Aloha Mr. Wing! I am just fascinated by your mission! Imagine doing science to interpret how humans reacted to climate change! Here in Hawaii, we have an oral tradition, where many of the stories of Hawaiian history are spoken, not written. Is it so with your mission as well? How do scientists piece together history, if there is nothing written? (Or are there some written stories?) I have read that humans living during the last ice age lived on top of glaciers, not even knowing that it was a glacier because of thick layers of loess deposits. What say the scientists with you? Thank you so much for your journals. They are delightful reading:) warmly, Maggie Prevenas

Michael Wing

Dear Maggie:
Actually, the Kalevala (May 8 posting) is from oral tradition.  It was only written down in 1835; before that the various parts of it were recited for probably 2000 years. Finland was ruled by Swedes for a large portion of that time, and the Finnish language wasn't something you read or wrote.  Literate people used Swedish.
It isn't likely, though, that the Kalevala goes back as far as 5000 years, the time period we are studying.  The tales in the Kalevala describe a society based on farming wheat, rye and barley, raising cows and pigs, and metal working.  These people ate bread and and butter, drank beer, wore wool clothing, rode horses, and used iron tools. 
The stone age people we are studying had none of those things.  They must have eaten wild game, fish and berries and we know they used stone tools.  It's not even obvious whether or not they were the ancestors of modern Finns. 
How do you reconstruct how people reacted to climate change?  Not very easily. All we have to go on are the objects people left behind, and in this acidic soil bones, teeth, wood and leather do not get preserved.  What's left?  Mostly stone flakes, pottery, and foundations of houses.  But there is the occasional find that tells a story.  An amber bead was found recently that probably was traded from a long way away.
Also, just mapping where people lived and how many of them were there at each time period tells you something.  This is a place where sea level was dropping rapidly (that's right, seal level was getting lower!)  Since the people ate so much seafood, we believe they picked up and moved to stay near the coast.  As the Gulf of Bothnia got smaller and smaller, maybe it brought more and more people into proximity with each other.  Did that happen, and if it did, did that stimluate trade?  War?  Division of labor?   Maybe if we find enough sites we'll know.
I didn't know that about living on the tops of glaciers.  I will ask my colleagues about it - if it's true, some of them will know all about it.
yours always, Michael Wing