Proficient Female Potters Travelled Around Baltic Sea About 5000 Years Ago

Finland, Sweden and Estonia received some highly skilled female artisans who were perfect at creating innovative pottery in the eastern region of the Gulf of Finland during the Corded Ware Culture period. The study examined clay pottery collected from a total of 24 archaeological sites in Estonia, Finland and Sweden. The goal of the scientists was to find out the geochemical composition and the origin of the Corded Ware pottery i.e. to determine where the clay came from. The study proved that Baltic Sea countries were involved in close trade operations. Researchers were able to map the arrival routes of pottery in order to identify the areas where the pottery was made.

All the countries - Finland, Sweden and Estonia had around 5 different manufacturing areas for the Corded Ware pottery. These areas were highly involved in the pottery trade across the Baltic Sea countries around 5000 years ago. There is a manufacturing hub of Corded Ware pottery in Hame located in Southern Finland that can be described as quasi-industrial in Neolithic terms. They used to spread their products along Estonia and Finnish coast.

It is common for women to relocate after marriage and also to in charge of the pottery craft in the traditional societies. The burials and analyses from European cemeteries proves that females were more likely to receive burial gifts in the form of pottery and relocate during their lifetime.

By: Neha Maheshwari

Content: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180322112659.htm