’ point of view, the complex
as a whole is connected with the Seima-Turbino culture as a specific phenom-enon.
The anthropomorphic and zoomorphic cast artefacts discovered at Galich originated
in the Baikal associa-tion of iconographic elements of the Seima-Turbino
figurative tradition clearly showing the stereotypes of world-view typical
of the inhabitants of the taiga.
Keywords: Bronze Age, the Galich treasure, Seima-Turbino phenomenon, zoomorphic cast artefacts, shamanism.
Aleksandr Saksa, Stanislav Belsky, Aleksandr Kurbatov, Nadezhda Polyakova
and Mervi Suhonen
NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS IN VIIPURI
Results of field investigations of the 1998 – 2001 seasons and current research
problems of urban history
Abstract
In the summer of 1998, a new stage of archaeological investigations began
in Viipuri. The work is conducted by the Vyborg (Viipuri) archaeological
expedition of the Institute of History of Material Culture (St. Petersburg,
Russia) under the leadership of PhD Aleksandr Saksa.
During the 1998-2001 field seasons, parts of the building sections of the
town from different times were archaeo-logically investigated. This permitted
us to obtain new basic information about the urban culture of Viipuri (Sw.
Viborg, Ru. Vyborg) in medieval and post-medieval times. This article discusses
the main results of these archaeo-logical investigations.
The history of the town is understood as the process of formation of an urban
environment. The reasons, character and results of this development are discussed
here with special reference to the results of recent archaeological research.
We proceed from the archaeological material and investigate factors of change
in material culture over the course of six centuries.
The article is divided into a number of autonomous research topics: central
research problems of the history of Viipuri castle and the early development
of the town itself with emphasis on topographical features of the environ-ment,
archaeological investigations of the town wall and its building history,
the character of the cultural layer with special regard to problems of chronology
and the description of certain categories of the find material. Each of these
should be a subject for further studies. Nevertheless, as a whole they illustrate
different features of urban culture in its entirety. It is already possible
to carry out comparable analyses of the finds with materials from other towns
although in many respects this is a subject for future investigations.
Thus, in this article we address a double task: on the one hand we present
the main aspects of recently discovered archaeological materials from the
latest field seasons, and on the other hand we phrase in precise terms the
actual problems of research in urban culture, relevant in the present stage
of studies concerning Viipuri. This is done on the basis of both well-known
historical facts and new archaeological materials.
Keywords: Viipuri (Sw. Viborg, Ru. Vyborg), field archaeology,
urban history, fortifications, domestic buildings, street system, ceramics,
metal artefacts, coins, leather finds, Medieval and post-medieval archaeology.