Open AccessHistory of the reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ) in the eastern Baltic region and its implications for the origin and immigration routes of the recent northern European wild reindeer populations
Author(s) -
UKKONEN PIRKKO,
LÕUGAS LEMBI,
ZAGORSKA ILGA,
LUKŠEVICA LIGITA,
LUKŠEVICS ERVINS,
DAUGNORA LINAS,
JUNGNER HÖGNE
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
boreas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.95
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1502-3885
pISSN - 0300-9483
DOI - 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2006.tb01152.x
Subject(s) - subfossil , holocene , radiocarbon dating , deglaciation , period (music) , pleistocene , range (aeronautics) , physical geography , geology , geography , archaeology , physics , materials science , acoustics , composite material
A total of 45 subfossil reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ) antlers and bones ‐ artefacts excluded ‐ have been found over the years in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The relatively high number of specimens suggests a stable residence of the species in the eastern Baltic region. For the first time, 12 of these finds were radiocarbon‐dated. The ages of the samples range between 12085 and 9970 14 C yr BP (14 180–11 280 cal. yr BP), and cover the Lateglacial and early Holocene, a time period during which climatic conditions shifted from periglacial to temperate. The dates suggest a rapid colonization of the area during the deglaciation period and a local extinction around the Pleistocene‐Holocene boundary. The results of the study do not support the theory that the recent wild reindeer populations of northern Europe had their origin in the Late Weichselian reindeer populations of the eastern Baltic region.