Earliest archaeological evidence for domesticated reindeer economy among the Sámi of Northeastern Fennoscandia AD 1300 onwards

Salmi, Anna‐Kaisa; Berg, M. van den; Niinimäki, Sirpa; Pelletier, Maxime

doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2021.101303

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Increasingly, studies of other mammals have suggested that long bone morphology is particularly relevant to tracking the in‐life usage of animals, including variation in husbandry strategy and in vivo activity (Bignon et al, 2005; Eisenmann & Beckouche, 1986; Harbers et al, 2020; Haruda et al, 2019; Salmi et al, 2021). Modern studies on horses indicate that shaft thickness of the metapodia is susceptible to in‐life activity related changes (Brooks et al, 2010) as well as correlated with body mass and sex (Scott, 1990).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In search of the ‘great horse’: A zooarchaeological assessment of horses from England (AD 300–1650)

Ameen

Benkert

Fraser

et al. 2021

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In search of the ‘great horse’: A zooarchaeological assessment of horses from England (AD 300–1650)

Ameen

Benkert

Fraser

et al. 2021

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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“…In general, identifying sex is relatively easy and is often applied in archaeology to establish sex ratios and identify the hunting methods and/or reindeer exploitation by past Sámi societies (e.g. Puputti and Niskanen 2009;Salmi et al 2015Salmi et al , 2021. In fact, this has an even greater implication for finding domestic individuals in the fossil record since domestic males R.t. tarandus are preferentially used for transport and pulling (Korhonen 2008;Salmi and Niinimäki 2016).…”

Section: Importance Of Subspecies and Sex For Identifying Early Domesticated Reindeer In Fennoscandiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of selection and domestication on hindlimb bones of modern reindeer populations: Archaeological implications for early reindeer management by Sámi in Fennoscandia

et al. 2021

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For centuries, reindeer herding has been an integral part of the subsistence and culture among the Sámi of northern Fennoscandia. Despite the importance of this husbandry in their history, the timing and details of early reindeer domestication are still highly debated. Indeed, identifying domesticated individuals in the archaeological record remains complicated because reindeer are still considered to be in the early phases of the domestication process. In this work, we propose solutions for identifying domestic individuals using 3D geometric morphometrics on isolated elements from the long bones of the hindlimb in modern reindeer populations. These bones are important for understanding both the mobility of reindeer and the effect of load carrying or draught. A good level of distinction between the size and shape variables of these bones was found among subspecies, sex and lifestyles. This demonstrates that the long bones of the hindlimb can provide information on changes in locomotor behaviour induced by the domestication process, such as control and reduction of reindeer mobility by humans. This also demonstrates that analysis in geometric morphometrics is useful for exploring the use of draught reindeer in early Sámi reindeer herding and the implications for understanding reindeer domestication and early reindeer herding strategies.

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“…Reindeer herding appears to have developed in Siberia around the turn of the last millennium or even earlier (Anderson et al, 2019;Losey et al, 2021;Murashkin et al, 2016), whereas in Northern Fennoscandia, the first evidence of reindeer herding dates to the Late Iron Age (ca. 800-900 AD; Hansen & Olsen, 2014;Helskog & Indrelid, 2011;Ingold, 1980;Salmi et al, 2015Salmi et al, , 2018Salmi et al, , 2021Salmi, Fjellström, et al, 2020). Since then, most reindeer populations in Northern Eurasia are now considered domestic or semi-domestic (Baskin, 2005;Syroechkovskii, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of captivity and selection on limb long bone cross‐sectional morphology of reindeer

Pelletier

Niinimäki

Salmi

2021

Journal of Morphology

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The emergence of pastoralism and animal husbandry has been a critical point in the history of human evolution. Beyond profound behavioural changes in domesticated animals compared to wild ones, characterising the morphological changes associated with domestication process remains challenging. Because reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) can be considered to still be in the early phases of the domestication process, the study of modern populations provides a unique opportunity to examine the impact of captivity and selective breeding on skeletal changes. In this work, we investigated the morphological changes in long limb bone cross‐sections using 137 wild and domestic reindeer individuals bred in free‐range, in captivity or used for racing and pulling. The shape and shaft cortical thickness of the six long limb bones (i.e., humerus, radioulna, metacarpal, femur, tibia and metatarsal) were measured using a 2D‐geometric morphometrics approach taking into account subspecies, sex, body mass and lifestyle differences. These bones are important to understanding functional morphological changes because they can provide information on feeding and locomotor behaviours, as well as on body propulsion and weight bearing. Apart from the effects of taxonomy, etho‐ecology and sex, we have found that captivity and selection induced important variations in the size and body mass of modern reindeer. Our results also showed that patterns of variation in cortical bone thickness of long limb bone cross‐sections were strongly impacted by body mass and human‐imposed restrictions in roaming. This demonstrates that bone cross‐sections can provide information on changes in locomotor, reproductive and feeding behaviours induced by the domestication process. These results are valuable not only for (paleo) biologists studying the impact of captivity and selection in ungulates but also for archaeologists exploring the origins of domestication and early herding strategies.

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Earliest archaeological evidence for domesticated reindeer economy among the Sámi of Northeastern Fennoscandia AD 1300 onwards

Cited by 14 publications

References 44 publications

In search of the ‘great horse’: A zooarchaeological assessment of horses from England (AD 300–1650)

In search of the ‘great horse’: A zooarchaeological assessment of horses from England (AD 300–1650)

Impact of selection and domestication on hindlimb bones of modern reindeer populations: Archaeological implications for early reindeer management by Sámi in Fennoscandia

Influence of captivity and selection on limb long bone cross‐sectional morphology of reindeer

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