Research on the Mesolithic of North Karelia in 2003–2017: Implications for the early postglacial archaeology of Northern Europe

In this paper we describe the results of small-scale archaeological fieldwork projects carried out in North Karelia, Finland, in 2003–2014, which ended up having a far greater research impact than anyone could have anticipated. The projects yielded a multitude of new and relevant information, especially on the Early Mesolithic, including the earliest radiocarbon dates for human occupation in Eastern Fennoscandia. Results of this research have been published in a variety of venues. We use this opportunity to present the first summary of these results and to emphasize that even with discontinuous short-term funding it is possible to carry out ambitious and influential research. Over the years, Karelia has been one of the main focus areas of Mika Lavento’s research. We want to
honour Mika’s 60th birthday by providing an overview of the results of our studies conducted in the northern parts of this large geographical and administrative area.