A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Transition from hunting to animal husbandry in Southern, Western and Eastern Finland: new dated osteological evidence
Authors: Bläuer Auli, Kantanen Juha
Publisher: ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Publication year: 2013
Journal: Journal of Archaeological Science
Journal name in source: JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Journal acronym: J ARCHAEOL SCI
Number in series: 4
Volume: 40
Issue: 4
First page : 1646
Last page: 1666
Number of pages: 21
ISSN: 0305-4403
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2012.10.033
Abstract
The beginning of animal husbandry in Finland is one of the most debated topics in Finnish archaeology. For this study a total of 69 bone materials from archaeological sites in Southern, Western and Eastern Finland, dating from the Middle Neolithic to the Early Metal Period, were analysed: 52 represented identifiable animal bones. These data were complemented with those from previously analysed bone materials. A total of 19 domestic animal bones were radiocarbon-dated to determine their connection with a particular cultural period. However, 13 of them proved to belong to the historical and not the prehistoric period, emphasizing the importance of radiocarbon-dating and context awareness when interpreting prehistoric bone materials. Among the radiocarbon-dated material were the oldest dated sheep, cattle and horse bones in Finland. The oldest radiocarbon-dated domestic animal bone in Finland, from sheep or goat, derives from the Late Stone Age Kiukainen Culture site, while cattle and horse bones date to the Bronze Age. This is later than expected. However, the available material does not exclude the possibility that some animal husbandry was practised in Finland earlier. Nevertheless, domestic animal bones are rare in samples dated to the cultural periods studied, while hunting and fishing represented important subsistence activities. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The beginning of animal husbandry in Finland is one of the most debated topics in Finnish archaeology. For this study a total of 69 bone materials from archaeological sites in Southern, Western and Eastern Finland, dating from the Middle Neolithic to the Early Metal Period, were analysed: 52 represented identifiable animal bones. These data were complemented with those from previously analysed bone materials. A total of 19 domestic animal bones were radiocarbon-dated to determine their connection with a particular cultural period. However, 13 of them proved to belong to the historical and not the prehistoric period, emphasizing the importance of radiocarbon-dating and context awareness when interpreting prehistoric bone materials. Among the radiocarbon-dated material were the oldest dated sheep, cattle and horse bones in Finland. The oldest radiocarbon-dated domestic animal bone in Finland, from sheep or goat, derives from the Late Stone Age Kiukainen Culture site, while cattle and horse bones date to the Bronze Age. This is later than expected. However, the available material does not exclude the possibility that some animal husbandry was practised in Finland earlier. Nevertheless, domestic animal bones are rare in samples dated to the cultural periods studied, while hunting and fishing represented important subsistence activities. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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