THE 1M-ESOLITHIC COMBWARE CULTUPE OF FINLAND (1) Portti J. Pelto Tho nesolithic sottlenient of northern Europe has received a groat deal of attention in the archaeological litoraturo of the last fow decadoes. The work of Scandinavian and Gerrnan archaeologists, as well as the writings of V. G. Childe and J. G. D. Clark have aidod in naking this a relatively well-known segment of Europoan prehistory. AdJacent to the Scandinavian area, and offoring som interesting con- trasts with it in archaoological naterial, is tho lake-studded, pine- and birch-forested onviromnent of Finland. Our nain concorn here will be to oxanine this archaoological material fran Finland, particularily.the so- called Coubware culture which doninated Finland and the adjacont Russian and East Baltic areas for an apparently long tino during the Mesolithic period. The "Mosolithic" culture of northern Europe indicatos here those Ston; Age traditions during tho geologically Recent (Holocono) period that pre- ceded agricultural and herding practices in the area being considered, were characterized by extensivo use of axes, adzes, and chisels for woodworking, and were supported by an econony based on hunting, fishing, fowling, and gathering of food. This cultural tradition in northern Europe was apparent- ly carried on for a long tine after donestication of plants and aninals had revolutionized the econonries of people in the Mediterranean and Near Eastern areas. The terr "Neolithic" we are using to designato cultures based on d(- estication of plants and/or food-producing anirials; however, it should be nentioned that Finnish archaeologists use the older terninology, calling the Conbwaro culturo "Neolithic" on the grounds that it has pottery and rop- resents a sharp break fron pre-ceranic culture in the area. Finnish Archaeologists. The boginnings of systenatization of the Stono. Ago naterials of Finland go back to the publication in 1909 by Julius Ailis (2) of a survey of Finnish Stone Ages sites. Ailio nentions earlier publi- cations, including a doscription of 632 artifacts published by H. J. Holrl- berg in 1863 (3); other ninetoenth and early twentieth contury archaeolo- gists in Finland include J. R. Aspelin, Ij. Alppelgren-Kivalo, and A. Hackann (4). Publication of archaeological naterials in the Finnish National Museun series began in 1894. Finnish archaoologists whose nain work has boen done since World War I include A. M. Tallgron, Ella Kivikoski (now Professor of Archaeology at the University of Holsinki), and Aarne Ayrapaa, but dating has also deponded on the goology of M. Saurano, who has devoted great energy to the study of the history of forestation and shorelines of Post-glacial Finland. Saurano has also participated in many archaeological investigations, in which his pollen analysis, exination of rine deposits, and explanation of shoreline changes have boonx applied to particular archaeological finds. 32 Besides these archaeologists and geologists already nontionod, the National Musouu staff at Helsinki currently includes several non who have studied under Ayrapaa, among then V. Luho, C. F. Moinander, and J. Loppaaho. Mention should also be nado of the ethnologist T. I. Itkonon, who has specialized in the analysis of skis and sled-runners fron Finnish bogs. Archaeological finds. Finnish Stone Age finds can bo roughly divided into three groups: individual finds, genorally in bogs; huntor-fishor sites, which are usually associated with extinct shorolinos; and Neolithic sites, found on slightly elevated ridges near botton-lands. The bog finds include the Antroa fish-net (5), the Oulu and Narpio seals (6), and a nunbor of wooden skis and sled-runners. Those bog-finds have boon the focus of palynological dating. Hunter-fisher campsites are scattered over nost of Finland, and are the mrin source of archaeological materials. Listing the "nost inportant" of these sites, V. I;uho (7) gives the nanos of 14 Pro-coranic sites, 14 Early Combware sites, 47 "Classic" Conbware sites, and 14 Late Combware sites. xyrapaa and Luho (8) describe these canpsites as (a) situated on extinct shorelines, (b) sheltered from cold north winds, (c) chosen for the hunting and/or fishing possibilities in the vicinity, and (d) now often situated far fron bodies of water, due to the rising of the land. The list of "most inportant" sites nakes up only a snall percentage of the total known sites. The camps are usually found by accident in the course of plowing fields or digging for gravel. As an oxample, we nay oxanino the site of Askola, Honkanieni, in southwest Finland (see Plate 2 for sites nontioned in text). 2yrapaa, who excavated this site, describes it (9) as 20-21 neters above the present sea level, located on a plowed hillside. Occupation extended over an area about 140 neters long and 45 noters wide. Thicker concentration of cultural materials was napped in an area of about 40 neters by 30 neters, in which area at least three hearths were also found. The depth disturbed by plowing was about 30-40 contineters, and the total depth of the site in the deepest portions appears to have been about 60 centineters (10). The description nakes no nontion of stratigraphic variations in the site. appearing The cultural naterials from Askola include the following: 8 axes and adzes (one of Olonetz green slate) 5 "chisels" 2 "holed stones" 1 plunnot line-sinker 6 flint projectile points (nostly fragnonts) 8 flint scrapers 1 flint hannerstone 28 worked flakes of flint 135 flint flakes 3 "large rubbing stones" 10 fragoonts of stone tools (indoterminato) 33 3 scrapors of hard local stone naterial 171 flakes of hard local stone naaterial 3 quartz scrapers 10 worked flakes of quartz 218 quartz flakes 1 tool "blank" 2 quartz hanrerstones 42 rubbing stonos and fraguents 9 "polished piecos of stone" 6 fragments of "clay objects" 1 clay figure 2138 fragments of pottery pieces of burned clay pieces of burned bone 1 "stone saw" yrrpa'a dates this sito to the younger phaso of the Classic Corabware period on tho basis of the pottery style, while geological analysis of the shorolines placos the occupation at a height of 680/o of the Litorina Maxi- uun abovo current soa level (11). (Finnish geologists assign shoreline percentages using present sea lovel as 00/o and Litorina Maximu at 1000/0 when discussing shorelines of late post-glacial age; seo Plate 1). Accord- ing to gyrapa~a, pottery of the younger phaso of the Classic Corbware period is regularly associated with shorelines that are 700/o of the Litorina Maxi- nun (12). The third typo of find belongs to what the Finns call "HaImer-axe," "Cordware," or "Boat-axe" culture, and differs markedly in soavrerl ways fror the hunter-fishor sites. Its distribution is narrowly restricted to the southwest corner of Finland, which corresponds with the area offering the riost terporate climato as well as the best alluvial soils. These sites in- clude burials as well as habitations, unlike tho Corbwaro sites in which burials are not known. No sure indications of donestic plants or anirals are known frorm these sitos, but circunstantial ovidonce points strongly to a Neo- lithoc economy. Tho Boat-axe Culture is clearly intrusive in Finland, and corresponds in pottery style, tool types, and burial techniques with Neoli- thic cultures in Swedon and south of the Baltic Sea (13). Also the restric- tion of finds to tho narrow coastal strip of soUthwost Finland argues for an ocOnomic basis different fror that of the huntor-fishors (14). Chronological Mothods. Finland's StonO Ago cultural riatorials are or- ganized into a chronological franework by the use of geological and palaeo- botanical ovidence. The geological evidence is based on observation of oustatic and isostatic changes in the Finnish shorelines. The geologist M. Saurano has identified a series of old Finnish shorelines which he correlates with the Yoldia Sea, Echineis Sca, Ancylus Lake, Mastogloia Sea, and Litorina Sea phases of the post-glacial Baltic (see Plate 1). A larGe number of Meso- lithic sites aro located along these ancient boach-lines, apparently reflec- ting the inportance of fishing in the econonic pattern. Exarmination of the Conbware pottery styles in terns of their relationships to these shorelines has lod the Finlish nro-haeologists to discard their older, purely typological 34 pottery sequences in favor of a chronology in which cultural matorials fron higher (hence older) shorelines are assumed to precede naterial fron sites nearer the present sea level. Thus, V. Luho affirms; "By comparing among themselvos pottery fragments found fron zones of different elevation it can be affirmed that pots decorated in certain ways appear only at certain elevations; in other words, decoration of pottery changes in direct relation- ship to (shoreline) elevations" (translation by this writer) (15). Luho also believes that this geological evidence shows that "the so-called Suonusjarvi culture habitation sites, froa which pottery is not known, are older than the early Conbware sites" (16). Palaeontological ovidence for dating is used, as already nontioned, in connection with bog finds. Assigning relative ages for these bog finds de- pends on both pollen analysis and exanination of deposits of marine life. The relative sequences in Finnish archaeology built up fron the above methods are given absolute dates in several ways by the Finnish archaeolo- gists. Sauramo assigns absolute dates to his postulated Baltic Sea sequen- ces and vegetation periods by the technique of varvo-counting. Certain points in the Finnish chronology have also been cross-dAtol with ntarials from other countries in northern Europe. The nost inportant oxample of cross- dating is the fixing of the ternination of the Conbware period at the tine of the incursion of Boat-axe culture, which apparently spread very rapidly into nany areas of northern Europe about 1800 B.