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Trees for food – a 3000 year record of subarctic plant use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2015

Lars Östlund ,
Ingela Bergman  and
Olle Zackrisson
Lars Östlund
Affiliation:
Department of Vegetation Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, S-90183 Umeå, Sweden (Email: [email protected])
Ingela Bergman
Affiliation:
The Silvermuseum of Arjeplog, S-930 90 Arjeplog, Sweden
Olle Zackrisson
Affiliation:
Department of Vegetation Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, S-90183 Umeå, Sweden
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Abstract

The authors present a unique long record of inner bark use by the Sami people of northern Scandinavia extending back to 2800 BP. Consistent patterns with respect to the direction and size of bark peeling scars shows that common values and standards were early applied. They further conclude that inner bark was important as a regular food and a vitamin C source at these northern latitudes. Bark-peeled trees as biological artefacts in forests also provide important data to understand subsistence strategies and spatial patterns of land use unique to areas with long winter seasons.

Keywords

AMS datingdendroecologySamiinnerbarkforest history
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 78 , Issue 300 , June 2004 , pp. 278 - 286
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2004

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