Oula Seitsonen | University of Oulu (original) (raw)

Books by Oula Seitsonen

This book discusses the archaeology and heritage of the German military presence in Finnish Lapla... more This book discusses the archaeology and heritage of the German military presence in Finnish Lapland during the Second World War, framing this northern, overlooked WWII material legacy from the nearly forgotten Arctic front as ‘dark heritage’ – a concrete reminder of Finns siding with the Nazis, often seen as polluting ‘war junk’ that ruins the ‘pristine natural beauty’ of Lapland’s wilderness. The scholarship herein provides fresh perspectives to contemporary discussions on heritage perception and ownership, indigenous rights, community empowerment, relational ontologies and also the ongoing worldwide refugee crisis.

Oula Seitsonen (Sakarin-Pentin Ilarin Oula) is an archaeologist and geographer at the University of Oulu and University of Helsinki, Finland.

This dissertation discusses the material heritage of the German military presence in Finnish Lapl... more This dissertation discusses the material heritage of the German military presence in Finnish Lapland during the Second World War (WWII), as seen through archaeological and multidisciplinary studies. The Nazi German presence as brothers-in-arms in northern Finland has been a difficult and downplayed issue on multiple levels throughout the post-war decades. This study presents the first wider, problem-oriented and theoretically informed investigation about the archaeologies, materialities and heritage of the German WWII presence. However, even this work barely scratches the surface of this multifaceted subject and sets out future research directions. The experience of WWII in Lapland was different from the war experience elsewhere in Finland. The German troops had the frontal responsibility in Lapland in 1941–1944, and at the height of their military build-up there were more German troops and their multinational prisoners in the area than local inhabitants. After Finland made a cease-fire with the Soviet Union in 1944, a Finno-German Lapland War (1944–1945) broke out between the former brothers-in-arms. Due to the long nation-level downplay of the complex German presence, also the northern Finnish and Sámi war experiences have become side-lined. Accordingly, the German material remains have been treated dismissively as “war junk” littering Lapland’s nature. However, for the locals these were well-known throughout the post-war decades, as active material agents of communal and familial memories, and as part of Lapland’s cultural landscapes. This dissertation has two main focuses. Firstly, I study the Germans’ and their prisoners’ experiences in Lapland during the war through the material remains and archaeological inquiries, and secondly, the ways in which the different stakeholders have signified the traces of war in the post-war decades. The material traces illustrate and highlight in many ways the experiential aspects of the German soldiers’ and their prisoners’ wartime existence in an unfamiliar northern environment. The post-war perceptions of the German material remains underline the social value of these as part of the local long-term heritage and lived-in cultural landscape. Many locals see themselves as custodians of their “own past”, including the WWII legacy, wish to control access and engagement with the sites in their local landscape, and often feel that the authorities neglect their heritage. Thus, the traces of German presence have become one symbol of the continuing north-south confrontations, and the marginalization of the north. These issues tie in with Lapland’s long colonial history. The vast differences in engaging with the German WWII material remains appear to derive from fundamentally different mental templates with which the people perceive the subject and its importance. The people propagating the “clearing” of “war junk” appear to approach the subject, and the landscape, with a “western” gaze, and draw a division between “nature” and “culture” which labels the locals’ historical cultural landscape as a natural wilderness. Conversely, in the northern environmental awareness it is not meaningful to separate “nature” and “culture”, and instead, the landscape and its various layers form a web of relations, which tie together the past, present and future into a cognitively controlled and embodied unity. It appears that the different stakeholders should come to recognize and accept the differing standpoints from which they engage into the discussions, before a fruitful dialogue can be instigated.

Finnish: Tämä väitöskirja käsittelee arkeologisten ja monitieteisten tutkimusten kautta saksalaisten toisen maailmansodan aikaisen sotilaallisen läsnäolon materiaalista kulttuuriperintöä Suomen Lapissa. Natsisaksan joukkojen läsnäolo aseveljinä Pohjois-Suomessa on ollut sodanjälkeisinä vuosikymmeninä vaikea ja vähätelty aihe. Tämä työ on ensimmäinen laaja-alainen, teoreettisesti suuntautunut tutkimus saksalaisjoukkojen materiaalisten jäänteiden arkeologiasta, materiaalisuudesta ja perinnöstä Suomen Lapissa. Tämäkin tutkimus kuitenkin raaputtaa vain hieman tämän monikerroksisen aiheen pintaa ja tarjoaa tulevia tutkimussuuntia. Toisen maailmansodan kokemukset Lapissa erosivat merkittävästi muusta maasta. Saksalaisjoukoilla oli rintamavastuu pohjoisessa 1941–1944 ja enimmillään alueella oli enemmän saksalaisjoukkoja ja heidän monikansallisia vankejaan kuin paikallista väestöä. Suomen tehtyä tulitauon Neuvostoliiton kanssa 1944, entisten liittolaisten välille puhkesi Lapin sota (1944–1945). Koska saksalaisten läsnäoloa on pitkään vältelty kansallisella tasolla, myös pohjoissuomalainen ja saamelainen sotakokemus on jäänyt syrjään. Vastaavasti saksalaisten materiaaliset jäänteitä on usein vähättelevästi nimetty ”sotaromuksi”, joka sotkee Lapin luonnon. Paikallisille nämä jäänteet ovat kuitenkin olleet tunnettuja ja tärkeitä läpi vuosikymmenien osana paikallista kulttuurimaisemaa sekä yhteisöllisten ja yksilöllisten muistojen aktiivisina materiaalisina ilmentyminä. Tällä työllä on kaksi päätarkoitusta. Ensinnäkin tutkin saksalaisten ja heidän vankiensa sodan aikaisia kokemuksia Lapissa materiaalisten jäänteiden ja arkeologisen tutkimuksen avulla. Toisekseen selvitän tapoja, joilla eri yhteisöt ovat merkityksellistäneet näitä jälkiä sodan jälkeen. Materiaaliset jäänteet heijastelevat monilla tavoin saksalaisten ja heidän vankiensa sotakokemuksia vieraassa pohjoisessa ympäristössä. Sodanjälkeiset näkemykset saksalaisjäänteiden merkityksestä alleviivaavat niiden sosiaalista arvoa osana paikallista pitkän aikavälin kulttuuriperintöä ja –maisemaa. Monet paikalliset näkevät itsensä ”oman menneisyytensä” vartijoina ja toivovat voivansa valvoa ulkopuolisten toimintaa sota-aikaisilla kohteilla. Lisäksi he usein kokevat, että viranomaiset ylenkatsovat heidän kulttuuriperintöänsä. Tämän johdosta saksalaisten jäljet maisemassa ovat muodostuneet myös nykyisen Pohjois- ja Etelä-Suomen vastakkainasettelun sekä pohjoisen marginalisoinnin symboleiksi. Nämä näkemykset heijastelevat myös Lapin pitkää kolonialistista historiaa. Erilaiset tavat lähestyä saksalaisten toisen maailmansodan jäänteitä vaikuttavat olevan lähtöisin perustavanlaatuisista eroista maailmankatsomuksessa ja tavassa tulkita maisemaa. ”Sotaromun puhdistamista” kannattavat henkilöt näyttävät lähestyvän aihetta ”länsimaisella” katseella, joka vetää rajan ”luonnon” ja ”kulttuurin” välille. Tämä leimaa samalla paikallisten historiallisen kulttuurimaiseman tyhjäksi, luonnolliseksi erämaaksi. Toisaalta pohjoisessa ympäristötietoisuudessa ei ole mielekästä erotella “luontoa” ja “kulttuuria”. Sen sijaan maisema ja sen eri kerrostumat muodostavat kognitiivisesti kontrolloitujen ja kehollistuneiden suhteiden kokonaisuuden, joka sitoo yhteen menneen, nykyisen ja tulevan. Eri toimijoiden tulisikin tiedostaa ja hyväksyä toistensa eroavat lähtökohdat, ennen kuin he pystyvät rakentavaan keskusteluun aiheesta.

Current research project blog by Oula Seitsonen

Finnish-Mongolian Archaeological and Anthropological Expedition to Mongolia in 2019! Our exped... more Finnish-Mongolian Archaeological and Anthropological Expedition to Mongolia in 2019!

Our expedition will be re-tracing in the summer 2019 the trail of the 1909 Finnish Mongolia expedition, 110 years after the original expedition by Finnish linguist G.J. Ramstedt and archaeologist Sakari Pälsi.

Researchers: Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan (National Museum of Mongolia) and Oula Seitsonen (University of Helsinki / University of Oulu, Finland).

The expedition is generously funded by the Nordenskiöld-samfundet (Finland).

Project blog page 2018-2019, 2018

Archaeological study of recent past has been a rapidly growing field of research in Finland and i... more Archaeological study of recent past has been a rapidly growing field of research in Finland and internationally.As part of this trend, researchers have started to pay more attention also to “dark” research themes, such as the cultural heritage of wars, conflicts and other traumatic events. In Finland archaeologists have in the past few years actively documented, for instance, the Second World War heritage at Salpa Line, in Lapland and in Hangö.

However, on the conflict sites that have been left on the Russian side of the border, hardly any archaeological or other field research has been done. An exception are archeological surveys of Finnish Civil War (1918) sites, for example at the Ahvola Battlefield, and the activity of some keen Finnish and Russian enthusiasts. Russian archaeologists and cultural heritage authorities do not usually perceive the Second World War heritage as interesting for research or official protection. This has left the wartime sites as open prey for the so-called “black diggers” who use metal detectors to find treasures from the battlefields.

Mannerheim Line is internationally perhaps the single most famous and legendary scene of the Finnish Winter War in 1939-1940. Getting it under heritage protection in Russia is of primary importance, so that this important war historical monument would not be eradicated for instance by the modern landuse, but would be preserved for the future generations. Archaeology of the Mannerheim Line project aims at mapping the current state of the Mannerheim Line fortifications and recognizing sites with good archaeological research and cultural heritage preservation potential. Also the project aims at mapping the extent of looting by “black diggers” along the line, and marketing the cultural heritage value, historical significance and cultural tourism potential of the Second World War sites especially for the Russian collaborators and cultural heritage authorities.

LiDAR by Oula Seitsonen

Remote Sensing, 2023

This paper presents the development and application of a deep learning-based approach for semi-au... more This paper presents the development and application of a deep learning-based approach
for semi-automated detection of tar production kilns using new Finnish high-density Airborne Laser
Scanning (ALS) data in the boreal taiga forest zone. The historical significance of tar production,
an important livelihood for centuries, has had extensive environmental and ecological impacts,
particularly in the thinly inhabited northern and eastern parts of Finland. Despite being one of
the most widespread archaeological features in the country, tar kilns have received relatively little
attention until recently. The authors employed a Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) U-Net-based
algorithm to detect these features from the ALS data, which proved to be more accurate, faster, and
capable of covering systematically larger spatial areas than human actors. It also produces more
consistent, replicable, and ethically sustainable results. This semi-automated approach enabled
the efficient location of a vast number of previously unknown archaeological features, significantly
increasing the number of tar kilns in each study area compared to the previous situation. This
has implications also for the cultural resource management in Finland. The authors’ findings have
influenced the preparation of the renewal of the Finnish Antiquities Act, raising concerns about the
perceived impacts on cultural heritage management and land use sectors due to the projected tenfold
increase in archaeological site detection using deep learning algorithms. The use of environmental
remote sensing data may provide a means of examining the long-term cultural and ecological impacts
of tar production in greater detail. Our pilot studies suggest that artificial intelligence and deep
learning techniques have the potential to revolutionize archaeological research and cultural resource
management in Finland, offering promising avenues for future exploration.
Keywords: airborne laser scanning; archaeology; feature detection; deep learning; tar production;
boreal forest; Finland

Muinaistutkija, 2022

Maanmittauslaitoksen uusi, vuodesta 2020 alkaen julkaisema tarkempi 5p-laserkeilausaineisto on av... more Maanmittauslaitoksen uusi, vuodesta 2020 alkaen julkaisema tarkempi 5p-laserkeilausaineisto on avannut uusia mahdollisuuksia arkeologisten kohteiden paikantamiseen tekoälymenetelmiä hyväksikäyttäen. Artikkelissa esitellään Museoviraston ja Oulun yliopiston LIDARK-hankkeen kehittelemiä uusia lähestymistapoja ilmalaserkeilausaineistojen algoritmipohjaiseen käsittelyyn. Hankkeen tavoitteena on kehittää ja pilotoida arkeologisten kohteiden puoliautomaattista tunnistusta laserkeilausaineistosta. Tässä artikkelissa avataan yleisesti tekoälyyn ja koneoppimiseen perustuvien tunnistusalgoritmien toimintaa ja soveltuvuutta arkeologiassa, sekä käsitellään esimerkkitapauksena tervahautojen ja hiilimiilujen tunnistamista lähes 8000 km2 kattavalla alueella Pohjois-Pohjanmaalla ja Kainuussa.

Positio, 2022

Maanmittauslaitoksen tuottama ilmalaserkeilausaineisto on ollut yli kymmenen vuoden ajan arkeolog... more Maanmittauslaitoksen tuottama ilmalaserkeilausaineisto on ollut yli kymmenen vuoden ajan arkeologien aktiivisessa käytössä. Laserkeilausaineisto 2008-2019 oli merkittävä askel arkeologisten kohteiden ja rakennusten paikantamisen suhteen (kts. Positio 4/2019). Sen käyttöä arkeologiassa on kuitenkin rajoittanut harva pistetiheys, koska arkeologiset kohteet ovat usein varsin pienipiirteisiä. Kesällä 2020 tilanne muuttui merkittävästi, kun Maanmittauslaitos alkoi tuottaa uutta, kymmenen kertaa tarkempaa Laserkeilausaineisto 5p-materiaalia, jossa nimensä mukaan on 5 pistettä/m 2. Uuden aineiston tarkkuus mahdollistaa ensi kertaa Suomessa arkeologisten kohteiden laaja-alaisen tarkan paikantamisen ja kartoittamisen, sekä jopa yksittäisten rakenteiden ominaisuustietojen tarkastelun. Oulun yliopiston, Museoviraston ja Blom kartan yhteistyönä toteutettava LIDARK-konsortiohanke aloitti alkuvuodesta 2021 kartoittamaan 5p-aineiston arkeologisia käyttömahdollisuuksia. Tavoitteena on kehittää uusia menetelmiä ja lähestymistapoja sekä arkeologisen tutkimuksen että kulttuuriperintöhallinnon tarpeisiin.

Remote Sensing, 2021

Open access airborne laser scanning (ALS) data have been available in Finland for over a decade a... more Open access airborne laser scanning (ALS) data have been available in Finland for over a decade and have been actively applied by the Finnish archaeologists in that time. The low resolution of this laser scanning 2008-2019 dataset (0.5 points/m 2), however, has hindered its usability for archaeological prospection. In the summer of 2020, the situation changed markedly, when the Finnish National Land Survey started a new countrywide ALS survey with a higher resolution of 5 points/m 2. In this paper we present the first results of applying this newly available ALS material for archaeological studies. Finnish LIDARK consortium has initiated the development of semi-automated approaches for visualizing, detecting, and analyzing archaeological features with this new dataset. Our first case studies are situated in the Alpine tundra environment of Sápmi in northern Finland, and the assessed archaeological features range from prehistoric sites to indigenous Sámi reindeer herding features and Second Word War-era German military structures. Already the initial analyses of the new ALS-5p data show their huge potential for locating, mapping, and assessing archaeological material. These results also suggest an imminent burst in the number of known archaeological sites, especially in the poorly accessible and little studied northern wilderness areas, when more data become available.

Muinaistutkija, 2021

Esittelen tässä artikkelissa yhden helpon ja käyttäjäystävällisen tavan aloittaa Maanmittauslaito... more Esittelen tässä artikkelissa yhden helpon ja käyttäjäystävällisen tavan aloittaa Maanmittauslaitoksen uuden 5p-laserkeilausaineiston käyttö arkeologisissa analyyseissä. Tarkoituksena on tarjota yksityiskohtainen, matalan kynnyksen ohjeistus, jonka pohjalta peruspaikkatietotaidot omaava käyttäjä pystyy ottamaan aineiston haltuunsa. Käytän esimerkkinä 5p-aineistosta tunnistettuja pyyntikuoppakohteita Lätäsenolla, Saamenmaalla. Kuvaan artikkelissa vaihe vaiheelta miten aineistoa hankitaan, kuinka sen analysoimisen voi aloittaa, ja miten aineistosta voi tunnistaa uusia kohteita sekä tarkastella eri ilmiöiden ominaisuustietoja. Esitellyt lähestymistavat ovat vain yksiä monista mahdollisista tavoista käyttää laserkeilausaineistoja, mutta tarjoavat toivottavasti monille mahdollisuuden tutustua aineistoon ja sen analysoimiseen kivuttomasti ja tuloksellisesti. Peruslähtökohtana voi pitää, että paikkatiedon tutkiminen on lähtökohtaisesti hauskaa ja ennakkoluulottomasti kokeilemalla voi tehdä monenlaisia kiinnostavia, uusia näkökulmia avaavia ja odottamattomiakin oivalluksia.

Muinaistutkija, 2021

Maanmittauslaitoksen uusi ja tarkempi laserkeilausaineisto (Laserkeilausaineisto 5p) kuoppajäännö... more Maanmittauslaitoksen uusi ja tarkempi laserkeilausaineisto (Laserkeilausaineisto 5p) kuoppajäännösten tutkimuksessa Koivisto & Laulumaa 2012). Sittemmin aineistojen saatavuus on parantunut sekä avoimen tiedostojakelun että julkisesti saatavilla olevien visualisointien-mm. Paikkatietoikkuna ja Museokartta-myötä. Samalla aineiston hyödyntäminen ja tulkinta on joukkoistunut, sillä monet ilmalaserkeilausaineiston perusteella paikannetuista kohteista ovat löytyneet arkeologian harrastajien aktiivisuuden ansiosta. Johdanto Maanmittauslaitos aloitti ilmalaserkeilausaineiston tuottamisen Suomen alueelta vuonna 2008 ja osa maamme arkeologeista otti varsin pian sen käsittelyyn ja visualisointiin liittyvät menetelmät osaksi arkeologisten kohteiden paikantamiseen tähtäävää menetelmäpalettiaan (Kurri & Haimila 2010; Seitsonen 2011; Maanmittauslaitos on tuottanut vapaasti saatavilla olevaa ilmalaserkeilausaineistoa yli kymmenen vuotta. Arkeologit ovat aktiivisesti käyttäneet Laserkeilausaineisto 2008-2019-aineistoa tutkimuksissaan, mutta sen käyttöä on rajoittanut harva mittauspistetiheys (0,5 pistettä/m 2). Kesällä 2020 tilanne muuttui merkittävästi, kun Maanmittauslaitos alkoi tuottamaan uutta, kymmenen kertaa tarkempaa Laserkeilausaineisto 5p-aineistoa, jossa nimensä mukaan on 5 pistettä/m 2. Museoviraston ja Oulun yliopiston LIDARK-hanke aloitti alkuvuodesta 2021 tutkimaan tämän tarkemman aineiston arkeologisia käyttömahdollisuuksia. Uusi aineisto mahdollistaa kohteiden ja arkeologisten ilmiöiden tarkan paikantamisen ja tarkkuutensa ansiosta myös mahdollisuuden tarkastella yksittäisten rakenteiden ominaisuustietoja. Esittelemme tässä artikkelissa lyhyesti Laserkeilausaineisto 5p:n käyttömahdollisuuksia kahden esimerkin kautta. Aineiston arkeologinen soveltaminen on vasta käynnistynyt ja kehitämme uusia menetelmiä ja lähestymistapoja. Tulevaisuudessa erilaisten ilmalaserkeilausaineistosta tunnistettavien kohteiden määrä maassamme tulee kasvamaan merkittävästi erityisesti vähän tutkituilla, syrjäisemmillä alueilla.

Remote Sensing, 2020

This paper gives a presentation of how airborne laser scanning (ALS) has been adopted in archaeol... more This paper gives a presentation of how airborne laser scanning (ALS) has been adopted in archaeology in the North over the period 2005-2019. Almost two decades have passed since ALS first emerged as a potential tool to add to the archaeologist's toolbox. Soon after, it attracted the attention of researchers within archaeological communities engaged with remote sensing in the Fenno-Scandinavian region. The first archaeological ALS projects gave immediate good results and led to further use, research, and development through new projects that followed various tracks. The bulk of the research and development focused on studying how well-suited ALS is for identifying, mapping, and documenting archaeological features in outfield land, mainly in forested areas. The poor situation in terms of lack of information on archaeological records in outfield areas has been challenging for research and especially for cultural heritage management for a long period of time. Consequently, an obvious direction was to study how ALS-based mapping of cultural features in forests could help to improve the survey situation. This led to various statistical analyses and studies covering research questions related to for instance effects on detection success of laser pulse density, and the size and shape of the targeted features. Substantial research has also been devoted to the development and assessment of semi-automatic detection of archaeological features based on the use of algorithms. This has been studied as an alternative approach to human desk-based visual analyses and interpretations of ALS data. This approach has considerable potential for detecting sites over large regions such as the vast roadless and unbuilt wilderness regions of northern Fennoscandia, and has proven highly successful. In addition, the current review presents how ALS has been employed for monitoring purposes and for landscape studies, including how it can influence landscape understanding. Finally, the most recent advance within ALS research and development has been discussed: testing of the use of drones for data acquisition. In conclusion, aspects related to the utilization of ALS in archaeological research and cultural heritage management are summarized and discussed, together with thoughts about future perspectives.

Positio , 2019

Lidar-kaukokartoitus arkeologien apuna. Viimeisen vuosikymmenen kuluessa Lidar-kaukokartoitusaine... more Lidar-kaukokartoitus arkeologien apuna. Viimeisen vuosikymmenen kuluessa Lidar-kaukokartoitusaineistoista on tullut eri puolilla maailmaa monille arkeologeille jokapäiväinen työväline. Suomessa Maanmittauslaitoksen avoimet pistepilviaineistot tarjoavat erinomaisen lähtökohdan arkeologisten tutkimusten suunnitteluun ja toteuttamiseen. Arkeologeille korkeusmalliaineisto on ensiarvoisen tärkeää esimerkiksi kivikauden tutkimuksessa ympäristöennallistuksia tehtäessä. Jääkauden jälkeisen isostaattisen maankohoamisen ja vesistöjen pinnanmuutosten takia muinaisrannoilla sijainneet kohteet voivat olla kymmeniä metrejä nykyrantaa korkeammalla. Lisäksi tarkan Lidar-aineiston pohjalta on mahdollista löytää uusia, ennen tuntemattomia muinaisjäännöksiä jo ennen maastoon lähtöä. Esittelen muutaman tapaustutkimuksen avulla millaisissa yhteyksissä minä ja yhteistyökumppanini ovat Lidar-dataa viime vuosina hyödyntäneet, sekä millaisilla algoritmeillä aineistoja on muokattu ja analysoitu. Laserkeilausaineistoja on käytetty jo yli kymmenen vuoden ajan apuna muun muassa omien kenttätöideni ja Metsähallituksen laajojen kulttuuriperintöinventien kohdentamisessa. Käytän tässä esimerkkeinä muutamia kivikautisia kohteita sekä 1900-luvun konfliktiarkeologisia jäänteitä Helsingin seudulla ja Lapissa.

Muinaistutkija, 2013

"Paper discusses the use of advanced GIS algorithms for analyzing and visualizing LiDAR (Light De... more "Paper discusses the use of advanced GIS algorithms for analyzing and visualizing LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) remote sensing data. Some algorithms that have been found by the author most useful for analyzing LiDAR data are presented with examples from Finnish Stone Age sites, such as housepit sites and Giant's churches, and 20th Century conflict archaeological sites.

Muinaistutkija , 2011

Paper discusses the use of available LiDAR laser scanning data in field archaeology in Finland ba... more Paper discusses the use of available LiDAR laser scanning data in field archaeology in Finland based on a few examples from the summer 2010. Digital elevation models based on new Lidar data proved to be useful for planning and carrying out fieldwork, for example in identifying the most suitable survey areas and especially in locating various pit features, such as trenches or Stone Age housepits. These could also provide basis for developing predictive models in the future for locating such features.

Conflict studies by Oula Seitsonen

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF ARCHAEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI. ISKOS 27. , 2023

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF ARCHAEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI. ISKOS 27., 2023

In this article we reflect upon the development of conflict archaeology, especially in Finland, a... more In this article we reflect upon the development of conflict archaeology, especially in Finland, as well as the even more recent emergence of dark heritage as a field of academic enquiry. We trace how research at the University of Helsinki has influenced these fields both nationally and internationally, and draw parallels with current events including populism and (ultra) nationalist identities. Within the context of Finland, research on past conflicts especially of the Twentieth Century and especially within the Indigenous North, offer opportunity also to shine a light on important and often neglected debates on and experiences of Finnish coloniality. Since the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, debates and popular media in Finland has also started to draw parallels with the Finnish experience of Soviet warfare in the Second World War, showing that the past, especially that involving conflict and trauma, is never too far away from contemporary life.

MASF 11 Moving northward, 2023

Sakari Pälsi was a pioneer of Finnish archaeology and a globetrotting adventurer, who in 1927 tra... more Sakari Pälsi was a pioneer of Finnish archaeology and a globetrotting adventurer, who in 1927 travelled across Canada visiting various Finnish Canadian communities along the way. He was impressed by Canada's vastness and beauty but appalled by the large-scale extraction of natural resources and devastation of landscapes. Pälsi called the Sudbury-Copper Cliff region in northern Ontario as the epicenter of this destruction and described his impressions of the area and the life of immigrant Finnish workers. This article revisits the Greater Sudbury region and Pälsi's observations on the extractive industries and Finnish immigrants 95 years after his visit. We use his texts as a baseline for examining Finnish heritage in the area, in honour of his unique approach to travel writing. Pälsi's account of the area, and Canada more generally, reads out almost as a Socialist critique of the destructive Capitalist practices and careless large-scale exploitation of the environment.

PATRIMÔNIO E MEMÓRIA , 2023

Resumo: O artigo apresenta os resultados de pesquisa produzida sobre monumentos, valas e sepultur... more Resumo: O artigo apresenta os resultados de pesquisa produzida sobre monumentos, valas e sepulturas soviéticas em território finlandês (região da Lapônia), historicamente constituídos desde a primeira fase da Segunda Guerra Mundial desenrolada naquele território, conhecida como a Guerra de Inverno (1939-1940). Com o fim da maior contenda mundial, foram se produzindo memoriais ao longo de todo o norte da Finlândia, com especial destaque para áreas próximas à fronteira com a Rússia, criando-se assim complexas tensões e negociações relativas às memórias e esquecimentos da presença bélica soviética naquela área. Os autores tiveram a oportunidade de visitar alguns destes lugares e entrevistar importantes personagens envolvidos na constituição destes memoriais, no ano de 2016, sob a égide de um projeto de pesquisa sobre o patrimônio da Segunda Guerra Mundial em sua fácies norte europeia.

Palavras-chave: Monumentos de guerra; Segunda Guerra Mundial; Patrimônio Cultural.

Abstract: The article presents the results of research produced on Soviet monuments, fortifications and graves in Finnish territory (region of Lapland), historically constituted since the first phase of the Second World War unfolded in that territory, known as the Winter War (1939-1940). After the World War, Soviet memorials were produced throughout the whole north of Finland, with special emphasis on areas close to the border with Russia, thus creating complex tensions and negotiations related to the memories and forgetfulness of the Soviet war presence in that area. The authors had the opportunity to visit some of these places and interview important figures involved in the constitution of these memorials in the year of 2016, under the auspices of a wider research project on Second World War heritage in its northern European theatre.

Keywords: War memorials; Second World War; Cultural Heritage.

Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 2022

This article examines mechanisms of marginalization in the monocultural setting of Finland in the... more This article examines mechanisms of marginalization in the monocultural setting of Finland in the early 1990s through the case of the multinational Iriadamant "lifestyle Indians". The Iriadamant imitated Native Americans in appearance, and the "tribe" settled in Finnish Lapland to experiment with a non-consumerist ecological and spiritual way of living off-grid. We examine how this community was perceived in Finland and assess how Finnish perceptions of Iriadamant otherness and marginality were anchored on material culture and material practices. Furthermore, we discuss how the marginalization of the Iriadamant resonated and was intertwined with the marginalization and exoticization of Lapland, which is part of the ancestral homelands of the indigenous Sámi and has for centuries been seen as an enchanted land of natural and supernatural wonders. We consider marginality and marginalization in the context of the Iriadamant in Lapland through more specific issues of identity/indigeneity, ecology and spirituality.

Odes to Mika. MASF 10, 2022

This article discusses the supernatural and uncanny experiences and stories connected to Second W... more This article discusses the supernatural and uncanny experiences and stories connected to Second World War sites in Northern Finland. Wartime heritage in the North is mostly related to the Nazi German presence in Finland, first as allies (1940-1944) and later as enemies (1944-1945). It is in many ways haunting, both figuratively and in the local folklore also literally. This owes to the unclear status and out of place character of the ruins, and the long silencing and even renunciation that has surrounded the difficult and complex Finno-German relations during the war.

Oula Seitsonen (Sakarin-Pentin Ilarin Oula) is an archaeologist and geographer at the University of Oulu and University of Helsinki, Finland.

Finnish-Mongolian Archaeological and Anthropological Expedition to Mongolia in 2019! Our exped... more Finnish-Mongolian Archaeological and Anthropological Expedition to Mongolia in 2019!

Researchers: Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan (National Museum of Mongolia) and Oula Seitsonen (University of Helsinki / University of Oulu, Finland).

The expedition is generously funded by the Nordenskiöld-samfundet (Finland).

Project blog page 2018-2019, 2018

Remote Sensing, 2023

Muinaistutkija, 2022

Positio, 2022

Remote Sensing, 2021

Muinaistutkija, 2021

Remote Sensing, 2020

Positio , 2019

Muinaistutkija, 2013

Muinaistutkija , 2011

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF ARCHAEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI. ISKOS 27. , 2023

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF ARCHAEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI. ISKOS 27., 2023

MASF 11 Moving northward, 2023

PATRIMÔNIO E MEMÓRIA , 2023

Palavras-chave: Monumentos de guerra; Segunda Guerra Mundial; Patrimônio Cultural.

Keywords: War memorials; Second World War; Cultural Heritage.

Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 2022

Odes to Mika. MASF 10, 2022

Conflict Landscapes: Materiality and Meaning in Contested Places, 2021

Finnish Lapland lies on the northernmost shore of Europe by the Arctic Ocean. It is part of Sápmi... more Finnish Lapland lies on the northernmost shore of Europe by the Arctic Ocean. It is part of Sápmi, the transnational homeland of Europe’s only indigenous people, the Sámi, stretching across parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. For outsiders, this barren Arctic land can easily appears an empty and uninhabited northern wilderness. However, for the locals it is an ancestral historical landscape and lifeworld imbued with centuries-old meanings and understandings. For the Sámi, people, animals and inanimate entities coexist within the landscape in mutually reciprocal, respectful and interconnected relationships. Despite some recent encouraging developments, such as ongoing repatriation of Sámi human remains and materials from museums and collections, the Sámi perspectives on landscape and heritage have often been neglected and erased by the dominant (and biased) southern perceptions as part of an ongoing colonial process. In this paper we assess the Second World War German materialities and landscapes of the Arctic front and discuss how idiosyncratic Northern environmental perceptions have affected, and continue to affect, the local views on this legacy. Firstly, we briefly present the Second World War history of Finnish Lapland and its material heritage. We focus on one Prisoner of War camp site as an example to which we tie various perspectives on Second World War memory and materiality. We then discuss the indigenous Northern environmental perception and how it colours the local understandings of the importance of wartime legacy. Finally, we explore questions of heritage ownership, custodianship and the generation of transgenerational memories, drawing on the perspectives presented to us by Sámi interviewees in different parts of Sápmi, mostly in the Anár (Inari) and Soađegilli (Sodankylä) areas but also in Gilbbesjávri, Eanodat (Kilpisjärvi, Enontekiö)ii. These provide a Northern perspective on the ongoing international discussions on these broader themes of conflict heritage and landscapes of war.

Conflict Landscapes: Materiality and Meaning in Contested Places (Saunders, N.J., Cornish, P., Eds.), Routledge, 2021

The archaeological study of 20th century conflict landscapes emerged as a new field of research s... more The archaeological study of 20th century conflict landscapes emerged as a new field of research since the beginning of the 21st century. In parallel with this developments, there were major advancements in the fields of archaeological aerial photography and prospection. During both World Wars, literally tens of millions of aerial photographs were taken as a source of military intelligence. These collections were rediscovered and large digitization programs have made them available for research. Large parts of northern Finland are crowded with war materiel but conflict archaeology in the Arctic region is a relative new field of study. Owing to this, conflict sites connected to the two World Wars only possess a limited cultural heritage status. This chapter presents the results of an interdisciplinary investigation of a WWII conflict landscape in northern Finland. During the Finnish-German Lapland War (1944-1945) the German Army retreated towards Norway and made use of extensive defensive positions in northern Finland. The setup and methodology of the project are designed to meet the challenges of cost-effective mapping of the remote wilderness area in Finland.

Entangled beliefs and rituals: religion in Finland and Sápmi from Stone Age to contemporary times, 2020

Modern industrialized war and the supernatural may seem odd bedfellows, but recent research has i... more Modern industrialized war and the supernatural may seem odd bedfellows, but recent research has indicated that this relationship is much more important than has traditionally been recognized. This photo essay considers the haunting presence of a WW2 German prisoner-of-war camp for Soviet inmates in the environmental and cultural context of Finnish Lapland, or Sápmi, the homeland of the indigenous Sámi, which has long featured as an exotic and enchanted land in the European imagination. During our fieldwork at German prisoner camps in Lapland, we have come across some peculiar finds and features, including a heart carved on a pine tree at the site of Kankiniemi. We discuss this carving in relation to the stories and experiences of the supernatural associated with former Ger-man military sites and consider some broader implications of such stories and experiences from a heritage point of view.

Journal of Archaeology and Education, 2020

Archaeology is traditionally a hands-on, in-person discipline when it comes to formal and informa... more Archaeology is traditionally a hands-on, in-person discipline when it comes to formal and informal instruction; however, more and more we are seeing the application of blended and online instruction and outreach implemented within our discipline. To this point, much of the movement in this direction has been related to a greater administrative emphasis on filling university classrooms, as well as the increasing importance of public outreach and engagement when it comes to presenting our research. More recently, we have all had to adjust our activities and interactions in reaction to physical distancing requirements during a pandemic. Whether in a physical classroom or online, archaeologists must learn to properly leverage digital technology in order to create enthusiastic, engaging, respectful, and accessible (from-place and in-place) learning environments. This article brings together scholars who are learning to do just that. We apply a usable and easily navigated framework for archaeologists to consider while in either formal or informal educational environments and provide examples of how digital technologies can be applied to satisfy the three “presences”—social/emotional, teaching, and cognitive—required for a successful “community of inquiry” experience in archaeology. Examples are drawn from our personal experiences in North America, Central America, and Europe.

World Archaeology , 2020

The Finnish Civil War in 1918 left the newly independent country (1917) scarred for decades. In t... more The Finnish Civil War in 1918 left the newly independent country (1917) scarred for decades. In this paper, we assess the difficult public memory, national narrative and memorialization of the war. We take as our starting point a public crowdsourcing organized by the State-broadcasting company about the material traces of conflicts in Finland. Themes raised by the public in the crowdsourcing are used as foundation to map heritage perspectives. Special attention is paid to the memorial landscapes of the war. In the past century, the remembrance of the war has gone through several stages, from the complete denial of memorializing the defeated side and the associated clandestine remembrance practices based on folk religion, to today’s situation where the war is largely seen as a shared national tragedy. We outline the current status and importance of Civil War heritage based on public perceptions and stake out some directions for future research.

Transnational Death, 2019

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2019

The concept of “dark heritage” has gained traction in recent years in archaeology and in cultural... more The concept of “dark heritage” has gained traction
in recent years in archaeology and in cultural
heritage studies more broadly. Its origins lie in
the somewhat more specific field of “dark tourism”
studies. Both dark heritage and dark tourism
are rather vague terms in their current usage, but
they generally revolve around places of death,
suffering, and disaster, whether battlefields, concentration
camps, or notorious sites of disaster
such as Chernobyl. Indeed, dark tourism studies
have tended to assume that death, and an attraction
to death, is a central trope of both dark heritage
and dark tourism. However, dark heritage is
better seen in broader terms, that is, as an attempt
to expand the scope of heritage studies.

Photography & Culture, 2019

This article examines photographs illustrating the German war effort in Finnish Lapland during th... more This article examines photographs illustrating the German war effort
in Finnish Lapland during the Second World War. We will analyze
the German photographic representation of Lapland from the perspective
of how the Germans portrayed and experienced this northern
land, with a focus on Fahrbahn Lappland (Lapland’s Roadway), a
coffee-table book by the German photojournalist Mabre (Max
Martin Brehm). It affords interesting insights into German perceptions
of and engagements with the Far North of the European
world. The photographs in Fahrbahn reflect a sense of dislocation on
the one hand and an attempt to neutralize the physically and mentally
threatening northern wilderness on the other. In addition to
capturing the “spirit” of the German experience of Lapland through
his photographs, Mabre’s work resonates with a dystopian tradition
of representing the North of Europe dating back to the early modern
period and beyond. It presents Lapland as a “blank slate” by distancing
the locals from the view and showing the region as a
virtually unoccupied periphery on the fringe of the modern world.
This can perhaps be understood as making “mental groundwork”
for the anticipated Nazi German rule in the North of Europe after
the war.

Ethnologia Europaea, 2019

The so-called Lapland War between Finland and Germany at the end of the Second World War led to a... more The so-called Lapland War between Finland and Germany at the end of the Second World War led to a mass-scale destruction of Lapland. Both local Finnish residents and the indigenous Sámi groups lost their homes, and their livelihoods suffered in many ways. The narratives of these deeply traumatic experiences have long been neglected and suppressed in Finland and have been studied only recently by academics and acknowledged in public. In this text, we analyze the interviews with four elders of one Sámi village, Vuotso. We explore their memories, from a child’s perspective, scrutinizing the narration as a multilayered affective process that involves sensual and embodied dimensions of memory.

Suomen Museo, 2018

The exhibition Wir waren Freunde – We were friends. Encounters of Germans and Finns in Lapland 19... more The exhibition Wir waren Freunde – We were friends. Encounters of Germans and Finns in Lapland 1940–1944 at the Provincial Museum of Lapland 2015–2016 presented the Finno-German Second World War brotherhood-in-arms from the everyday-life perspective. The wartime presence of Nazi troops as Finnish co-belligerents in northern Finland is still a sensitive and complex issue, and the exhibition had a controversial reception both locally, nationally and internationally. We discuss the critical points of the exhibition process, based on a visitor survey and interviews of the museum staff and other stakeholders. We approach the exhibition as one example of “difficult heritage” from the recent past. There are considerable differences in the ways people from various backgrounds experienced the exhibition. For the most part, the visitor feedback was positive, but also critical voices were heard. The exhibition process reflects the various ways that “silences” can occur in museum work, e.g. as respectful and societal silences in avoiding interest of conflict. Museums have an important role as institutions that can challenge prevailing understandings of the past and identities, by deliberately grasping marginalized and difficult themes. However, subjects that might appear as interesting and important from a local perspective can receive critical interpretations in the eyes of foreign visitors. Still, addressing difficult heritage is important, as illustrated by Wir waren Freunde exhibition which gave the museum visitors as well as professionals a lot of food for thought.

The New Nomadic Age. Archaeologies of Forced and Undocumented Migration, 2018

Ennen ja nyt, Dec 6, 2018

In this article we examine a popularly-oriented Finnish wartime photographic book, Suomi kuvina. ... more In this article we examine a popularly-oriented Finnish wartime photographic book, Suomi kuvina. Das ist Suomi. Finnland in Bild und Wort, from 1943, which introduced Finland – its landscapes, culture and people – for a German target audience. We analyze the choices of images and captions and explore how the familiar visual tendencies were both changed and maintained during the war, for instance, through the representation of landscapes and gender. Although the book appears to be a coherent description of an idealized nation, a minute detail in one photograph reveals underlying tensions that challenge the discourse of a nation unified by war.

Journal of Conflict Archaeology, 2017

This article discusses military mobilities and encampment, and associated themes such as dislocat... more This article discusses military mobilities and encampment, and associated themes such as dislocation and displacement of people, through the case of a Second World War German military camp in Finnish Lapland. The article describes the camp and its archaeological research and discusses various aspects of the camp and camp life in its particular subarctic ‘wilderness’ setting, framing the discussion within the themes of mobilities and dislocations, and especially their multiple impacts on the German troops and their multinational prisoners-of-war based in the camp. A particular emphasis is put on how mobilities and dislocation – in effect ‘being stuck’ in a northern wilderness – were intertwined and how the inhabitants of the camp coped with the situation, as well as how this is reflected in the different features of the camp itself and the archaeological material that the fieldwork produced.

Keywords: Conflict archaeology, Second World War, mobility, German, Prisoner of War, Lapland, Finland

Archaeological Research in Asia, 2022

Currently, the development of mobile pastoralism in Mongolia is known almost exclusively from bur... more Currently, the development of mobile pastoralism in Mongolia is known almost exclusively from burial and ritual contexts. Here we present the results of archaeological excavations and geoarchaeological work carried out at a deeply stratified multiperiod habitation site in northwestern Mongolia. Data include an unprecedented number of well-preserved artifacts, faunal and botanical remains, sedimentary information, and chronology that document the development of pastoralism in this region. Our findings index the local durability of pastoralist occupation over 4000 years, as well as the adaptive resilience of the herders here, indeed up to the present day, and this despite major changes in the sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and environmental conditions through time.

Iskos 24, 2022

In this paper we present ongoing geoarchaeological research of Sámi reindeer pastoralist campsite... more In this paper we present ongoing geoarchaeological research of Sámi reindeer pastoralist
campsites. The discussion is based on three case study sites situated at the Lake Gilbbesjávri region (Finland) in northern Sápmi. All the sites are historical-period reindeer herder camps, likely used as temporary summer encampments by the nomadic herders in the 17th–19th centuries. The sites were prospected with systematic soil sampling and geoarchaeological analyses, which have been previously successfully applied in the study of Sámi habitation sites on both intrasite and intra-dwelling levels. The changes in the soil phosphate, pH and electric conductivity values were analysed and interpreted based on ethnographic analogies. These allow insight into the outwardly invisible taskscapes and spatialities of the herders and their animals at the campsites. The different geoarchaeological factors highlight differing aspects of the use of space at the historical Sámi reindeer pastoralist campsites, such as potential reindeer corralling areas, and provide comparative material for the analyses of prehistoric Sámi hunter-gatherer-herder sites.

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2021

During the Second World War, in 1941-1944, Nazi German troops held the frontal responsibility of ... more During the Second World War, in 1941-1944, Nazi German troops held the frontal responsibility of the Arctic front in Finnish Lapland. In this paper we present the first zooarchaeological study of the wartime faunal remains from German military camps in Lapland. This illustrates the supply situation of both the German soldiers and their multinational prisoners. The official military supply was substantially supplemented with local food sources, namely with the local semi-domesticated reindeer that dominates the bone assemblage. Bones of cattle, ovicaprines and pig occur in lower numbers and appear to represent the German long-distance supply chain stretching from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Ocean. The remains of reindeer and wild species remind of the close interactions with locals and of the prisoners' hunting activities to supplement their meagre diet. Even if the reindeer bones dominate both the soldiers' and prisoners' faunal assemblages, there are notable differences in the body parts, with bones from meatier portions always found in the soldiers' food waste. Besides highlighting a tension between the military supply and everyday demands, the faunal remains can draw attention to wider anthropological questions that reach beyond the information available in historical documents, such as adaptations into an alien northern environment. This emphasizes the importance of zooarchaeological analyses of recent past faunal materials from superficially familiar contexts.

Meta Historiskarkeologisk tidskrift, 2021

The marketplace in Kolari, Northern Finland was used until the 1880s. Located on Kolarinsaari isl... more The marketplace in Kolari, Northern Finland was used until the 1880s. Located on Kolarinsaari island on the Muonionjoki river in close proximity to the Kolari church, it was a winter meeting place for local farmers and Sámi, as well as for tradesmen from the areas that are now Sweden, Finland, and Karelia. Archaeological excavations were carried out in summer 2018 and in connection to these, soil geochemical values were analysed. This paper focuses on the Kolari marketplace as a part of a landscape shared by Swedes, Finns, and Sámi. Furthermore, through the soil analyses we examine the intercultural interactions that took place during the winter market and scrutinize how different activities, people, and animals were located in the marketplace as well as in the wider landscape surrounding the marketplace. The latter is approached using GIS analysis and Tim Ingold's concept of taskscape. This case study shows how the historical archaeology of landscapes and taskscapes can contribute to our understanding of contacts and multicultural encounters between the Sámi and other groups.

Time and Mind, 2021

In this paper I discuss a set of photographs taken by my daughters with disposable cameras, to co... more In this paper I discuss a set of photographs taken by my daughters with disposable cameras, to consider how they perceived an archaeological expedition to northernmost Sápmi (Finnish Lapland). My daughters’ photographic documentation illustrates the views that children from southern Finland have on archaeological fieldwork in an extreme northern environment. Their photographs resemble partly the tourism promotional imagery and Instagram posts, which place emphasis on the impressive landscape, engaging activities, and the gear related to those activities. Based on these imageries, and my personal impressions, the genius loci of this area for outsiders are largely defined by the mountainous scenery and midsummer snow, both unique to this region within Finland. My daughters’ imagery conveys a mixture of familiarity and alienation. There is an awe of facing the new and alien, immersive mountain landscape and the novelty of, e.g., a helicopter ride to the study site in the middle of a roadless wilderness, and a fascination in the familiar expedition activities together with trusted people which creates a sense of at-homeness. The familiar actions carried out by familiar people appear to act as important means for placemaking and securing the being-in-the-world, which carries also wider importance beyond this case study.

Supplementary material to Time and Mind, 2021

Sohvi, Elsa, and Elvi Seitsonen's Expedition Photo Gallery of the archaeological expedition to La... more Sohvi, Elsa, and Elvi Seitsonen's Expedition Photo Gallery of the archaeological expedition to Lake Megonjárvi in summer 2020. Handpicked photographs by Sohvi, Elsa and Elvi Seitsonen, to support the article "Rain, reindeer, digging and tundra: children’s visual perception of an archaeological expedition to Northernmost Sápmi (Finnish Lapland)" by Oula Seitsonen in Time and Mind.

One Earth, 2021

Pastoralism is globally significant in social, environmental, and economic terms. However, it exp... more Pastoralism is globally significant in social, environmental, and economic terms. However, it experiences crises rooted in misconceptions and poor interdisciplinary understanding, while being largely overlooked in international sustainability forums and agendas. Here, we propose a transdisciplinary research approach to understand pastoralist transitions using (1) social, economic, and environmental dimensions, (2) diverse geographic contexts and scales to capture emerging properties, allowing for cross-system comparisons, and (3) timescales from the distant past to the present. We provide specific guidelines to develop indicators for this approach, within a social-ecological resilience analytical framework to understand change. Distinct systems undergo similar transitions over time, crossing critical thresholds and then either collapsing or recovering. Such an integrated view of multidimensional interactions improves understanding of possible tipping points, thereby supporting better-informed decision making. The need for a paradigm shift in pastoralism science and policy is pressing. This research approach, including participatory methods, can provide the solutions urgently needed.

Journal of Field Archaeology, 2021

This paper presents the development of Sámi reindeer domestication and pastoralism in northwester... more This paper presents the development of Sámi reindeer domestication and pastoralism in northwestern Sápmi, the homeland of the indigenous Sámi people, based on recent surveys in the Gilbbesjávri region, Finland. We have documented about 99 percent of known sites in the study area and present the first radiocarbon dates from herding sites in this part of Finnish Sápmi. Since Sápmi is transnational, archaeological data from the adjoining countries are included in the analyses. The features connected to the early use of domesticated reindeer appear by the 9th century A.D. in a mixed hunter-herder economy and suggest a tethered residential but dynamic logistical mobility. Major changes in site locations and features link with the initiation of nomadic pastoralism by the 15th century A.D., with a high residential mobility. The expansion of both early herding and mobile pastoralism appear to have been conscious, indigenous Sámi responses to wider socioeconomic and environmental developments.

SKAS, 2020

This paper presents new radiocarbon dates from the high fell region of Enontekiö Yliperä in the t... more This paper presents new radiocarbon dates from the high fell region of Enontekiö Yliperä in the transnational Sápmi, the homeland of Europe's only indigenous people Sámi. 50 new dating samples were collected from archaeological sites related to the development of reindeer domestication and herding. Based on the radiocarbon ages, it appears that small-scale reindeer herding in a hunter-herder society commenced in this area by the turn of the 10th-11th century AD, and developed into mobile nomadic pastoralism by the 15th-16th century AD. There is a notable gap in the local radio-carbon chronology in the 14th century, analogous that of the neighboring inner Troms in Norway. This hiatus mirrors ostensibly the tipping point between a hunter-herder society and a mobile pasto-ralist adaptation and is simultaneous with widescale socioeconomic and environmental fluctuations. These include for example the cooling of environment during the Little Ice Age, and the Black Death pandemic in the mid-1300s.

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Rohttu badjosiin? Sámi boazodoalločuozáhagaid áiggálaš saji gávdnan Eanodaga Giehtaruohttasis

Dán artihkkalis ovdanbuktojuvvojit ođđa radiočitnaáigemeroštallamat Eanodaga Giehtaruohttasa guovllus rájirasttildeaddji Sámis, mii lea Eurohpa áidna álgoálbmot sápmelaččaid ruovttueanan. Arkelogalaš čuozáhagain čoggojuvvoje 50 ođđa áigemeroštallančájánasa, mat laktásit bohcco seatnadeapmái ja boazodoalu gárggiideapmái. Radičitnaáigemeroštallama vuođul orru leame nu, ahte bivdi-čoaggiservošis johttáhuvvon smávvahápmásaš boazodoallu álggii guovllus maŋemusat 900-1000-logu molsašumis máá ja gárggiidii ealloboazodoallun 1400–1500-loguid máá. Báikkálaš radiočitnakronologiijas lea mearkkašahtti boatka 1300-logus, dego maid Norgga sis-Romsa guovllus. Dát boatka speadjalastá jáhkehahttivuođa mielde bivdi-čoaggiadaptašuvnna ja johtti ealloboazodoalu jorggáldaga, mii gávdná saji ovttaáigásažžan viiddes sosioekonomalaš ja biraslaš iežáhuvvamiiguin. Dát leat ovdamearkka dihte dálkkádaga čoaskun Smávvajiekŋabaji áigge ja 1300-logu beallemutto Čáhppes sorbmi -pandemiija.
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Keywords: Sápmi, reindeer herding, pastoralism, radiocarbon dating, Finland
Čoavddasánit: Sápmi, boazodoallu, ealloboazodoallu, radiočitnaáigemeroštallan, Suopma
Asiasanat: Saami, poronhoito, poropaimentolaisuus, radiohiiliajoitus, Suomi

Science, 2019

Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, b... more Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth’s transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon.

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology

Stone circles are a common monumental feature of the Mongolian Bronze Age (c. 1500-800BC), freque... more Stone circles are a common monumental feature of the Mongolian Bronze Age (c. 1500-800BC), frequently occurring in association with other monument types, especially khirigsuurs. Until now the content of the stone circles has not been identified, a fact which
has hampered our understanding not only of khirigsuurs and their related cosmology but also of the contemporary economy, owing to a research paradigm that was monument-focused until very recently. The identification of domestic bovids in these features thus has profound
implications for our approach to studying the society of this period and region. These implications, including a well-developed cosmology and economy which included the ritual sacrifice of at least three different kinds of livestock, are introduced here.

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 2013

Proceedings of the 19th Biennial Meeting (2008) of SAfA, 2009

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF ARCHAEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI. ISKOS 27. , 2023

Archaeological work on the African continent carried out by the researchers from the University o... more Archaeological work on the African continent carried out by the researchers from the University of Helsinki has been an important part of the research output of the department of archaeology in the late-20th and early-21st centuries. This has been closely intertwined to the lifework of late professor Ari Siiriäinen (1939-2004). In this chapter, I review the research carried out in Africa by Finnish archaeologists, virtually all originating from the University of Helsinki, and the importance and future prospects of this work.

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 2010

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, Jan 1, 2006

Proceedings of the 19th Biennial Meeting (2008) of SAfA, 2009

Muinaistutkija 4/2007, 2007

Finnish researchers have participated in archaeological investigations on the African continent o... more Finnish researchers have participated in archaeological investigations
on the African continent over four decades. Finnish travelers have visited Africa already much earlier and some of them did also good and useful ethnographic observations. Finnish investigations have been concentrating mainly south of Sahara. All the research based at the University of Helsinki has been connected to the life work of our late emeritus professor Ari Siiriäinen (1939-2004). This article deals with the history of the Finnish archaeological research in Africa and reviews its current state.

Proceedings of the 18th Biennial Meeting (2006) of SAfA, 2007

Journal of African Archaeology, 2005

Lithics are the most persistent archaeological material in many parts of the world. Accordingly, ... more Lithics are the most persistent archaeological material in many parts of the world. Accordingly, the study of lithics on a landscape scale is important for making interpretations of various traits of past human behaviour and cognizance. In this paper, we present an overview of the lithic finds located in the Khanuy Valley, north-central Mongolia. A lithic assemblage collected in the systematic surveys since 2004 presents material dating from the Palaeolithic to the Late Bronze Age. Based on the spatial distribution and landscape characteristics of the lithic find locations, interpretations of broad-scale diachronic changes in the land use and landscape cognizance are suggested. These form working hypotheses as a baseline for future inquiries into lithic technology, land use, and ways the prehistoric inhabitants comprehended and utilized their landscape in the Khanuy Valley and in the wider region.

Past mobilities. Archaeological Approaches to Movement and Mobility. Ed. by J. Leary. Farnham, UK: Ashgate Publishing. , May 2014

Monitoimimies Sakari Pälsi on erityisen tunnettu maailmanmatkoistaan. Ensimmäiselle tutkimusmatka... more Monitoimimies Sakari Pälsi on erityisen tunnettu maailmanmatkoistaan. Ensimmäiselle tutkimusmatkalleen ulkomaille hän pääsi kuitenkin vasta 26-vuotiaana, nykynäkökulmasta ajatellen varsin myöhään. Pälsi oli edellisenä vuonna saattanut arkeologian yliopisto-opintonsa kunniakkaaseen päätökseen ja kaipasi mahdollisuuksia hyödyntää vastavalmistunutta tutkintoaan. Gustaf John Ramstedt (1873–1950), joka oli jo tuolloin tunnettu kielitieteilijä ja tutkimusmatkailija, oli lähdössä kuudennelle Itä-Aasian tutkimusmatkalleen. Ramstedt oli jo aiemmin tutkinut Mongolian kieltä ja kulttuuria, mutta halusi laajentaa tutkimustensa aikaperspektiiviä myös esihistorialliseen aikaan ja etsi sopivaa matkakumppania. Pälsi tarttui hanakasti mahdollisuuteen päästä Ramstedtin matkaan, ja kahden hengen tutkimusretkikunta suunnisti puoli vuotta kestäneelle tutkimusretkelle Mongolian aroille keväällä 1909. Tässä matkassa oli
monia piirteitä, joista tuli leimaa-antavia Pälsin myöhemmille reissuille. Mongolian matkalla olikin ilmeisen huomattava vaikutus Pälsin myöhemmän uran muotoutumisen kannalta.

Jack-of-all-trades Sakari Pälsi was especially renowned for his journeys abroad. However, he was able to depart on his first expedition only in the age of 26, comparatively late from a contemporary
perspective. Pälsi had, the year before, successfully completed his archaeological studies at the university and was looking for opportunities to put his newly acquired qualification to use. Gustaf
John Ramstedt (1873–1950), who was already then a renowned linguist and explorer, was leaving for his sixth expedition to East Asia.
Ramstedt had already earlier studied Mongolian language and culture, but was keen to broaden the timescale of his research to include prehistory and was in search of a suitable traveling companion. Pälsi jumped at the chance to travel with Ramstedt, and the expedition-of-two headed for a six-month exploratory journey to the Mongolian steppes in the spring of 1909. Many aspects of this journey were
to become a model for Pälsi’s later trips. This journey to Mongolia had a remarkable impact on the formation of Pälsi’s later career.

Rock Art and Archeology: Investigating Ritual Landscape in the Mongolian Altai. Field Report 2012

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF ARCHAEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI. ISKOS 27. , 2023

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2018

Lake Ladoga, Europe's largest lake, is situated in northwest Russia east of the Baltic Sea. This ... more Lake Ladoga, Europe's largest lake, is situated in northwest Russia east of the Baltic Sea. This article is the first
compilation of all the zooarchaeological material recovered from the Stone Age and Early Metal Period huntergatherer
sites in the area analysed and published up to 2014. All the faunal remains preserved in the acidic
soils are small pieces of calcined bone, except for two sites where anaerobic conditions have also preserved unburnt
bones. An overview of the analysed assemblages, including identified species and carcass treatment is presented,
and the chronological trends briefly summarised. Based on the zooarchaeological material the prehistoric
subsistence base was aquatically oriented throughout the Stone Age and Early Metal Period. Day-to-day subsistence
seems based on fishing near the campsites, supplemented with seasonal food sources. Prehistoric inhabitants
of Lake Ladoga were also committed to invest technology, time, and human resources in the specialised,
risky sealing forays. The abundant lake resources offered a stable, self-renewing resource base for the area's population
and, for example, fishing maintained its importance in subsistence even after the introduction of cultivation
– in places into the 20th century.

Iskos 21, Mar 2016

Recent Finnish-Russian research cooperation on the Karelian Isthmus, north-west Russia, has compl... more Recent Finnish-Russian research cooperation on the Karelian Isthmus, north-west Russia, has completely changed views on the area’s prehistory. In this paper we describe the methodology and results of archaeological field surveys and test excavations carried out in the so-called Lake Pyhäjärvi micro-region in 2005–2008. In the course of the project’s field
studies, the number of Stone Age and Early Metal Period sites in the area increased tenfold, and the exceptional, well-stratified settlement site of Kunnianniemi with nearly three-metre deep archaeological deposits was located. Recent studies provide reference material for the recently studied nearby areas and a working framework for further inquiries related to, for instance, the spatio-temporal changes in the settlement pattern, material culture, subsistence base, socio-cultural structure, and contact networks.

Quaternary international, 2009

Fennoscandia archaeologica, 2008

Karelian Isthmus – Stone Age Studies in 1998–2003. Iskos 16., 2008

Before Farming 2005 / 1, 2005

Finnish hunter-gatherer rock paintings are situated on steep cliff faces that typically face onto... more Finnish hunter-gatherer rock paintings are situated on steep cliff faces that typically face onto bodies of water. Because of isostatic land uplift and lake level changes some rock paintings are situated several metres above present day lake level. Using the shoreline displacement history of Lake Saimaa, a relative chronology of different rock painting motifs is presented. There has hitherto been almost no study of diachronic change in Finnish rock-art motifs. This study presents some general stylistic and orientational shifts in the rock painting tradition, shifts that are most pronounced towards the end of Subneolithic period; pictorial display seems to become more one-sided and schematic towards the end of the rock painting tradition from 2500 Cal BC onwards. Changes seem relatively synchronous throughout the Lake Saimaa catchment. Thereafter the painting tradition diminishes as Early Metal Period ceramic styles and early agriculture becomes more established in the area after 2000 Cal BC. These developments could reflect changes in the socio-economic organisation and ideology.

Sakari Pälsi – Elämä ja työt, 2017

Ensimmäisenä Suomessa Pälsi pyrki vuonna 1916 julkaistussa yleistajuisessa teoksessaan esittämään... more Ensimmäisenä Suomessa Pälsi pyrki vuonna 1916 julkaistussa yleistajuisessa teoksessaan esittämään kokonaisvaltaisesti Suomen kivikauden kokonaiskuvaa ja aikakauden ihmisten elämää. Kirjassa on
myös mielenkiintoisia mielipiteitä miesten ja naisten välisestä työnjaosta esihistorian vuosituhansina: hän esitti muun muassa, että kivikaudella merkittävä, jokapäiväisen elannon tuottanut kalastuselinkeino olisi ollut pääasiassa naisten vastuulla.

Sakari Pälsi described the life in the Finnish Stone Age in a popular style in his book ”Glimpses of the Stone Age Culture”, published in 1916. He was a pioneer in trying to create a complete picture of the era and its people’s life. In the book we also find interesting opinions about the division of work between men and women in prehistoric millennia: he suggested that during the Stone Age, fishing, which was a remarkable source of livelihood, was on women’s responsibility.

Sakari Pälsi jätti jälkeensä lukuisia henkilökohtaisia muistikirjoja, jotka tarjoavat ainutlaatui... more Sakari Pälsi jätti jälkeensä lukuisia henkilökohtaisia muistikirjoja, jotka tarjoavat ainutlaatuisen, julkaistuista kirjoituksista poikkeavan näkökulman hänen ajatuksiinsa ja kiinnostavan ikkunan hänen työskentelytapoihinsa. Muistikirjojen sivuille on tarttunut paljon sellaista, mitä Pälsi ei julkaissut, mutta mikä valottaa hänen mielenkiinnon kohteidensa loputonta kirjoa. Muistikirjoja on hyödynnetty esimerkiksi arkeologisen tutkimushistorian selvittelyssä, mutta niistä löytyy materiaalia myös moneen muuhun tarkoitukseen. Niiden kansien välistä löytyy esi-merkiksi matkojen varrella kuultuja, kansan suussa liikkuneita jutelmia, aarretarinoita sekä Pälsin luonnoksia tulevia kirjoitelmia varten. Kirjoista voi seurata myös Pälsin mielenkiinnon kohteiden kehitystä vuosikymmenien kuluessa, ja niistä heijastuvat osin samansuuntaiset painotukset kuin julkaistun aineiston puolelta.

Sakari Pälsi left behind many personal notebooks. These valuable archival sources illustrate new sides of Sakari Pälsi.

Недавно были получены две датировки по на- гару с ранненеолитической керамики (спер- рингс/ранняя... more Недавно были получены две датировки по на-
гару с ранненеолитической керамики (спер-
рингс/ранняя гребенчатая керамика), значе-
ния которых позволяют предположить влияние на них
резервуарного эффекта. Обе даты были получены
по материалам с памятников, расположенных на побе-
режье Литоринового моря. Глиняная посуда появляется
на Карельском перешейке, как представляется сейчас,
на несколько сотен лет раньше, чем считалось прежде.
Также эти результаты позволяют предположить, что ке-
рамика использовалась для приготовления продуктов
из речной среды.

Fennoscandia archaeologica, 2009

Mesolithic Miscellany, 2009

Positio, 2019

Viimeisen vuosikymmenen kuluessa Lidar-kaukokartoitusaineistoista on tullut eri puolilla maailmaa... more Viimeisen vuosikymmenen kuluessa Lidar-kaukokartoitusaineistoista on tullut eri puolilla maailmaa monille arkeologeille jokapäiväinen työväline. Suomessa Maanmittauslaitoksen avoimet pistepilviaineistot tarjoavat erinomaisen lähtökohdan arkeologisten tutkimusten suunnitteluun ja toteuttamiseen. Arkeologeille korkeusmalliaineisto on ensiarvoisen tärkeää esimerkiksi kivikauden tutkimuksessa ympäristöennallistuksia tehtäessä. Jääkauden jälkeisen isostaattisen maankohoamisen ja vesistöjen pinnanmuutosten takia muinaisrannoilla sijainneet kohteet voivat olla kymmeniä metrejä nykyrantaa korkeammalla. Lisäksi tarkan Lidar-aineiston pohjalta on mahdollista löytää uusia, ennen tuntemattomia muinaisjäännöksiä jo ennen maastoon lähtöä. Esittelen muutaman tapaustutkimuksen avulla millaisissa yhteyksissä minä ja yhteistyökumppanini ovat Lidar-dataa viime vuosina hyödyntäneet, sekä millaisilla algoritmeillä aineistoja on muokattu ja analysoitu. Laserkeilausaineistoja on käytetty jo yli kymmenen vuoden ajan apuna muun muassa omien kenttätöideni ja Metsähallituksen laajojen kulttuuriperintöinventien kohdentamisessa. Käytän tässä esimerkkeinä muutamia kivikautisia kohteita sekä 1900-luvun konfliktiarkeologisia jäänteitä Helsingin seudulla ja Lapissa.

Suomi-Mongolia-seura Jäsenlehti, 2019

Archaeologists Oula Seitsonen and Bayarsaikhan Jamsranjav followed the footsteps of G.J. Ramstedt... more Archaeologists Oula Seitsonen and Bayarsaikhan Jamsranjav followed the footsteps of G.J. Ramstedt and Sakari Pälsi 110 years later to document how the landscapes, archaeological sites and livelihoods have changed.

FIBULA RY 50 VUOTTA: ARKEOLOGIAN AINEJÄRJESTÖN VAIHEITA 1969-2019 (TOIM. TIA NIEMELÄ), 2019

Raito, 2018

Helsingin ja Oulun yliopistojen Lapin synkkä kulttuuriperintö -projektissa on tutkittu saksalaist... more Helsingin ja Oulun yliopistojen Lapin synkkä kulttuuriperintö -projektissa on tutkittu saksalaisten toisen maailmansodan aikaisia materiaalisia jäänteitä ja niiden monia merkityksiä Lapissa. Saksalaisten läsnäolo jatkosodan aikana liittolaisina ja Lapin sodassa vihollisina on ollut sodanjälkeisinä vuosikymmeninä poliittisesti vaikea ja vähätelty aihe. Myös heidän jättämiin materiaalisiin jäänteisiin on suhtauduttu ristiriitaisesti. Niitä on esimerkiksi nimitetty ”sotaromuksi”, joka sotkee Lapin ”koskemattoman” luonnon, ja materiaalia on korjattu maastosta satoja tonneja.

Mennyttä aikaa muistellen. Kytäjää ennen ja nyt, 2010

Muinaistutkija 4/2009, 2009

Muinaistutkija 1/2007, 2007

Project blog page 2014-2018

Over the last decade archaeologists and other cultural heritage professionals have started paying... more Over the last decade archaeologists and other cultural heritage professionals have started paying attention to the material legacy of Nazi German presence in Finnish Lapland during the Second World War (WWII), as Finland's co-belligerent in the fight against the Soviet Union. At the peak of their military built-up there were over 200 000 German troops and about 30 000 of multinational Prisoners-of-War and forced labourers in this thinly inhabited northern periphery of Europe. The Finno-German "comradeship-in-arms" came to an end after Finno-Soviet cease-fire in 1944, under increasing Soviet pressure, and caused the outbreak of Lapland War between Finns and Germans 1944–1945). This ended up with the retreating German troops resorting in the scorched earth tactics, and with the so-called “Burning of Lapland”. Owing to this complex history, Finno-German relations in WWII have been a sensitive, silenced and little-discussed issue throughout the post-war decades. However, there are ruins of thousands of over-grown German military sites in northern Finland, especially in Lapland’s vast wilderness areas. The question of the cultural heritage status and value of this material legacy has been raised only recently, and is still an open and ongoing debate. However, during the archaeological and ethnographic inquiries it has been highlighted how important these material traces are for the local inhabitants, as an integral part of their ancestral, embodied every-day lifeworlds. Many locals express a strong sense of ownership and custodianship towards the material remains on their “own lands”. The traces of war have become to act as important agents of the transgenerational communal memories of war, destruction, and a host of other issues beyond those, closely intertwined with contemporary questions, such as land ownership and land-use rights. These also mirror Lapland’s long colonial history and, real and perceived, marginalization by the southern authorities, and the enduring north-south confrontations.

Finnish and Nazi German troops invaded together Soviet Union in Second World War as part of Opera... more Finnish and Nazi German troops invaded together Soviet Union in Second World War as part of Operation Barbarossa in 1941. Arctic front in Lapland was mostly on the German responsibility, but the German troops, unfamiliar with the northern environment and overcome by the poor infrastructure, made little advance and there was very little actual fighting in 1941–1944. However, owing to the demanding environmental setting, there were no continuous frontlines, but defense relied largely on isolated outposts, with vast stretches of wilderness between them. This enabled both sides to infiltrate guerilla troops behind the enemy frontlines: Finns sent out so-called long-range recon patrols for scouting and sabotage deep in Russian soil, whereas Soviet partisan troops moved through the wilderness to carry out reconnaissance and terror attacks on isolated Finnish homesteads and solitary vehicles. Soviet partisans murdered nearly 200 women, children and elderly people in the remote villages deep behind the frontlines. Finns and Germans formed anti-partisan troops to answer these attacks and to protect the distant homesteads, and also armed civilians, but this was not enough to prevent them totally. However, in the postwar decades these attacks were largely ignored and neglected, especially throughout the Cold War years until the fall of Soviet Union, to the dismay of the survivals and the relatives of the civilian casualties, and it took until late 1990s before they got national recognition or compensation. Despite that there has been relatively little research and the locals still feel that their heritage has been overlooked and sidelined.

Over the last decade archaeologists and other cultural heritage professionals have started paying... more Over the last decade archaeologists and other cultural heritage professionals have started paying attention to the material legacy of Nazi German presence in Finnish Lapland during the World War II, as Finland's co-belligerent in the fight against the Soviet Union. At the peak of their military built-up there were over 200 000 German troops and about 30 000 of their multinational Prisoners-of-War and forced labourers in this thinly inhabited northern periphery of Europe. The Finno-German "comradeship-in-arms" came to an end under Soviet pressure in 1944, after Finno-Soviet cease-fire, and caused the outbreak of Lapland War between Finns and Germans. This ended up with the “Burning of Lapland” by the retreating German troops. Finno-German relations have thus been a sensitive and little-discussed issue throughout the post-war decades. There are ruins of thousands of over-grown German military sites in northern Finland, especially in Lapland’s vast wilderness areas. The question of the cultural heritage status and value of this material legacy has been raised only recently, and is still an open debate. However, during the archaeological and ethnographic inquiries it has been highlighted how important the material traces are for the local inhabitants, as an integral part of their ancestral, embodied every-day lifeworlds. They generally express a strong sense of ownership and custodianship towards the material remains on their “own lands”. The traces of war also act as important agents of the transgenerational communal memories of war, destruction, and a host of other issues beyond those, closely intertwined with contemporary questions. These also mirror Lapland’s long colonial history and, real and perceived, marginalization by the southern authorities, and the enduring north-south confrontations. However, these could be put into positive use, e.g. in cultural tourism, for instance, with the help of mobile augmented reality.

Call for papers: EAA-session Who Owns the Battlefield?

Battlefields are multilayered and meaningful places. Last decades an increasing interest is seen ... more Battlefields are multilayered and meaningful places. Last decades an increasing interest is seen among archaeologists to investigate these places. On these battlefields they are likely to meet a wide range of people. Not at least relatives of soldiers who fought or even died the-re and who consider these fields to be a place of memory or mourning. Battlefields are also considered potentially dangerous places because of the possible presence of unexploded ordnance. EOD clearance can be in conflict with the cultural value of battlefields, be a form of social injustice, or simply damage the research potential of the battlefield. Moreover, battlefields are also visited by tourists who want to visit, see and feel the places where it all happened, or metaldetectorists hunting for war relics.
What is the position of the archaeologists in this field of possibly conflicting meanings? How are archaeologists to reckon with the highly emotional meaning of these places? Can emotion be a reason to do archaeological research, or on the contrary: a reason to refrain from research?
The aim of the session is to investigate best practices of archaeological approaches towards battlefields and conflict sites. Ultimate goal is to formulate a set of ‘rules of engagement’ for archaeological research on battlefields. We focus on modern warfare and conflict (WWI, WWII, post- WWII). We want to have an extended, in-depth discussion on the theme in a discussion-session (PechaKucha); we want to avoid a discussion on policy or legal issues. We invite colleagues to give a short introduction of their own experiences and dilemmas.
Main question is how we should deal with these topics:
- personal experiences/viewpoints of relatives of war victims;
- the archaeologists own personal experience/viewpoint;
- metaldectorists on battlefields;
- battlefields as a touristic site;
- battlefields as places that should not be disturbed;
- battlefields as places of commemoration;
- sharing of sensitive research results with the public;
- the nationalities of the conflict (perpetrator heritage);
- the present day comrades of the soldiers who fought on a historic battlefield;
- …
The session is a success if the discussion leads up to a set of ‘rules of engagement.’

The legacy of the Second World War is an aspect of heritage that continues to have an impact acro... more The legacy of the Second World War is an aspect of heritage that continues to have an impact across the world; in Finland this is no different. Our research project "Lapland's Dark Heritage" addresses the ways in which local communities and individuals come to terms with the material remains of the Second World War still present in Finnish Lapland, in a multidisciplinary manner. One of the many approaches has been the use of archaeological investigation as a means of also engaging the public. In this presentation we outline the approaches we used in what has come to be known as "#InariDig", the impact that this work appears to have had, and our plans for the next steps in our research.

Seal hunting has been an important livelihood for the inhabitants of the Eastern Baltic Sea and L... more Seal hunting has been an important livelihood for the inhabitants of the Eastern Baltic Sea and Lake Ladoga, Europe’s largest lake, throughout millennia based on zooarchaeological studies as well as historical and ethnographic data. Historical accounts document hunting methods which appear to have a long antiquity, such as annual, several months’ lasting hunting trips on the sea ice. Sealing necessitates highly specialized knowledge of the prey movements and requires high investments from the society. Early 20th century sealers were organized in secretive, esoteric sealing bands typically consisting of close kinsmen or neighbours. Membership in the bands was restricted by a wealth of restrictions and rituals, and they developed their own enigmatic ‘ice language’ based on taboo words that the seals would not understand. In light of the rich folklore surrounding the seal procurement in the early 20th century, sealing had a distinctive and resilient status and place in the cosmology of the societies participating in it: sealing has been deeply entwined with ritual, magic and superstition all over the Fennoscandia. Sealing, as a way of life and a thing to do, seems to have been embedded into the very cultural core and worldview of the people. Especially so-called ‘charming hunting’, a peculiar and original prey luring method documented in the area, is thought-provoking: the hunter fundamentally transforms himself into a seal, originally also dressing into a seal skin, and replicates prey movements, sounds and general behaviour to lure seals on heat to approach him. This method was used only in the Lake Ladoga by the early 20th century, but might have been more widespread in the past. On a mental level this is an interesting undertaking, which evidences the intimate prey-hunter relationship and its cognitive reflections on the cosmology of the local hunter-fisher-cum-farmer population.

In the later part of World War 2 Finland and Nazi Germany were co-belligerents, with over 200 000... more In the later part of World War 2 Finland and Nazi Germany were co-belligerents, with over 200 000 German soldiers holding the frontal responsibility in the northern half of Finnish eastern front. As a consequence of a major Russian offensive in 1944, Finland made a cease fire treaty with the Soviet Union: this treaty demanded Finns to drive out the German troops which resulted in a Finno-German “Lapland War” in 1944-45. Practically the whole civilian population of Lapland was evacuated to the southern parts of Finland and to Sweden before the outbreak of hostilities, excluding some reindeer herders who stayed behind in the fjells to look after the animal herds. Germans used the scorched earth tactics during their retreat to Norway, and destroyed the infrastructure within their reach and littered the landscape with explosives. In 1940-44, before the Lapland War, the relations between German troops and civilians in Lapland were generally cordial, but the post-war memories have been taken over by the powerful images of a homeland destroyed by fire and explosion, in both the official and private accounts. This appears to also colour the views of and engagement with the cultural heritage of the era. In this paper I review the experiences of Lapland’s evacuees, and assess the effects these incidents might have had on the way different communities signify the material remains of German presence. Also the material heritage of the evacuation itself is considered, for instance the refugee camps established in Sweden.

Enigmatic monumental stone enclosures dubbed in the local vernacular “Giant’s Churches” have stir... more Enigmatic monumental stone enclosures dubbed in the local vernacular “Giant’s Churches” have stirred the imagination of Finnish archaeologist for over 200 years, without the researchers reaching a conclusive understanding of their function and importance in the prehistory. “Giant’s Churches” are massive dry-stonewalled structures, ranging in size from 20x10 m to as large as 60x30 m, with stonewalls up to 7 m wide and 2 m tall, and situated on hilltops by the past seashore. They date to ca. 3500-2000 calBC, and have seemed misplaced for the general understanding of the (purportedly peaceful) (Sub-)Neolithic hunter-gatherers of the area. Thus they have been interpreted over two centuries in a variety of ways, ranging from natural formations and burial structures to gigantic refrigerators of seal meat and ceremonial centers. However, already some of the earliest interpretations suggested they were fortresses, which seems like a reasonable explanation also based on the current archaeological record. In this poster a GIS-based approach to evaluate the interpretation of “Giant’s Churches” as Neolithic fortifications is presented, building on a variety of GIS and other analyses. Carried out analyses reconstruct the palaeo-environmental settings of the sites, and evaluate, for instance, their setting for the dominance and visual control of landscape, and model the potential movement and accessibility patterns. Also the association of "Giant's Churches" with the broader archaeological background is briefly reviewed, and some conceivable socio-economic patterns behind the emergence of this phenomenon are discussed.

Lake Pyhäjärvi – Ozero Otradnoe -project developed as a continuation of research projects conduct... more Lake Pyhäjärvi – Ozero Otradnoe -project developed as a continuation of research projects conducted by IIMK/RAN, MAE/RAN and University of Helsinki in 1999–2005 in Kaukola (Sevastyanovo) and Räisälä (Melnikovo) areas along the River Vuoksi watercourse. Pyhäjärvi
is directly neighbouring this intensively studied region on its southern side, but practically no archaeological research had been conducted in the large area stretching from the northern branch of River Vuoksi to the Lake Ladoga. An idea developed to see what kind of image of Stone
Age can be obtained by applying modern fieldwork methodology from the beginning vis-à-vis the neighbouring region studied for over 100 years. Another aim was to simply collect more material about the human habitation of Karelian Isthmus. In targeted intensive surveys in
2005–2008 altogether 50 new Stone Age and Early Metal Period sites were located. Of these, six localities were test-excavated in 2006, and more extensive excavations carried out at the multi-layered Kunnianiemi (Komsomolskoe 3) site in 2006 and 2007, revealing nearly three meters deep stratified archaeological deposits with sealed cultural contexts. In this poster the main results of project’s fieldwork will be summarized.

The last 10–15 years have witnessed a serious rise in the archaeology of Karelian Isthmus. Alread... more The last 10–15 years have witnessed a serious rise in the archaeology of Karelian Isthmus. Already the pre-War studies showed that multiperiod sites, typically situated on fields and with mixed stratigraphy, were fairly ordinary in the area. Recent fieldwork since the turn of 2000s
has revealed yet another group of locations, deeply stratified multilayer sites. These sites are settlements with several subsequent occupational phases more or less clearly separated by transgression layers. They therefore deviate from the majority of previously known sites with
mixed contexts and provide unique opportunity to study closed contexts with perfect temporal control. The most imposing of such sites are the stratified Kunnianiemi (Komsomolskoe 3) site in Pyhäjärvi (Plodovoe), the Telkkälä Silino site in Muolaa (Pravdino), and Ohta 1 at the mouth
of River Ohta in St. Petersburg, but also other sites like Ozernoe 3 in Heinjoki (Veshchevo) are known. Multilayer sites have been found and studied in the field campaigns by Kunstkamera, Russian Academy of Sciences and IIMK/RAN (St. Petersburg, Russia), University of Helsinki
(Finland) and City Museum of Lahti (Finland). This poster presents briefly the key sites, their chronology, and archaeological material.

International Journal of Heritage Studies

Geochronometria, 2012

In this paper all the Stone Age and Early Metal Period (ca. 8600 cal BC — 300 AD) radiocarbon dat... more In this paper all the Stone Age and Early Metal Period (ca. 8600 cal BC — 300 AD) radiocarbon dates from the Karelian Isthmus, Russia, are compiled and their archaeological usability assessed using a set of evaluation principles. The quality of radiometric dates from such a large area has rarely been methodologically examined in Finnish or North-West Russian archaeology, and is applied here for the first time on the present material. Special attention is given to the discussion on the deficiencies and limitations of the current data. Based on the 81 dates evaluated as useful, a tentative radiocarbon chronology is presented for the study area. This is generally in sequence with the chronologies of the nearby areas, but suggests some differences especially towards the end of Stone Age, as well as the presence of biases caused by taphonomic and research-related factors.

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 2013

As part of a larger project examining the introduction of herding into northern Tanzania, surveys... more As part of a larger project examining the introduction of herding into northern Tanzania, surveys and excavations were conducted at the southern edge of the Mbulu Plateau, documenting the presence of Narosura ceramics dating to the early third millennium BP, as well as a Later Stone Age occupation dated via ostrich eggshell to the tenth millennium BP. This marks the southernmost extent of the Pastoral Neolithic in eastern Africa. The paucity of sites attributable to early herding in this area may be due to a lack of survey in landscapes likely to have been preferred by livestock owners and to extensive contemporary cultivation in those same areas. Links can be drawn between the study area and previously documented sites with Narosura materials near Lake Eyasi, and between the study area and obsidian sources in the Lake Naivasha area of the Rift Valley, making the plateau and its surroundings a potentially promising area for further research.

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2014

Archaeologies of Internment, 2011

Page 1. Chapter 10 Forgotten in the Wilderness: WWII German PoW Camps in Finnish Lapland Oula Sei... more Page 1. Chapter 10 Forgotten in the Wilderness: WWII German PoW Camps in Finnish Lapland Oula Seitsonen and Vesa-Pekka Herva Abstract In the later part of the Second World War, German troops were respon-sible for ...

Recent excavations at KYR40 in the Khanuy Valley, the largest khirigsuur in Mongolia, have reveal... more Recent excavations at KYR40 in the Khanuy Valley, the largest khirigsuur in Mongolia, have revealed that stone circles contain the highly calcined remains of domestic bovids. This solves one of the great remaining mysteries in Mongolian khirigsuur research but leads to more questions regarding the role and function of stone circles and their relationship to khirigsuurs. A model is proposed here which sees stone circles act as ‘altars’ at large communal monuments – khirigsuurs – and elsewhere. In particular, analogy is drawn with modern day multi-purpose shamanic rituals which involve the sacrifice of domestic bovids. Архангай аймгийн Өндөр-Улаан сумын нутаг Хануйн хөндийд хэд хэдэн асар том хиригсүүр бий. Үүний нэг нь монгол нутаг дахь хамгийн томоохон хиригсүүрийн нэгэнд тооцогдох Урт булагийн амны хиригсүүр (KYR40) бөгөөд энэ дурсгалын орчимд Монгол-Америкийн хамтарсан “Хануйн хөндий” төслийн судалгааны баг 2011 онд малтан судалсан цагираг хэлбэрийн тахилгын байгууламжуудаас өндөр хэмд шатсан бог малын болон үхрийн ясны жижиг хугархай хэсгүүд гарсан билээ. Энэ нь монголын хиригсүүрийн судалгааны нэгэн асуудлыг шийдэх урьдчилсан боломжийг олгосон төдийгүй цагираг хэлбэрийн тахилгын байгууламж түүний үүрэг зориулалт, хиригсүүртэй хэрхэн холбогдох хамаарлын талаарх асуултууд руу хөтөлсөөр байна. Энэхүү өгүүлэлд дэвшүүлсэн үзэл санааны загвар нь цагираг хэлбэрийн тахилгын байгууламж нь томоохон хэмжээний нийтийн дурсгал болох хиригсүүр болон бусад дурсгалын орчин дахь “тахилга”-ын зан үйл болохыг илчилж байна. Ялангуяа орчин үеийн бөө мөргөлийн олон талын зорилго бүхий тахилгын зан үйлд бог мал болон үхрээр тахилга өргөх зан үйлтэй ижил төстэй байна.

Published chapter available as a pdf on request (due to publisher's restrictions), here a fin... more Published chapter available as a pdf on request (due to publisher's restrictions), here a final draft.

This site list includes all the Stone Age and Early Metal Period dwelling sites known from the ar... more This site list includes all the Stone Age and Early Metal Period dwelling sites known from the area of studied municipalities (Johannes, Kaukola, Koivisto, Kuolemajärvi, Kurkijoki and Räisälä) and some neighbouring municipalities (Hiitola, Jaakkima and Lumivaara) before the end of year 2003. The descriptions of the new sites are based on and modified from the survey and excavation reports (see individual municipalities for corresponding studies) – the original reports are stored at the University of Helsinki, Institute for Cultural Research, Department of Archaeology (hence Univ. Helsinki) and in the archives of the Institute for the History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg) (hence IIMK/RAN) and Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, Kunstkamera, Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg) (hence Kunstkamera). The descriptions of the sites known before 1945 are based on the Finnish excavation reports and the Catalogue of archaeologic...

Scandinavian Journal of Forensic Science

Remote Sensing, Mar 28, 2023

This paper presents the development and application of a deep learning-based approach for semi-au... more This paper presents the development and application of a deep learning-based approach for semi-automated detection of tar production kilns using new Finnish high-density Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data in the boreal taiga forest zone. The historical significance of tar production, an important livelihood for centuries, has had extensive environmental and ecological impacts, particularly in the thinly inhabited northern and eastern parts of Finland. Despite being one of the most widespread archaeological features in the country, tar kilns have received relatively little attention until recently. The authors employed a Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) U-Net-based algorithm to detect these features from the ALS data, which proved to be more accurate, faster, and capable of covering systematically larger spatial areas than human actors. It also produces more consistent, replicable, and ethically sustainable results. This semi-automated approach enabled the efficient location of a vast number of previously unknown archaeological features, significantly increasing the number of tar kilns in each study area compared to the previous situation. This has implications also for the cultural resource management in Finland. The authors’ findings have influenced the preparation of the renewal of the Finnish Antiquities Act, raising concerns about the perceived impacts on cultural heritage management and land use sectors due to the projected tenfold increase in archaeological site detection using deep learning algorithms. The use of environmental remote sensing data may provide a means of examining the long-term cultural and ecological impacts of tar production in greater detail. Our pilot studies suggest that artificial intelligence and deep learning techniques have the potential to revolutionize archaeological research and cultural resource management in Finland, offering promising avenues for future exploration. Keywords: airborne laser scanning; archaeology; feature detection; deep learning; tar production; boreal forest; Finland

Tiivistelmä Lidar-kaukokartoitusaineistoista on tullut monille arkeologeille jokapäiväinen työväl... more Tiivistelmä Lidar-kaukokartoitusaineistoista on tullut monille arkeologeille jokapäiväinen työväline. Suomessa Maanmittauslaitoksen aineistot tarjoavat mainion lähtökohdan arkeologisten tutkimusten suunnitteluun ja toteuttamiseen. Korkeusmalliaineisto on ensiarvoisen tärkeä esimerkiksi kivikautta tutkittaessa, koska muinaisrannoilla sijainneet kohteet voivat maankohoamisen takia olla kymmeniä metrejä nykyrantaa korkeammalla. Lisäksi Lidar-aineiston pohjalta on mahdollista löytää uusia muinaisjäännöksiä jo ennen maastoon lähtöä

Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, May 13, 2022

The marketplace in Kolari, Northern Finland was used until the 1880s. Located on Kolarinsaari isl... more The marketplace in Kolari, Northern Finland was used until the 1880s. Located on Kolarinsaari island on the Muonionjoki river in close proximity to the Kolari church, it was a winter meeting place for local farmers and Sámi, as well as for tradesmen from the areas that are now Sweden, Finland, and Karelia. Archaeological excavations were carried out in summer 2018 and in connection to these, soil geochemical values were analysed. This paper focuses on the Kolari marketplace as a part of a landscape shared by Swedes, Finns, and Sámi. Furthermore, through the soil analyses we examine the intercultural interactions that took place during the winter market and scrutinize how different activities, people, and animals were located in the marketplace as well as in the wider landscape surrounding the marketplace. The latter is approached using GIS analysis and Tim Ingold’s concept of taskscape. This case study shows how the historical archaeology of landscapes and taskscapes can contribute ...

Archaeological Research in Asia

Archaeologies of Hitler’s Arctic War, 2020

Karjala : puolueista riippumaton karjalaisten heimolehti., Apr 17, 2008

Expedition Photo Gallery of the archaeological expedition to Lake Megonjárvi in summer 2020. Hand... more Expedition Photo Gallery of the archaeological expedition to Lake Megonjárvi in summer 2020. Handpicked photographs by Sohvi, Elsa and Elvi Seitsonen, to support the article "Rain, reindeer, digging and tundra: children's visual perception of an archaeological expedition to Northernmost Sápmi (Finnish Lapland)" by Oula Seitsonen in Time and Mind.<br>

Ennen ja Nyt: Historian Tietosanomat, 2018

Time and Mind, 2021

ABSTRACT In this paper Idiscuss aset of photographs taken by my daughters with disposable cameras... more ABSTRACT In this paper Idiscuss aset of photographs taken by my daughters with disposable cameras, to consider how they perceived an archaeological expedition to northernmost Sápmi (Finnish Lapland). My daughters’ photographic documentation illustrates the views that children from southern Finland have on archaeological fieldwork in an extreme northern environment. Their photographs resemble partly the tourism promotional imagery and Instagram posts, which place emphasis on the impressive landscape, engaging activities, and the gear related to those activities. Based on these imageries, and my personal impressions, thegenius loci of this area for outsiders are largely defined by the mountainous scenery and midsummer snow, both unique to this region within Finland. My daughters’ imagery conveys amixture of familiarity and alienation. There is an awe of facing the new and alien, immersive mountain landscape and the novelty of, e.g., ahelicopter ride to the study site in the middle of aroadless wilderness, and afascination in the familiar expedition activities together with trusted people which creates asense of at-homeness. The familiar actions carried out by familiar people appear to act as important means for placemaking and securing the being-in-the-world, which carries also wider importance beyond this case study.

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