Säräisniemi comb ceramics

Lake Oulujärvi was cut off from Lake Ancylus 9,500 years ago. People were certainly wandering in the area at that time, although the earliest known traces of settlement are a thousand years younger. Fishing and waterways were important reasons to settle waterfronts. A lot of Säräisniemi 1 (Sär 1) ceramics and early comb ceramics, both of which are the oldest known types of ceramics in Finland, have been found in the vicinity of Lake Nimisjärvi. Bronze Age Säräisniemi 2 (Sär 2) ceramics are also known in the region. Several early settlements have remained below the surface of Lake Oulujärvi. Land uplift is faster in the Vaalankurkku region than in the eastern parts of the lake, which is why the beach has risen several meters after the cut-off.