Food and tension: feasting as means to alleviate social tension in the fourteenth–fifteenth century trading places of the Bothnian Bay region

Kuusela, Jari-Matti

doi:10.1080/00438243.2018.1494625

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Key features in the archaeological records of the north are the tendency of sites and finds to be associated with waterways, associated water systems, and travelling routes (Hakamäki & Kuusela 2013;Kuusela et al 2018, 774), and that a significant part of the archaeological material of the period consists of imported artefacts, implicating a wide trade network (see e.g. Wallerström 1995;Hakamäki & Kuusela 2013;Hakamäki 2018;Kuusela et al 2016;Kuusela 2018;Henriksen 2019). From the Late Iron Age onwards, European traders began showing an increased interest towards northern trade -as the products of the north where in high demand (e.g.…”

Section: Northern Fennoscandia Before and After The Viking Agementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The interaction of the northern communities with Europe via an extensive trade network during the Late Iron Age and Middle Ages has in recent years become a well researched subject, and cultural interactions (Bergman & Edlund 2016;Kuusela et al 2016;Kuusela 2018), the power struggles of the Baltic powers and their effect on the northern societies (Kuusela et al 2018), the extent of the network (Kuusela et al 2016;Hakamäki 2018;Henriksen 2019), and the Christianisation process (Kuusela 2015;in press;Puolakka 2019) have been examined, showing that the trade network acted as a superstructure influencing the trajectories of cultural development in northern Fennoscandia. However, the processes via which the network came to be in existence have been under less scrutiny.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Hunters, Fishers, Traders – An Archaeological and Zooarchaeological Perspective on the Development of the Late Iron Age and Medieval Northern Fennoscandian Trade Network

Äikäs¹,

Kuusela²,

Salmi³

2020

EJA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Late Iron Age and medieval trade in northern Fennoscandia has arguably often thought to have been primarily fur trade. However, recent discoveries of Late Iron Age and early medieval sites in the north together with the reexamination of previous evidence reveals a more nuanced picture and indicates that trade in bulk goods -namely inland stockfish and reindeer productsmay have played a significant role in the northern trade. This article examines both archaeological and zooarchaeological evidence from several sites in northern Fennoscandia from the perspective of trade economy, and it is suggested that the northern trade began to flourish at the beginning of the Viking Age in the early 9th century and may have been driven by the demand of fish by the European markets. It is also suggested that at the beginning of the 13th century at the latest, the trade economic importance of reindeer became prominent and would increasingly remain so up until the historical period. The authors therefore suggest that although the role of furs in the northern trade was significant, reindeer hunting and inland fishing should also be considered to have been of major trade economic importance.

show abstract

Section: Northern Fennoscandia Before and After The Viking Agementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hunters, Fishers, Traders – An Archaeological and Zooarchaeological Perspective on the Development of the Late Iron Age and Medieval Northern Fennoscandian Trade Network

Äikäs¹,

Kuusela²,

Salmi³

2020

EJA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, there is no evidence for permanent occupation, leading the excavators to suggest that it may have been an early marketplace. Such market places at river mouths regained a much more conspicuous role as central places in the northern Baltic Sea world in the following, late Iron Age and the early medieval period (Kuusela et al 2016(Kuusela et al , 2018Kuusela 2018).…”

Section: River Mouths As Liminal Spaces and Central Placesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to the historical sources, he also briefly considered the potentially relevant archaeological material, including some of the then-recently excavated central places on northern river mouths, such as the Iron Age site of Rakanmäki at the mouth of River Tornio, but he admitted that it was scarce and, in some ways, incongruent with the historical snippets of information about Kvenland. The recent discovery of more such sites dating to the late Iron Age and early medieval period has, however, prompted a rather fundamental reassessment of the character of river-mouth sites and how they are linked to the semi-mythical northern realms, on the one hand, and historical realities on the other (Kuusela 2013(Kuusela , 2018Kuusela et al 2016Kuusela et al , 2018.…”

Section: Mythical Kingdoms In Later Prehistorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Northern Archaeology and Cosmology

Herva¹,

Lahelma²

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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 humanenvironment 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.

show abstract

“…The authors suggest that archaeologists develop analyses of ancient political landscapes that consider multiple and overlapping kinds of authority, including heterarchy between towns and hierarchy within them. At a more regional scale, archaeologists are tracing the economic trade relationships that fostered regional interactions, in particular by challenging and testing ideas regarding the roots and branches of early “world‐systems.” Kuusela, Nurmi, and Hakamäki () critique classic world‐systems theory's assumption of asymmetrical core‐periphery relationships, arguing for a more heterarchical or nonhierarchical understanding of regional complexity emerging from reciprocal flows of raw material and manufactured goods between southern and northern towns of the Bothnian Sea (also Kuusela ). Likewise, Ling, Earle, and Kristiansen () suggest that the economic transactions that defined a “maritime mode of production” in Viking Age northern Europe fostered the development of a decentralized network of interaction and dependency.…”

Section: Decentralized Complexity and Collective Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Digs: Networks, Assemblages, and the Dissolution of Binary Categories in Anthropological Archaeology

Kosiba

2019

American Anthropologist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Anthropological archaeology has long been a process of categorization. The history of the subdiscipline could be rendered in terms of an ongoing project to create, critique, and then refashion the categories by which archaeologists understand and explain social and ecological processes. Despite ever-changing theoretical tides, many archaeologists have continued to adhere to a lingua franca that demarcates their object of study, whether "the past," "nature," complexity, material culture, or historical knowledge. In 2018, strong currents in archaeological scholarship have both challenged and washed out the boundaries of many of these epistemological mainstays. This was more than a postmodern exercise to question metanarratives of history or to destabilize supposed social universals. The recent scholarship develops innovative theoretical perspectives and sophisticated methodological tools to shed light on the varied human interactions, practices, and projects that were previously occluded by research too sharply focused on bounded categories such as periods, polities, adaptations, and meanings. Furthermore, archaeologists are now more than ever critically examining the colonial institutions that they perpetuate and seeking to establish new common ground with Indigenous communities. A decidedly archaeological perspective seems to be taking shape.This is a view that sees social life from the ground up in terms of complicated relationships between people, things, and other organisms that cannot be reduced to catchall categories. [year in review, archaeology, archaeological theory, current issues, Indigenous archaeology, environmental anthropology] RESUMEN La arqueología antropológica ha sido durante mucho tiempo un proceso de categorización. La historia de la subdisciplina podría ser descrita en términos de un proyecto continuo de crear, criticar y luego rehacer las categorías a través de las cuales los arqueólogos entienden y explican los procesos sociales y ecológicos. A pesar de las mareas teóricas siempre cambiantes, muchos arqueólogos han continuado adhiriéndose a una lengua franca que demarca su objeto de estudio, ya sea "el pasado", "naturaleza", complejidad, cultura material o conocimiento histórico.En 2018, corrientes fuertes en la investigación arqueológica han tanto retado como difuminado los límites de muchos de los pilares epistemológicos. Esto fue más que un ejercicio posmoderno para cuestionar metanarrativas de la historia o para desestabilizar supuestos universales sociales. La reciente investigación desarrolla perspectivas teóricas innovadoras y herramientas metodológicas sofisticadas para arrojar luz sobre las variadas interacciones humanas, prácticas y proyectos que estuvieron previamente ocluidos por investigación excesivamente enfocada en categorías delimitadas tales como períodos, unidades políticas, adaptaciones y significados. Además, los arqueólogos ahora están más que nunca examinando críticamente las instituciones coloniales que perpetúan y buscando establecer un nuevo terreno común con las c...

show abstract

Food and tension: feasting as means to alleviate social tension in the fourteenth–fifteenth century trading places of the Bothnian Bay region

Cited by 6 publications

References 10 publications

Hunters, Fishers, Traders – An Archaeological and Zooarchaeological Perspective on the Development of the Late Iron Age and Medieval Northern Fennoscandian Trade Network

Hunters, Fishers, Traders – An Archaeological and Zooarchaeological Perspective on the Development of the Late Iron Age and Medieval Northern Fennoscandian Trade Network

Northern Archaeology and Cosmology

New Digs: Networks, Assemblages, and the Dissolution of Binary Categories in Anthropological Archaeology

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About