‘There are no two similar kinds of reindeer. You have to be with the reindeer to learn.’ The Variety of Life among Ancient Sámi Reindeer Herders
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: In the Sámi worldview, reindeer herders perceive the herd as a social unit consisting of individuals who vary in characteristics and social roles. Age, sex, physical appearance, personality and other social roles are acknowledged and recognized by the herders, who maintain their relationships with animals in different ways within herding tasks. Archaeological data, too, show that ancient reindeer herders were in contact with different kinds of reindeer, including wild reindeer, working reindeer and ‘ordinary’ herd reindeer. This paper uses zooarchaeological and ethnoarchaeological perspectives to examine the variety of life on the hoof at two fourteenth- to seventeenth-century Sámi sites in northern Finland. Archaeological data and zooarchaeological analyses will be used to assess hunting and herding practices as well as the characteristics of herd structure. Ultimately, the aim of this paper is to examine critically and characterize the variety of the relations prevailing between reindeer and ancient Sámi herders, thus contributing both to the study of culturally specific ontologies and the analytical possibilities of archaeological research to understand such ontologies.
Source: Cambridge Archaeological Journal
Author: Anna-Kaisa Salmi
Institution: University of Oulu
Language: English
Subfield: Paleontology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,550
OpenAlex ID: W7116721166