Suomen muinaistaideseura ry

Welcome to the official site of the Finnish Society for Prehistorical art

The Finnish Society for Prehistorical Art (FSPA) promotes an understanding of prehistorical art and the conception of the ancient world and environment among the Finno-Ugrian people and other nations. The Society gives information about prehistorical art and publishes the AURINKOPEURA collection of articles of this subject.

FSPA arranges seminars on different prehistorical themes and excursions in Finland and abroad.

FSPA supports the education for knowledge of cultural heritage.

The aim of the FSPA is to make world acquinted with the rock paintings in Finland, respect and protect them.

FSPA co-operates with societies and official organizations with similar purposes, especially with the Estonian Society of Prehistorical Art, the Scandinavian Society for prehistorical Art and the Karelian Rock Art Centre.

The Finnish Society for Prehistorical Art was established in 1998.

Even though this site is maintained in Finnish, in the section 'Suomen kalliomaalaukset' you can familiarize with Finnish rock art sites via photos taken by our members.

Our contact information is listed below. Please do not hesitate to contact any of us for any further information on our society or on our activities.

You can also join our society in the section 'Seura' with a form.

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NEW PUBLICATION (2019) OF LAKE ONEGA PETROGLYPHS

History of the Finnish Society for Prehistorical art originally started with personal contacts with Estonian Society of Prehistoric Art members. Estonian Society has recently published a book that is also sold in Finland by the Finnish Society.

Väino Poikalainen & Enn Ernits: ROCK CARVINGS OF LAKE ONEGA - THE BESOV NOS REGION
Karetski and Peri Localities 
kansi1jpg
Prof. Väino Poikalainen and Dr. Enn Ernits have published a petroglyph book of The Lake Onega. The new book is the second part of the series of three volumes. The documentation work started already in 1982 in the east coast of the lake Onega in Russian Karelia. The volume I was published in 1998 (still available). In the volume II the researches have utilized new computational methods to document figures carved on the horizontal rocks in the strands of the lake.
The used documentation method reveals how the analysis should be made and it really creates new standards for the future studies. A Finnish reader can compare the work as important as the collection of Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot (SKVR) database served by Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, which carries Finnish oral tradition through centuries. We can also describe the work: A Rocky Kalevala, which tries to reach out the past without words. Do the figures speak to us or are they just plain scratches on the rock?

The links below lead to the beginning of the book and a short description of Lake Onega Perinos III cape.
The texts show how the documentation of rock art has developed thanks to new research methods and information technology.
The link opens in external page. You need Win-Zip or similar to open the downloaded ZIP-files.

1. Pages 1-39, pdf file. 2. Example of Peri III peninsula, pdf file.


Price for one unit is 45 euros. Orders/contacts/shipping costs: puheenjohtaja(at)suomenmuinaistaideseura.fi