Human-beaver engagements seen through multiperiod settlement sites at Rautalampi Hämeenniemi and Kitee Hiidenniemi, Finland
The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between beavers and humans in the prehistoric times. This is studied through animal bone assemblages excavated from two multi-period settlement sites in Northern Savonia and North Karelia, Finland, and is supplemented with ethnographic and f...
Published in: | Fennoscandia Archaeologica |
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Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2023
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Online Access: | https://research.ulapland.fi/fi/publications/51bf088b-bf74-49dc-b360-4b41c2a5bebd https://doi.org/10.61258/fa.126019 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85176096068&partnerID=8YFLogxK http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85176096068&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
Summary: | The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between beavers and humans in the prehistoric times. This is studied through animal bone assemblages excavated from two multi-period settlement sites in Northern Savonia and North Karelia, Finland, and is supplemented with ethnographic and folklore material. The theoretical framework uses perspectives from social zooarchaeology, relational ontology and multispecies archaeology and the research questions are answered with zooarchaeological analysis, age estimates and beaver ethology. This study shows that the hunted beavers were adults who could have established their own colonies, modified the landscape to suit their needs and had their first litter. Beavers had different ways of being, engaging and being present in a world that sometimes led to direct and indirect encounters between humans and beavers. The hunters had knowledge that based on the behaviour of beavers, and they used it to find the animals to engage with them. The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between beavers and humans in the prehistoric times. This is studied through animal bone assemblages excavated from two multi-period settlement sites in Northern Savonia and North Karelia, Finland, and is supplemented with ethnographic and folklore material. The theoretical framework uses perspectives from social zooarchaeology, relational ontology and multispecies archaeology and the research questions are answered with zooarchaeological analysis, age estimates and beaver ethology. This study shows that the hunted beavers were adults who could have established their own colonies, modified the landscape to suit their needs and had their first litter. Beavers had different ways of being, engaging and being present in a world that sometimes led to direct and indirect encounters between humans and beavers. The hunters had knowledge that based on the behaviour of beavers, and they used it to find the animals to engage with them. |
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