Worn down and Aged a Method for Estimating Age-at-Death of Reindeer and Caribou Using Tooth Eruption and Wear
Date
2025-01-14
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
0000-0001-8047-2208
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Reindeer and caribou (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>) are a cold climate-adapted cervid that is widespread across the northern portions of Eurasia and North America. These animals are characteristic species of arctic and subarctic regions and exist as several different subspecies and ecotype populations. Caribou and reindeer are important to numerous northern peoples’ culture, subsistence, and wellbeing. They exist in wild and domestic forms, both providing food and materials (e.g., hide, sinew, bone, and antler). Through interactions with these animals social and cultural practices continue and flourish, such as participating in herding, hunting, and transforming Rangifer bodies into food, clothing, and shelter. The relationships between people and caribou/reindeer have been ongoing, likely for as long as people have shared geographic space with these animals. Evidence of these enduring relationships are clear at archaeological sites across the Circumpolar North. One such region is the Iamal Peninsula in Western Arctic Siberia where reindeer domestication has been developing for over 2,000 years, and hunters have been procuring wild reindeer for even longer. This research explores past people -Rangifer interactions through zooarchaeological analysis, specifically tooth eruption and wear age estimation. Three previously developed visual-based tooth eruption and wear ageing methods for Rangifer tarandus were evaluated for effectiveness, finding that existing methods are not suitable for zooarchaeogical studies of arctic/subarctic caribou populations. A newly refined visual-based dental ageing method was designed for reindeer and caribou based on 609 known age animals (from Canada and Finland). This new method was applied to reindeer remains from Iarte VI, an Iron Age habitation site in the Iamal Peninsula to illustrate its application. This thesis demonstrates the utility of visual-based tooth eruption and wear for investigating integrations between people and reindeer/caribou.
Description
Keywords
caribou, dental ageing, reindeer, zooarchaeology
Citation
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
Archaeology and Anthropology
Program
Archeology