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

• Published in: Antiquity
• Main Authors: Östlund, Lars, Bergman, Ingela, Zackrisson, Olle
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2004
• Subjects: General Arts and Humanities; Archeology; sami; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00112943; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0003598X00112943

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.