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Fennoscandia archaeologica XXI (2004)

Articles

• J.-P. Taavitsainen, Timo Sepänmaa, Mirja Miettinen, Jan Storå & Matti Saarnisto, Hietamäki in Jämsä - a multi-period dwelling site in Central Finland PDF


• Alexander Häusler, Über alte und neue Hypothesen zum Ursprung und zur Verbreitung der Indogermanen PDF

Notes and news

• Matti Saarnisto & Alexander Saksa, Radiocarbon dates from archaeological excavations in Viipuri - the corner site of former Uudenportinkatu and Etelävalli PDF

Book review

• David Gaimster and Roberta Gilchrist (eds.), The Archaeology of Reformation 1480-1580. Society for Medieval Archaeology & Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology. Maney. Leeds 2003, 486 p. Reviewed by Visa Immonen. PDF
• Mark Brisbane and David Gaimster (eds.), Novgorod: the Archaeology of a Russian Medieval City and its Hinterland. The British Museum Occasional Paper Number 141, 2001, 136 p. Reviewed by Ville Laakso. PDF
• Lars Ivar Hansen and Bjørnar Olsen, Samenes historie fram til 1750. Cappelen Akademisk Forlag. Oslo 2004, 427 pp, with indexes of terminology, names and places. Reviewed by Helena Ruotsala. PDF

Abstracts:

HIETAMÄKI IN JÄMSÄ – A MULTI-PERIOD DWELLING SITE IN CENTRAL FINLAND
Abstract
Shore displacement in the northern parts of Lake Päijänne, dated into the period under discussion with exceptional precision with varved sediments, defines the possible periodization of the Hietamäki site in Jämsä, Central Finland. The oldest dates for the site are from the beginning of the period, when Northern Lake Päijänne was a bay of the Ancylus Lake stage of the Baltic.
Dated to ca. 7250 cal BC in the Early Mesolithic, the Hietamäki site represents a rare type of settlement that was inundated by transgression in the Lake Päijänne area. It had mostly been destroyed upon being found. For the time being, Hietamäki is the only representative of its type in Central Finland; nor is the type common elsewhere in the country, although transgression and regression of several metres caused by land upheaval are an integral part of the postglacial history of lakes.
As in the case of most Mesolithic sites in Finland, the finds from Hietamäki consist of a one-sided assemblage: quartz artefacts and flakes, a few lithic flakes and pieces of burnt bone. The sieved bone material is an important addition to the few unmixed Early Mesolithic assemblages of bone finds. It is also the most informative component of the finds, suggesting that the site was not a long-term base camp, being instead occupied in the early summer season when fishing was at its most productive.
There are also signs of two later stages of occupation at the site. One consists of only a hearth, which is dated to the Comb Ware period, and the other stage is from the Early Metal Period. The finds of the latter stage have been interpreted as a cooking pit. Neither of the later stages of settlement includes other finds, which may be due to the considerable damage undergone by the site. Investigated pits similar to the Early Mesolithic feature at Hietamäki are briefly discussed, noting the small number of contemporary finds and the possibilities of an intensified investigation of such pits to provide new material for the study of this period with its limited archaeological material.
Keywords: shore displacement, Lake Päijänne, Mesolithic, comb ceramic, early metal period, inundated sites, fire places, pits, osteology, refuse fauna

Alexander Häusler
ÜBER ALTE UND NEUE HYPOTHESEN ZUM URSPRUNG UND ZUR VERBREITUNG DER INDOGERMANEN
Abstract
In the present paper the author discuss some recent theories about the origin and spread of the Indo-Europeans and their language. None of the popular migration theories can be proofed in the light of recent archaeological research. In the last part of the paper the author accentuats his attention on some non-migration concepts about the spread of the indoeuropean languages. Here he compares the well-known explanation of N.S. Trubetzkoy with the computer simulation model of J. Robb about the origin of language systems.
Zusammenfassung
Die Verbreitung der indogermanischen (engl.: Indoeuropean) Sprachen wird häufig auf eine Urkultur der Träger der indogermanischen Sprachen, der Indogermanen (im englischen Sprachgebrauch Indo-Europeans), in einer konkreten Ur- oder Primärheimat zurückgeführt. Das Erklärungsmodell einer Ausbreitung durch Völkerwanderungen ist besonders weit verbreitet. Dazu gehört die von Wahle, H. Güntert und M. Gimbutas vertretene Konzeption. Sie setzt eine Urheimat der Indogermanen in den nordpontischen Steppen an. In dem vorliegenden Beitrag wird zunächst auf die Thesen von C.-H. Boettcher eingegangen. Er korreliert die Ausbreitung der Indogermanen mit derjenigen der Trichterbecherkultur Mittel- und Nordeuropas. Sodann werden die Ansichten von P. Kallio diskutiert. Er beruft sich u.a. auf A.G. Sherratt und dessen Annahme einer von Vorderasien ausgehenden „second products revolution“. Den beliebten Migrationshypothesen, die nach Ansicht des Verfassers sämtlich abzulehnen sind (da sie sich durch die archäologischen Befunde nicht bestätigen lassen), werden die Nicht-Migrationshypothesen von C. Renfrew und K. Wiik gegenübergestellt. In ihnen wird die Indogermanisierung Nordeurasiens mit einer friedlichen Ausbreitung der neolithischen Lebensweise aus Anatolien verbunden, die mit der indogermanischen Sprache gekoppelt war. Zum Schluß wird die Frage aufgeworfen, ob die Herausbildung eines indogermanischen Sprachkontinuums besser mit dem Modell von Trubetzkoy – Entstehung der indogermanischen Grundsprache durch Verschmelzung vieler kleinerer Spracheinheiten – oder durch das Modell von J. Robb – Ausbreitung des Indogermanischen im Gefolge von jahrtausendelangen statistisch rein zufälligen Verdrängungsprozessen (im Paläolithikum), gefolgt von Konsolidierungsvorgängen (im Neolithikum) – zu erklären sei.
Keywords: Indo-Europeans, linguistics, migration, language systems

Matti Saarnisto & Alexander Saksa
RADIOCARBON DATES FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS IN VIIPURI THE CORNER SITE OF FORMER UUDENPORTINKATU AND ETELÄVALLI
Abstract
Discussed in the article are finds from a rescue excavation at the corner of former Uudenportinkatu and Etelävalli streets in the medieval section of Viipuri. Calibrated radiocarbon dates of the seeds of fat hen (Chenopodiaceae sp.) indicate animal husbandry around 1310 AD. Together with other finds, they indicate the existence of a large village community predating the masonry-built town of Viipuri. Also discussed are timber drainage structures of the 16th–18th centuries. Finds of cannonball fragments and intact cannonballs can be associated with the siege of Viipuri in 1710, as a result of which the town surrendered to the forces of Peter the Great. The support of the Foundation for Karelian Culture and the Geological Survey of Finland are gratefully acknowledged.