TAINIARO, FINLAND—According to a Gizmodo report, a new analysis of a possible 6,500-year-old cemetery in Finnish Lapland just 50 miles south of the Arctic Circle suggests that at least 120 people may have been buried there, making the site much larger than previously thought. Because the acidic soil at the site would have destroyed any bone long ago, burial-shaped pits and red ocher—a colorant found at other Neolithic settlements—have been used to identify possible graves. “The evidence is quite elusive,” explained Aki Hakonen of the University of Oulu. Ash and charcoal have been discovered in some of the pits, however, suggesting that they may have been hearths, Hakonen added. Future research could check soil samples for fossilized hair and the presence of human DNA. To read about an 8,000-year-old grave uncovered in Majoonsuo, go to "Around the World: Finland."
