increase and an expansion of settlement, which in turn produced an increase in the
number of cemeteries, but it did not result in any marked expansion of the core area
in Finland Proper, which had been inhabited already from the end of the preceding
Merovingian period (ad 600 – 800 ). On the other hand, an expansion and colonisation
of new areas did take place in Häme, Savo and Karelia. The population increase does
not appear to have caused the same problems in Finland as it did in Scandinavia.
Ostrobothnia is the exception; the factors behind the crisis that struck the settlements in
this province can only be guessed at.
The flourishing economy cannot be explained solely through foreign contacts and
trade relationships. On the contrary, the changes appear to emanate from a domestic
economic evolution, which included, for example, a definitive shift to permanent fields
(as opposed to shifting swiddens in a slash-and-burn culture) and the birth of village
communities. At the same time, it is apparent that the rise in the standard of living
affected an ever-larger portion of the population. As opposed to the stratified society of
the Merovingian period, Viking Age grave finds point to an egalitarian society of the
type that usually characterises affluent farming communities. None of the graves differs
from the others – whether in construction, location or grave goods – to the extent that
they could be thought of as belonging to leaders with exclusive political power. This
does not mean, of course, that there were no affluent landowners or merchants who could
afford to buy expensive swords, nor indeed paupers and slaves. But the archaeological
material is incapable of explaining the nature of the differences in wealth and social
status that the grave finds nevertheless do reflect.
The social structure was probably based primarily on the kinship group, the family
headman taking care of the community’s economic interests and its religious needs as
well. The point has been raised, however, that the building of the numerous hill forts
that dot the inhabited regions demanded a collective work effort of a magnitude that
could have been maintained only through the cooperation of several villages, as well as a
degree of defence coordination that required some form of political leadership.
Although the culture carries a stamp of uniformity, certain geographical areas
nevertheless differ from the rest in their exceptional affluence. One such area is the
region known as Vakka-Suomi south of the present town of Uusikaupunki, which
had closer ties with central Sweden than with the other settlements in south-western
Finland. One reason for this might be the area’s geographical location, another the fact
that the rich farming villages in Kokemäki, Eura and Köyliö maintained their ties with
the Baltic world via Vakka-Suomi. Since the area is not known for having exceptionally
productive fields, one explanation for the affluence may be that the region already in the
Viking Age became famous for its manufacture of wooden containers, particularly
the bushels (Finn. vakka) that gave the region its name. During the Viking Age with its
growing village clusters, there was a thriving market for storage vessels of all kinds.
Containers were also required on trading voyages, both for storing the merchandise and
for packing provisions.
Although the decisive importance of agriculture to the Iron Age community and
its economy cannot be overemphasised, the role played by fur trapping and hunting
must also be pointed out. Furs, seal products and skins – not to mention beeswax, which
was an old household commodity among the Baltic Finns – were unquestionably among
the most important trade goods of the Viking Age. Especially the fur trade required
intensive hunting, which took place primarily in the deep forests that spread around the
–– chapter 35: The Viking Age in Finland––