A volume dedicated to the achievements of Norwegian archaeologist Gutorm Gjessing (1906-1979). Contents: 1) Why a Circumpolar Reappraisal? An Introduction (Christer Westerdahl); 2) The Search for a Saami Past, and Some Reflections on the Gjessing Legacy (Noel D. Broadbent); 3) Shamanism and Material Culture in the Northern Circumpolar Area, brought to the fore by some newly discovered South-Saami Drums with Accessories in the Norwegian Mountains (Birgitta Berglund); 4) Northern Snow Patch Archaeology (Martin Callanan);