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

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.