Abstract
It has been suggested that reindeer castration is a practice that started very early in the process of reindeer domestication. Castrated males have long been favoured as working animals, and have been used for the transport of people and goods. Castration makes reindeer easier to handle and may have played a key role in associating humans with wild reindeer in the past. Although the importance of castration is recognised, there are few methods to define castrated reindeer from archaeological materials. This chapter explores past and present reindeer castration in Fennoscandian reindeer herding through historical and ethnographic evidence, presenting promising methods that can be used for the identification of castration from reindeer bone collections. We address the role of castration in reindeer that serve different purposes such as working and for meat, and consider how they have changed in relation to past and present reindeer herding, and herd management strategies. Various aspects of castration such as age, timing, and its physical and behavioural effects on reindeer are dealt with and discussed based on our fieldwork among present-day reindeer herders. The castration of draught reindeer working in tourism and racing is discussed based on reindeer herders’ traditional knowledge, practical expertise, and experiences.
Abstrákta
Gáskin lea árvaluvvon leamaš juo áramus boazodoalu oassi. Gáskojuvvon bohccot dehege hearggit leat adnojuvvon guhká vuojánin fievrrideame olbmuid ja sin gálvvuid. Hearggit lea álkit gieđahallojuvvot ja gáskin leanai sáhttán leat guovddášlaš domestikašuvdnaproseassa álgomuttuin, go eallit leat seatnaduvvon olbmuid lagasvuhtii. Vaikko dutkit dihtet gáskima leat boazodoalu ja bohcco domestikašuvnna mávssolaš oassi, de dan dan arkeologalaš dovdámii leat leame dušše unnán metodat. Dán lohkosis gieđahallojuvvojit historjjálaš ja etnográfalaš gáldut gáskimis sihke dakkár metodat, mat sáhtále adnojuvvot herggiid identifiseremii arkeologalaš materiálas. Mii gieđahallat maid gáskima rolla ovdamearkka dihte vuojániid ja biergoprodukšuvnna várás šaddaduvvon bohccuid boazobarggus sihke suokkardallat dan, mot dát áššit gullet boazodoalu dábiide ovdal ja dál. Gáskinahki, dan áigemeroštallan ja dan váikkuhusat bohcco fysiologiijai ja meannudeapmái suokkardallojuvvojit earenoamážit dálá boazoolbmuid gaskavuođas dahkkojuvvon jearahallamiid vuođul. Mii atnit ávkin maid boazobargiid árbevirolaš dieđu, máhtu ja muosáhusaid turisma- ja gilvoatnui dábmojuvvon vuojániid gáskima mearkkašumiid suokkardallamis.
Tiivistelmä
Kastraatiota arvellaan käytetyn jo poronhoidon varhaisimmissa vaiheissa. Kastroituja urosporoja eli härkiä on käytetty pitkään ajokkaina kuljettamassa ihmisiä ja heidän tavaroitaan. Härkiä on helpompi käsitellä kuin kastroimattomia uroksia ja kastraatio on voinut olla avainasemassa domestikaatioprosessin alkuvaiheissa, kun eläimiä on totutettu ihmisen läheisyyteen. Vaikka tutkijat tietävät kastraation olevan tärkeä osa poronhoitoa ja poron domestikaatiota, sen arkeologiseen tunnistamiseen on olemassa vain niukasti menetelmiä. Tässä luvussa käsitellään kastraatiosta kertovia historiallisia ja etnografisia lähteitä sekä menetelmiä, jotka voivat soveltua härkien tunnistamiseen arkeologisesta aineistosta. Käsittelemme kastraation roolia ajokkaiden ja lihantuotantoa varten kasvatettujen porojen hoidossa sekä pohdimme sitä, miten nämä asiat ovat muuttuneet ja liittyvät poronhoidon tapoihin ennen ja nyt. Kastrointi-ikää, kastroinnin ajoitusta ja vaikutuksia poron fysiologiaan ja käyttäytymiseen pohditaan nykyisten poronhoitajien parissa tehtyjen haastattelujen pohjalta. Tässä hyödynnämme etenkin niiden poronhoitajien perinteistä tietoa, tietotaitoa ja kokemuksia, jotka kouluttavat ajokkaita matkailu- ja kilpakäyttöön muun poronhoidon lisäksi.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aikio, Pekka. 1989. The changing role of reindeer in the life of the Sámi. In The walking larder: Patterns of domestication, pastoralism, and predation, ed. Juliet Clutton-Brock, 169–184. London: Unwin Hyman.
Aikio, Pekka. and Timo Helle. 1985. Poronhoito—katsaus Lapinmaan perinteisen elinkeinon historiaan. In Lappi 4. Saamelaisten ja suomalaisten maa, ed. Martti Linkola, 189–205. Hämeenlinna: Arvi A. Karisto Oy.
Arell, Nils. 1979. Kolonisationen i lappmarken: några näringsgeografiska aspekter. Stockholm: Esselte Studium.
Aronsson, Kjell-Åle. 1991 Forest Reindeer Herding A.D. 1–1800. An archaeological and palaeoecological study in Northern Sweden. Archaeology and Environment 10. Umeå: University of Umeå.
Bately, Janet. 2007. Text and translation. In Ohthere’s Voyages: A Late 9th Century Account of Voyages Along the Coasts of Norway and Denmark and its Cultural Context, ed. Janet Bately and Anton Englert, 40–58. Roskilde: The Viking Ship Museum.
Beach, Hugo. 1981. Reindeer-herd management in transition: The case of Tuorpon Saameby in Northern Sweden. Uppsala: University of Uppsala.
Beach, Hugo. 1993. A year in Lapland: Guest of the Reindeer Herders. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Bergman, Ingela, Olle Zackrisson, and Lars Liedgren. 2013. From hunting to herding: Land use, Ecosystem processes, and social transformation among Sami AD 800–1500. Arctic Anthropology 50 (2): 25–39.
Bjørklund, Ivar. 2013. Domestication, reindeer husbandry and the development of Sámi pastoralism. Acta Borealia 30 (2): 174–189.
Bosi, Roberto. 1960. The Lapps. London: Thames and Hudson.
Brannang, E. 1971. Studies on monozygous cattle twins. XXIII. The effect of castration and age of castration on development of single muscles, bones and special sex characters. Part I. Swedish Journal of Agricultural Research 1: 69–78.
Collinder, Bjorn. 1949. The Lapps. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Davis, Simon J.M. 2000. The effect of castration and age on the development of the Shetland sheep skeleton and a metric comparison between bones of males, females and castrates. Journal of Archaeological Science 27: 373–390.
Graves, P. 1995. Carl Linnaeus. The Lapland Journey. Edinburgh: Lockharton Press.
Grotenfelt, Gösta. 1920. Suomen poronhoito: Kuvia ja muistiinpanoja. Helsinki: Otava.
Hansen, Lars Ivar, and Bjørnar Olsen. 2014. Hunters in transition: An outline of early Sami history. Brill: Leiden.
Hatting, Tove. 1983. Osteological investigations on Ovis aries L. Videnskabelige Meddelelser Fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening 144: 115–135.
Helle, Timo P., and Lotta M. Jaakkola. 2008. Transitions in herd management of semi-domesticated reindeer in Northern Finland. Annales Zoologici Fennici 45 (2): 81–101.
Helle, Timo, and Ilpo Kojola. 1993. Reproduction and mortality of Finnish semi-domesticated reindeer in relation to density and management strategies. Arctic 46 (1): 72–77.
Hirotani, Akira. 1990. Social organization of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), with special reference to relationships among females. Canadian Journal of Zoology 68: 743–749.
Holand, Øystein, Knut H. Røed, Atle Mysterud, Jouko Kumpula, Mauri Nieminen, and Martin E. Smith. 2003. The effect of sex ratio and male age structure on reindeer calving. Journal of Wildlife Management 67 (1): 25–33.
Holand, Øystein, and Robert Weladji. 2019. Rangifer mating strategies. In Reindeer & Caribou—health and Diseases, ed. Morten Trygland and Susan Kutz, 13–23. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Horstkotte, Tim, Élise. Lépy, and Camilla Risvoll, ed. 2020. Supplementary feeding in reindeer husbandry—Results from a workshop with reindeer herders and researchers form Norway, Sweden and Finland. Umeå: Umeå University.
Hufthammer, Anne Karin. 1995. Age determination of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.). Archaeozoologia 7 (2): 33–41.
Hultblad, Filip. 1968. Övergång från nomadism till agrar bosättning i Jokkmokks socken. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell.
Itkonen, T.I. 1948. Suomen lappalaiset vuoteen 1945. Porvoo—Helsinki: Söderström.
Ingold, Tim. 1986. Reindeer economies and the origins of pastoralism. Anthropology Today 2 (4): 5–10.
Korhonen, Teppo. 2008. Poroerotus. Historia, toiminta ja tekniset ratkaisut. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura.
Kortesalmi, Juhani J. 2008. Poronhoidon synty ja kehitys Suomessa. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura.
Mazzullo, Nuccio. 2010. More than meat on the hoof? Social significance of reindeer among Finnish Saami in a rationalized pastoralist economy. In Good to eat, good to live with: Nomands and animals in Eurasia and Africa, ed. Florian Stammler and Hiroki Takakura, 101–119. Japan as Northeast Asian Study Series, no. 11. Sendai: Center for Northeast Asian Studies, Tohoku University.
Moran, N.C., and T.P. O’Connor. 1994. Age attribution in domestic sheep by skeletal and dental maturation: A pilot study of available sources. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 4: 267–285.
Mulk, Inga-Maria. 1994. Sirkas—ett samiskt fångstsamhälle i förändring Kr. f.—1600 e.Kr. Studia archaeologica universitatis umensis 6. Umeå: Umeå universitet.
Mysterud, A., C. Bonenfant, L.E. Loe, R. Langvatn, N.G. Yoccoz, and N.C. Stenseth. 2008. Age-specific feeding cessation in male red deer during rut. Journal of Zoology 275 (4): 407–412.
Mysterud, Atle, Øystein. Holand, Knut H. Roed, Hallvard Gjøstein, Jouko Kumpula, and Mauri Nieminen. 2003. Effects of age, density and sex ratio on reproductive effort in male reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Journal of Zoology 261 (4): 341–344.
Nieminen, Mauri, and Ilkka Pietilä. 1999. Peurasta poroksi. Rovaniemi: Paliskuntain yhdistys.
Noddle, Barbara. 1974. Ages of epiphyseal closure in feral and domestic goats and ages of dental eruption. Journal of Archaeological Science 1 (2): 195–204.
Paine, Robert. 1988. Reindeer and caribou Rangifer tarandus in the wild and under pastoralism. Polar Record 24: 31–42.
Robert, Paine. 1994. Herds of the Tundra: A portrait of Saami reindeer pastoralism. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Pelto, Pertti J., Martti Linkola, and Pekka Sammallahti. 1968. The snowmobile revolution in Lapland. Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura.
Piha, Minerva. 2020. Eteläsaamelaiset rautakautisessa Pohjolass:. Kielitieteellis-arkeologinen näkökulma. Turku: University of Turku.
Popkin, Peter R.W., Polydora Baker, Fay Worley, Sebastian Payne, and Andy Hammon. 2012. The sheep project (1): Determining skeletal growth, timing of epiphyseal fusion and morphometric variation in unimproved Shetland sheep of known age, sex, castration status and nutrition. Journal of Archaeological Science 39: 1775–1792.
Pösö, R., M. Nieminen, J. Raulio, L.A. Räsänen, and T. Soveri. 1996. Skeletal muscle characteristics of racing reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology 114: 277–286.
Rönnow, C. 1949. Om kastrering hos de renskötande folken med särskild hänsyn till rennomadismen i Sverige. Folk Liv XII–XIII: 141–162.
Ryg, Morten Skrede, and Endre Jacobsen. 1982. Effects of castration on growth rate and food intake cycles in young and captive male reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus L.). Canadian Journal of Zoology 60 (5): 942–945.
Shahin, Karima A., R.T. Berg, and M.A. Price. 1992. The effect of breed-type and castration on bone growth and distribution in cattle. Reproduction Nutrition Development 32 (5–6): 429–440.
Skjenneberg, Sven, and Lars Slagsvold. 1979. Reindeer husbandry and its ecological principles. Juneau: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Soppela, Päivi. 2002. Reindeer as a source of nutrition. In Siiddastallan—From Lapp Communities to Modern Sami Life, ed. Jukka Pennanen and Klemetti Näkkäläjärvi, 77–78. Inari: Siida Sami Museum.
Soppela, Päivi, Sanna-Mari. Kynkäänniemi, and Henri Wallén. 2020. Poron käyttö ajokkaana – perinne jatkuu matkailussa. Poromies 87 (4): 44–47.
Soppela, Päivi, Sanna-Mari Kynkäänniemi, and Henri Wallen. n.d. Reindeer as a draught animal in tourism—A carrier of an old tradition in a new form: Insights to human-animal collaboration from interviews amongst reindeer herders. Unpublished manuscript.
Soppela, Päivi, Sanna-Mari Kynkäänniemi, and Henri Wallén. 2022. Reindeer as a draught animal in tourism—Insights into human-animal relationship and collaboration. Unpublished manuscript.
Takken-Beijersbergen, Liselotte, and Anne Karin Hufthammer. 2012. Age determination of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) based on postcranial elements. In A bouquet of archaeozoologicalstudies: Essays in honour of Wietske Prummel, ed. D.C.M. Raemaekers, E. Esser, R.C.G.M. Lauwerier, and J.T. Zeiler, 11–20. Eelde: Barkhuis.
Timisjärvi, J., M. Nieminen, K. Roine, M. Koskinen, and H. Laaksonen. 1982. Growth in the reindeer. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 23: 603–618.
Turi, Johan. 1979. Kertomus saamelaisista. Porvoo: WSOY.
Turunen, Minna, and Terhi Vuojala-Magga. 2014. Past and present winter feeding of reindeer in Finland: Herders’ adaptive learning of feeding practices. Arctic 67 (2): 173–188.
Tyler, N.J.C., J.M. Turi, M.A. Sundset, K.S. Bull, M.-N. Sara, E. Reinert, N. Oskal, C. Nelleman, J.J. McCarthy, S.D. Mathiesen, M.L. Martello, O.H. Magga, G.K. Hovelsrud, I. Hansen-Bauer, N.I. Eira, I.M.G. Eira, and R.W. Corell. 2007. Sami reindeer pastoralism under climate change: Applying a generalized framework for vulnerability studies to a subarctic social-ecological system. Global Environmental Change 17: 91–206.
Van den Berg, Mathilde. n.d. Have a bite! The anthropology of reindeer castration and its archaeological implications. Unpublished manuscript.
Van den Berg, Mathilde, Henri Wallén and Anna-Kaisa Salmi. 2022. The identification of castrated reindeer bones and the significance of castration to trace human-animal relationships in the North. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, in press.
Vuojala-Magga, Terhi. 2010. Knowing, learning, training: The importance of reindeer character and temperament for individuals and communities of humans and animals. In Good to eat, good to live with: Nomands and animals in Eurasia and Africa, ed. Florian Stammler and Hiroki Takakura, 43–61. Japan as Northeast Asian study series, no. 11. Sendai: Center for Northeast Asian Studies, Tohoku University.
Acknowledgements
This project received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 756431), the Academy of Finland (project number 308322), and the University of Oulu. We gratefully acknowledge all the reindeer herders who participated in this study in Finnish Lapland for their valuable contribution and insights.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Soppela, P., van den Berg, M., Kynkäänniemi, SM., Wallén, H. (2022). Castration as Part of Reindeer Herd Management. In: Salmi, AK. (eds) Domestication in Action . Arctic Encounters. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98643-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98643-8_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-98642-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-98643-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)