Browsing by Author "Kunnas, Liisa"

The aim of this study is to present and discuss the Stone Age find material from the area of Sortavala City and the former parish of Sortavala, and to define new areas suitable for finding more Stone Age sites. The find material studied includes the stray finds found in Sortavala and the finds of Stone Age sites Otsoinen Ylätalo (excavated in 1921) and Meijeri I-III (excavated in the 1980's). By studying the distribution of the material and changes in the water level of Lake Ladoga, new areas can be found, which could have been suitable for Stone Age human occupation. As a background for the study, some research historical and theoretical points are discussed: mainly the folklore related to Stone Age stone tools and its meaning to the collecting of the stray finds, the relationship between humans and their environment and the impacts of contemporal society to the research of Stone Age. In chapters 3-5 the study material is presented: the Stone Age stray finds from Sortavala and the research reports and finds of four sites. All sites are situated around the same water system. Also the terminology and chronology of Stone Age ceramics in the area are discussed. The most important goal regarding the sites Meijeri I-III is to be able to verify their locations and to pinpoint them on the map. In chapter 6 the approximate finding locations of the stray finds and the locations of the sites were compared to the changes in the water level and the shoreline of Lake Ladoga during the Stone Age. Besides some problems related to locating the stray find locations, there is some correlation between the finds and the shorelines. The area surrounding the ancient Otsoistenlahti Bay is an example of an area where suitable water level, large amount of stray finds and actual sites meet. Some areas could be defined as places, where Stone Age should ne looked for in the future. These areas are commonly situated around the bays, also in the archipelago, and in the river valleys, that have been bays.