Five-year-old’s rare Stone Age tool now displayed in museum

A five-year-old Finnish boy can now only admire the Stone Age artifact he discovered in a museum—after archaeologists confirmed its exceptional rarity, Yle reports.

The tool, estimated to be 5,000–6,000 years old, is either an adze or axe and was found along with two other Stone Age artifacts in the Kainuu region this spring. All three were uncovered due to unusually low lake water levels exposing shorelines.

Jani Junttila, who discovered the most recent artifact near Kajaani in late May, described stumbling upon the stone while walking along the receded shoreline. “I like exploring nature and looking at its wonders,” he said. “One Sunday, I was walking the shores and spotted this stone—it just caught my eye.” Suspecting its significance, he took it to the Kainuu Museum for examination.

Archaeologists later confirmed the artifact as a Stone Age adze or axe, likely last handled thousands of years ago. Jouni Väänänen, an archaeologist at the Kainuu Museum, said the tool may have served as either a practical implement for chopping wood or a status symbol for its owner. “It’s very sharp—capable of cutting even hard wood,” he noted.

The finds are part of a cluster of rare discoveries in Kainuu this year. In late April, two brothers aged five and eleven uncovered a Stone Age axe and grinding stone in Sotkamo, also due to low water levels. Their mother, Hanna Heinonen, said the discovery gave her family a new perspective on the region’s ancient history. “We’ve seen these artifacts in museums before, but now it feels different—realizing that ancient people once moved through these same areas,” she said.

Väänänen called the finds “like winning the lottery,” emphasizing their rarity in Kainuu. He attributed the discoveries to the current period of exceptionally low water, which has exposed previously submerged shorelines where Stone Age communities once lived, fished, and hunted.

All three artifacts are now on display at the Kainuu Museum before being sent to the Finnish Heritage Agency for further study in autumn. Väänänen expressed hope they would return to Kainuu afterward.

Those interested in searching for similar artifacts can consult the muinaismuistot.info database, which maps potential sites based on historical settlement patterns.