Radiocarbon dating of musk-ox ( Ovibos moschatus ) bones from the Thule region, northwest Greenland
ABSTRACT The Thule region in north Greenland formerly supported a population of musk-oxen ( Ovibos moschatus ). Radiocarbon dating of bones of this mammal collected on the terrain surface and from archaeological sites has yielded late Holocene ages, indicating that the species was a late immigrant t...
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2013
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247413000193 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247413000193 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247413000193 2024-03-03T08:44:52+00:00 Radiocarbon dating of musk-ox ( Ovibos moschatus ) bones from the Thule region, northwest Greenland Bennike, Ole 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247413000193 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247413000193 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 50, issue 2, page 113-118 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development journal-article 2013 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247413000193 2024-02-08T08:33:20Z ABSTRACT The Thule region in north Greenland formerly supported a population of musk-oxen ( Ovibos moschatus ). Radiocarbon dating of bones of this mammal collected on the terrain surface and from archaeological sites has yielded late Holocene ages, indicating that the species was a late immigrant to this part of Greenland. The species may have arrived at a time when the area was uninhabited, and it had at least a thousand years to spread south, before the Late Dorset people arrived. The heavy glaciation of Melville Bugt in the late Holocene was probably the main reason that the musk-ox did not disperse south to west Greenland. The population of musk-ox in the region may have peaked during the Medieval Warm Period, and the species survived during the occupation of the region by the Late Dorset people. The size of the population may have declined during the beginning of the Little Ice Age, and musk-ox was probably exterminated from the region shortly after the arrival of the mobile Thule people. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Melville bugt musk ox North Greenland ovibos moschatus Polar Record Thule Cambridge University Press Greenland Melville Bugt ENVELOPE(-61.000,-61.000,75.750,75.750) Polar Record 50 2 113 118 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development Bennike, Ole Radiocarbon dating of musk-ox ( Ovibos moschatus ) bones from the Thule region, northwest Greenland |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
description |
ABSTRACT The Thule region in north Greenland formerly supported a population of musk-oxen ( Ovibos moschatus ). Radiocarbon dating of bones of this mammal collected on the terrain surface and from archaeological sites has yielded late Holocene ages, indicating that the species was a late immigrant to this part of Greenland. The species may have arrived at a time when the area was uninhabited, and it had at least a thousand years to spread south, before the Late Dorset people arrived. The heavy glaciation of Melville Bugt in the late Holocene was probably the main reason that the musk-ox did not disperse south to west Greenland. The population of musk-ox in the region may have peaked during the Medieval Warm Period, and the species survived during the occupation of the region by the Late Dorset people. The size of the population may have declined during the beginning of the Little Ice Age, and musk-ox was probably exterminated from the region shortly after the arrival of the mobile Thule people. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bennike, Ole |
author_facet |
Bennike, Ole |
author_sort |
Bennike, Ole |
title |
Radiocarbon dating of musk-ox ( Ovibos moschatus ) bones from the Thule region, northwest Greenland |
title_short |
Radiocarbon dating of musk-ox ( Ovibos moschatus ) bones from the Thule region, northwest Greenland |
title_full |
Radiocarbon dating of musk-ox ( Ovibos moschatus ) bones from the Thule region, northwest Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Radiocarbon dating of musk-ox ( Ovibos moschatus ) bones from the Thule region, northwest Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Radiocarbon dating of musk-ox ( Ovibos moschatus ) bones from the Thule region, northwest Greenland |
title_sort |
radiocarbon dating of musk-ox ( ovibos moschatus ) bones from the thule region, northwest greenland |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247413000193 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247413000193 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-61.000,-61.000,75.750,75.750) |
geographic |
Greenland Melville Bugt |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Melville Bugt |
genre |
Greenland Melville bugt musk ox North Greenland ovibos moschatus Polar Record Thule |
genre_facet |
Greenland Melville bugt musk ox North Greenland ovibos moschatus Polar Record Thule |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 50, issue 2, page 113-118 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247413000193 |
container_title |
Polar Record |
container_volume |
50 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
113 |
op_container_end_page |
118 |
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1792500390455934976 |