Kierikki Stone Age Centre Oulu Finland 02

Kierikki Stone Age Centre Oulu Finland 01

Kierikki is an area located in

Yli-Ii Yli-Ii () was a municipality of Finland. It was located in the province of Oulu and was part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. Alongside Haukipudas, Kiiminki and Oulunsalo municipalities it was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2013. T ...

by the Ii River in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It is about ten kilometres southeast and towards Pudasjärvi from Yli-Ii's centre. Kierikki is also a surname in

which has come to be used after the Ii River’s rapid named Kierikki. Kierikki is one of Finland's most important archaeological exploration locations. Excavations began around 1960 and are still ongoing. Research has significantly changed the view of northern Finland in

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

. Archaeologists used to think that people in Stone Age were

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

s, people who change their residence along with the seasons. In fact, people lived in large villages the whole year. This was possible because of the massive fish and seal catches people got at the time. Fish and seal surpluses were also used in trade. Arrow heads made of flint were traded from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

ornaments from

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

Dugout boats Kierikki Centre Oulu 20130526

Stone Age chewing gum made of birch bark was found in Kierikki’s excavations in the summer of 2007. The finding was reported by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. Kierikki is also a subdivision of late typical comb ceramics. Kierikki ceramics were used in 3500–3100 BC and it preceded another asbestos-ceramic type called pöljä. Finnish

Comb Ceramic culture The Comb Ceramic culture or Pit-Comb Ware culture, often abbreviated as CCC or PCW, was a northeast European culture characterised by its Pit–Comb Ware. It existed from around 4200 BCE to around 2000 BCE. The bearers of the Comb Ceramic cultu ...

is called

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

because it is comparable to Neolithic cultures elsewhere. Besides ceramics, Finnish Comb Ceramic culture also includes polished weapons made of stone, which are a part of Neolithic cultures. One difference was the lack of

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

in Finland in the Stone Age. Kierikki includes Kierikki Stone Age Centre, which is a popular destination with its archaeological exhibitions and Stone Age villages. There is also a hotel in the area. Every summer public excavations are arranged, where members of public can participate in work in Kierikki. In 2012, an eleven-year-old, Hedvig Hautala, found amber during one of these excavations.Harvinainen meripihkalöytö Kierikissä
Yle

References

{{coord, 65, 21, 39, N, 25, 56, 13, E, region:FI_type:landmark, display=title Populated places established in the 4th millennium BC Neolithic settlements Archaeological sites in Finland Former populated places in Finland History of North Ostrobothnia