Pollen-Analytical Results from Lake Katajajärvi – Aspects of the History of Settlement in the Finnish Inland Regions

Abstract

The Early Metal Period (1800 cal BCÁAD 300) of the Finnish inland regions is characterized by a scarcity of archaeological remains. Its latest stages, in particular, have proved to be difficult to interpret. This paper discusses the continuity of settlement in the Early Metal Period as indicated by archaeological survey and pollen-analytical data. The study area is situated in Repovesi National Park in southeastern Finland. The pollen analysis was constructed from a sediment sequence taken from Lake Katajajärvi. The archaeological survey data from Repovesi National Park supports earlier hypotheses of the small number of Early Metal Period sites. In the pollen data, the first anthropogenic impact is recorded from about 2600 BC onwards, with weak signs of cultivation around 2370 BC. From around 1900 BC onwards a clear change in tree, shrub and herb pollen percentages indicates anthropogenic impact, possibly grazing, in the area. The pollen-analytical results also revealed a cultivation period of about 900 years at the end of the Early Metal Period, providing proof of continuity in settlement during a period characterized by a scarcity of archaeological material. A new beginning of cultivation from cal AD 1160 to 1250 onwards can be considered as indicating population growth, developing settlements and the colonization of new areas. The results from Repovesi are challenging from an archaeological point of view, because they represent slash-and-burn cultivation that appears to have been practised in total wilderness conditions. Comparison of the Lake Katajajärvi results with other areas raises new questions that call for a discussion of early slash-and-burn cultivation in new perspective.

Early Farming in the Northern Boreal Zone: Reassessing the History of Land Use in Southeastern Finland through High‐Resolution Pollen Analysis

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Forest Fires in Europe

“…Slash and burn played an important role in the economy of northern Scandinavia and large parts of the Finnish inland, during the Late Iron Age and the entire historical period (Alenius et al, 2009) and it was thus the prime means for the colonization of the vast and inhospitable Nordic taiga. Slash and burn played an important role in the economy of northern Scandinavia and large parts of the Finnish inland, during the Late Iron Age and the entire historical period (Alenius et al, 2009) and it was thus the prime means for the colonization of the vast and inhospitable Nordic taiga.…”

The Space of Culture – the Place of Nature in Estonia and Beyond

“…For example, it has been assumed that in the permanent settlement region of fertile alluvial and loess soils in Central Europe, the first land-use method was intensive garden cultivation of longestablished fixed plots (Bogucki & Grygiel 1993;Bogaard 2004). Swidden cultivation played an important role in the economy of northern Scandinavia and large parts of the Finnish inland during the Late Iron Age and the entire historical period (Alenius et al 2009). Researchers have not agreed on early land-use methods in southern Scandinavia (Thorpe 1999) since very little direct data on the matter is available and the evidence there is can be interpreted in different ways.…”