Even Santa Claus's country is affected by global warming. Indeed, Lapland and its inhabitants are strongly affected by rising temperatures. Because of these unusual heat, reindeer, the emblematic animal of the region, is the first threatened, and with it the herders and their ancestral trade. But what can be the impact of climate change on this wild animal? This project proposes to answer this question over a long time by studying reindeer skeletons found in various European archaeological sites over nearly 20,000 years of history. It will allow scientists to better understand how reindeer evolved, adapted to new environment and left southern Europe to finally colonise northern Fennoscandia at the end of the Ice Age. Ultimately this project will participate to the current debate on climate change and conservation actions of the Arctic zone to be taken in the future, to protect reindeer, their herders and so, a very emblematic and traditional aspect of Arctic cultures.

2025

2029