Julkaisuseuranta

Archaeological work on the African continent carried out by the researchers from the University of Helsinki has been an important part of the research output of the department of archaeology in the late-20th and early-21st centuries. This has been closely intertwined to the lifework of late professor Ari Siiriäinen (1939–2004). In this chapter, I review…

South American archaeology became one of the focus areas of the Department of Archaeology of the University of Helsinki in the 1980s. Martti Pärssinen, then of the University of Turku, first contacted professor Ari Siiriäinen during that time, and these two developed a close partnership that resulted in four major archaeological-historical research projects in the…

This paper provides a review of my archaeological research in Utsjoki, the northernmost municipality of Finland, starting in 1984. The fieldwork consisted of excavations at the Stone Age and Early Metal Period Ala-Jalve site over the field seasons of 1984–1987, sporadic archaeological surveys during the excavation periods and larger scale surveys in the summers of…

Teaching excavations are an inextricable part of university teaching in archaeology. Students studying at the University of Helsinki were involved in university-led fieldwork from the very beginning of the establishment of archaeology institution. Students participated in excavations led by the first archaeology professor, Aarne Michaёl Tallgren, and thereafter students continued to be part of the…

This article provides an overview of archaeological science applications in artefact studies at the University of Helsinki. Since the first metal artefact analysis published in the 1860s, University of Helsinki researchers have carried out numerous nationally pioneering scientific artefact studies, developed new analytical procedures, and embraced the international trends of integrating chemical, microscopic, and isotopic…

Carl Fredrik Meinander (6 October 1916–23 August 2004) was professor in Finnish and Scandinavian Archaeology at the University of Helsinki in 1970–1982. In 1934 he enrolled to study archaeology under Professor A.M. Tallgren, who introduced him to the Bronze Age and the Montelian typological classification. Professor Aarne Äyräpää guided him to the Neolithic Stone Age.…

In the 1960s Björn Kurtén, Professor of Palaeontology at the University of Helsinki, took the first steps to analyse bone materials from archaeological sites. His main interests were ancient faunal populations and their distribution history. In the 1970s and afterwards, other scholars from the natural sciences– for example, Ann Forstén, Mikael Fortelius, Jukka Jernvall, Leif…

Ella Margareta Kivikoski (25 May 1901 in Tammela–27 July 1990 in Helsinki) was the first woman in Finland to defend her Doctoral thesis in Archaeology in 1939. Many duties in the State Archaeological Commission of Finland provided a good basis for her research career. In 1941 she received a docentship (an associate professorship) at the…

The first chair of archaeology in Finland was an extraordinary one for J.R. Aspelin at the Imperial Alexander University in Helsinki from 1878–1885. It was then considered that archaeology’s task was to evoke Finnish national consciousness; thus, the chair was opposed by Finland’s Swedish-minded circles. It was also debated whether archaeology should be taught at…

On the one hand, maritime archaeology in Finland has a long history that, depending on disciplinary definitions, extends back to the beginnings of the professionalisation of the field in the 1800s. On the other hand, the development that takes place in Finnish heritage management in the latter half of the 20th century gives birth to…

The Lapland Pioneers Project focuses on the study of the earliest pioneer settlement of Lapland and its connections with other areas of northern Europe particularly as reflected by lithic technology. The project began in 2002 with a survey in Utsjoki, followed by excavations in 2004–2006, additional surveys in Utsjoki and in the Varangerfjord area in…