Page 141 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 141
livelihood diversification in early modern sami households in northern sweden
Sami and Forest Sami, each with a very different resource base. The Moun-
tain Sami, who lived in the western part of the Swedish lappmarks, focused
on reindeer husbandry, keeping large herds for milk and meat (Hansen and
Olsen 2014, 231). The Forest Sami on the other hand, who were common
throughout the western and eastern lappmarks, kept small herds of rein-
deer mainly for transport and lived primarily on fishing and hunting. This
duality of Sami economy, focusing on either reindeer husbandry or hunt-
ing/fishing, has been the most common way to characterise Sami subsist-
ence in the Early Modern period (1500–c. 1800). However, current research
has nuanced this picture emphasising a greater diversity in Sami culture
both regionally and temporally with regards to trade, husbandry and social
differentiation (Hansen and Olsen 2014).
Aside from reindeer husbandry and hunting/fishing, the Sami had
a wide range of other income sources such as gathering, farming, hand-
crafts, trade and transport, which contributed to Sami household economy.
Some of these activities must have been time consuming, and thus impor-
tant, although their relative importance would certainly have varied be-
tween households. The aim of this study is to fill the gap in our knowledge
of which role integrated income sources played in Sami households in the
17th and 18th centuries. This will be done by studying how the various activ-
ities mentioned above contributed to Sami household economy mainly us-
ing accounts by missionaries and travellers in northern Fennoscandia and
via some archaeological evidence from this period. Moreover the study will
compare the relative importance of these activities for the Mountain Sami,
who focused on large-scale reindeer husbandry, and the Forest Sami, who
focused on fishing, to analyse any differences in strategy.
1. Background and framework
A multitude of subsistence-related tasks were carried out in Sami house-
holds in the 17th and 18th centuries as previously mentioned, and some of
these, such as reindeer milking and the gathering of plants and bark, have
been studied from an anthropological or ethno-biological perspective
(Fjellström 1985; 2003; Rautio 2014; Svanberg and Tunón 2000). In addi-
tion, various historical-ecological studies, combining ecological, geograph-
ical and historical methods, have focused on quantifying the Sami use of
natural resources in the Early Modern period (Bergman, Östlund, and
Zackrisson 2004; Josefsson, Bergman, and Östlund 2010; Norstedt, Axels-
son, and Östlund 2014; Rautio, Josefsson, and Östlund 2014; Zackrisson et
139
Sami and Forest Sami, each with a very different resource base. The Moun-
tain Sami, who lived in the western part of the Swedish lappmarks, focused
on reindeer husbandry, keeping large herds for milk and meat (Hansen and
Olsen 2014, 231). The Forest Sami on the other hand, who were common
throughout the western and eastern lappmarks, kept small herds of rein-
deer mainly for transport and lived primarily on fishing and hunting. This
duality of Sami economy, focusing on either reindeer husbandry or hunt-
ing/fishing, has been the most common way to characterise Sami subsist-
ence in the Early Modern period (1500–c. 1800). However, current research
has nuanced this picture emphasising a greater diversity in Sami culture
both regionally and temporally with regards to trade, husbandry and social
differentiation (Hansen and Olsen 2014).
Aside from reindeer husbandry and hunting/fishing, the Sami had
a wide range of other income sources such as gathering, farming, hand-
crafts, trade and transport, which contributed to Sami household economy.
Some of these activities must have been time consuming, and thus impor-
tant, although their relative importance would certainly have varied be-
tween households. The aim of this study is to fill the gap in our knowledge
of which role integrated income sources played in Sami households in the
17th and 18th centuries. This will be done by studying how the various activ-
ities mentioned above contributed to Sami household economy mainly us-
ing accounts by missionaries and travellers in northern Fennoscandia and
via some archaeological evidence from this period. Moreover the study will
compare the relative importance of these activities for the Mountain Sami,
who focused on large-scale reindeer husbandry, and the Forest Sami, who
focused on fishing, to analyse any differences in strategy.
1. Background and framework
A multitude of subsistence-related tasks were carried out in Sami house-
holds in the 17th and 18th centuries as previously mentioned, and some of
these, such as reindeer milking and the gathering of plants and bark, have
been studied from an anthropological or ethno-biological perspective
(Fjellström 1985; 2003; Rautio 2014; Svanberg and Tunón 2000). In addi-
tion, various historical-ecological studies, combining ecological, geograph-
ical and historical methods, have focused on quantifying the Sami use of
natural resources in the Early Modern period (Bergman, Östlund, and
Zackrisson 2004; Josefsson, Bergman, and Östlund 2010; Norstedt, Axels-
son, and Östlund 2014; Rautio, Josefsson, and Östlund 2014; Zackrisson et
139
