The first inhabitants came over the sea from the east
Åland
is located strategically in the Baltic Sea in between Finland and
Sweden. The highest part of Åland started rising from the sea some
10.000 years ago and as a result of the land rise Åland gradually
grows. Island after island rose from the sea and when the first
inhabitants came to Åland the land area was about 25 km2. The land
elevation is ongoing and currently Åland is about 1500 km2.
The
first inhabitants arrived some 6000 years ago. They came from the east
and were a part of the pit-comb ceramic culture which got their name
from the comb-like imprints that they decorated their clay pots with.
It
was a long and probably hazardous journey to travel across the sea at
that time and the questions that surround the journey are many. How did
they find the islands in the sea? What type of boats did they use -
simple canoes or sturdier boats? Did the sea freeze over at that time,
when the climate was warmer than today, so that they could possibly
walk across the ice?
Also from the west
There
are no certain answers, but somehow they crossed the sea and settled in
Orrdalsklint in Saltvik in the northern parts of Åland. In the area,
archaeologists have found different settlements from a time span of
3500 years.
The Åland inhabitants in the Stone Age made a living
from hunting and fishing and they caught for example seals and sea
birds. Some 4500 years ago immigrants from the west, which were a part
of the pitted-ware culture, also arrived.
Today Orrdalsklint,
which stands 128 meters above the sea, is the highest point in Åland
and on the slopes are traces of ancient shores. The sea level at that
time was 55 meters higher than today.
Thriving landscape
There
are traces of Bronze Age villages (1500-400 B.C.) all over the main
island and also in parts of the archipelago. The most remarkable signs
of the time are the cairn graves. On Kökar, in the southeast
archipelago, settlements with numerous artefacts of ceramics and
remains of animal bones have been found.
Finds from the Iron
Ages (400 B.C. - 1000 A.D.) imply that Åland was a thriving landscape
that traded well with the surrounding cultures. The coins that have
been found are mostly of Arabic origin.