Filling a Gap in the Migration Route? Initial Peopling of the Lake Onega Region in the Light of New Radiocarbon Datings

Abstract

The idea that the human migration into the northern part of eastern Fennoscandia might have passed through the Lake Onega region has been suggested by a number of researchers. However, despite numerous Late Preboreal and Early Boreal radiocarbon datings obtained from the Mesolithic sites in eastern Fennoscandia, similar early datings were lacking from the Lake Onega region (Karelian Republic, Russia). This article presents new radiocarbon AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) dates from burnt bone samples from Mesolithic sites located on the northern and western shores of Lake Onega that confirm at least Early Boreal habitation in the area. Brief descriptions of the dated sites and the lithic inventory of the earliest settlements are also provided.