On the scent of an animal skin: new evidence on Corded Ware mortuary practices in Northern Europe

Ahola, Marja; Kirkinen, Tuija; Vajanto, Krista; Ruokolainen, Janne

doi:10.15184/aqy.2017.188

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Cultivated plants at CWC sites in Finland were not discovered in the current investigation (Supplementary Results) or earlier studies 41 . In Finland, the keeping of domestic animals is indicated by the evidence of dairy lipids 42 and mineralized goat hairs 43 . Charred remains and impressions of cultivated plants have been discovered at CWC sites in Estonia 44 and east-central Sweden 45 (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maritime Hunter-Gatherers Adopt Cultivation at the Farming Extreme of Northern Europe 5000 Years Ago

Vanhanen

Gustafsson²,

Ranheden

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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The dynamics of the origins and spread of farming are globally debated in anthropology and archaeology. Lately, numerous aDNA studies have turned the tide in favour of migrations, leaving only a few cases in Neolithic Europe where hunter-gatherers might have adopted agriculture. It is thus widely accepted that agriculture was expanding to its northern extreme in Sweden c. 4000 BC by migrating Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC) farmers. This was followed by intense contacts with local hunter-gatherers, leading to the development of the Pitted Ware Culture (PWC), who nonetheless relied on maritime prey. Here, we present archaeobotanical remains from Sweden and the Åland archipelago (Finland) showing that PWC used free-threshing barley and hulled and free-threshing wheat from c. 3300 BC. We suggest that these hunter-gatherers adopted cultivation from FBC farmers and brought it to islands beyond the 60th parallel north. Based on directly dated grains, land areas suitable for cultivation, and absence of signs of exchange with FBC in Sweden, we argue that PWC cultivated crops in Åland. While we have isotopic and lipid-biomarker proof that their main subsistence was still hunting/fishing/gathering, we argue small-scale cereal use was intended for ritual feasts, when cereal products could have been consumed with pork.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maritime Hunter-Gatherers Adopt Cultivation at the Farming Extreme of Northern Europe 5000 Years Ago

Vanhanen

Gustafsson²,

Ranheden

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…In Finland, the earliest secure appearance of livestock dates to the end of the Late Neolithic, ca. 2500-950 bc (Bläuer and Kantanen 2013;Cramp et al 2014;Ukkonen and Mannermaa 2017;Ahola et al 2018). The REVEALS results however do not show similar patterns, change in forest plant composition, suggesting that the land use has remained small scale and local.…”

Section: From Local To Regional Land Use: From Late Neolithic (3200-1mentioning

confidence: 93%

The environment they lived in: anthropogenic changes in local and regional vegetation composition in eastern Fennoscandia during the Neolithic

Alenius

Marquer

Molinari

et al. 2020

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Understanding about regional versus local changes in vegetation is critical in answering archaeological questions, in particular at a time when humans are assumed to have caused higher disturbances at local scales rather than regional scales; this is the case during the Neolithic. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of Neolithic land use on regional and local vegetation dynamics, plant composition and disturbance processes (e.g. fire) in eastern Fennoscandia. We apply the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm (LRA) to high-resolution pollen records from three lacustrine sediment cores that cover the Neolithic period. We calculate changes in vegetation composition and the rate of plant compositional change. Fire dynamics are estimated as an indicator of land use, although fire can result from both natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Our results show that during the Early Neolithic, changes were mainly driven by natural and climate-induced factors and vegetation composition and fire activity were similar at both regional and local scales. From ca. 4000 bc onwards, trends in vegetation and fire dynamics start to differ between regional and local scales. This is due to local land uses that are overshadowed at the regional scale by climate-induced factors. The use of the LOVE model in pollen analyses is therefore very useful to highlight local land uses that are not visible by using REVEALS.

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“…87-88). Nonetheless, the graves mainly follow the material culture and burial customs of central and northern European CWC graves, and contain, e.g., battle axes, bone pins, and items made of the bones and pelts of domesticated animals (Loze 2006, Lõugas et al 2007, Ahola et al 2018, Ahola and Heyd 2020. However, pottery is commonly present only in the Finnish graves (Ahola and Heyd 2020, p. 86), and ceramic vessels are rare in the burials south of the Gulf of Finland (2018, p. 540).…”

Section: The Materialization Of the Steppe-originated Religion In The Eastern And Northern Baltic Sea Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating a Sense of Belonging: Religion and Migration in the Context of the 3^rdMillennium BC Corded Ware Complex in the Eastern and Northern Baltic Sea Region

Ahola

2020

Norwegian Archaeological Review

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Although not often discussed in an archaeological context, religion plays an important role in human migrations by working as an anchor of collective identity and distinction among the migrants. By establishing permanent religious structures -such as burials -the newcomers can also use religion as a tool to indicate an enduring presence in their new homeland. Remarkably, such practices can also be seen among the groups connected with the Corded Ware complex that migrated and settled in the eastern and northern Baltic Sea region roughly 5000 years ago. According to the material remains of the mortuary practices associated with this complex, these people did not travel alone; they carried with them a novel religion. Defined in this paper as a 'steppe-originated religion', this belief system continued mortuary practices known from the Pontic Steppe, while also incorporating material and ritual elements from different regions over the course of time. Despite this syncretism, the core ideas of the religion nevertheless persisted. As these ideas seem to relate to the mixing of past and present generations, as well as the merging of homeland and new land, this religion could have provided much-needed aid and comfort for a people on the move.

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On the scent of an animal skin: new evidence on Corded Ware mortuary practices in Northern Europe

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 14 publications

References 25 publications

Maritime Hunter-Gatherers Adopt Cultivation at the Farming Extreme of Northern Europe 5000 Years Ago

Maritime Hunter-Gatherers Adopt Cultivation at the Farming Extreme of Northern Europe 5000 Years Ago

The environment they lived in: anthropogenic changes in local and regional vegetation composition in eastern Fennoscandia during the Neolithic

Creating a Sense of Belonging: Religion and Migration in the Context of the 3^rdMillennium BC Corded Ware Complex in the Eastern and Northern Baltic Sea Region

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On the scent of an animal skin: new evidence on Corded Ware mortuary practices in Northern Europe

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 14 publications

References 25 publications

Maritime Hunter-Gatherers Adopt Cultivation at the Farming Extreme of Northern Europe 5000 Years Ago

Maritime Hunter-Gatherers Adopt Cultivation at the Farming Extreme of Northern Europe 5000 Years Ago

The environment they lived in: anthropogenic changes in local and regional vegetation composition in eastern Fennoscandia during the Neolithic

Creating a Sense of Belonging: Religion and Migration in the Context of the 3rdMillennium BC Corded Ware Complex in the Eastern and Northern Baltic Sea Region

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Creating a Sense of Belonging: Religion and Migration in the Context of the 3^rdMillennium BC Corded Ware Complex in the Eastern and Northern Baltic Sea Region