War as a Paradigmatic Phenomenon: Endemic Violence and the Finnish Subneolithic

Sipilä, Joonas; Lahelma, Antti

doi:10.1163/157407706778942259

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Such boundary-crossing brings to mind the idea of cannibalism. We know from the analysis of human bones analysis in the neolithic that certain bones were treated in a similar way to animal bones used for consumption, for example at the site of Jettböle on the Åland islands and earlier at Dyrholmen, Jutland (thorpe 2005; Sipilä and Lahelma 2007). those are not very frequent events, but like the rock art depictions discussed in this paper, they indicate particular rituals within symbolic and culinary transformations.…”

Section: Humans With the Arrow/s In Their Backsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…As thorpe (2003 has shown in several publications, however, the expression and presence of violence differs through time and space, and is culturally specific: 'historical contingency would reject any of the unified theories … in favour of the examination of the particular circumstances of each conflict, and indeed, of each example of the lack of conflict ' (thorpe 2005, 6). Following such an approach I will provide an interpretation of the White Sea art that opens up the possibility of violence as a symbolic act that transcends the boundary between humans and animals, and moves us on from regarding the violence depicted as an expression of fighting for resources or control over particular territory (Sipilä and Lahelma 2007). As in most cases of archaeological enquiry, the depictions I will discuss do not have analogies in prehistoric or historical data.…”

Section: Violence and Warfarementioning

confidence: 99%

“…the meaning of these acts, however, could have differed according to time and cultural context. Sipilä and Lahelma (2007) have argued for such an understanding of the Zalavruga carvings. Such an interpretation, however, points towards the need for a more intricate approach than just using direct ethnographic analogy when we look at other 'pin-cushion' depictions from this rock art complex.…”

Section: Humans With the Arrow/s In Their Backsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Noble death’:

Janik¹

2012

Visualising the Neolithic

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IntroductIonthe creation of rock art was an effective way of keeping memory alive in the neolithic. By carving images, by returning to the same locations over and over again and carving more, by performing rituals or simply reminiscing about events or retelling the stories carved into the rocks, memories were kept alive over thousands of years around the White Sea in north-western russia. using contemporary vocabulary in trying to categorise what this rock art is all about, I suggest it is a monument, whose location as a cultural marker in a very tangible way defines landscape. By carving the rocks the local community or communities committed events, people and ideas to cultural and social memory. the long term perspective offered by rock art allows us to look at these events, people and ideas as active elements, and sometimes as an agency that shapes hard and soft memory (Etkind 2004).the ideas of hard and soft memory were introduced by Etkind (2004) in his study of cultural memory in russia and Germany. In Etkind's formulation, hard memory is related to monuments and soft memory to text. Etkind proposes that these two forms can either be exclusive, 'monuments without inscription are mute, whereas texts without monuments are ephemeral', or they can strengthen each other (Etkind 2004, 40). In the case of the rock art I suggest they complement each other, since in the first instance rock art is based on non-verbal communication relying on visual narratives that convey the story through looking rather than reading (Janik 1999). Such an interpretation of rock art gives a voice to the images and allows the monument to communicate the stories in a way independent from other forms of message. At the same time, the monument/rock art enhances and complements other types of story telling, social or ritual communication and interaction.In this paper, I concentrate on the memory of violence, in a situation where hard memory is exclusive to one particular site among a number of locations, and where soft memory undergoes transformation of what is carved. In such a way the monument and the memories embedded in it were culturally and socially active over the long term, while the carvings were 'rewritten' by subsequent generations of carvers.

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Section: Humans With the Arrow/s In Their Backsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Violence and Warfarementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Humans With the Arrow/s In Their Backsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Noble death’:

Janik¹

2012

Visualising the Neolithic

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“…In north-eastern Europe, we find similar evidence for burned Neolithic houses (see Zhulnikov 1999;Katiskoski 2002), and it is possible that this was a result of intentional destruction and thus linked to a changing cultural meaning of fire in the Neolithization of north-eastern European boreal zone. However, other interpretations (such as endemic warfare, see Sipilä and Lahelma 2006) have been put forward, and the remains of northern Neolithic houses have not really been investigated from this point of view (but see .…”

Section: Fire and Transformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Northern Archaeology and Cosmology

Herva¹,

Lahelma²

2019

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In its analysis of the archaeologies and histories of the northern fringe of Europe, this book provides a focus on animistic-shamanistic cosmologies and the associated humanenvironment relations from the Neolithic to modern times. The North has fascinated Europeans throughout history, as an enchanted world of natural and supernatural marvels: a land of light and dark, of northern lights and the midnight sun, of witches and magic and of riches ranging from amber to oil. Northern lands conflate fantasies and realities. Rich archaeological, historical, ethnographic and folkloric materials combine in this book with cutting-edge theoretical perspectives drawn from relational ontologies and epistemologies, producing a fresh approach to the prehistory and history of a region that is pivotal to understanding Europe-wide processes, such as Neolithization and modernization. This book examines the mythical and actual northern worlds, with northern relational modes of perceiving and engaging with the world on the one hand, and the 'place' of the North in European culture on the other. This book is an indispensable read for scholars of archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies and folklore in northern Europe, as well as researchers interested in how the North is intertwined with developments in the broader European and Eurasian world. It provides a deep-time understanding of globally topical issues and conflicting interests, as expressed by debates and controversies around Arctic resources, nature preservation and indigenous rights.

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“…Lahelma and Sipilä 2004;Raninen 2005;Seitsonen and Kunnas 2009;Sipilä and Lahelma 2006). Archaeological fieldwork has been conducted at a handful of sites, including at the location of the 1809 Battle of Koljonvirta (Marin 2005;Poutiainen 2005).…”

Section: Materials Heritage Of the Second World War In Finlandmentioning

confidence: 99%