Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistys ry - Finska Fornminnesföreningen rf The Finnish Antiquarian Society ISKOS 15 Helsinki 2008 Publisher: The Finnish Antiquarian Society Helsinki Cover design: Mikael E.T. Manninen Layout: Antti Lahelma Printed in Waasa Graphics Oy, Vaasa 2008 A Touch of Red Archaeological and Ethnographic Approaches to Interpreting Finnish Rock Paintings Antti Lahelma To Margit A Touch of Red: ARchAeologicAl And eThnogRAphic AppRoAches To inTeRpReTing finnish Rock pAinTings pRefAce...............................................................................................................................6 lisT of pApeRs...............................................................................................................................8 AbsTRAcT.........................................................................................................................9 1 inTRoducTion...........................................................................................................................10 1.1 The main research questions.....................................................................................................10 1.2 Methods used..........................................................................................................................11 1.2.1 Informed methods..............................................................................................................12 1.2.2 Formal methods..................................................................................................................12 1.2.3 General analogy....................................................................................................................14 1.3 Sources...................................................................................................................................14 1.4 Structure of the dissertation......................................................................................................15 2 locATion, subjecT mATTeR And dATing......................................................................................18 2.1 Finnish rock paintings and the ‘circumpolar rock art belt’ ...........................................................18 2.2 Location and geographical distribution....................................................................................20 2.3 The range of motifs...................................................................................................................23 2.3.1 Anthropomorphs.................................................................................................................25 2.3.2 Cervids................................................................................................................................25 2.3.3 Boats...................................................................................................................................25 2.3.4 Non-cervid animals..............................................................................................................26 2.3.5 Geometric figures and handprints..........................................................................................27 2.4 A short history of research.........................................................................................................28 2.4.1 Beginnings..........................................................................................................................28 2.4.2 The decades of professional research (1960s and 70s)..............................................................30 2.4.3 The amateurs take over (1980s and 90s)...................................................................................30 2.4.4 Recent developments...........................................................................................................31 2.5 How old is the art?.....................................................................................................................33 2.5.1 Shoreline dating of rock paintings..........................................................................................33 2.5.2 Iconographic parallels..........................................................................................................35 2.5.3 Associated finds...................................................................................................................37 2.5.4 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................40 2.6 Dating changes in motif types....................................................................................................41 2.7 Prehistoric cultural context......................................................................................................42 3 inTeRpReTATion.........................................................................................................................45 3.1 Previous interpretations..........................................................................................................45 3.2 Initial hypothesis.....................................................................................................................48 3.3 The concept of ‘shamanism’.....................................................................................................49 3.4 Reading Finnish rock art...........................................................................................................51 3.4.1 Elk and human figures..........................................................................................................52 3.4.2 Boats...................................................................................................................................56 3.4.3 Geometric figures.................................................................................................................57 3.5 “A touch of red”........................................................................................................................59 4 conclusion.........................................................................................................................62 RefeRences................................................................................................................................65 A ppendix 1: The account of a Saami shamanic séance in Historia Norvegiae.............................................192 Appendix 2: A list of figures represented in Finnish rock paintings.........................................................194 Appendix 3: A catalogue of Finnish rock painting sites known in 2007...................................................200 p RefAce “Why rock paintings?”, I have often been asked. “What is so interesting about those prehistoric doodles?” At first I, too, was rather unimpressed. When I began studying archaeology in 1994, the Finnish rock paintings seemed too unsophisticated and simple to be of any great interest. I was planning to concentrate on Ancient Mesoamerica, the Minoan civilization or something similar - regions and cultures that were socially more complex and, it seemed to me, had a completely different kind of character and appeal than the hunter-gatherers of the Boreal zone. My interest in hunter-gatherer rock art was first awakened by the publication of Pekka Kivikäs’ book Kalliomaalaukset - muinainen kuva-arkisto (‘Rock paintings: an ancient pic- ture archive’) in 1995, which raised a considerable amount of interest in the Finnish media and among the general public. In his book, he calls the art “silent pictures” and writes that it demands from the spectator an ability to slow down, be silent and listen. Although trained as a high school arts teacher, he admits that he, too, had at first failed to concentrate and had felt a little disappointed with the rock paintings. Little by little, however, he became more and more captivated by their mystery. The same has happened to me, and I hope that this dissertation can convey - in addition to the theories and factual information - something of the deep fascination I have felt in my encounters with the paintings. Although it is easy at first to dismiss rock art as an incomprehensible and unexciting thing of the past, I suspect that anyone who makes the effort to understand it will be rewarded, because hunter-gatherer rock art carries messages that are universal in the fullest sense of the word. It reflects the thoughts and worldview of an era - the hunter-gatherer Stone Age - that was of fundamental significance to human evolution and which, therefore, is still today reflected in the behaviour, dreams and desires of all human beings. These messages often appear incom- prehensible, but they can nonetheless have a deep emotional impact, because they show us a glimpse of the world in which our species developed but which has now almost completely disappeared. This book is dedicated to my wife, Margit Granberg, who has somehow endured my obses- sion with rock art during the past three years, accompanied me on field trips and excavations, and helped me to relax and shrug off my frustrations and bad moods resulting from too much work. I am also deeply grateful to my parents, Timo and Marjo-Riitta Lahelma, who have never seriously disputed my questionable career choice and have offered me financial security in times of need. From a more academic point of view, I owe much to my two supervisors, professors Mika Lavento (University of Helsinki) and Knut Helskog (Tromsø University Museum), both of who have helped me in more ways that I can count. I have also had the good fortune of sharing the company of a group of talented resarchers and post-graduate students at the Institute of Archaeology in Helsinki. Discussions and exchange of ideas with Teemu Mökkönen, Kristiina Mannermaa, Anna Wickholm, Mikael Manninen, Henrik Jansson, Mervi Suhonen, Petri Ha- linen, Tuija Kirkinen, Paula Kouki and Oula Seitsonen have greatly contributed to this work. I reserve special thanks to Vesa-Pekka Herva, on whose help I have always been able to count, and who has read and commented on almost all parts of this work at manuscript stage. I also thank Tuovi Laire, the office secretary, for her patience and efficiency in arranging most of the practical matters relating to my graduate and post-graduate studies in archaeology. In addition to the people of the Institute of Archaeology in Helsinki, I owe thanks to many researchers and staff affiliated with other institutions. These include at least Kari A. Kinnunen 66 A Touch of Red (Geological Survey of Finland), Jussi-Pekka Taavitsainen (Institute of Archaeology, University of Turku), Anna-Leena Siikala (Institute of Folkloristics, University of Helsinki), Kaarina Koski (Institute of Folkloristics, University of Helsinki), Milton Núñez (Department of Artstudies and Anthropology, University of Oulu), Paula Purhonen (Finnish National Board of Antiquities), Risto Pulkkinen (Institute of Comparative Religion, University of Helsinki), Juha Pentikäinen (Institute of Comparative Religion, University of Helsinki), Zbigniew T. Fiema (Department of Classical Philology, University of Helsinki) and Joonas Sipilä (Department of History, Uni- versity of Helsinki). Outside Finland, I feel grateful to a number of colleagues similarly bitten by the rock art bug: Liliana Janik (University of Cambridge), Jan Magne Gjerde (University of Tromsø), Lars Forsberg (University of Bergen), Trond Lødøen (University of Bergen), Richard Bradley (University of Reading) and Joakim Goldhahn (University of Kalmar). Special thanks to Jan Magne and Knut for their hospitality during my visit to Tromsø in Fall 2006. Much of what I know about practical archaeology I have learned from fellow archaeolo- gists Hannu Poutiainen, Hannu Takala, Timo Sepänmaa and Timo Miettinen. I give them my thanks for initiating me into this fascinating discipline. I feel grateful also to the staff of the Finnish National Board of Antiquities (Museovirasto), who have always been of very helpful and friendly to me. I give particular thanks to Helena Taskinen, Mirja Miettinen, Marianne Schauman-Lönnqvist, Leena Ruonavaara, Päivi Pykälä-Aho, Sanna Saunaluoma and Tanja Tenhunen, on whose assistance I have always been able to count. A group of non-professional but equally dedicated Finnish rock art researchers, including Pekka Kivikäs, Eero Siljander, Kimmo Puranen, Miikka Pyykkönen, Ismo Luukkonen and Ilpo Leskinen, have offered me their ideas, expertise and company on field trips, seminars and meet- ings. The good people of the Finnish Society for Prehistoric Art (Suomen muinaistaideseura ry.), headed by archaeologist Juhani Grönhagen, have renewed my enthusiasm for prehistoric art and its importance and potential as a source of inspiration even in the modern world. I also thank once more the people who made it possible for me to arrange the Valkeisaari excava- tions, the topic of Paper III in this dissertation: Anu Herva, Nina Heiska, Marja Lappalainen, Jari-Matti Kuusela, Katja Lange, Hannele Partanen, Wesa Perttola, Jenni Sahramaa, Henrik Tuominen, Jan Vihonen, Sisko Vuoriranta, Ilkka Pylkkö and Santeri Vanhanen Last but not least, I offer my thanks to the foundations whose financial support made it possible for me to write this dissertation in the first place. The most important source of funding was a generous three-year grant awarded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation (Suomen kulttuuri- rahasto) in 2004. I have also received smaller but equally necessary support for fieldwork and travel expenses from the Niilo Helander Foundation (Niilo Helanderin säätiö), Foundation for Furthering Karelian Culture (Karjalaisen kulttuurin edistämissäätiö), the Finnish PhD School in Archaeology, the Nordic PhD School in Archaeology (‘Dialogues with the Past’) and the University of Helsinki. A Touch of Red 7 l p isT of ApeRs This thesis is formed by an introductory essay and five peer-reviewed papers. In the introduction, the papers are referred to according to their Roman numerals. Paper I Lahelma, A. 2005. Between the Worlds: Rock Art, Landscape and Shamanism in Subneolithic Finlan d . Norwegian Archaeological Review 38 (1), 29-47. Paper II Lahelma, A. 2006. Excavating Art: a ‘Ritual Deposit’ Associated with the Rock Paint- ing of Valkeisaari, Eastern Finland. Fennoscandia Archaeologica XXIII, 2-23. Paper III Lahelma, A. in press a. Communicating with ‘Stone Persons’: Anthropomorphism, Saami Religion and Finnish Rock Art. In Walderhaug, E. & Forsberg, L. (eds.) Cognition and Signification in Northern Landscapes. [UBAS International Series.] University of Bergen. Paper IV Lahelma, A. in press b. Politics, Ethnography and Prehistory: in Search of an ‘Informed’ Approach to Finnish and Karelian Rock Art. To be published in the proceedings of the South African Conference on Rock Art (SACRA, 12.-17.2006) edited by Knut Helskog, David Morris and Ben Smith (University of the Witwatersrand Press). Paper V Lahelma, A.2007. ‘On the Back of a Blue Elk’: Recent Ethnohistorical Sources and ‘Ambiguous’ Stone Age Rock art at Pyhänpää, Central Finland. Norwegian Archaeo- logical Review 40 (2), 113-137. 8 A Touch of Red