Baltic Sea Region in Prehistoric
Context:
Stone Age
13 000 – 2000 cal BC
Teemu Mökkönen (Lic.Phil.)
Archaeology/The department of Philosophy, History,
Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki
[email protected]
HISTORY OF THE BALTIC SEA REGION 17.1.2011
Content of this lecture:
• Development of Baltic Sea
Basin after Ice Age
• Initial occupation of Baltic
Sea Region
• Neolithic Stone Age:
spread of agriculture and
pottery technology
1
Prehistoric Chronology
• cal BC = calendar years, Before Christ
• BP (’Before Present’) = radiocarbon years before AD 1950
• cal BP = calendar years before present
2000 cal BC = 4000 cal BP = 3600 BP
Mesolithic Stone Age
Neolithic Stone Age
Bronze Age
(Copper Age – Eneolithic, Early Metal Period)
Table: Mannermaa 2008: Archaeology of wings . Birds and people in the Baltic Sea region during the Stone Age.
Development of Baltic Sea Basin after Ice Age
• Phases with salty sea water and fresh water
• Changes caused by isostatic land
uplift and oceanic water level
fluctuations
• Phases are named after most
common mussels
• Baltic Ice Lake, 12 600–10 300 BP
• Yoldia Sea, 10 300–9500 BP
• Ancylus Lake, 9500–8000 BP
• Littorina Sea, 7500–4000 BP
> decline in salinity > Baltic Sea
2
ca. 8800 – 8500 cal BC
Figs: wikipedia
Initial occupation of Baltic Sea Region
3
Sarnate boat, Latvia
(Vankina 1970)
The date and movements of initial occupation
(Nunez 2004 after Carpelan 2002)
Initial occupation of Baltic Sea Region
• The shores of Baltic Sea Basin
became inhabiteted after Ice Age ca. 11 500 – 7500 cal BC
• The Estonian islands – Hiiumaa and Saaremaa were permanently
inhabited from ca. 5800 cal BC
• Different knapping techniques > cultural groups
Sujala site, Utsajoki ca. 8100 cal BC (Rankama & Kankaanpää 2006)
4
Neolithic Stone Age: spread of agriculture and
pottery technology
• Neolithic Stone Age = agriculture, ceramis, polished
stone axes, villages (Central European perspective)
• North‐Northwest European forest zone
Subneolithic/Forest Neolithic = no agriculture, other
aspects of Neolithic Stone Age are present
• Pottery technology
> Regional styles became clearly readable
Spread of pottery technology
Nunez 2004
Hallgren 2004
5
Initila cereal cultivation in N Baltic and Finland
• Traditional view:
Agriculture came along with
the spread of Corded
Ware/Battle Axe culture 2800–2300 cal BC
Wikipedia
• Agriculture was present in S Baltic and S Sweden ca. 4000 cal BC < > Funnel Beaker culture
Mökkönen 2010
6
New results from pollen analysis
• Cereal cultivation common in Baltic and Republic of Karelia (Russia) after 4000 cal BC
• In Finland 3000 cal BC onwards
>> Small‐scale cultivation was
present in the ”Forest
Neolithic”
>> old models describing the spread of agriculture on the eastern shore of the Balic Sea
are no more valid
Mökkönen 2010
Final remarks
Despite obvious presence of water craft, the Baltic Sea did not
became as an avenue of early
direct long distance contacts .
The direct oversea east‐west connections
strenghtened from 3500 cal BC onwards.
During Late Stone Age and Bronze Age (2200–
500 cal BC) culture on the shore regions in N Baltic Sea was dominated by influences from S Scandinavian culture.
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