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Differently from most of Estonia, in the south-easternmost peripheries of the country – in the western border areas of Setomaa, as well as in the eastern and southern borderlands of Võrumaa – it is possible to distinguish sacred sites of regional meaning, i.e. those where popular religious assemblies related to offering took place on holidays. In the Orthodox Seto culture area where medieval way of life survived until the 1920s, such sites are represented by the sacral complex of Miikse (offering stone, healing stream, cemetery hill, formerly also sacred oak and spring), St Anne’s stone (Annekivi) in Pelsi and Päevapööramise mägi (‘The Hill Where the Sun Turns’) in Hinniala village. Two major Orthodox religious centres of Setomaa have been founded on pre-Christian sacred sites. The church of Saatse was preceded by a sacred pine tree. On the site of the famous monastery of Pechory (Petseri) there was probably a large sacral complex of a sacred hill with a grove and cave, as well as a sacred spring and offering stone. The site of religious assemblies called Bohomola mägi (‘The hill of praying to God’) was located somewhere on the forested borderlands of the Lutheran province of Livonia and the Orthodox province of Pskov, being attended by peasants from both regions. In Lutheran areas where the modernization of culture started since the 1850s and 1860s already, folkloric evidence is fragmentary and has preserved more poorly. There sites of popular assemblies related to offering on holidays are known from Viitina Vana-mõisa, Villa, Viitka, Paidra, Kuutsi and Linte, and a sacred site of central importance was located also on God’s hill of Vana-Laitsna (presently Vēclaicene municipality in Latvia). Most of these the sites lie in the extreme peripheries of medieval parishes – the churches of Räpina, Vastseliina and Hargla were founded only in the 17th century. The hinterlands of regional holiday assemblies probably correspond to regional identity units based of village groups called “corners” (nulk, kolk). Judging by the location of regional assembly sites of central meaning, their influence radius stretched until 6–10 kilometres. However, the system was not of symmetric character: some sites evidently had larger hinterlands than others and the hinterlands may also have overlapped. The religious gatherings were often related to the solstices in the natural calendar or church holidays replacing them. Existing data give evidence of the intertwining of pre-Christian and Christian elements, especially in the Orthodox areas. In some cases the assembly tradition at sacred natural site has been transformed into local church holidays on the name days of the sanctuary. The strong and long-term preservation of tradition in some holy places of Setomaa results from their association with Christianity and pilgrimages inherent in popular Orthodoxy.

Studying infant diet and feeding practices through stable isotope analysis provides direct insight into the life and health of vulnerable population groups in the past. Although the general diet in medieval and early modern Livonia has been reconstructed from written sources, little is known about childhood diet during this tumultuous period of Eastern European history. This study presents a comparative investigation of the staple non-adult diet in urban/rural communities during the 13th-17th centuries AD, with a special focus on feeding practices. We aim to reveal the impact of socio-economic circumstances on early childhood nutrition, which affects the physical development and overall survival of this susceptible population group. Bone collagen samples from 176 individuals between the fetal and the 7–15 age categories from four urban/rural South-Estonian cemeteries were cross-sectionally analyzed via EA-IRMS (Elemental Analysis with Isotope Ratio Mass Spectroscopy) for δ13C and δ15N. Results suggest that South-Estonian children had a staple terrestrial C3 diet integrated with animal proteins. Significant divergences were observed between urban and rural sites and slight variation occurred among rural subgroups, possibly resulting from a wider food choice available in towns, different consumption of C4 foods, and/or secular changes. This study provides the first data regarding infant feeding practices in medieval and early modern Livonia. These practices were similar among the different contexts, indicating comparable cultural traditions in child rearing. Breastfeeding was likely practiced for 1–2 years, with supplementary foods introduced around 1 year of age. The weaning process was probably concluded around the age of 3. The δ13C and δ15N values of older children are comparable to those of the adults from the same sites, indicating their diets became similar after weaning, when they started working and obtained a more mature social status.

This article discusses the archaeological background of the Leivu and Lutsi Finnic language islands. In contrast to the earlier research tradition, a hidden Finnic presence is suggested by the distribution area of Roman Iron Age tarand graves up to and including the Medieval Period when the presence of a Finnic population in northeastern Latvia (“the Chud in Ochela”) is noted in 1179/80. The Leivu language island west of Alūksne may be the last descendants of this population, formed by the merging of a Finnic substrate and Latgalian superstrate and standing between the Estonians and Livonians. The borders of this Finnic area in northern and northeastern Latvia – a diverse network of communities, existing in parallel with Latgalian ones and based on various ethnic components – are difficult to determine, as archaeological traces of its cultural pattern in the 12th–14th centuries have much in common with the Latgalians despite definite peculiarities. The Finnic traces in the Lutsi area are more difficult to identify archaeologically, although physical anthropology suggests a former Finnic presence there too. Kokkuvõte. Heiki Valk: Lõunaeesti keelesaared Ida-Lätis: arheoloogiline taust ja perspektiiv. Artikkel käsitleb leivu ja lutsi keelesaarte arheolooglist kujunemist. Erinevalt varasemast, baltikesksest vaatenurgast eeldatakse läänemeresoome rahvastiku varjatud püsimist rooma rauaaja tarandkalmete alal kuni keskajani ja ka keskaja vältel – kirjalikud allikad mainivad aastatel 1179– 1180 “Otšela tšuude” (tinglikult “adsele maarahvast”). Leivu keelesaar võiks endast kujutada selle läänemere substraadi ja latgali superstraadi ühtesulamise tulemusena kujunenud ning eestlaste ja liivlaste vahel paiknenud rahvastiku viimaseid järeltulijaid. Läänemeresoome asuala piire Läti põhja- ja kirdeosas on raske määratleda, kuna ilmselt oli tegemist eriilmeliste, läti asustuse kõrval eksisteerinud kogukondade võrgustikuga ja 12.–14. sajandi rahvastiku kultuuri arheoloogilised jäljed on vaatamata teatud iseärasustele paljuski latgalipärase ilmega. Lutsi asualal on läänemeresoome jälgi arheoloogias raskem leida, kuigi füüsilise antropoloogia andmed sellele viitavad.

Although sheep (Ovis aries) have been one of the most exploited domestic animals in Estonia since the Late Bronze Age, relatively little is known about their genetic history. Here, we explore temporal changes in Estonian sheep populations and their mitochondrial genetic diversity over the last 3000 years. We target a 558 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial hypervariable region in 115 ancient sheep from 71 sites in Estonia (c. 1200 BC-AD 1900s), 19 ancient samples from Latvia, Russia, Poland and Greece (6800 BC-AD 1700), as well as 44 samples of modern Kihnu native sheep breed. Our analyses revealed: (1) 49 mitochondrial haplotypes, associated with sheep haplogroups A and B; (2) high haplotype diversity in Estonian ancient sheep; (3) continuity in mtDNA haplotypes through time; (4) possible population expansion during the first centuries of the Middle Ages (associated with the establishment of the new power regime related to 13th century crusades); (5) significant difference in genetic diversity between ancient populations and modern native sheep, in agreement with the beginning of large-scale breeding in the 19th century and population decline in local sheep. Overall, our results suggest that in spite of the observed fluctuations in ancient sheep populations, and changes in the natural and historical conditions, the utilisation of local sheep has been constant in the territory of Estonia, displaying matrilineal continuity from the Middle Bronze Age through the Modern Period, and into modern native sheep.

Field diaries of Heiki Valk.