Wetland deposit in the hinterland: Kihliä flint find assemblage (southeast Finland) in the framework of hunter–fisher–gatherer ritual practices in northeastern Europe in the early 4th millennium BC

More than a century ago, a collection of flint artefacts dating to the early 4th millennium BC was discovered in Kihliä, SE Finland. In this paper, we revisit the Kihliä assemblage by reconstructing the original findspot and examining its environmental context during the suggested time of deposition. As a result, we suggest that the Kihliä artefacts were deposited in a wetland area situated in a forested hinterland, distant from known Stone Age settlement sites in the region. By placing the Kihliä assemblage within the broader context of early 4th millennium BC ritual depositional practices in northeastern Europe and by comparing these practices to those from preceding periods in the surrounding regions of Finland, we propose that the Kihliä deposit was likely a ritually marked deposit. Remarkably, landscape-wise, the Kihliä deposit differs from other ritual deposits or sites from the same period in Finland, which are typically found in shore-bound locations. Consequently, this study suggests that small inland water bodies or wetlands, as well as water routes leading into the hinterland, could also serve as significant locations for ritual activities.