Mourning for children in northern Finland – Funerary attire in the 17th–18th century contexts

Author(s): Sanna Lipkin; Erika Ruhl; Saara Tuovinen

Year: 2016

Summary

This paper examines commemorating children in premodern northern Finland. The hypothesis is that high child mortality (forty percent died before the age of four) affected the ways in which children were commemorated and how childhood was perceived. The primary question is, how mourning is visible in the coffin textiles and accessories? These materials have been unearthed both in town and rural cemeteries, while some of the clothes are dressed on mummified deceased below church floors. The contrast between burials of children and adults provides an avenue for exploring the mourning rituals related to children. Research indicates that children received more elaborate textiles and accessories than adults. This is probably due to a local habit, in which the making of funerary adornments for children was a social event arranged by a virgin godmother. Mourning rituals offer a possibility to examine the status of children, and how relatives managed the child deaths.

Cite this Record

Mourning for children in northern Finland – Funerary attire in the 17th–18th century contexts. Sanna Lipkin, Erika Ruhl, Saara Tuovinen. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434242)

Keywords

Temporal Keywords
1600–1800

Spatial Coverage

min long: 19.648; min lat: 59.807 ; max long: 31.582; max lat: 70.089 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 245