Abstract
The historical use of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) inner bark by the Saami near Lake Sädvajaure, N. Sweden was studied with dendro-ecological methods. Damming of the lake for hydroelectric power enabled destructive sampling of all pines with scars from bark peeling in an area of 870 ha. A total of 111 dead and live pines with 136 bark peelings were found. Stem-sections were taken for cross-dating to determine the precise peeling year and season. The oldest peeling was dated to 1618, which is the oldest reported evidence of Saami use of inner bark. No bark peelings were made after 1870 in the studied area which coincides with a shift to more extensive reindeer herding, and with colonization by Swedish farmers in the area. The regular use of inner bark over time and the absence of peeling peaks in known agrarian famine years support the hypothesis that inner bark was used regularly, and not only as an emergency food. Changes in spatial peeling activity around the lake is interpreted as temporal changes in nomadic fishing activity. We conclude that tree ring studies can provide valuable information about former mobile use of natural resources by Saami in boreal forest landscapes.
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Niklasson, M., Zackrisson, O. & Östlund, L. A dendroecological reconstruction of use by Saami of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) inner bark over the last 350 years at Sädvajaure, N. Sweden. Veget Hist Archaebot 3, 183–190 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00202025
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00202025