Elk's Head of Huittinen (, also known as Moose's Head) is a
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...
moose
The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...
head
figurine
A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...
of
soapstone
Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in sub ...
found in 1903 from
Huittinen in the province of
Satakunta
Satakunta (in both Finnish language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish, ; historically ''Satacundia'') is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland ...
,
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
. The sculpture is dated to between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago. It is placed in the permanent exhibition of
National Museum of Finland in
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
. Replicas are displayed in the
Museum of Huittinen and in the sculpture collection of
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...
. Elk's Head is most likely the best-known archaeological artifact in Finland.
Discovery
The Elk's Head is the oldest stone sculpture found in Finland. It was discovered in 1903 by a farm worker in a potato field in the village of
Palojoki near Huittinen. A year later, the figurine was sold on a market in
Turku
Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
. It was placed in the collection of a local historical museum and eventually came into the possession of the Finnish National Museum.
Description
The 10
centimeter
upright=1.35, Different lengths as in respect to the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is in-between 1 meter to 1 millimeter.
A centimetre (International spelling) or centimeter (American ...
long figurine is made of soapstone which is not found in
Western Finland
Western Finland (, ) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. Tampere was the largest city of the province.
Histor ...
. The sculpture, or at least its material is probably imported from the eastern parts of the country. Elk's Head has a hole for mounting a rod so it was most likely used as a
sceptre
A sceptre (or scepter in American English) is a Staff of office, staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of regalia, royal or imperial insignia, signifying Sovereignty, sovereign authority.
Antiquity
Ancient Egypt and M ...
in a ritual context.
Norwegian Rock Art - Alta Fjord
Don's Maps. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
See also
* List of Stone Age art
References
External links
Image of the Elk's Head
{{europe-archaeology-stub
7th-millennium BC works
1903 archaeological discoveries
Archaeological discoveries in Finland
Sculptures of deer
Huittinen
Mesolithic Europe
Prehistoric sculpture