This article presents a comparison of material records of two nearby regions on the coast of the Bothnian Bay. The timeframe is 5300–2000 BCE. The focus is on regional differences, which indicate a schizmogenesis of communal identities. The study calls for a reorientation of research concerning Fennoscandian prehistory. More attention should be paid to localized prehistories. It is argued that when prehistoric society is used as a fundamental group category, especially in the context of forager communities, the modern concept of state society distorts the underlying framework. Focusing on the regional level by constructing local prehistoric narratives limits the anachronistic effect and allows the proliferation of local communal identities. Such local prehistories, when collated and compared, offer a pathway to understanding prehistoric stateless societies, which are misrepresented by simplistic material cultural zones and the inherent homogeny ingrained within the concept of society. In this paper, the analysis is focused on practices representing local traditions. Two divergent themes that arise from the local prehistoric narratives are the Late Mesolithic use of local stone materials and regional changes in Neolithic dwelling forms.

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The authors thank the participants of the 2017 Workshop of Archaeology of Religion in Tvärminne for the much-needed guiding criticism. Also, professor Vesa-Pekka Herva's invaluable comments are always appreciated. Aki would like to dedicate this paper to his grandmother Laina, who, after a long and contented life, in accordance with the modern Finnish culture of death in 2016, was made to disappear.The study was partly funded by Otto A. Malm Foundation.

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The paper presents the first cultural anthropological study of the Finnish canine police force. The study is based on interviews with eleven police dog handlers. The interviews focused on the cultural model of the profession, with emphasis on the interaction between dogs and their handlers. The relationship is surprisingly reciprocal. It can be understood as operating on the principles of an interspecies social contract, where the categorical division between the species is, paradoxically, vigorously maintained and habitually broken. The police dog requires constant negotiation to perform tasks that humans themselves cannot do. Rather than being forced, the dogs are guided through play and positive reinforcement into performing tasks. Relationships of canine police teams are deeply personal and in navigating the complexities of a human-driven society, the canine assumes many different roles. Conceptualizing police dogs as mediators for their natural talents, instead of mere tools, could formalize their place in society.