Hearths in the coastal areas of northernmost Sweden, from the period AD 800 to1950 Lars Liedgren1, Ingela Bergman1, Per H. Ramqvist1,2 & Greger Hörnberg1 1 Institute for Sub-Arctic Landscape Research (INSARC), Silvermuseet, Box 10, S-93831 Arjeplog, Sweden (Corre- sponding author: [email protected]). 2 Dept. of Historical, Philosophical and Religious studies, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. Abstract: This paper presents a study of the chronological setting of hearths registered in FMIS (digital register contain- ing records of all known ancient monuments in Sweden) in the provinces of Västerbotten and Norrbotten, Northern Sweden. A total of c. 1500 hearths are known in the area, mainly situated north of the river Skellefteälven. Within a study area of 107 x 94 km, 32 hearths were randomly selected for excavation, each site embracing 1-14 hearths. The sites were scanned using a metal detector and nearly all artifacts found were from the period AD 1600-1900. 14C-datings of charcoal and burned bones corroborated that most hearths were used during this period, with a large number dating to the 19th and 20th centuries. Many hearths contained bones from mature reindeer, indicating that the hearths were related to reindeer herding. We suggest that most hearths are related to nomadic Sami reindeer herders using coastal areas for winter pasture, possibly resulting from the breakdown of the “lappskatteland” (taxation lands) system and an increase in reindeer numbers. Key words: hearth; Sami; 14C-datings; reindeer; artifact; Västerbotten; Norrbotten. Rangifer, 36, (1), 2016: 25-50 DOI 10.7557/2.36.1.3767 Introduction In the coastal areas of northern Sweden (the 260 km in the Torne river valley) towards the counties of Västerbotten and Norrbotten) sed- Lappland border (lappmarksgränsen) which was entary agrarian farms established by the 14th poorly defined at this time. century at the latest. In AD 1543 there were West of this border the Sami reindeer herders around 2300 farms (taxation units) in these ar- had their land, known as Lappland (mentioned eas (Nordlander, 1905). The economy included as early as AD 1340 in a letter by King Mag- hunting and extensive lake fishing in the inte- nus Eriksson). The Lappland border was finally rior (träskfisken) and in rivers close to and far defined as late as AD 1766 (André, 1998:59). away from the farms and at sea (Westin, 1953; The agrarian colonization of Lappland, includ- Fahlgren, 1963, 1970:156pp; Nordberg, 1965; ing establishment of sedentary farms, began Bergman & Ramqvist, 2016). These coastal during the second part of the 17th century in societies were divided into parishes which the south (Norstedt, 2011; Göthe, 1929) and generally stretched 100-120 km (and as far as somewhat later further north (Bylund 1956). This journal is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License Rangifer, 36, (1) 2016 Editor in Chief: Birgitta Åhman, Technical Editor: Eva Wiklund and Graphic Design: H-G Olofsson, www.rangiferjournal.com 25 Numerous remains related to reindeer herding, ner (Manker, 1953). Today, the coastal area is mostly hearths, occur all over Lappland. The still used by reindeer herders during the winter. hearths consist of a stone lining and on the in- However, knowledge of the utilization of the side, in many cases, a packing of stones. They coastal areas for reindeer herding before the late were intended to contain a fire inside a tent or 19th century is poor, and only a few hearths have a permanent building, and were constructed in been excavated so far. Thus the objective of the such a way that the fire did not spread on the present study was to assess whether the histori- ground. This source of heat was used to warm cal records outlined above can be supported by the living space, to cook food and to give light the archaeological record further back in time. (Liedgren & Östlund, 2011; Östlund et al., For this purpose we have focused on hearths 2013). found east of the Lappland border and adressed Today, our knowledge of stone-lined hearths the following specific questions. west of the Lappland border is relatively ex- tensive (Edbom et al., 2001; Hedman, 2003; 1) To what extent were coastal hearths connect- Liedgren & Hedman, 2005; Liedgren et al., ed to reindeer herding? 2007; Bergman, et al., 2013). They date back 2) Are the registered hearths only a manifes- to at least the late Iron Age (AD 700-800) on- tation of late usage (post-18th century) of the wards, in both the alpine and boreal areas of coast for reindeer grazing? the region (Storli, 1994; Mulk, 1994; Hed- 3) Are there any signs that hearths were used man, 2003; Liedgren et al., 2007; Hedman & during the snow-free period? Olsen, 2009; Bergman et al., 2013; Hedman In addition to addressing these questions we et al., 2015). Single hearths or hearths in rows also discuss correlations between the spatial from the late Iron Age are found in locations distribution of hearths and geographical place suggesting that people utilized the landscape names associated with Sami groups. during different seasons in accordance with the needs of the reindeer – an animal of central The archaeological setting importance (Aronsson, 1991; Bergman, 1991; The National Heritage Board (NHB) in Swe- Hedman, 2003). The time when the reindeer den started landscape inventories for ancient was domesticated in Sweden has been intensely monuments in 1938. The surveys were con- debated (for a general review on the debate see nected to the production of economic maps Sommerseth, 2011). This is not an entirely (Hyenstrand, 1978). In the province of Väster- straightforward issue, as Ingold (1980) and botten and Norrbotten surveys were started in Lundmark (1998) have recognized a clear dif- the 1950s (Jensen, 1997). During this period ference between “rennomadism”, i.e. living on the focus was mainly on stone settings, cairns, the surplus provided by tame reindeer herds, ruins related to seal hunting (tomtningar) and and merely owing some tame reindeer. labyrinths (stone linings forming a spiral to- During the late 19th and the beginning of wards a center point, commonly associated the 20th century both forest Sami and moun- with sea fishing), and to some extent on histori- tain Sami used the Bothnian coast in the win- cally known Sami settlement places in coastal tertime for grazing their animals on the heath- areas (Thålin, 1962). These inventories were lands. The mountain Sami groups travelled as mostly based on old records and information far west as the Norwegian border and beyond collected from local people. Later more system- in the spring, and all the way down to the atic searches were conducted during the 1980s Bothnian Bay in late autumn in a cyclical man- and 1990s (Persson, 1985; Klang, 1986). In- This journal is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License 26 Editor in Chief: Birgitta Åhman, Technical Editor: Eva Wiklund and Graphic Design: H-G Olofsson, www.rangiferjournal.com Rangifer, 36, (1) 2016 ventories were mostly conducted during the ologist (platsledare) to guarantee quality. All of summer by archaeology students, each student this material is now digitalized and presented having a certain area to cover during a set time in FMIS (in English ASIS = Ancient Sites In- frame. Every site was described and the location formation System). Figure 1 displays the ar- was plotted on an aerial photo map. All monu- eas that were surveyed during 1980-1995. The ments were checked by an experienced archae- map shows that most areas up to 50 km from Figure 1. Survey of ancient monuments in the coastal areas of the county of Norrbotten and Västerbotten, made later than 1979 (based on Jensen 1997). This journal is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License Rangifer, 36, (1) 2016 Editor in Chief: Birgitta Åhman, Technical Editor: Eva Wiklund and Graphic Design: H-G Olofsson, www.rangiferjournal.com 27 the coast-line have been inventoried, and in the ences along an east-west gradient. There are 96 Torne River valley coverage extends up to 200 to 341 hearths in each of these zones and about km inland. The most and best covered areas are 1000 in total. situated in the county of Norrbotten. The elevation ranges from sea level in zone The FMIS-register also includes a number of 1 to over 600 m above sea level (a.s.l.) in zone features generally connected to reindeer herd- 4, and the highest marine limit stretches from ing such as: remnants of Sami settlement sites southwest to northeast in zone 2 and 3 at ca (visten), huts (kåtor), reindeer fences and corrals 230 m a.s.l (Berglund, 2012; Näslund, 2015). (gärdor). Occasionally, information acquired The soils are mainly sediments along the river from oral tradition, maps and old records valleys, and morainic till dominates at higher was registered. Despite the somewhat uneven elevations (www.sgu.se). All rivers have their coverage of the landscape, the register offers a source areas in the western forests except for the relatively accurate picture of the dispersion of Pite River that starts further west in the Scan- features that might have been connected to dinavian Mountains. Further, all zones are lo- reindeer herding during the 19th century and cated in the boreal forest where Scots pine (Pi- earlier. About 1500 hearths (which are pro- nus sylverstris), dwarf shrubs (Calluna vulgaris, tected by Swedish law) had been registered in Empetrum nigrum and Vaccinium vitis-idaea) the counties of Västerbotten and Norrbotten and reindeer lichen (Cladonia species) domi- by 2012. The numbers of hearths per site vary nate dry sediment soils, while mixed forests of from one to more than 10.