Fennoscandia archaeologica XIX (2002)

Articles



Janne Ikäheimo and Hannu Panttila
Explaining ceramic variability: The case of two tempers
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S.V. Studzitskaya and S.V. Kuzminykh
The Galich treasure as a set of shaman articles
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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
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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.
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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 archaeologically 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 archaeological 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 environment, 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.




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