THE BURIAL CAIRNS AND THE TAPANI LANDSCAPE IN THE TUOVINEN ARCHIPELAGO OF ÅBOLAND, Department of Art Studies and Anthropology, SW FINLAND, IN THE BRONZE University of Oulu AGE AND THE IRON AGE OULU 2002 TAPANI TUOVINEN THE BURIAL CAIRNS AND THE LANDSCAPE IN THE ARCHIPELAGO OF ÅBOLAND, SW FINLAND, IN THE BRONZE AGE AND THE IRON AGE Academic Dissertation to be presented with the assent of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Oulu, for public discussion in Auditorium GO 101, Linnanmaa, on September 24th, 2002, at 12 noon. OULUN YLIOPISTO, OULU 2002 Copyright © 2002 University of Oulu, 2002 Supervised by Professor Milton Nuñez Reviewed by Professor Andre Costopoulos Professor Lars Forsberg ISBN 951-42-6802-4 (URL: http://herkules.oulu.fi/isbn9514268024/) ALSO AVAILABLE IN PRINTED FORMAT Acta Univ. Oul. B 46, 2002 ISBN 951-42-6801-6 ISSN 0355-3205 (URL: http://herkules.oulu.fi/issn03553205/) OULU UNIVERSITY PRESS OULU 2002 Tuovinen, Tapani, The Burial Cairns and the Landscape in the Archipelago of Åboland, SW Finland, in the Bronze Age and the Iron Age Department of Art Studies and Anthropology, University of Oulu, P.O.Box 1000, FIN-90014 University of Oulu, Finland Oulu, Finland 2002 Abstract Mortuary rituals express and cope with disorder brought about by a member's death in the community. The autonomous connection of the deceased with the community is disrupted through mortuary rituals. In many cultures the subsequent contacts with the realm of the dead are maintained in formalized practices, sometimes including or referring to objects or patterns that can be traced in the archaeological record. In this study it is asked, if the Bronze Age and Iron Age burial cairns (1200 BC - AD 1000) in the SW archipelago of Finland might be interpreted as monuments establishing a link between the landscape and the religious context of symbolic meanings, thus making it meaningful to examine the spatial references of grave sites. The field studies include excavations, surveys, boulder analyses, and weathering studies. The number of cairns in the area is 444. Examination of samples of boulders suggested that the stones were usually collected from the adjacent terrain. The Schmidt hammer technique was applied to measure the weathering differences between basal and lateral surfaces, and possible secondary interference. The chronology of the archipelago cairns is based on previous studies related to general chronological characteristics and datings of archipelago graves. Using discriminant analysis, the size of the cairn, the convexity of the surface at the grave site, and the topography of the terrain were identified as the variables most related to the differences between Group P, having a Bronze Age character (147 cairns), from Group R of Iron Age character (218 cairns). Two models representing the shorelines of 500 BC and AD 1000 were reconstructed using a digital elevation model (DEM). Monte Carlo-testing was applied when the visible areas around grave sites were compared to reference sets in four subareas. The grave sites in Group P were often directed towards the land, whereas the grave sites in Group R were typically directed towards the sea. The difference might be related to differences in subsistence strategies. The cairns represented a conservative burial custom that belonged to local communities in maritime and northern areas, as opposed to the southern agricultural environments. Keywords: Archaeology, Bronze Age, Burial cairns, Finland, Graves, Iron Age, Methods, Mortuary rituals, Sampling survey; Death, Viewshed analysis, Åboland; Archaeology Tuovinen, Tapani, Hautarauniot ja maisema Turunmaan saaristossa pronssi- ja rau- takaudella. Taideaineiden ja antropologian laitos, Oulun yliopisto, PL 1000, FIN-90014 Oulun yliopisto, Finland Acta Univ. Oul. B 46, 2002 Oulu, Finland Tiivistelmä Vainajan omaehtoinen yhteys elävien yhteisöön katkeaa vasta yhteisöllisen kuolemanrituaalin lopullisesti päätyttyä. Monissa kulttuureissa kuolemanrituaalin jälkeiset yhteydet vainajaan kiteytyvät muodollisiksi käytännöiksi, jotka voivat tulla arkeologisesti näkyviin aineellisissa jäännöksissä tai luonnonmaiseman paikkojen, tilojen ja elementtien suhteissa. Työssä tarkastellaan, ovatko Turunmaan saariston pronssikauden ja rautakauden hautarauniot (1200 e.Kr. - 1000 j.Kr.) tulkittavissa monumenteiksi, jotka yhdistivät maiseman symbolisten merkitysten uskomukselliseen kontekstiin. Kenttätutkimuksiin kuuluu kaivauksia, inventointi, lohkaretutkimuksia ja rapautumismittauksia. Hautoja on 444. Lohkaretutkimukset osoittivat kivien tulleen kerätyiksi hautapaikkojen läheisyydestä. Tapaustutkielmissa kiveyksen basaali- ja lateraalipintojen välistä rapautumiseroa ja sekundaarisia vaurioita tutkittiin kimmovasaramittauksin. Hautaraunioiden kronologia perustuu aikaisempiin tutkimuksiin kronologisista tunnusmerkeistä sekä saariston ajoitettuihin hautoihin. Erotteluanalyysissa kiveyksen laajuus, hautapaikan maanpinnan kuperuus ja hautapaikan suhde ympäröiviin huippuihin osoittautuivat muuttujiksi, jotka selvimmin jakavat aineiston pronssikauden tyypin P-ryhmään (147 hautaa) ja rautakauden tyypin R- ryhmään (218 hautaa). Numeerisesta korkeusmallista laskettiin kaksi maastomallia, jotka vastaavat rannansiirtymisen kehitysvaihetta 500 e.Kr. (P-ryhmä) ja 1000 j.Kr. (R-ryhmä). Hautapaikoilta näkyvissä olleita alueita verrattiin satunnaisesti valittuihin verrokkipaikkoihin Monte Carlo -testauksen avulla. Merkittävin ero oli, että P-ryhmän hautapaikat olivat tyypillisesti suuntautuneet merta ja R-ryhmän hautapaikat maata kohti. Ero liittynee toimeentuloon latautuneisiin odotuksiin ja epävarmuuksiin. Hautarauniot merkitsevät konservatiivista hautaustapaa, joka kuului enemmän mereisten ja pohjoisten paikallisyhteisöjen kuin agraarisen ja eteläisen asutuksen piiriin. Asiasanat: Archaeology, Bronze Age, Burial cairns, Finland, Graves, Iron Age, Methods, Mortuary rituals, Sampling survey; Death, Viewshed analysis, Åboland; Archaeology Acknowledgements To begin with, my thanks are due to the great number of islanders with whom I have had some very interesting discussions. If I were to give here a complete register of their names, the list would become far too long. Therefore I don’t want to give precedence to any one of them; instead I would like to thank them all jointly for the information I have received and for their positive attitude towards my work. In the Preface it becomes evident of what significance Professor Emeritus Unto Salo (University of Turku) has been for this work, and particularly its early phases. He deserves my special gratitude because without his support and positive attitude it would have been hardly possible to accomplish this work. Professor Milton G. Núñez (University of Oulu) guided the accomplishment of my assertation and provided me with valuable ideas. I am also grateful to the leader of the research group at Åbo Akademi University, Professor Nils G. Holm for the support I have enjoyed. My coworkers at the Department of Comparative Religion and Folkloristics created a free and warm feeling of togetherness. It was easy to work in such an atmosphere, and at the same time feel that your own field of research was appreciated and relevant even if it was very much different from the rest of the research conducted at the department. I want to thank them all! Ph.D. Tarja Formisto has kindly made the osteological analyses whose results I have been able to exploit in this study. Leif Lindgren, the project planner at the Finnish Forest and Park Service, Nagu, initiated the field work in the area of combined activities of the Southwestern Archipelago National Park, and assisted my work in the terrain; I wish to thank him and the rest of the staff of the National Park. I am also very grateful to all the archaeologists, students of archaeology, and those interested in archaeology for the work they have done during the excavations needed for this work – their names appear in chapter 4 where the excavations are discussed. Without their contribution essential parts of my material would be lacking. I have had the opportunity to take lodgings at the field stations on Själö, Nagu, and Lohm, Korpo, which are part of the Archipelago Research Institute, University of Turku. The staff at the Laboratory of Computer Cartography, University of Turku, has kindly provided me with access to computers and software which were indispensable for the study. Finally, I want to thank the Humanistic Faculty at the University of Oulu for accepting this work into the publication series of the university, and Ella och Georg Ehrnrooths stiftelse for awarding a scholarship for the finishing touches of this work. The translation and revision work of this study has been financially supported by a grant from the Alfred Kordelin foundation, which is gratefully acknowledged. Chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7 were translated into English by Heli Virtanen, M.A. and Maija Núñez, M.A. and the other chapters by Erkki S. Makkonen, M.A. And, in conclusion, thank you Anja! Lundströmska torpet, Houtskär, March, 2001 Tapani Tuovinen Abbreviations FFPS Finnish Forest and Park Service (Metsähallitus), Natural Heritage Service of Southern Finland, Nagu NBA The National Board of Antiquities (Museovirasto), Helsinki NM The National Museum of Finland (Suomen Kansallismuseo), Helsinki PMT The Provincial Museum of Turku (Turun maakuntamuseo), Turku TYA The collections and archives of the Department of Archaeology, University of Turku (Turun yliopisto), Turku ÅM The Museum Office (Museibyrån, Ålands landskapsstyrelse),