Vibing to the furthest past : the utilisation of folklore and mythology in the prehistory exhibition at the National Museum of Finland

Abstract

In this article, we examine the prehistory exhibition at the National Museum of Finland. The exhibition opened to the public in 2017, closed in 2023, and will reopen in 2027. The analysis is based on an examination of the exhibition texts and the immersive, multisensory elements incorporated into the exhibition. We argue that the representation of folklore and mythology in the exhibition is somewhat vague, merely serving to reimagine and embellish the distant past. It appears that folkloric elements are employed to ‘fill the gaps’ when the archaeological record provides insufficient or no information to portray individuals from prehistoric times. This results in the formation of intricate temporal interpretations wherein the archaeological periodisation is obscured and intertwined with the mythological past. This intertwining of archaeological artefacts, the ‘touchable’ past, and Finnic folklore and mythology highlights the difficulty of presenting the prehistoric past in museum exhibitions.