Sealing economy: Exploring seals as resources in the Åland islands ca. 1100-1700 CE through zooarchaeology and account books

The most recent baltic sea marine hunter-gatherers? The buried individual of grave IB3 in the Suutarinniemi cemetery, Finland

“…Farming communities on the Baltic Sea shores continued to utilise marine resources but, instead of seals, fish became one of the key components of a diet which was complemented by farming products [ 4 , 6 ]. Where sealing continued, it was a seasonal hunting practice which took part during the early spring and late autumn [ 3 ]. In the modern period seal bones continue to be found in archaeological sites, but in low numbers [ 51 ].…”

“…However, with the shift away from marine hunter-gathering during the neolithisation process, the diet of the people of the Baltic transformed [2] and seal no longer dominated. After this shift seals continued to be hunted, but they no longer formed a key part of the subsistence strategy [3]. By contrast, in farming societies during the Bronze Age, the Iron Age and the historical period, the utilisation of marine resources was focused on fishing, and this was complemented by the products of farming [4][5][6].…”

New Insights into the Use and Circulation of Reindeer Antler in Northern Iberia During the Magdalenian (Ca. 21-13 cal Ka BP)

“…the last two decades has revealed that the under-or overrepresentation of the distal portions of the legs of fur-bearing mammals in faunal assemblages to result from the transport of pelts (among others Persson, 1979;Charles, 1997;Cochard and Brugal, 2004;Cueto et al, 2016;Kirkinen, 2017;Costamagno et al, 2018;Kivikero et al, 2020). During the skinning process, small bones of the hands and feet (i.e., phalanges, astragalus and even metapodial for small species) can remain attached to the pelt for their aesthetic/ritual aspectfor example, the claws of carnivores attached to furs (Persson, 1979;Cueto et al, 2016;Kirkinen, 2017) -, or for technical purposes (e.g., Cochard and Brugal, 2004;Costamagno et al, 2018;Kivikero et al, 2020). In the latter case, these leg elements remain attached to the pelt during transport between the butchery site and the tanning site, where they are removed, demonstrating a spatio-temporal segmentation of skinning activities.…”

Processing water birds for food at the Island of Kökar in the Baltic Sea during the medieval and early modern period (ca. CE 1400–1700)

“…83–84; Gustavsson, 1994; Kivikero, 2020), as well as every tenth caught seal according to a seal tithe (Diplomatrium Fennicum 426, 432, 438, 475). These taxes and tolls were taken over by the Castle of Kastelholm after the Reformation (Kivikero, 2020; Kivikero et al, 2020). The friars seem to have owned the whole island of Hamnö, the local community of fishermen and peasants settled on the other islands that formed Kökar (Gustavsson, 1994, p. 503).…”

“…These taxes and tolls were taken over by the Castle of Kastelholm after the Reformation (Kivikero, 2020;Kivikero et al, 2020). The friars seem to have owned the whole island of Hamnö, the local community of fishermen and peasants settled on the other islands that formed Kökar (Gustavsson, 1994, p. 503).…”