A REVIEW OF NEOLITHIC MULTI-ROOM HOUSEPITS AS SEEN FROM THE MESKÄÄRTTY SITE IN VIROLAHTI PARISH, EXTREME SOUTH-EASTERN FINLAND; pp. 114-151

Abstract

A three-room housepit at the Meskäärtty site is located in an area where housepits are generally rare. Stone Age dwelling structures of comparable proportions are known mainly from coastal Ostrobothnia on the Finnish west coast. The ceramics associated with the Meskäärtty housepit are Late Comb Ware and Late Corded Ware, both of which exhibit similarities with the pottery found on the Estonian north coast. AMS-dates on carbonized organic remains attached to the sherds point to a period between the late 4th millennium and the late 3rd millennium cal BC. The objectives of this article are twofold. First, the Meskäärtty site is introduced, followed by a review of organic tempered ceramics around the south-eastern coast of Finland and the appearance of multi-room housepits in Finland. Some hybrid-like characteristics displayed by ceramics found in the extreme south-east of Finland suggest that the amalgamation of local pottery-making traditions and the Corded Ware tradition took place already before the emergence of Final Neolithic Kiukainen Ware. This article argues that the appearance of multi-room housepits in Finland is closely synchronous with the spread of the Corded Ware Culture to the north-eastern Baltic Sea. Therefore, the change in the house-building tradition towards larger, more oblong and multi-room housepits is seen as a consequence of cultural contacts.