Differences in entheseal changes in the phalanges between ecotypes of Fennoscandian reindeer

Abstract The identification and life histories of the different subspecies and ecotypes of Rangifer tarandus (reindeer) in Fennoscandia are of great interest to zooarchaeologists, as this species is a keystone animal of the North. The barrenground Rangifer tarandus tarandus has historically had closer bonds with humans as a herded and domestic animal. By contrast, the boreal Rangifer tarandus fennicus has been a prey animal with a more fraught relationship with humans. Identifying which of these ecotypes were present and interacting with humans at different points in history provides information not only of human economies and subsistence strategies but also of the life histories and behavioural patterns of the reindeer themselves. This study uses scoring of entheseal changes on the phalanges of these animals to investigate different mobility, foraging and limb‐use patterns between ecotypes. Our studies found both interesting differences in hoof use patterns between R.t. tarandus and R.t. fennicus, which show that these ecotypes are both using their hooves differently, but in different patterns of forelimb versus hindlimb use

Transitions in herd management of semi-domesticated reindeer in northern Finland. 45

In northern Finland, reindeer-herd management has experienced two major transitions: extensification of intensive herding, and development of supplementary/corral feeding in winter. The transistions were studied in six herding associations in different parts of the Finnish reindeer management area. It was suggested that intensive herding turns into more extensive forms as the reasons for intensive herding (predation, reindeer disappearing to foreign areas, protection of agricultural fields) gradually ceased to exist. The results of the study, based on interviews of elderly reindeer herders, were variable. In the three southern areas intensive herding changed to the free ranging system at the latest during WWII, whilst in the northern areas intensive herding was replaced by extensive herding with the aid of snowmobiles in the 1960s. In the southern herding associations, especially, supplementary/corral feeding in winter was considered necessary, from the 1970s onwards, to compensate for the loss of arboreal lichens associated with forest regeneration.peerReviewe