Draft:Mika Lavento

Mika Tapio Lavento (born 29 March 1962) is a Finnish archaeologist. He has worked as the Professor of Archaeology at the University of Helsinki since 2004.

Early life
Lavento was born in Kajaani on 29th of March, 1962. His parents were dentist Ari Lavento and Auli Lavento.

He got interested in archaeology in the early 1980s, after having taken part in a tour of the local archaeological sites, arranged by the Kainuu Museum.

Career
Lavento studied in the University of Helsinki. During his studies he worked at the National Board of Antiquities doing archaeological fieldwork, and was later hired to work on the first iteration of the National Archaeological Site Registry.

In 2001, Lavento graduated as a doctor of philosophy from University of Helsinki on September 11th, 2001. He wrote his doctoral dissertation about prehistorical textile ceramics in Finland and on the Karelian Isthmus. In the dissertation, he expands on the ideas of Carl Fredrik Meinander and collected comparative archaeological material from Russia.

In 2004, he was chosen as the professor of archaeology at University of Helsinki, after his predecessor Ari Siiriäinen had retired in 2002.

Lavento is a member of the Indigeneity Research Unit of Hokkaido University, Japan.

He was the chairman of the The Archaeological Society of Finland in 1999-2002 and the chairman of the Finnish Antiquarian Society in 2010-2016.

Awards and honours
In 2011, Lavento was invited to the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters as a full member.

In 2022, a Festschrift honouring Lavento was published by the The Archaeological Society of Finland for his 60th birthday.

Popular books

 * Johdatus arkeologiaan (with Petri Halinen and Visa Immonen) (2009)
 * Muinaisuutemme jäljet: Suomen esi- ja varhaishistoria kivikaudelta keskiajalle (with Georg Haggrén, Petri Halinen, Sami Raninen and Anna Wessman) (2015)

Selected academic works

 * Maaperän fosforianalyysi arkeologiassa (with Timo Jussila and Hans-Peter Schulz) (1989)


 * Textile ceramics in Finland and on the Karelian Isthmus: Nine variations and fugue on a theme of C. F. Meinander (2001)
 * Karelian Isthmus – Stone Age Studies in 1998–2003 (as editor) (2008)
 * Petra ‒ The Mountain of Aaron III: The Archaeological Survey (with Paula Kouki) (2013)
 * Хозяйство волжских финнов эпохи поздней бронзы и начала железного века (with Valerij Patrušev) (2019)