Katariina Nurminen

In this volume of Trabalhos do LARC we present the Program and Abstracts of the 18th biennial meeting of
the International Council for Archaeozoology - Fish Remains Working Group (ICAZ-FRWG), hosted by the
Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage - Archaeosciences Laboratory (DGPC - LARC) and the Research
Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources – Environmental Archaeology Research Group (CIBIO -
EnvArch).
The meeting is aimed primarily for archaeozoologists interested in the systematic study of fish bones
retrieved from archaeological sites around the world, and also to archaeologists, ichthyologists, historians,
ethnographers, and fishery biologists. To this end the conference is structured to encompass a multiplicity
of approaches to the study of fish remains and their contribution to our understanding of how fishing, fish
trade, fish consumption, biodiversity, ecology and human impact on aquatic environments have changed
through time.

We still lack basic knowledge of the intensity and character of fishing as subsistence among the Stone Age populations of the northeast shores of the Baltic Sea. In locations where direct evidence of fish utilisation is insufficient, various forms of indirect evidence play an essential role. Generalisations about the importance of fishing are mainly based on shore-bound site locations, fragmentary burnt fish remains, and fishing-related artefacts recovered at archaeological sites. The remains of stationary wooden fishing structures preserved in wetland conditions have not been properly utilised previously in Finland to study prehistoric subsistence practices and diet. The interplay between the archaeological and ethnographic materials is well-grounded, because similar structures have been used for several millennia. This paper combines the wetland archaeological data, fish remains, and ethnographic analogy based on environmental and climatic considerations to examine the fishing methods and subsistence base among the Middle Subneolithic (non-agricultural Neolithic) populations of northwest Finland c 3000 calBC. Several factors, including site location, requisite woodworking skill, the quantity of the wooden structures, and the labour contribution allocated to fishing all underline the high significance of aquatic resources for the hunter-fisher-gatherer populations occupying the mouth and the banks of the Iijoki River during the mid-Holocene productivity peak of the Baltic Sea.

Merestä kohoavilla rannikkoalueilla ja Pohjanlahteen laskevilla vesireiteillä on ollut suuri merkitys Pohjanmaan asutuksen leviämiselle kautta vuosituhansien. Varhaisen asutuksen merkkejä voi löytää paitsi jokilaaksoista, myös niitä ympäröiviltä metsäalueilta. Merenkurkun metsien kulttuuriperintö (Skogens Kulturarv i Kvarkenregionen SKAIK 2) -hankkeessa haluttiin tehdä metsien muinaisjäännöksiä tunnetuksi kunnostamalla niitä kävijöille ja varustamalla kohteita opastauluin. Opastusmateriaaleja varten ja arkeologisen tutkimusaineiston kartuttamiseksi hankkeessa teetettiin luuanalyysejä ja radiohiiliajoituksia Kyrönmaan rautakauden hauta-aineistoista. Analyyseissä saatujen tulosten avulla kuva Laihian, Isonkyrön ja Vähänkyrön rautakauden hautauksista monipuolistui, ja vanhoja esinetypologisia ajoituksia saatiin myös uusien AMS-ajoitusten myötä tarkennettua.