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WP3: History and archaeology

Led by: Hilja Solala, Tampere University and Auli Bläuer, University Turku, Finland.

Aim

Research on the historical development, uses, breed formation, and cross‑border movements of Nordic Mountain Cattle, with a focus on their long‑term relationships with human communities.

Activities

WP3 focused on analysing the past and its research questions addressed four main areas: (1) the formation of the three Nordic Mountain Cattle breeds as distinct local types by the early twentieth century; (2) the mass evacuation of Northern Finncattle (Lapinlehmä) to Sweden during World War II; (3) the identification and selection of the most relevant archaeological specimens for inclusion in genomic analyses; and (4) the curation of the content for public dissemination, particularly the travelling museum exhibition Snöhvit, Punakorva, Fjellblom. 
Researchers collected and analysed material from national and regional archives, herd books, agricultural society records, newspapers, and archaeological collections, thereby preserving valuable information that had previously been fragmented or at risk of loss. Key outputs included a travelling museum exhibition developed in partnership with the Museum of Tornio Valley and launched in April 2022, at the Museum of Tornio Valley, later touring northern Sweden and Finland, as well as a peer reviewed article on breed formation and data collection to be later used for preparing an article about the wartime evacuation. 
The archaeological component of WP3 was a cross‑disciplinary activity that bridged historical research and genetic analyses. Working at the interface of WP3 and WP5, the archaeologist Auli Bläuer was responsible of selecting and curating suitable ancient bones for genomic study and contributed to the interpretation of their genetic results, thereby enabling genuinely interdisciplinary research and strengthening both the scientific analyses and the exhibition content.  
By understanding the decisions that have shaped our landraces over time, we can save them for the future.
In a NordGen interview, historian Hilja Solala emphasised the importance of understanding the past to secure the future (NordGen News, 12 February 2021). 
Similarly, Auli Bläuer highlighted the archaeological perspective, explaining that even small fragments of ancient cattle bones are “sources of information on the coexistence of humans and animals” and can reveal major societal changes over long time spans (NordGen News, 3 June 2022). 

Results

The museum exhibition “Snöhvit, Punakorva, Fjellblom: The history, present and future of northern mountain cattle / Nordiska fjällboskap igår, idag och imorgon / Nordic Mountain Cattle – the past, present, and the future” was first launched at the Museum of Tornio Valley in Tornio, Finland, where it was opened on 8 April 2022 by Jaana Husu-Kallio, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland. The exhibition remained on display until 21 August 2022. 
After Tornio, it became a travelling exhibition, presented in several locations in Northern Finland and Sweden. In Finland, it was on display at the Lappish Vocational School in Loue (Rovaniemi) from 27 August to 30 November 2022 and later at the Local History Museum (Tervola, Rovaniemi) from 6 July to 31 August 2025. 
In Sweden, the exhibition was shown at Museum Gävleborg (Länsmuseet Gävleborg, Gävle) from 27 August 2022 to 28 February 2023, followed by Norrbotten’s Museum (Luleå) from 21 December 2022 to 2 April 2023. 

Online exhibition

Publications

  • Ovaska, Ulla, Solala, Hilja, and Honkatukia, Mervi 2023. Kulttuuriperintöä, geenivaroja ja ystäviä – Lapinlehmän monet merkitykset / Kulturradion, genetiska resurser och vänner – Lappkons många betydelser. In Tornionlaakson vuosikirja 2020–2022. Tornionlaakson neuvosto. s. 194–205. 
  • Solala, Hilja 2023. From Variable Animal Populations to the Nordic Mountain Cattle Breeds – A Model of the Birth of Native Animal Breeds and Local Cattle Types in Northern Sweden, Finland and Norway at the End of the Nineteenth Century and the Beginning of the Twentieth Century. Faravid 54/2023, 5–31. https://faravid.journal.fi/article/view/124845.
  • Solala, Hilja, and Mervi Honkatukia (eds.) 2022. Snöhvit, Punakorva, Fjellblom: Pohjoisten tunturikarjojen historia, nykypäivä ja tulevaisuus / Nordiska fjällboskap igår, idag och imorgon / Nordic Mountain Cattle – the past, present, and the future. Exhibition publication. (The 3MC project 2022). 
  • Solala, Hilja 2022. Tieteellinen tutkimustieto auttaa säilyttämään alkuperäisiä eläinrotuja. Alusta! Tampereen yliopiston yhteiskuntatieteiden tiedekunnan verkkojulkaisu 1.7.2022. https://www.tuni.fi/alustalehti/2022/07/01/tieteellinen-tutkimustieto-auttaa-sailyttamaan-alkuperaisia-elainrotuja/.
  • Solala, Hilja 2022. Snöhvit, Punakorva, Fjellblom. Pohjoisten tunturikarjojen historia, nykypäivä ja tulevaisuus -näyttely Torniossa. Geenivarat. Suomen maa-, metsä- ja kalatalouden kansallisen geenivaraohjelman tiedelehti 2022, 4. https://www.luke.fi/sites/default/files/2022-05/Luke_Geenivarat_tiedelehti%2022.5.pdf. 
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