Eastern arrivals in post-glacial Lapland: the Sujala site 10 000 cal BP

Abstract The Sujala site in northern Finnish Lapland is a reindeer hunters' camp from the early post-glacial period, discovered by the authors in 2002. The site was originally linked with the Preboreal occupation of the north Norwegian coast, but further excavations and analyses indicate that i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antiquity
Main Authors: Rankama, Tuija, Kankaanpää, Jarmo
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00097659
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0003598X00097659
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Summary:Abstract The Sujala site in northern Finnish Lapland is a reindeer hunters' camp from the early post-glacial period, discovered by the authors in 2002. The site was originally linked with the Preboreal occupation of the north Norwegian coast, but further excavations and analyses indicate that it actually represents a totally new phenomenon: evidence for an eastern influx into Lapland around the Preboreal–Boreal transition. This discovery has far-reaching implications for the colonisation of north Scandinavia, but also for the subsequent development of Early Mesolithic settlement in northern Finland and Norway.