In The Mountains Of Scandinavia, 1,500-Year-Old Tools Used By Reindeer Hunters Were Found In A Patch Of Melted Ice
On the mountains of Scandinavia, wooden tools once used by ancient reindeer hunters were discovered by a team of researchers while they were surveying the area.
The artifacts are known as “scaring stick” flags, and they were found in Breheimen National Park in Norway.
The team, which consisted of two archaeologists and a mountain guide, spotted the objects after they were revealed by a large patch of melted ice.
The ice was essentially a small, stationary glacier that was frozen to the ground but had experienced some melting that caused it to separate into smaller pieces of ice.
“This ice retreat is caused by climate change and affects mountain ice everywhere here in Innlandet County, Norway—and of course, globally as well,” said Lars Holger Pilø, the co-director of Secrets of the Ice, a glacier archaeology program.
The scaring stick flags are roughly 1,500-years-old. The team first came across an intact flag and then a broken one about 65 feet away.
Scaring sticks are long, wooden sticks that are usually around three feet in length. Lightweight and movable objects, such as a thin wooden flag, are attached to the top.
Ancient people in Norway used them to hunt reindeer. Similar tools have shown up in regions like Greenland and Siberia, but none have ever been uncovered in North America.
“Scaring sticks are used to lead the reindeer toward hunters hiding behind natural features such as boulders or behind stone-built hunting blinds,” Pilø said.
Petter W. Sele – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
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“Scaring sticks come in different types, but the main idea is that they consist of a wooden stick with a movable object attached to the top.”
“The attached object would move in the wind, which made the reindeer uneasy, as this is way above the tree line, and movement here meant danger.”
Secrets of the Ice has analyzed many scaring sticks. Generally, they belong to the period A.D. 200 to 1000.
The scaring sticks with wooden flags constructed from thin, split pine, like the one that was recently discovered, typically date back to the Early Iron Age in Norway, A.D. 300 to 600.
According to Pilø, ice patches are small and easily affected by changes in weather and climate. So, artifacts that were buried in ice often become revealed once the ice melts. Then, wind and meltwater transport them downslope, where they will end up on the ground.
It is unclear when the scaring sticks were first exposed. They may have been in and out of the ice for the last decade.
Wooden and bone artifacts are often the only materials to remain preserved after being exposed for a while.
Under the right conditions, wood naturally freeze-dries, which is a process used for wood preservation in labs.
The team plans to continue exploring the site until winter. Overall, they have surveyed 69 sites and made more than 4,000 finds.
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