CANCELLED Talks of the Past Open Seminar: Cultural Creolization in Ostrobothnia, Finland: An Interdisciplinary View on Burials, Exchange, and Social Identity

Talks of the Past (ToP) seminars are open to anyone interested in interdisciplinary research in the fields of palaeogenetics, archaeology, and linguistics. It is a series of seminars held on the first Wednesday of each month, followed by a discussion and a “fika” (coffee break). The seminars are delivered in English.

This talk explores a remarkable Iron Age burial from Pukkila in western Finland, dating to around AD 700, where a cremated individual was laid to rest in a boat alongside weapons, ritual objects, and artefacts from across Scandinavia, eastern Europe, and the north. Rather than fitting neatly into a single cultural or ethnic category, the burial reflects a world shaped by long-distance trade, mobility, and cultural change.

Using the concept of cultural creolization, the talk shows how identities, beliefs, and ritual practices emerged through the blending of different traditions. The Pukkila burial challenges simple labels such as “Scandinavian”, “Finn,” or “Sámi,” and instead reveals how power, religion, gender, and cultural belonging were actively negotiated in the Baltic Sea region.

More broadly, the talk demonstrates how creolization offers a useful way to bring archaeology, linguistics, and religious studies together when interpreting the past.