Between Skins: Animal Skins in the Iron Age and Historical Burials in Eastern Fennoscandia

This thesis investigates the skin and fur finds which have been excavated from Iron Age (500 BC – AD 1200/1300) and historical (1200/1300–1700) burials in eastern Fennoscandia during the past 130 years. The research material is unique in Europe, as fur remains usually decompose in archaeological contexts. For eastern Fennoscandian Iron Age research, this study brings new information on the roles that animal skins and wild animals held in societies, which produced furs both for domestic use and for the international fur trade. The main questions of this thesis are: 1) How can archaeological fur remains be studied? What information do they provide? 2) What kinds of furs have been discovered in the graves? 3) Why were the furs placed in the graves? 4) What are the recommendations for future research? The research material consists of skin remains from 121 inhumation burials (animal skins and hairs) and 22 cremation burial sites (remains of claws). Animal hairs were found especially in contact with metals. Hairs were also found from the Late Neolithic soil samples in Perttulanmäki Corded Ware burial in Kauhava, which evidences the huge potential of microarchaeological analysis in fibre research. In cremation cemeteries, the predator 3rd phalanges provide evidence for the cremation of brown bear (Ursus arctos) and lynx (Lynx lynx) skins.