Dating of a muskox (Ovibos moschatus) skull fragment from Jamtland, Sweden: Middle Weichselian age

• Published in: GFF
• Main Authors: Bennike, Ole, Liljegren, Ronnie
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2014
• Subjects: Geology; muskox; Ovibos; Sweden; Quaternary; Pleistocene; Arctic; ovibos moschatus; Subarctic; Tundra
• Online Access: https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4659378; https://doi.org/10.1080/11035897.2013.848929

A radiocarbon age determination of a tundra muskox (Ovibos moschatus) skull fragment from Jamtland, central Sweden gave an age of 44 000 +/- 1500 C-14 years BP or c. 46-49 cal. ka, indicating that the species was a member of the Middle Weichselian fauna of Sweden. The age confirms that central Sweden was ice-free during parts of the Middle Weichselian, prior to the last glacial maximum, as shown by previous studies. The region was probably characterised by treeless arctic to subarctic tundra environments.