Lapps and Labyrinths: Saami Prehistory, Colonization, and Cultural Resilience

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Highly detailed history of the Saami. I'm fascinated by the ancient history of the European continent and the peoples who emerged, but not all get equal study in the literature. I would consider this a good step forwards in exploring the north of the continent and one of the earliest peoples there who have changed relatively little since the earliest times.

Very well researched and informative. Broadbent is passionate about the Saamifolk. He brings in past theories and research, along with newer findings.

Content is great but the format of the physical book is hard to read. The lines of type are very close and span the page, which is very wide. The shinyness of the paper emits sort of a glare. Husband agreed me - difficult to read. but wonderful information.

This book is rewritten for the professional archeologist or student, not the general public.

book arrived in excellent condition as advertised

From the publisher: "Lapps and Labyrinths is a detailed analysis of Saami prehistory from 5000 BC to AD 1500 along 500 km of the Bothnian coast in Northern Sweden. The Saami were highly specialized seal hunters who also practiced animal husbandry, farming and metallurgy in ways analogous to the Norse. In the early fourteenth century they were Christianized and driven inland where many later became nomadic reindeer herders. Their land-uses, place-names, technologies and spiritual ideas have strongly impacted north Swedish society and left and indelible, and yet little appreciated, imprint on Nordic culture."From William Fitzhugh, Director, Arctic Studies Center, Smithsonian Institution: "Broadbent's Lapps and Labyrinths has a broad application and demostrates the value of anthropological studies for balancing the dominance of history in native studies. This work is in the best tradition of Scandinavian archaeology and breaks new ground for science and society."

Once upon a time, all humans in Europe were nomadic hunter-gatherers. Today, we know little about those prehistoric wild folks. Over the centuries, farming, animal husbandry, ceramics, textiles, and other technologies from the Middle East slithered westward into Europe. Eventually, almost all of the wild folks were either absorbed into the turbulent new culture or eliminated by it.In Europe, the far north was one of the last regions to be colonized. Around 15,000 years ago, it was buried under a sheet of ice that was a kilometer thick. Then, the climate warmed up, and by 8,000 years ago, the northern interior of Sweden was no longer hidden under an ancient glacier.Humans began moving into some parts of Scandinavia about 10,000 years ago, along with the reindeer, moose, wolves, bears, seals, and other pioneers. The descendants of these early humans are known as Saami or Lapps (“Lapps” is insulting to some). For thousands of years, they were largely disconnected from European civilization. Some forest dwelling Saami remained hunter-gatherers until the end of the nineteenth century.There are now maybe 70,000 Saami. They call their ancient homeland Sápmi. Four modern nations claim sections of it: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. In the past, Saami groups spoke nine different languages. These belong to the Uralic family of languages, which emerged west of the Ural Mountains of Russia. Uralic languages include Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, and Samoyed. The Saami in western Sápmi look Scandinavian; in eastern Sápmi they look more like Inuit. Their language includes 400 words for describing reindeer.In the 1980s, archaeologist Noel Broadbent was engaged in routine research on Iron Age seal hunting in Sweden and Finland, along the northern coastlines of the Gulf of Bothnia. One day, in the Västerbotten region of eastern Sweden, he discovered evidence of a ritual bear burial, which made no sense whatsoever, because it spit in the face of sacred myths — and myths often trump reality.Bear burials could only be Saami business. The myths said that Swedes were the original settlers of Sweden, and the scruffy Saami were exotic aliens that wandered in from elsewhere a few hundred years ago. The myths said that Saami were reindeer herders who lived in the interior, and Swedes were the ones who settled the coast and began seal hunting settlements. Broadbent had stumbled across an inconvenient truth, and a significant one. The bear burial forced a sharp turn in his research. He rolled up his sleeves and became a myth buster.Broadbent reported his Saami findings in Lapps and Labyrinths. It does an excellent job of documenting his archaeological research in Västerbotten — lots of charts, graphs, tables, illustrations, maps, and detailed technical information. It’s not written for general readers, it’s not a pleasure to read, but it is readable, and it delivers many fascinating insights on these wild folks of prehistoric Europe.The Saami were fortunate to inhabit a region that was far from ideal for farming, or herding cattle, sheep, and goats. Six month winters are not easy for tropical primates. Unfortunately, Germanic peoples, who farmed and herded, were being driven by population pressure to expand northward — folks who are now called Swedes and Norwegians.What followed was similar to the later conflicts that arose between European settlers and Native Americans — their language, music, and spirituality was banned. Kids were sent away to boarding schools. Much of their land was privatized by settlers. This put the squeeze on traditional hunting, so many shifted to reindeer herding. The Saami were forced to perform hard labor in silver mines and construction projects. The formerly wild and free became taxpayers, required to give the king furs, skins, feathers, fish, and so on — this put additional stress on wildlife.The Saami were nomadic. In the warm months, reindeer grazed in the mountains; in winter, they moved to the forest and dined on lichen. At the coast, the Saami hunted seals on the late winter ice. In the autumn, when the skins, blubber, and meat were at peak quality, they returned to catch seals in nets. Three months were devoted to seal hunting. Along the shore, Broadbent’s research uncovered thousands of bones from seals, reindeer, hares, ducks, moose, and bears. Ninety-eight percent of the bones were from seals.On the coast, they caught salmon, whitefish, cod, herring, and shellfish. In rivers and lakes they caught salmon, perch, whitefish, pike, burbot, trout, and char. When the catch diminished, they simply moved to another lake. When game got scarce, they packed up their lavvo (teepee) and moved on. In summer, they feasted on raspberries, bilberries, blueberries, crowberries and bearberries.The Swedes were sedentary, betting their lives that luck and cleverness would allow them to survive in one permanent location in the wilderness. It was a harsh life. Farming was small scale, and very risky, in a land where late spring frosts, and early autumn frosts could nuke their crops overnight — and often did. Too much rain could rot their crop.The wild Saami didn’t soil their britches when a wolf killed a reindeer, because they didn’t own the reindeer, and wolves needed to eat. What could possibly be more normal, natural, and healthy? Duh! Saami wisdom understood that everything was spiritually alive: humans, animals, trees, winds, streams, blizzards, northern lights, and so on. Their entire reality was magnificently sacred. They were always careful to remain quiet and respectful, because shouting and loud disturbances profaned the holiness of their home.Saami people had great respect for bears, highly intelligent magical beings who slept all winter without eating, and then returned to life when warm breezes blew. Every spring a bear was killed and eaten in a holy ceremony, and then its bones were lovingly buried. It was a celebration of rebirth, renewal, and profound admiration for the bear people.Swedish settlers depended primarily on their cattle, goats, and sheep. These provided milk, meat, hides, wool, and fertilizer. For six months animals could graze outdoors, and for six months it snowed and snowed. In places, it could get up to 3 meters (10 ft.) deep. Animals were jammed together in shelters, eating stored hay. In warm months, pastures sometimes got baked by droughts, eliminating the forage. Sometimes rain preceded haymaking, damp hay rotted in the barns, and animals sickened and died. In remote settlements, dry hay could not be hauled in from elsewhere. Sometimes epidemics of animal diseases wiped out the herds in a region.Sometimes predators dropped to have lunch with the herd, which always resulted in settlers violently soiling their britches, jumping up and down, and shouting impolite comments. Settlers were law abiding royal subjects, and they were obligated to regularly make generous contributions to the friendly bailiffs who collected taxes for the king. The animals were private property, living wealth, and status symbols. The more you owned, the better.The primitive devil-worshipping Saami hung out with the reindeer people, herbivores who were perfectly adapted to the chilly climate of Sápmi, needed no barns, ate lichen all winter, and took care of themselves. The Saami did not suffer from tax collectors and tithe collectors. They were free. They inhabited their Sápmi homeland for thousands of years without causing permanent injuries to the ecosystem.Beginning in A.D. 829, a mob of radicalized black robed terrorists began to stomp in from down under, and build churches on holy sites. The Saami were perfectly happy with their own spiritual beliefs, so converting the small population took 300 years. They learned to act like faithful believers, whilst privately preserving their ancient culture.A bit later, the Saami were shocked to discover that they had mistakenly converted to a fake religion, according to the new Lutheran black robes, who hated both Catholics and the Saami. In the 1600s, the Lutherans and the state began a brutal crusade of compulsory conversion. Resisters were beaten, some were killed, especially shamans. Sacred drums were confiscated, smashed, and burned.Swedes were encouraged to move into the “vacant” wilderness and settle. Population grew. Women lost status. Saami were driven away from the coast and other prime locations. To survive, most eventually switched from hunting to reindeer herding. By and by, Sápmi country was savagely molested by money hungry road builders, miners, loggers, trappers, sealers, and fishers.Oh, before I go, here’s an interesting fact. By 8,000 years ago, the glaciers had melted away, raising the sea level. At the same time, because there was no longer immense weight on the land, the land rose in elevation (called isostatic uplift). “Stone Age sites in northern Sweden are found on old beaches that have been uplifted 120 m or more (393 feet).” The Bronze Age coastline is now 20.5 km (12.7 miles) inland from today’s coastline. Land uplift has greatly altered the waterways, lakes, and fjords over time. Many old water networks and harbors dried up.Finally, what are labyrinths? Broadbent discovered some of these along the coast. They were spiraling stone constructions made up of single lines of stones forming walkways toward a center point. More than 300 have been found in Sweden. Labyrinths were built by Christian settlers, mostly in the sixteenth century. They were symbols of protection, indicating that the land was no longer corrupted by dangerous heathen devil worshippers. Labyrinths are found in many regions of Europe. Ironically, they were originally invented by pagans.

Thank you. Awesome book

Top corner of spine damaged in delivery.

Up to expectations. An interesting read and useful reference for those looking for a background to Saami culture.