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Palynological evidence for pre-agricultural reindeer grazing and the later settlement history of the Lycksele region, northern Sweden.

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Peer-reviewed

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Abstract

Analyses of high-resolution pollen data, coprophilous fungal spores, microscopic charcoal and sedimentology, combined with radiocarbon dating, allow the assessment of the impact of Sami and Nordic land use in the region surrounding the winter market town of Lycksele in northern Sweden. Such winter markets were established by the Crown during the seventeenth century AD to control the semi-nomadic movements of the Sami who traded here with Finnish settlers and were also taxed and educated. Little is known about Sami and Nordic co-existence beyond these market places, mainly due to a lack of archaeological evidence relating to Sami activity. Vegetation and land-use changes in the region between ~ AD 250 and 1825 reveal no signal for pre-seventeenth century agricultural activity, but the coprophilous fungal spore records suggest the increased regional presence of grazing herbivores (possibly reindeer) between ~ AD 800 and 1100. Sami activity in the parish of Lycksele has been suggested by rich metal finds dated to ~ AD 1000-1350 and they may have been attracted by an abundance of reindeer.

Description

Funder: Leverhulme Trust; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000275


Funder: European Research Council; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000781

Keywords

Boreal forest, Colonization, Coprophilous fungal spores, Fire clearance, Forest Sami, Grazing, Hay making, Nordic farmers, Pollen analysis, Reindeer herding, Swidden

Journal Title

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1866-9557
1866-9565

Volume Title

13

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC