Multi-species entanglements and stable isotope signals (δ13C and δ15N) in modern reindeer herding communities of boreal northeast Asia

Abstract

Prevailing anthropocentric frameworks of animal husbandry in archaeological research are increasingly critiqued for their inability to capture the full spectrum of human–non-human systems. In west Siberia and northern Mongolia, reindeer herding communities practise an entwined multi-species lifeways with the subarctic boreal and forest ecosystems—but these practices lack secure archaeological chronologies and time depth in northeast Asia. Traces of reindeer herding and reindeer remains themselves are often under-represented in the depositional record, requiring alternative avenues for tracing the archaeology of reindeer herding. Here, we explore the potential of documenting these complex dynamics archaeologically through a proof-of-concept analysis of stable isotopic carbon and nitrogen in faunal bone collagen, which can represent a possible nexus of multi-species practices. In doing so, we seek to expand investigative potentials into both human and non-human community members, providing valuable, nuanced insights into past practices, hunter–herder interactions and domestication dynamics.