Migration and its effects on life ways and subsistence strategies of boreal hunter-fishers: Ethnoarchaeological research among the Selkup, Siberia

Piezonka, Henny; Пошехонова, О.Е.; Adaev, V.N.; Rud, Aleksey

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2019.07.005

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…However, only castrated male reindeer used for transport or riding are kept in corrals (Anderson et al 2017). Among the Selkups, reindeer can be kept very close to houses, or even inside houses specially built to protect them from insects (Piezonka et al 2020). In contrast, among the Nenets and Komi herders, the organization of husbandry is relatively different since the herds can amount to between 1,500 and 4,000 reindeer.…”

Section: Application Perspectives For the Identification Of Early Domesticated Reindeer In Archaeologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying early stages of reindeer domestication in the archaeological record: a 3D morphological investigation on forelimb bones of modern populations from Fennoscandia

Pelletier

Kotiaho

Niinimäki

et al. 2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Reindeer herding probably developed during the Late Iron Age onwards and is still an important part of the subsistence and culture of many peoples in northern Eurasia. However, despite the importance of this husbandry in the history of these Arctic people, the period and place of the origin as well as the spread of domestic reindeer is still highly debated. Besides the existence of different breeding methods in these territories, identifying domesticated individuals in the archaeological record is complicated because reindeers are considered to still be in the early phases of the domestication process. Indeed, the traditional morphological markers used in zooarchaeology to decipher the domestication syndrome are hardly perceptible in these early stages. In this work, we propose solutions for identifying domestic reindeer bones using 3D geometric morphometrics on isolated elements from the long bones of the forelimb (i.e. humerus, radio-ulna and metacarpal). These bones are important to understand both the feeding behaviour and the mobility of reindeer, and the potential effect of load-carrying or draught in the case of domestic reindeer. We analysed 123 modern specimens from Fennoscandia, including the two interbreeding subspecies currently present in these territories: mountain reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus ) and forest reindeer ( R.t. fennicus ); and where the sex and the lifestyle were known (i.e. free-ranging, racing or draught and captive individuals). A good level of discrimination between the size and shape variables of the bones of the forelimb was found among both subspecies and sexes. Moreover, individuals bred in captivity had smaller bone elements and a thinner and more slender morphology than free-ranging individuals. This demonstrates that the long bones of the forelimb can provide information on changes in feeding and locomotor behaviour prompted by the domestication process, like control and/or reduction of mobility and food of individual reindeer by humans. This also demonstrates that analysis in 3D geometric morphometrics is useful in detecting reindeer incipient domestication markers. Our results can be used by archaeologists to trace the early stages of domestication from fossil reindeer remains, and aid in reconstructing the socio-economic changes of past Arctic populations over time.

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Section: Application Perspectives For the Identification Of Early Domesticated Reindeer In Archaeologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying early stages of reindeer domestication in the archaeological record: a 3D morphological investigation on forelimb bones of modern populations from Fennoscandia

Pelletier

Kotiaho

Niinimäki

et al. 2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…However, the reindeer domestication process is even more difficult to define as there is great variability in the types and practises of herding throughout Eurasia, as well as complex human-reindeer relationships. Reindeer may be left to range free in a restricted geographical area and under fairly close supervision by herders (e.g., amongst the Komi herders of northwestern Siberia [Dwyer & Istomin, 2008] or the Tozhu Tuvan herders of southern Siberia [Stépanoff, 2017]), left to range free for part of the year but corralled during the winter in order to be protected and fed (e.g., amongst the Sámi herders of Northern Fennoscandia [Helle & Jaakkola, 2008;Ingold, 1980]) or even hitched or kept inside enclosures or houses (e.g., amongst the Evenk herders of central Siberia [Anderson et al, 2017]; the Tsaatan herders of central Siberia [Haas et al, 2019;Inamura, 2005]; the Selkup herders of northern Siberia [Piezonka et al, 2020]). In some cases, locomotor activity is further altered by human control as reindeer can also be used for other purposes such as transport, pulling, riding or racing (Anderson et al, 2017;Inamura, 2005;Korhonen, 2008;Mirov, 1945;Salmi, Niinimäki, & Pudas, 2020;Stépanoff, 2017).…”

Section: Application Perspectivesmentioning

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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Scales of Political Practice and Patterns of Power Relations in Prehistory

Schaefer-Di Maida,

Laabs,

Wunderlich

et al. 2024

Quantitative Archaeology and Archaeological Modelling

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Political practices are fundamental for co-existence in human groups, yet the systematic investigation of such practices within prehistoric societies is still very much pending. Relevant discussions are often limited to cases of obvious asymmetric power relations and the alleged establishment of elites. In order to fill this complex gap in the current discussion we take a systematic approach exploring the nature and organisation of prehistoric power relations, decision-making and conflict resolution. We investigate changes in political practices through a diachronic set of case studies from prehistoric west Eurasia, examining the impact of these changes on the overall transformative processes of prehistoric sociality.Here, we explore a set of parameters in five case studies from prehistoric Eurasia in order to characterise power relations and to reconstruct political negotiation and decision-making processes that constitute political practices. The case studies exhibit socio-political complexity in a variety of forms, encompassing a wide range of situations from Mesolithic Siberia, LBK Vráble Slovakia, Neolithic Pile-dwellings Switzerland, Copper Age Tripolye Ukraine, Neolithic and Bronze Age Schleswig-Holstein, to Iron Age Greece. As archaeological proxies, eight parameters have been identified as markers of political practice to be used as a comparative framework: community site, conformity/diversity, (critical) resource access and distribution, network configurations, organisation of decision-making, property rights, (violent) conflict and resolution, and knowledge.In this chapter we aim to develop a systematic approach for the analysis of political practices in order to enable the identification of patterns of power relations within the prehistory of Eurasia. This way we will develop a long-term perspective on transformations of these practices at a geographical macro scale.

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Migration and its effects on life ways and subsistence strategies of boreal hunter-fishers: Ethnoarchaeological research among the Selkup, Siberia

Cited by 8 publications

References 19 publications

Identifying early stages of reindeer domestication in the archaeological record: a 3D morphological investigation on forelimb bones of modern populations from Fennoscandia

Identifying early stages of reindeer domestication in the archaeological record: a 3D morphological investigation on forelimb bones of modern populations from Fennoscandia

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

Scales of Political Practice and Patterns of Power Relations in Prehistory

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