Reindeer hunting as World Heritage A ten thousan year-long tradition Scientific statement 2006 Reindeer hunting as World Heritage Reindeer hunting as World Heritage A ten thousand year-long tradition A ten thousand year-long tradition Contents Preface 4 8 Description of the character of the 1 Wild reindeer hunting as World area (status at the time of nomination) 48 Heritage; a ten-thousand-year-long 8.1 General description of the area 48 tradition Summary 5 8.2 Description of how the four sub-areas 2 Introduction 8 complement one another 52 2.1 Early history of the project 8 8.3 Description of the individual sub-areas 53 8.3.1 Eikesdalsfjella 53 2.2 Information for national and municipal authorities 8 8.3.2 Snøhetta 54 8.3.3 Rondane 56 2.3 Consolidation of the project 8 8.3.4 Reinheimen 60 2.4 Openness and information 9 8.3.5 Buffer zone between the Eikesdalsfjella and This report has been prepared by a team of specialists appointed for the project: ”Wild reindeer 2.5 Broad foundation 9 Snøhetta sub-areas 63 hunting as World Heritage”: 2.6 Revitalisation and regional involvement 9 8.3.6 Buffer zone between the Snøhetta and Rondane - Professor Reidar Andersen, Museum of Archaeology and Natural History, Norwegian sub-areas 63 University of Science and Technology 3 Wild reindeer – history, genetics and - Per Jordhøy, Adviser at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research habitat use 11 9 History and development 64 - Jostein Bergstøl, Research archaeologist at the Museum of Cultural History, 10 Komparativ analyse 67 University of Oslo 3.1 History 11 - Anitra Fossum, County archaeologist, Vestfold County Council 3.2 Genetics 14 10.1 Comparative analysis linked with wild - The secretariat for the “Wild reindeer hunting as World Heritage” project: John Olsen reindeer and wild reindeer hunting 68 (project manager and editor) 3.3 Habitat use 16 10.1.1 Sites on the World Heritage List 68 4 Description of types of cultural At the request of the managing committee of the “Wild reindeer hunting as World Heritage” project: 10.1.2 Sites on tentative lists 69 - Chairman Børge Brende, first vice-chairman of the Standing Committee for Power and heritage sites 17 10.1.3 Places not connected with the World Heritage List the Environment, Norwegian Parliament 4.1 Stray finds, jumps, meat caches, shelters 69 - Vice-chairman Per Dag Hole, Mayor of the Borough of Lesja 10.2 Comparative analysis of trapping systems - Kristin Hille Valla, County Governor of Oppland and graves 17 - Egil Mikkelsen, Director, Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo 4.2 Pitfalls 21 for large mammals in general 73 - Dagfinn Claudius, County Curator, Oppland County Council 10.2.1 Europa 73 - Harald Jacobsen, Director, Museum of Archaeology in Stavanger 4.3 Funnel-shaped traps 26 4.4 Hides 30 10.2.2 Africa 74 The report was reviewed by the managing committee and approved on 6 July 2006. 5 The mountains as a cultural landscape 31 10.2.3 Asia 75 5.1 The cultural landscape as a “laboratory” 32 10.2.4 North America 76 5.2 Present-day people and the landscape 33 10.2.5 South America 77 6 Research potential and challenges 10.2.6 Oceania 77 linked with the hunting sites 34 11 Global strategy 79 6.1 Dating the hunting sites 34 6.2 Ethnicity 36 12 Statement of outstanding universal value 81 6.3 The immigration paths of the wild reindeer 39 13 Criteria under which nomination is 7 Delimitation of the area 40 proposed 85 7.1 Principal justification for the area selected 40 14 References 88 7.2 Delimitation of the sub-areas 40 7.2.1 Eikesdalsfjella 40 7.2.2 Snøhetta 40 7.2.3 Rondane 40 7.2.4 Reinheimen 41 7.2.5 Buffer zones 42 Reindeer hunting as World Heritage Reindeer hunting as World Heritage A ten thousand year-long tradition A ten thousand year-long tradition Preface 1. Wild reindeer hunting as world heritage; a ten-thousand- The first hunters came to what was to become Norway some 10 000 years ago. At that time, year-long tradition people had already been subsisting on reindeer in south-western Europe for close on 20 - 30 Summary 000 years. The oldest evidence in the area we are concerned with is around 8000 years old. This area, however, contains numerous physical remains of the hunting and trapping, which ”About 1600 years ago, a hunter with his bow and arrows crouched in concealment have disappeared in many other places. The area has cultural heritage sites that demonstrate behind some big rocks on the southeast slope. He knew that one of the most a virtually continuous tradition linked to the utilisation of wild reindeer. Coming here to hunt dependable reindeer migration routes went past there when the wind blew from reindeer is still a natural activity in the autumn. The people exploiting the resource and the the west. The reindeer came and he dispatched several arrows. Three missed social organisation of the communities have, interestingly enough, varied, but the resource (…). About 400 years later, another bowman crouched in the same spot. The – wild reindeer – has remained as a connecting thread throughout the period. reindeer came past once again, and the hunter loosed his arrows. One struck a rock, was deflected off course and swerved up onto a big boulder where it The topography in the area has made the reindeer migrations predictable, at the same time came to rest in a hollow. More than 1000 years after that yet another hunter was as it is so varied that the challenge of ”how to hunt” has been solved in many different ways. crouched by these big rocks on Storhøe. The reindeer came past, the hunter shot, These two aspects mean that within the limited geographical area embraced by ”Wild reindeer and a brass cartridge case marked with the year 1861 fell on the ground. Almost hunting as World Heritage”, there are both remains of a large number of trapping systems for one hundred years later, a hunter is once more crouched behind the rocks (…) reindeer and a greater variation in the types of systems than anywhere else. Every kind of Two empty cartridge cases marked Raufoss Ammunition Factory 1958 were left trapping means known to have been used for wild reindeer and that can be expected to have behind” (Mølmen 1986: 109). left behind recognisable remains has been documented in this area. In addition to the actual trapping systems, the area has many other cultural heritage sites associated with the utilisation The area is a “hunting landscape” of the mountains in general, and hunting and trapping in particular. Settlement sites, shelters, This is how Øystein Mølmen describes a small, but very thrilling bit of the area covered by where thousands of years of meat caches, pitfalls for elk and human graves are just a few examples. the “Wild reindeer hunting as world heritage” project. This little tale is not only interesting as a hunting wild reindeer and other creatures have left discreet, but curiosity, it also displays admirably the variation, time span and density of cultural heritage sites nevertheless obvious, traces All told, the natural assets, the wild reindeer and the cultural heritage sites constitute a in the area. (Photo: Per Jordhøy). cultural landscape or, more correctly, a hunting landscape, embracing values of international significance. The committee has been alive to the ongoing national debate connected with the protection of large, continuous areas. There are two (soon three) national parks and several other kinds of protected area within the area covered by this project. The committee has compared the archaeological mapping of the trapping systems, the habitat of the wild reindeer and the boundaries of protected areas in Norway. This has given a positive concurrence which means (Photo: Per Jordhøy). that the committee has been able to propose a delimitation of the area that takes in the majority of the trapping systems, and all the most important ones, without having to extend existing protected areas. That this district has many protected areas is a signal from the nation that it has outstanding value. That is to say, the district is not just valuable for its own inhabitants, but for the whole nation and even for the international community. The committee shares this opinion and I believe our effort here has provided justification for why the status afforded to the area in respect of its natural assets should also be followed up from the viewpoint of cultural heritage sites and the cultural landscape by being nominated for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Børge Brende Committee chairman 6 July 2006 Reindeer hunting as World Heritage Reindeer hunting as World Heritage A ten thousand year-long tradition A ten thousand year-long tradition The committee has chosen to propose a serial nomination consisting of four sub-areas: Eikesdal in association with the hunting and trapping of wild reindeer. By studying the landscape and the mountains, Snøhetta, Rondane and Reinheim. These sub-areas complement one another in a migration pattern of the wild reindeer, we will acquire a good understanding of why the trapping thrilling and scientifically valuable manner. systems are located just where they are. The landscape is also of great importance for the present-day inhabitants of the area. Many have been accustomed to using the mountains since The area as a whole will provide an exceptionally good illustration of the traditions and cultural childhood, a deeply rooted tradition in this district. heritage sites linked with utilising wild reindeer as a resource, and not least of the wild reindeer’s own utilisation of the area.