Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-rbxfs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-10T19:02:04.868Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Faces in Places: Portable Clay Figurines from Åland and South-Western Finland in the Light of Chemical and Petrographic Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2026

Jenni Lucenius Open the ORCID record for Jenni Lucenius [Opens in a new window] ,
Torbjörn Brorsson  and
Niklas Stenbäck
Jenni Lucenius*
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Turku Faculty of Humanities: Turun yliopisto Humanistinen tiedekunta , Finland
Torbjörn Brorsson
Affiliation:
Ceramic Studies, Nyhamnsläge, Sweden
Niklas Stenbäck
Affiliation:
Independent researcher
*
Corresponding author: Jenni Lucenius; Email: jenni.k.lucenius@utu.fi
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study of Neolithic Comb Ware and Pitted Ware clay figurines from south-western Finland and Åland focuses on their provenance, technological traits, and cultural significance. Using ICP-MA/ES chemical analysis and thin-section petrography, forty-two figurines were analysed to identify clay sources and preferences in fabrication techniques. The data indicate that the figurines, and thus the humans, moved between contemporaneous locations along the south-western Finnish coast and on Åland, suggesting regional connections between sites. Most figurines were crafted locally, but a significant number was non-local, signifying mobility within a cross-Baltic network. Distinct clay recipes included calcareous or plant-based tempers and the use of grog. The symbolic value of adding grog is seen as reinforcing connections to a place, indicating that portability and provenance, i.e. movement between places, was an important characteristic of the hunter-gatherer figurine tradition of the Neolithic in the northern Baltic.

Cette étude des figurines en terre cuite appartenant aux cultures néolithiques de la céramique peignée et de la céramique à fossettes et provenant du sud-ouest de la Finlande et des îles Åland porte sur leur provenance, leurs aspects techniques et leur signification culturelle. Les analyses chimiques par ICP-MA/ES et pétrographiques sur lames minces de quarante-deux figurines, ayant pour but d’identifier l’origine des sources d’argile et les préférences dans leurs techniques de fabrication, indiquent que ces figurines, et donc les personnes, se déplaçaient entre des sites contemporains de la côte sud-ouest de la Finlande et sur les îles Åland, ce qui suggère que des liens régionaux existaient entre eux. La plupart de figurines étaient de production locale mais un nombre assez important provenait d’ailleurs, ce qui signifierait une certaine mobilité au sein d’un réseau trans-baltique. L’argile était sujette à des recettes distinctes qui comprenaient des inclusions calcaires ou végétales ainsi que l’addition de chamotte. La valeur symbolique de l’inclusion de chamotte est considérée comme un renforcement des liens avec un lieu particulier, indiquant que la portabilité et la provenance des figurines, c’est-à-dire um mouvement entre les sites, étaient des éléments importants pour les chasseurs-cueilleurs du Néolithique dans le nord de la Baltique. Translation by Maddeleine Hummler

Diese Untersuchung von neolithischen Tonfigurinen aus Südwestfinnland und den Ålandinseln, die zu den kammkeramischen und grübchenkeramischen Kulturen gehören, betrifft ihre Herkunft, technologischen Merkmale und kulturelle Bedeutung. Die chemischen Analysen mittels ICP-MA/ES und die dünnschnitt-petrografischen Untersuchungen von zweiundvierzig Figurinen, welche zum Ziel hatten, Tonquellen und Präferenzen bei den Herstellungstechniken zu identifizieren, haben gezeigt, dass diese Figurinen und damit die Menschen einen Verkehr zwischen zeitgenössischen Stätten entlang der südwestlichen finnischen Küste und auf Åland bezeugen, was auf regionale Verbindungen zwischen den Fundorten hindeutet. Die meisten Figurinen waren lokal geschaffen, aber ein recht wichtiger Teil wurde außerhalb hergestellt, was auf Mobilität innerhalb eines-transbaltischen Netzwerks weist. Kalkhaltige oder pflanzliche Magerung und die Verwendung von Schamotte gehörten zu den unterschiedlichen Tonrezepten. Der symbolische Wert der Zutat von Schamotte kann man als eine Verstärkung der Verbundenheit mit einem bestimmten Ort interpretieren, was darauf schließen lässt, dass Beweglichkeit und Herkunft, also Verkehr zwischen verschiedenen Stätten, wichtige Bestandteile der Figurinentradition der neolithischen Jäger und Sammler im nördlichen Ostseeraum waren. Translation by Maddeleine Hummler

Keywords

clay figurinesICP-MA/ESthin-sectionportable artefactsPitted WareComb Warefigurines en argileICP-MA/ESlames mincesobjets portablescéramique à fossettescéramique peignéeTonfigurinenICP-MA/ESDünnschnitt Untersuchungentragbare ArtefakteGrübchenkeramikKammkeramik

Information

Type
Article
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , First View , pp. 1 - 23
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Association of Archaeologists

Introduction

The tradition of making figurines is rooted among Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherer groups in the north-eastern European Forest zone, who share a common imagery (see e.g. Wyszomirska, Reference Wyszomirska1984; Nunez, Reference Nunez1986; Loze, Reference Loze2005, Reference Loze2008; Kashina, Reference Kashina, Jordan and Zvelebil2009; Fast, Reference Fast and Koivisto2020; Khrustaleva & Kriiska, Reference Khrustaleva and Kriiska2020, Reference Khrustaleva and Kriiska2025). It is also seen in immovable rock-art and portable artefacts of different materials (Wyszomirska, Reference Wyszomirska1984; Goldhahn et al., Reference Goldhahn, Fuglestvedt, Lahelma and Ljunge2010; Iršėnas, Reference Iršėnas2010; Koivisto & Lahelma, Reference Koivisto and Lahelma2021; Kashina & Mantere, Reference Kashina, Mantere, Halinen, Heyd and Mannermaa2022; Mantere, Reference Mantere2023: 293f., 332ff.; Iversen et al., Reference Iversen, Becker and Bristow2024; Khrustaleva & Kriiska, Reference Khrustaleva and Kriiska2025). Figurines of clay are predominantly associated with the Comb ceramic culture or Comb Ware (CW hereafter), dated to c. 5200–3250 cal bc, and the Pitted Ware culture (PWC hereafter), dated to c. 3300–2300 cal bc (Figure 1). The term CW refers to the geographical areas of Finland, Russia, and the eastern Baltic countries where different terminologies for the ‘Comb Ware’ complex and the figurine traditions are used (see e.g. Kashina, Reference Kashina, Grünberg, Gramsch, Petersen, Plonka and Meller2023 and Khrustaleva & Kriiska, Reference Khrustaleva and Kriiska2020, Reference Khrustaleva and Kriiska2025, with references). The present study focuses on clay figurines associated with CW and PWC hunter-gatherer groups in the fifth to third millennia bc.

Figure 1.

Map of north-eastern Europe and the northern Baltic Sea showing the distribution of CW anthropomorphic figurines (yellow hatching) and PWC anthropomorphic figurines (purple hatching). Map created after Kashina, Reference Kashina, Grünberg, Gramsch, Petersen, Plonka and Meller2023, Khrustaleva & Kriiska, Reference Khrustaleva and Kriiska2020 (CW), and Lindström, Reference Lindström2024 (PWC), using OpenStreetMap ODbL 1.0/CC-BY-SA 2.0. https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright.

The CW and PWC figurines have mostly been recovered in settlement contexts and not in burials. They have been interpreted as either zoomorphs or anthropomorphs or as hybrids based on their morphological and ornate features, and are generally considered to be the material expression of some form of ritualistic behaviour such as shamanism or totemism (Wyszomirska, Reference Wyszomirska1984; Nunez, Reference Nunez1986; Herva et al., Reference Herva, Nordqvist, Lahelma and Ikäheimo2014; Björck et al., Reference Björck, Artursson and Lindberg2020; Artursson et al., Reference Artursson, Björck and Lindberg2023), deities (Cederhvarf, Reference Cederhvarf1912), animism and new animism (Artursson et al., Reference Artursson, Björck and Lindberg2023; Solfeldt Reference Solfeldt2024), or hunting or ancestral magic (Storå, Reference Storå2001; Stenbäck, Reference Stenbäck2003; Loze, Reference Loze2008; von Hackwitz, Reference von Hackwitz2009; Kashina, Reference Kashina, Grünberg, Gramsch, Petersen, Plonka and Meller2023). Recent research offers interpretations based on morphological abilities, where figurines are doing instead of being (Lindström, Reference Lindström2024, Reference Lindström2025).

In Finland the oldest figurines found date to the early CW period, i.e. c. 5000–4800 cal bc (Pääkkönen et al., Reference Pääkkönen, Bläuer, Evershed and Asplund2016). The figurines’ upright bodies and small knoblike heads are generally interpreted as anthropomorphic (e.g. Nunez, Reference Nunez1986). Comb Ware animal figurines occasionally appear alongside anthropomorphic ‘crouched figurines’ (Leskinen & Pesonen, Reference Leskinen and Pesonen2009) associated with the typical CW phase, dated to c. 3900–3200 cal bc (Haggrén et al., Reference Haggrén, Petri, Lavento, Raninen and Wessman2015; Pesonen, Reference Pesonen2021). Anthropomorphic CW figurines, found for example in Vantaa (Fast, Reference Fast and Koivisto2020), strongly resemble the (later) PWC anthropomorphs, which feature elaborately decorated faces. Chronologically, the Vantaa figurines are attributed to the typical or late CW period. All the figurine types mentioned in this article are found over a vast area including parts of Russia and the Baltic countries (e.g. Loze, Reference Loze2008; Kashina, Reference Kashina, Jordan and Zvelebil2009; Fast, Reference Fast and Koivisto2020; Khrustaleva & Kriiska, Reference Khrustaleva and Kriiska2020) (Figure 1). On Åland, one zoomorphic figurine dated to the CW period has been found.

In Sweden, the overall spatial distribution of figurines within the PWC tradition is concentrated in eastern central Sweden and the island of Gotland (Figure 1). The anthropomorphic figurines appear around 2900–2300 cal bc and are spread even more narrowly, on the outer coastal areas of central Sweden and Åland (Lindström, Reference Lindström2024, figs. 28, 30). On the Åland Islands, the PWC anthropomorphic figurines were first found in 1911 on the Middle Neolithic site of Jettböle II (Cederhvarf, Reference Cederhvarf1912), followed by several findings on contemporary PWC sites on the Åland Islands. Almost all figurines from Åland have been interpreted as standing anthropomorphs (Cederhvarf, Reference Cederhvarf1912; Nunez, Reference Nunez1986; Lindström, Reference Lindström2024) or as human-animal hybrids (Storå, Reference Storå2001). In the last decades, PWC sites on Åland (e.g. Fast & Soisalo, Reference Fast and Soisalo2024) and Sweden (Björck et al., Reference Björck, Artursson and Lindberg2020; Kihlstedt et al., Reference Kihlstedt, Gatti, Hinders, Holm, Runeson and Forsgren2023) have yielded several new finds of Neolithic clay figurines, presenting an opportunity to reinterpret them in a cross-Baltic setting.

In a 2019 pilot provenance study of a small sample of Ålandic pottery (twenty-four sherds) and one figurine, we discovered that, although the analysed pottery was produced locally, the clay figurine from the PWC site of Glamilders was of non-local origin (Brorsson et al., Reference Brorsson, Lucenius, Stenbäck, Mannermaa, Manninen, Pesonen and Seppänen2019). This introduced the idea that figurines could be transported in a cross-Baltic network. This was recently further confirmed in a study of PWC figurines from the site of Tråsättra, situated outside Stockholm (Fauvelle et al., Reference Fauvelle, Brorsson, Artursson, Björck and Horn2025). The connections between east and west seen in the archaeological record are evident in mobility research as well as aDNA and isotope analyses (e.g. Malmström et al., Reference Malmström, Gilbert, Thomas, Brandström, Storå and Molnar2009; Fornander, Reference Fornander2011; Linderholm et al., Reference Linderholm, Fornander, Eriksson, Mörth and Lidén2014; Skoglund et al., Reference Skoglund, Malmström, Omrak, Raghavan, Valdiosera and Günther2014; Artursson et al., Reference Artursson, Björck and Lindberg2023: 92; Boethius et al., Reference Boethius, Storå, Gustavsson and Kielman-Schmitt2024). Nevertheless, interpretations of the social and cultural networks between the CW and PWC spheres are challenging (see Högberg et al., Reference Högberg, Brink, Brorsson and Malmström2025). This study aims to gain a better understanding of the Åland figurines and their significance in a northern Baltic context.

Materials

To investigate the production and provenance of the CW and PWC clay figurines, samples from Åland (AX) and south-western Finland (FIN) were subjected to chemical ICP-MA/ES (inductively coupled plasma mass atomic emission spectrometry) and thin-section analyses. The material includes forty-two fragments of clay figurines (Table 1). The original datasets are presented in Tables 2 and 3. Including the CW Kraviojankangas figurines from the University of Turku collections allowed us to enhance our study both spatially and temporally. The figurines from five PWC sites on Åland were sampled from Ålands Museum (Glamilders, Jettböle, and Åsgårda) or in connection with archaeological investigations at Geta 16.9 (Fast & Soisalo, Reference Fast and Soisalo2024) and Svinvallen. Visually differing fragments were chosen to avoid duplicates. The samples for analysis were taken from fractured surfaces in a way that did not affect the visual appearance of the artefact. Analyses of figurines from Swedish PWC sites were included for comparison, totalling thirteen figurines from four different sites (Table 1). Unlike the other Swedish samples, the ICP-MA/ES results from two figurines from Norslunda and Åby have not been published previously.

Table 1.

List of figurines from Åland (AX) and Finland (FIN) analysed here, using thin-section (T-S) or ICP-MA/ES analyses.

Previously analysed figurines from Sweden (SE) at the bottom of the list. For Swedish samples: *Find ID cross-referenced to Björck et al., Reference Björck, Artursson and Lindberg2020; **find ID: Kihlstedt, Reference Kihlstedt2016; ***find ID: Kihlstedt et al., Reference Kihlstedt, Gatti, Hinders, Holm, Runeson and Forsgren2023; ****find ID: Runesson & Kihlstedt, Reference Runeson and Kihlstedt2017 and Lindström, Reference Lindström2024; *****find ID: Stenbäck & Vogel, Reference Stenbäck and Vogel2010.

Table 2.

Results of the thin-section analysis of figurines from Åland.

Abbreviations: * = normal quantity; - = lesser quantity; + = high quantity; ++ = very high quantity; x = occurrence; n.o. = not observed.

Table 3.

ICP-MA/ES original dataset (see Table 1). The samples consist of figurines from Åland, Finland, and Sweden. Raw clay samples from Åland (sites and samples from the Långbergsöda area) are highlighted.

ICP-MA/ES dataset. The samples consist of figurines from Åland (AX): Geta, Glamilders, Jettböle, Svinvallen Åsgårda; Finland (FI): Kokemäki, Kraviojankangas; and Sweden (SE): Norslunda, Åby. The highlighted samples are raw clay from Åland, the archaeological sites Sa 20.7 Alkärr and Sa 20.6 Nygård, and samples from the Lånbergsöda area. The data is curated by Dr rer. Nat Torbjörn Brorsson at Ceramic Studies, Höganäs, Sweden.

Methods

The petrographic determinations of clay provenance start with the identification and characterization of clay fabrics; that is, raw material and technological additions that reflect their geographical origin (Quinn, Reference Quinn2022: 169). In the last decades, ICP-MA/ES analyses of pottery sherds have been increasingly used to determine the origin of ceramics (e.g. Little et al., Reference Little, Kosakowsky, Speakman, Glascock and Lohse2004). Earlier artefact studies using ICP-MA/ES or pXRF (portable X-ray fluorescence) have been conducted on ceramics and other types of materials (e.g. Asplund & Stilborg, Reference Asplund and Stilborg2013; Brorsson et al., Reference Brorsson, Blank and Fridén2018a, Reference Brorsson, Lucenius, Stenbäck, Mannermaa, Manninen, Pesonen and Seppänen2019; Holmqvist et al., Reference Holmqvist, Larsson, Kriiska, Palonen, Pesonen and Mizohata2018; Ahola et al., Reference Ahola, Holmqvist-Sipilä and Pesonen2022), successfully demonstrating contacts and movement patterns in the northern Baltic Sea region.

The selection and procurement of raw materials are the first steps in the production sequence of the figurines. The choice of raw materials is based on factors such as the accessibility and properties of the materials, but ethnographic analogies show that cultural preferences such as tradition and custom are principal factors in collecting the material. (Quinn, Reference Quinn2022). The study of thin sections of ceramics is a well-established method (e.g. Degryse & Braekmans, Reference Degryse, Braekmans and Hunt2017; Quinn, Reference Quinn2022), which permits not only petrographic studies, but also helps to reveal other aspects such as the clay type and added temper.

ICP-MA/ES and thin-section analyses of clay and temper

Inductively coupled plasma mass atomic emission spectrometry is a chemical analysis that measures the elemental compositions of ceramic artefacts by measuring a spectrum of forty-four elements down to extremely low concentrations (Golitko & Dussubieux, Reference Golitko, Dussubieux and Hunt2016). Twelve trace elements, the post-transition metals Al, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Ga, La, Mg, Mn, Ma, Sr, and V, were chosen for analysis and the results used to identify the origin of the clay from which each figurine is made. The selection of trace elements is based on previous experience that demonstrated reliable discriminating processing (e.g. Thompson & Walsh, Reference Thompson, Walsh, Walton and Hall1989). A minimum sample of 0.3 g was taken from each figurine, ground into a fine powder, and dissolved in an acid solution, which was then injected into excited argon plasma. When atoms are targeted with this massive energy, the electrons produce coloured rays that are unique to each individual element. The spectrum of atomic emissions can subsequently be measured by MA/ES. The ICP-MA/ES analyses were carried out by OMAC Laboratories Ltd in Loughrea, Galway, Ireland.

The ICP-MA/ES analyses provide a large amount of data that were statistically processed using the software SPSS PASW statistics 17.0. The data were organized in a factor- and a cluster analysis, which combine samples of the same chemical composition and thus indicate a probable geological origin (Little et al., Reference Little, Kosakowsky, Speakman, Glascock and Lohse2004; Quinn, Reference Quinn2022). The data on the chemical composition of the samples have been statistically processed through cluster analyses aimed at identifying shared chemical composition. The material is analysed either in percentages or ppm (parts per million), and all was analysed at the same laboratory in the same format. The materials are partly calibrated with standard values for respective region. The ICP-MA/ES analysis is not biased by the treatment of the clay, which means that the impact of natural or added temper to the clay on the results is considered insignificant. A coarsely or finely worked clay originating from the same source will be placed into the same ICP group, while two fine clays from different places will be separated.

The ‘criterion of abundance’ means that the most abundant type of clay within the studied material is assumed to be the geographically closest preferred source of clay (Quinn, Reference Quinn2022), and the deviating samples are thought to derive from non-local or from different clay sources. The ICP-MA/ES analyses of pottery from the northern Baltic Sea area have, however, proved to be a challenge in terms of separating ceramics from coastal central Sweden, Åland, and south-western Finland, as their geology is similar. Therefore, as a first step, the figurines from each settlement were analysed separately to establish the intra-site geochemical signal. Previously analysed pottery from these sites, as well as geologically and archaeologically collected clay samples from various sites on Åland, were used as reference material (Table 3; Brorsson et al., Reference Brorsson, Lucenius, Stenbäck, Mannermaa, Manninen, Pesonen and Seppänen2019). After establishing the geochemical signal for each site, all the figurines included in our study were analysed to identify provenance, and the results were compared with those of previous studies to examine movement across the Baltic Sea.

Thin-section analysis provides a method for distinguishing between added and natural temper, which cannot be detected by ICP-MA/ES. A 0.03 mm-thick, thin section is made from the sampled material and examined under a polarizing microscope with magnifications between 40X to 100 XS. The thickness of the clay, type of temper, and the proportion of and largest grain size are determined. The clays used in the production of the vessels and figurines are classified as fine, medium, or coarse depending on the amount and size of silt and sand fractions, and the clays are defined as sorted or unsorted. In an unsorted clay, certain fractions are missing. Furthermore, the mineralogical composition and presence of organic matter and the presence of diatoms are noted.

Results

ICP-MA/ES analysis to track provenance

The ICP-MA/ES analysis of the Åland PWC figurines indicated that most figurines were made locally but eight were of non-Åland origin, using the criterion of abundance. All three figurines from Jettböle II that were analysed (3/3) were made on Åland. At Geta 16.9 (7/12), Svinvallen (7/8), and Åsgårda (5/7), most analysed figurines were made of clays collected intra-site or close to the sites.

The figurines from Åland were examined collectively to investigate whether it is possible to distinguish between non-Ålandic figurines and to identify different production centres within the Islands. The Åland material was grouped into three main and five smaller groups with slightly different geochemical signals (Figures 2 and 3). While none of the analysed elements differs significantly, among the locally made figurines, it is possible to define at least one common quarry area in north-eastern Åland for figurines from both Geta 16.9 and Svinvallen (group 3), and another shared area with figurines from Åsgårda, Svinvallen and Jettböle II (group 2). The distance between Svinvallen on northern Åland and Jettböle II in south-central on Åland is about 20 km. This means that either the sites utilized the same source of clay for some (but not all) figurines, or that contacts involving the exchange of figurines existed between them. Six of the figurines from Geta 16.9 (group 1) make up a homogenous group of their own. The clay samples included in group 1 are geological samples collected from areas some 55 m asl in the Långbergsöda area, indicating that the provenance of the clay in the Geta figurines comes from northern Åland. Two figurines from Geta 16.9 and Åsgårda (group 6) make up a group with Åland provenance but, since the geochemical marker differs from other groups ascribed to the northern Åland region, their clay probably derives from different quarries on Åland.

Figure 2.

Results of the ICP-MA/ES analysis of Åland figurines and raw clays (yellow boxes). The analysis revealed eight distinct geochemical groups: local figurines (groups 1–3) and non-local figurines (groups 4–8), and one group consisting of raw clay only. Groups are separated by blue lines.

Figure 3.

Figurine fragments from Åland: ÅM662:2876, ÅM662:4537, ÅM662:4613, ÅM662:5947 from Åsgårda; ÅM833: 4, ÅM837:18, ÅM837:19, ÅM837:22 from Geta; ÅM726:1856 from Glamilders; NM5180:397/ÅM113:3, ÅM704:59, ÅM704:184 from Jettböle; ÅM687:1, ÅM784:1, F795, F2168 from Svinvallen. Photograph of ÅM 833:4 reproduced by permission of Marjo Karppanen & Jan Fast.

The figurines with a non-local geological signal are clustered at the bottom of the dendrogram in Figure 2. Figurines from Geta 16.9 and Åsgårda (group 8) differ from all other analysed figurines due to their low concentrations of Mn, Sr, and Al. The figurines are possibly made from clay similar to deposited clay that was sampled at the site (Sa 20.6) of Nygård in Långbergsöda, suggesting that the same type of clay used for pottery in a CW context was used for PWC figurines.

One of the Geta figurines, the Glamilders figurine, and one from Svinvallen (group 4) clustered together, exhibiting similarities with different ceramic reference materials from both Åland and the Stockholm area, which can be explained by similarities in the clay in the areas. Two of the figurines differ from any of the other figurines and make up their own groups (groups 5 and 7). Group 5 is a sole figurine from Åsgårda that has a probable provenance east of Åland. It does not contain any of the geochemical markers of the Swedish figurines. Group 7 is a figurine from the site Geta 16.9, probably made in Åland or the Stockholm region.

The Åland figurines were further compared to published data from PWC figurines (Table 1) and pottery from sites in Sweden. The analyses of nine figurines from the Swedish PWC site of Tråsättra had already established that links existed with Åland (Björck et al., Reference Björck, Artursson and Lindberg2020; see also Fauvelle et al., Reference Fauvelle, Brorsson, Artursson, Björck and Horn2025), as one of the Tråsättra figurines exhibits the same provenance as the Glamilders figurine. The concentrations of Ca, Ce, and Sr are elevated in both samples, probably due to the use of a calcareous clay paste. The provenance of the clay has not been determined, but the high amount of Ca is a geological characteristic of the island of Gotland, from where figurines had been imported to Tråsättra (Fauvelle et al., Reference Fauvelle, Brorsson, Artursson, Björck and Horn2025). At Ajvide on the island of Gotland, six figurines are known (Lindström, Reference Lindström2024) but none have been subjected to chemical provenance analysis. The other two non-local Tråsättra figurines had concentrations of Al, Co, Cr, Ga, Mn, and V that were higher than the rest of the samples from Tråsättra. These values are also elevated in pottery found on the CW Stockmyra site on Åland, making southern Åland a likely area of provenance (Björck et al., Reference Björck, Artursson and Lindberg2020; cf. Fauvelle et al., Reference Fauvelle, Brorsson, Artursson, Björck and Horn2025). Both Stockmyra and the island of Kökar in the southern Åland archipelago are used as sources for determining the provenance for PWC pottery (Kihlstedt et al., Reference Kihlstedt, Gatti, Hinders, Holm, Runeson and Forsgren2023) and figurines (Fauvelle et al., Reference Fauvelle, Brorsson, Artursson, Björck and Horn2025). The Otterböte (on Kökar) pottery originates from the southern Baltic Bronze Age (Hulthén, Reference Hulthén and Gustavsson1997) and the pottery from Stockmyra dates to the CW period (Brorsson et al., Reference Brorsson, Lucenius, Stenbäck, Mannermaa, Manninen, Pesonen and Seppänen2019), which means that both chronological and cultural affiliations should be taken into consideration when interpretating provenance. The remaining analysed Tråsättra figurines were of local origin, with clays quarried close to the site (Björck et al., Reference Björck, Artursson and Lindberg2020).

The figurines from Norvik, south of Stockholm, had a provenance in the Stockholm area, but some of the pottery from Norvik resembled pottery from Åland (Kihlstedt et al., Reference Kihlstedt, Gatti, Hinders, Holm, Runeson and Forsgren2023). A zoomorphic four-legged clay figurine from the PWC site of Åby in Östergötland (Runeson & Kihlstedt, Reference Runeson and Kihlstedt2017; see also Lindström, Reference Lindström2024) and an anthropomorphic figurine from the PWC site of Norslunda in Uppland (Stenbäck & Vogel, Reference Stenbäck and Vogel2010) was included in the ICP-MA/ES analyses for comparison, both indicating a local Swedish provenance. The figurine from Norslunda (F783) was identified as an anthropomorphic shoulder piece by the authors of this article.

The figurines from the CW site of Kokemäki Kraviojankangas in mainland Finland were for the most part made of local clays (Figures 4 and 5). Two out of nine analysed figurines had a deviating geochemical marker with a probable provenance further south in the Turku region, based on comparisons to Neolithic pottery samples from the sites of Niuskala and Jäkärlä (cf. pottery samples in Pääkkönen et al., Reference Pääkkönen, Bläuer, Evershed and Asplund2016). One of the figurines has an unknown provenance, but outside both the Kokemäki and Turku areas. Further analyses of ceramics from mainland Finland are required to narrow the areas of provenance.

Figure 4.

Results of the ICP-MA/ES analysis of the Finnish figurines from Kraviojankangas (marked with *) compared to pottery from the sites of Niuskala and Jäkärlä in the Turku region. The figurine samples marked in green, Kokemäki 11_7 and 13_9, have a probable provenance in the Turku region and Kokemäki 8_4 has a non-local provenance.

Figure 5.

Figurine fragments from Kraviojankangas, Kokemäki, in Finland.

Thin-section analysis of the fabrics

To investigate whether there are any distinguishing technological features among the figurines from Åland, five thin-section analyses were made (Table 2). The analyses showed that there were two kinds of fabrics used in making the figurines, one porous and the other compact. This seems to be the result of both added temper and the use of coarse, or respectively fine, clays. Two figurines from the sites of Geta and Glamilders were made from fine sorted clays that were tempered exclusively with deliberately added calcareous material. One Svinvallen figurine also had calcareous temper but was made of a coarser clay type. It is probable that the calcareous temper comprises limestone or seashells rather than osseous material, but more analysis is needed to establish this. Studies of seashells in Neolithic pottery from Finland have shown that the saltwater clam Cerastoderma glaucum was used as temper (Mökkönen, Reference Mökkönen2008: 124).

Of the figurines from Åland analysed by ICP-MA/ES, twelve displayed high quantities of manganese (Mn), in concentrations between 1000 and 6590 ppm. The high amount of Mn suggests either a calcareous or plant origin for the temper. Both animals and plants contain high levels of Mn, and the hollows in the clays visible in the thin sections suggest that added plant material probably accounts for these large quantities.

The thin-section analysis further revealed that three figurines from Svinvallen had been tempered with grog (Figure 6), i.e. crushed fired clay recycled into the clay paste. Two of these figurines had the same local geochemical source, while the third, made of coarser clay, had an origin somewhere on Åland or the Stockholm area. Grog as temper is not widely used in PWC pottery in eastern central Sweden (Larsson, Reference Larsson2009: 85–86), but the Jettböle I site on Åland has yielded PWC pottery containing grog (Brorsson et al., Reference Brorsson, Lucenius, Stenbäck, Mannermaa, Manninen, Pesonen and Seppänen2019). Grog is associated with Battle Axe/Corded Ware (BAC/CWC) pottery (e.g. Holmqvist et al., Reference Holmqvist, Larsson, Kriiska, Palonen, Pesonen and Mizohata2018), but has also been found in Late Neolithic Kiukainen (KIU) pottery in Finland. Grog as temper might have had a functional aspect (Larsson, Reference Larsson2009: 63; Quinn, Reference Quinn2022: 223 ff.), but the small amount of grog in the Svinvallen figurines suggests that the grog had a symbolic meaning rather than a practical function. The symbolic value of adding grog could be seen to reinforce a connection to place, indicating that portability and provenance were important characteristics of the PWC figurine tradition.

Figure 6.

Microscopic images of thin sections of clay figurines from Svinvallen containing grog. Upper left: Svinvallen 10, right: Svinvallen 11. Bottom row: both samples are from Svinvallen 12.

Discussion

The results from the ICP-MA/ES analysis indicate that both the CW and PWC anthropomorphic figurines we analysed were made of both local and non-local clays: the non-local clays on Åland account for twenty-one per cent and in Finland for thirty-three per cent. The local clay was collected close to where the pottery and figurines were used and discarded. The data indicate movement between contemporaneous locations on Åland, suggesting preferences in clay sources and thus production within the archipelago. The same pattern is suggested for the early CW figurines from the Finnish mainland, where the Kraviojankangas figurines indicate interactions along the south-western coast of Finland.

The figurines of non-local provenance crossed the northern Baltic Sea during their lifespan. The PWC figurines from Åland formed part of the extensive circulation of artefacts in the northern Baltic during the Middle Neolithic, highlighting inter-Baltic connections and the PWC as a maritime and seafaring population. The exchange patterns also endorse Åland’s central position and agency in the middle of the Baltic Sea. The links between Åland and the island of Gotland are supported by strontium isotope research conducted on both humans and dogs (Boethius at al., Reference Boethius, Storå, Gustavsson and Kielman-Schmitt2024), as well as the ICP-MA/ES results from the Tråsättra figurines (Fauvelle et al., Reference Fauvelle, Brorsson, Artursson, Björck and Horn2025). The suggested places of origin of the figurines, based on the results of the provenance analysis, are presented in Figure 7.

Figure 7.

Map showing the likely mobility of clay figurines across the northern Baltic Sea, suggesting interaction between the Åland (AX) and Swedish (SE), and Finnish (FI) PWC groups, as well as connections between PWC Åsgårda (AX, no.2) and the Gulf of Finland in the east. Full arrows represent conclusive results and dotted arrows probable results (for Gotland cf. Boethius et al., Reference Boethius, Storå, Gustavsson and Kielman-Schmitt2024; Fauvelle et al., Reference Fauvelle, Brorsson, Artursson, Björck and Horn2025), thicker grey arrows represent regions of provenance. The arrows suggest the direction from the source to the find location; arrows pointing two ways indicate the possibility of provenance from either area. Map created using ©EuroGeographics 2024.

We propose that the figurines should be interpreted in the light of their portability, their importance being (in part) embedded in their clay paste. The provenance of the chosen raw materials, the recipe, and perhaps even the act of making the figurines was linked to the spatial and temporal place embodied in them. When moved to a different place, the figurine served as a reminder of its origin or place, or as a token of social relationships (cf. Ahola et al., Reference Ahola, Holmqvist-Sipilä and Pesonen2022; Holmqvist, Reference Holmqvist2022). Even though this was not visible to him or her, the person holding the figurine was likely to have known the source and provenance of the clay and its environmental context (Herva et al., Reference Herva, Nordqvist, Lahelma and Ikäheimo2014).

This interpretation is supported by the results of the thin-section analysis of the Åland figurines, which determined that some of the Svinvallen examples contained grog, i.e. they had a tangible bond to earlier ceramic items, perhaps even older figurines. The added grog and the clay used have different origins, but the provenance of the grog is difficult to evaluate (cf. Holmqvist, Reference Holmqvist2022). While two of the figurines containing grog had a local Svinvallen provenance and the third probably originated in Sweden, the mixing of different raw materials nonetheless reflects a symbolic merging or transformation of materials, memory, and place (cf. Larsson Reference Larsson2009). Grog has been found in pots from sites with multiple pottery styles (see Larsson, Reference Larsson2009; Holmqvist et al., Reference Holmqvist, Larsson, Kriiska, Palonen, Pesonen and Mizohata2018; Brorsson et al., Reference Brorsson, Lucenius, Stenbäck, Mannermaa, Manninen, Pesonen and Seppänen2019) and interpreted as representations of relocated potters (Holmqvist et al., Reference Holmqvist, Larsson, Kriiska, Palonen, Pesonen and Mizohata2018). Our investigations have revealed, for the first time, that grog was used in the Neolithic clay figurine tradition of Baltoscandia.

The temper added to the PWC figurines can be seen as a cultural rather than technological choice, since options were readily available. The fabric used for the figurines differs from the pottery from their respective site (cf. Brorsson et al., Reference Brorsson, Lucenius and Stenbäck2018b), demonstrating that different recipes were used for making the figurines. The high amounts of Ca found in some figurines, most likely to have derived from crushed seashells, emphasizes the maritime connection of the PWC (cf. Stenbäck, Reference Stenbäck2003). On the other hand, the elevated amount of Mn could also point to added plant material. Analyses of soil from the incisions in the head of figurines from Geta have revealed phytoliths of grass (Poaceae) (Rajamäki, Reference Rajamäki2024), suggesting that plants might have been significant in handling the figurines during their use.

Besides the non-visible choices of clays and added temper, the figurines we studied also display visible ways of altering their appearance, for example by painting or adding organic matter such as grass into incisions on the head. Painting objects with ochre or other pigment is thought to be linked to communication, making representations or characters visible (Gummesson, Reference Gummesson2018; Solfeldt, Reference Solfeldt2024; Lindström, Reference Lindström2025). Two of the CW figurines from Kraviojankangas display traces of red ochre surface paint. Several PWC figurines from Åland also have traces of ochre (Cederhvarf, Reference Cederhvarf1912; Wyszomirska, Reference Wyszomirska1984; Nunez, Reference Nunez1986; Rajamäki, Reference Rajamäki2024). The use of red ochre is often associated with burials or painting, such as rock art (e.g. Lahelma, Reference Lahelma2008: 60; Ahola, Reference Ahola2019), but there are also examples of finds from settlement contexts such as paint on the surface of pottery or, in our case, clay figurines.

Due to its location in the northern Baltic Sea, Åland functioned as both a gathering place and transit location for people and objects circulating within Neolithic networks. The assemblages at the PWC sites on Åland provide evidence of long-distance contacts through imported objects and materials as well as the pottery styles represented there. Pottery of PWC type is found together with BAC/CWC pottery at both Jettböle (Storå, Reference Storå2001; Stenbäck, Reference Stenbäck2003) and Svinvallen, the latter also containing KIU pottery (Soisalo, Reference Soisalo2025). Whether the circulation of figurines and the blending of ceramic materials was a way to reinforce temporality (ancestry) or contemporaneous spatiality (origin), we suggest that the key to understanding the figurines (faces) is their connection to place, as well as forming part of the local and regional social networks of the PWC.

Conclusion

Forty-two clay figurines belonging to the Neolithic CW and PWC hunter-gatherer traditions on Åland and in Kokemäki in Finland were analysed to establish the clay recipes and provenance of the figurines. We identified similarities between the analysed CW and PWC figurines that go beyond typology and morphological traits. Preferences in recipes and provenance, indicating movement, support a common idea and origin for the figurines found among the CW and PWC traditions. The results of the thin-section analysis of five PWC figurines from sites on Åland suggest that there are distinct recipes for making clay figurines that differ from the pottery found on these same sites. The raw materials used reflect conscious choices, attested by the use of calcareous seashells and plant-based temper. The use of grog suggests the figurines had a tangible bond to earlier ceramic items, perhaps even older figurines. The ICP-MA/ES analysis of thirty-three PWC figurines from Åland and nine CW figurines from Kokemäki resulted in the identification of clays with both local and non-local provenance. Most figurines were made of local clays quarried close to the sites. The figurines that were non-local had clays that were either collected inter-regionally or had a cross-Baltic provenance indicating connections between Åland, eastern central Sweden, Gotland, and south-western Finland. Our results suggest that the importance of the CW and PWC figurines was linked to portability and to concepts of origin and place.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland, Nordenskiöld-samfundet, Ålands lagtings jubileumsfond, and the JUNO doctoral programme at the University of Turku. We would like to thank Henrik Asplund at the University of Turku, Jan Fast and Janne Soisalo at the University of Helsinki, Britta Kihlstedt at Stiftelsen Kulturmiljövård, and Veronica Lindholm at Ålands Museum for the opportunity to sample figurines. We thank Daniela Stenbäck for the layout of Figures 3 and 5. We thank the four anonymous reviewers for improving the manuscript. We are especially grateful to Prof. Jan Storå for valuable discussions on our research and this article.

References

Ahola, M. 2019. Death in the Stone Age: Making Sense of Mesolithic-Neolithic Mortuary Remains from Finland (ca. 6800 to 2300 cal bc). Helsinki: University of Helsinki.Google Scholar
Ahola, M., Holmqvist-Sipilä, E. & Pesonen, P. 2022. Materialising the Social Relationships of Hunter-Gatherers: Archaeological and Geochemical Analyses of 4th Millennium bc ‘Slate Ring Ornaments’ from Finland. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 29: 1259–93. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-022-09556-8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Artursson, M., Björck, N. & Lindberg, K.-F. 2023. Seal Hunters, Fishermen and Sea-Voyagers: Late Middle Neolithic (2600–2400 cal bc) Maritime Hunter-Gatherers in the Baltic Sea Archipelago at Tråsättra, Sweden. Journal of Neolithic Archaeology, 25: 89–147. https://doi.org/10.12766/jna.2023.4Google Scholar
Asplund, H. & Stilborg, O. 2013. Förromersk keramikteknologi och finsk-svenska relationer: Keramologisk analys av Morby- och Morby-liknande keramik. Finskt Museum, 117: 88.Google Scholar
Björck, N., Artursson, M. & Lindberg, K.-F. 2020. Tråsättra: Aspekter på säljägarnas vardag och symbolik (Arkeologerna Rapport 2019:40). Stockholm: Statens Historiska Museer.Google Scholar
Boethius, A., Storå, J., Gustavsson, R. & Kielman-Schmitt, M. 2024. Mobility Among the Stone Age Island Foragers of Jettböle, Åland, Investigated Through High-Resolution Strontium Isotope Ratio Analysis. Quaternary Science Reviews, 328: 108548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108548CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brorsson, T., Blank, M. & Fridén, I.B. 2018a. Mobility and Exchange in the Middle Neolithic: Provenance Studies of Pitted Ware and Funnel Beaker Pottery from Jutland, Denmark, and the West Coast of Sweden. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 20: 662–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JASREP.2018.06.004Google Scholar
Brorsson, T., Lucenius, J. & Stenbäck, N. 2018b. Kulturella influenser på Åland under stenåldern: Exemplet kalkmagring i keramiken. Åländsk Odling, 69: 94–105.Google Scholar
Brorsson, T., Lucenius, J. & Stenbäck, N. 2019. Changing Perspectives: Thin Section and ICP Analysis of Neolithic Pottery From the Åland Islands. In: Mannermaa, K., Manninen, M., Pesonen, P. & Seppänen, L., eds. Helsinki Harvest: Proceedings of the 11th Nordic Conference on the Application of Scientific Methods in Archaeology. Helsinki: Suomen arkeologinen seura, pp. 7–22.Google Scholar
Cederhvarf, B. 1912. Neolitiska lerfigurer från Åland. Finska Fornminnesföreningens Tidskrift, 26: 307–22.Google Scholar
Degryse, P. & Braekmans, D. 2017. Petrography: Optical Microscopy. In: Hunt, A., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Ceramic Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 233–65. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199681532.013.15Google Scholar
Fast, J. 2020. Kontakter i Östersjöområdet under subneolitisk stenålder-Tre människolinande leridoler från vetenskapscentret Heurekas utgrävningar i Ånäs. In: Koivisto, A., ed. Helsingin pitäjä-Vantaa, Helsinge-Vanda 2021. Vantaa-Seura: Vandasällskapet, pp. 10–27.Google Scholar
Fast, J. & Soisalo, J. 2024. NAU 2024: Kivikauden jäljillä Ahvenanmaalla. Arkeologia NYT: 4–10.Google Scholar
Fauvelle, M., Brorsson, T., Artursson, M., Björck, N. & Horn, C. 2025. Maritime Exchange During the Middle Neolithic: Evidence of Trade in Ceramic Figurines at the Pitted Ware Culture Site of Tråsättra. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 66: 105342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105342Google Scholar
Fornander, E. 2011. Consuming and Communicating Identities: Dietary Diversity and Interaction in Middle Neolithic Sweden (Theses and Papers in Scientific Archaeology, 12). Stockholm: Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Goldhahn, J., Fuglestvedt, I., Lahelma, A. & Ljunge, M. O. 2010. Changing Pictures: Rock Art Traditions and Visions in Northern Europe. Oxford: Oxbow.Google Scholar
Golitko, M. & Dussubieux, L. 2016. Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). In: Hunt, A., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Ceramic Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 399–423. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199681532.013.23Google Scholar
Gummesson, S. 2018. Points on Production: Taphonomic Research on Mesolithic Osseous Assemblages in Sweden (Theses and Papers in Osteoarchaeology, 9). Stockholm: Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Haggrén, G., Petri, H., Lavento, M., Raninen, S. & Wessman, A. 2015. Muinaisuutemme jäljet: Suomen esi- ja varhaishistoria kivikaudelta keskiajalle. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.Google Scholar
Herva, V.-P., Nordqvist, K., Lahelma, A. & Ikäheimo, J. 2014. Cultivation of Perception and the Emergence of the Neolithic World. Norwegian Archaeological Review, 47: 141–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/00293652.2014.950600CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Högberg, A., Brink, K., Brorsson, T. & Malmström, H. 2025. Transdisciplinary Theoretical Approaches to Migration Studies in Archaeology. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 35: 418–34. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774325000046CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holmqvist, E. 2022. Why Not Let Them Rest in Pieces? Grog-Temper, its Provenance and Social Meanings of Recycled Ceramics in the Baltic Sea Region (2900–2300 BCE). Archaeometry, 64: 8–25. https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12727CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holmqvist, E., Larsson, Å.M., Kriiska, A., Palonen, V., Pesonen, P., Mizohata, K., et al. 2018. Tracing Grog and Pots to Reveal Neolithic Corded Ware Culture Contacts in the Baltic Sea Region (SEM-EDS, PIXE). Journal of Archaeological Science, 91: 77–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2017.12.009CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hulthén, B. 1997. The Otterböte Pottery: A Ceramological Study. In: Gustavsson, K., ed. Otterböte: New Light on a Bronze Age Site in the Baltic (Theses and Papers in Archaeology, 4). Stockholm: Stockholm University, pp. 145–54.Google Scholar
Iršėnas, M. 2010. Anthropomorphic and Zoomorphic Stone Age Art in Lithuania, and its Archaeological Cultural Context. Archaeologica Baltica, 13: 175–90.Google Scholar
Iversen, R., Becker, V. & Bristow, R. 2024. Figurative Representations in the North European Neolithic—Are They There? Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 34: 601–19. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774323000537CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kashina, E. 2009. Ceramic Anthropomorphic Sculptures of the East European Forest Zone. In: Jordan, P. & Zvelebil, M., eds. Ceramics Before Farming: The Dispersal of Pottery Among Prehistoric Eurasian Hunter Gatherers. Walnut Creek (CA): Left Coast Press, pp, 281–97.Google Scholar
Kashina, E. 2023. Connecting People: Ceramic Anthropomorphic Sculpture of Mid-Holocene Hunter-Gatherer-Fishers of the Circum-Baltic and Russian North-West. In: Grünberg, J.M., Gramsch, B., Petersen, E.S. Brinch, Plonka, T. & Meller, H., eds. Mesolithic Art - Abstraction, Decoration, Messages: Tagungen des Landesmuseums für Vorgeschichte Halle. Halle: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt, pp. 465–76.Google Scholar
Kashina, E. & Mantere, V. 2022. Zoomorphic Stone Maces and Axes in the Forest Zone of Northeastern Europe: Manifestations of Interaction Between Hunter-Gatherers and Cattle Herding Groups in the 3rd Millennium bc. In: Halinen, P., Heyd, V. & Mannermaa, K., eds. Oodeja Mikalle / Odes to Mika / Оды Мике: Festschrift for Professor Mika Lavento on the Occasion of his 60th Birthday (Monographs of the Archaeological Society of Finland 10). Helsinki: Archaeological Society of Finland, pp. 35–44.Google Scholar
Khrustaleva, I. & Kriiska, A. 2020. Inside the Dwelling: Clay Figurines of the Jägala Jõesuu V Stone Age Settlement Site (Estonia). Baltic Journal of Art History, 20: 11–57. https://doi.org/10.12697/BJAH.2020.20.01CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khrustaleva, I. & Kriiska, A. 2025. Comb Ware Cultures in the Eastern Baltic. Estonian Journal of Archaeology, 29: 72–105. http://doi.org/10.3176/arch.2025.1.03CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kihlstedt, B. 2016. Tråsättra: En gropkeramisk boplats. Arkeologisk undersökning. RAÄ Österåker 553, Tråsättra 1:14, Österåkers socken och kommun, Stockholms län, Uppland. Stiftelsen Kulturmiljövård (Rapport 2016:23). Stockholm: Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Kihlstedt, B., Gatti, C., Hinders, N., Holm, J., Runeson, H. & Forsgren, A. 2023. Norvik: Gropkeramisk boplats och hantverk i ytterskärgård. Arkeologisk undersökning. L2021:5193 (f. d. Nynäshamn 635). Kalvö 1:11. Nynäshamn socken och kommun, Stockholms län, Södermanland. Stiftelsen Kulturmiljövård (Rapport 2023:45). Stockholm: Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Koivisto, S. & Lahelma, A. 2021. Between Earth and Water: A Wooden Snake Figurine From the Neolithic Site of Järvensuo 1. Antiquity, 95 (Project Gallery): e19. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2021.79CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lahelma, A. 2008. A Touch of Red: Archaeological and Ethnographic Approaches to Interpreting Finnish Rock Paintings (Iskos, 15). Helsinki: Finnish Antiquarian Society.Google Scholar
Larsson, Å. 2009. Breaking and Making Bodies and Pots: Material and Ritual Practices in Sweden in the Third Millennium bc (AUN, 40). Uppsala: Uppsala University.Google Scholar
Leskinen, S. & Pesonen, P. 2009. Forntiden i Vanda. Vantaan kaupunki /Vanda stad: Otava.Google Scholar
Linderholm, A., Fornander, E., Eriksson, G., Mörth, C-M & Lidén, K. 2014. Increasing Mobility at the Neolithic/Bronze Age Transition: Sulphur Isotope Evidence from Öland, Sweden. Internet Archaeology, 37. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.37.10Google Scholar
Lindström, T. 2024. Människor, djur och varelser i miniatyr: Flerartliga förbindelser i den gropkeramiska kulturen (Stockholm Studies in Archaeology, 85) Stockholm: Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Lindström, T. 2025. Eyeing the Beholder: Anthropomorphic Clay Figurines and Reciprocal Gazing. Current Swedish Archaeology, 32: 159–81. https://doi.org/10.37718/CSA.2024.08CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Little, N.C., Kosakowsky, L.J., Speakman, R.J., Glascock, M.D. & Lohse, J.C. 2004. Characterization of Maya Pottery by INAA and ICP-MS. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 262: 103–10. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JRNC.0000040860.14672.89CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loze, I. 2005. Small Anthropomorphic Figurines in Clay at Ģipka Neolithic Settlements. Documenta Praehistorica, 32: 155–65. https://doi.org/10.4312/DP.32.11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loze, I. 2008. The Neolithic Anthropomorphic Clay Figurine from the Northern Kurzeme Littoral. Archaeologica Baltica, 9: 53–60.Google Scholar
Malmström, H., Gilbert, M.T., Thomas, M.G., Brandström, M., Storå, J., Molnar, P., et al. 2009. Ancient DNA Reveals Lack of Continuity Between Neolithic Hunter-Gatherers and Contemporary Scandinavians. Current Biology, 19: 1758–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2009.09.017CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mantere, V. 2023. The Relationship Between Humans and Elks (Alces alces) in Northern Europe c. 12 000–1200 cal bc (Karhunhammas, 21). Turku: University of Turku.Google Scholar
Mökkönen, T.O. 2008. A Review of Neolithic Multi-Room Housepits as Seen From the Meskäärtty Site in Virolahti Parish, Extreme South-Eastern Finland. Estonian Journal of Archaeology, 21: 114–51. https://doi.org/10.3176/arch.2008.2.02CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nunez, M. 1986. Clay Figures from the Åland Islands and Mainland Finland. Fennoscandia Archaeologica, 3: 17–34.Google Scholar
Pääkkönen, M, Bläuer, A, Evershed, R.P. & Asplund, H. 2016. Reconstructing Food Procurement and Processing in Early Comb Ware Period Through Organic Residues in Early Comb and Jäkärlä Ware Pottery. Fennoscandia Archaeologica, 33: 57–75.Google Scholar
Pesonen, P. 2021. Continuity and Discontinuity in Early, Middle and Late Neolithic Pottery Types of Eastern Fennoscandia: Reflections from Bayesian. Helsinki: University of Helsinki.Google Scholar
Quinn, P.S. 2022. Thin Section Petrography, Geochemistry and Scanning Electron Microscopy of Archaeological Ceramics. Oxford: Archaeopress. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2nwq8x4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rajamäki, J. 2024. Östergeta Ge 19.9:sta löytyneet kuoppakeraamisen kulttuurin savi-idolit -mikroarkeologinen tutkimus (unpublished undergraduate dissertation, Faculty of Cultures and Archaeology, University of Helsinki).Google Scholar
Runeson, H. & Kihlstedt, B. 2017. Åby. En klassisk gropkeramisk lokal i det inre av Bråviken. Arkeologisk undersökning. Kvillinge 36.1, Norrköping, Östergötland. Stockholm: Stiftelsen Kulturmiljövård (Rapport 2017:26).Google Scholar
Skoglund, P., Malmström, H., Omrak, A., Raghavan, M., Valdiosera, C., Günther, T., et al. 2014. Genomic Diversity and Admixture Differ for Stone-Age Scandinavian Foragers and Farmers. Science, 344: 747–50. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1253448CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Soisalo, J. 2025. The Chronology of the Pyheensilta Group and Kiukainen Culture in Finland Based on Radiocarbon Dating. Fennoscandia Archaeologica, 42: 28–46. https://doi.org/10.61258/fa.160868CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solfeldt, E. 2024. An Archaeology of Animism: On the Mesolithic ‘Portable Art’ of the Baltic Sea. Hunter Gatherer Research, 9: 95–123. https://doi.org/10.3828/hgr.2024.14CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stenbäck, N. 2003. Människor vid havet. Platser och keramik på Ålandsöarna perioden 3500–2000 f.Kr. (Stockholm Studies in Archaeology, 28). Stockholm: University of Stockholm.Google Scholar
Stenbäck, N. & Vogel, P. 2010. Arkeologisk rapport 11. Uppsala: SAU.Google Scholar
Storå, J. 2001. Reading Bones: Stone Age Hunters and Seals in the Baltic (Stockholm Studies in Archaeology, 21). Stockholm. http://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.33803.13609CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, M. & Walsh, J.N., with additional chapters by Walton, S.J. & Hall, G.E.M. 1989. Handbook of Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry (2nd edn). Glasgow & London: Blackie.10.1007/978-1-4613-0697-9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von Hackwitz, K. 2009. Längs med Hjälmarens stränder och förbi: Relationen mellan den gropkeramiska kulturen och båtyxekulturen. Stockholm: Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Wyszomirska, B. 1984. Figurplastik och grafskick hos Nord- och Nordösteuropas neolitiska fångstkulturer (Acta Archaeologica Lundensia in 4o, 18). Bonn: Rudolf Habelt & Malmö: Gleerup.Google Scholar
Figure 0

Figure 1. Map of north-eastern Europe and the northern Baltic Sea showing the distribution of CW anthropomorphic figurines (yellow hatching) and PWC anthropomorphic figurines (purple hatching). Map created after Kashina, 2023, Khrustaleva & Kriiska, 2020 (CW), and Lindström, 2024 (PWC), using OpenStreetMap ODbL 1.0/CC-BY-SA 2.0. https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright.

Figure 1

Table 1. List of figurines from Åland (AX) and Finland (FIN) analysed here, using thin-section (T-S) or ICP-MA/ES analyses.

Figure 2

Table 2. Results of the thin-section analysis of figurines from Åland.

Figure 3

Table 3. ICP-MA/ES original dataset (see Table 1). The samples consist of figurines from Åland, Finland, and Sweden. Raw clay samples from Åland (sites and samples from the Långbergsöda area) are highlighted.

Figure 4

Figure 2. Results of the ICP-MA/ES analysis of Åland figurines and raw clays (yellow boxes). The analysis revealed eight distinct geochemical groups: local figurines (groups 1–3) and non-local figurines (groups 4–8), and one group consisting of raw clay only. Groups are separated by blue lines.

Figure 5

Figure 3. Figurine fragments from Åland: ÅM662:2876, ÅM662:4537, ÅM662:4613, ÅM662:5947 from Åsgårda; ÅM833: 4, ÅM837:18, ÅM837:19, ÅM837:22 from Geta; ÅM726:1856 from Glamilders; NM5180:397/ÅM113:3, ÅM704:59, ÅM704:184 from Jettböle; ÅM687:1, ÅM784:1, F795, F2168 from Svinvallen. Photograph of ÅM 833:4 reproduced by permission of Marjo Karppanen & Jan Fast.

Figure 6

Figure 4. Results of the ICP-MA/ES analysis of the Finnish figurines from Kraviojankangas (marked with *) compared to pottery from the sites of Niuskala and Jäkärlä in the Turku region. The figurine samples marked in green, Kokemäki 11_7 and 13_9, have a probable provenance in the Turku region and Kokemäki 8_4 has a non-local provenance.

Figure 7

Figure 5. Figurine fragments from Kraviojankangas, Kokemäki, in Finland.

Figure 8

Figure 6. Microscopic images of thin sections of clay figurines from Svinvallen containing grog. Upper left: Svinvallen 10, right: Svinvallen 11. Bottom row: both samples are from Svinvallen 12.

Figure 9

Figure 7. Map showing the likely mobility of clay figurines across the northern Baltic Sea, suggesting interaction between the Åland (AX) and Swedish (SE), and Finnish (FI) PWC groups, as well as connections between PWC Åsgårda (AX, no.2) and the Gulf of Finland in the east. Full arrows represent conclusive results and dotted arrows probable results (for Gotland cf. Boethius et al., 2024; Fauvelle et al., 2025), thicker grey arrows represent regions of provenance. The arrows suggest the direction from the source to the find location; arrows pointing two ways indicate the possibility of provenance from either area. Map created using ©EuroGeographics 2024.