The Holocene occurrence of reindeer on Franz Josef Land, Russia

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Abstract
Reindeer are absent historically on the high Arctic islands of Franz Josef Land, Russia. However, shed antlers are common on unglaciated forelands on Hooker, Scot Keltie and Alexandra Land Islands in the archipelago. Radiocarbon dating of 19 new antler remains combined with seven ages reported previously demonstrate the presence of reindeer between c. >6400 and 1300 cal. BP. Reindeer probably occupied Franz Josef Land for much of the Holocene reflecting sufficient forage associated with summer air temperatures $1°C warmer than today and retracted glaciers and snowfields. A prominent neoglacial advance at c. 1000 cal. BP is coincident with inferred extinction of reindeer. Late twentieth-century warming and associated glacier retraction may provide environmental conditions for the immigration of reindeer to Franz Josef Land and other high Arctic areas, similar to earlier in the Holocene.