With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Anne Pike-Tay will study the teeth of nearly 1000 reindeer/caribou individuals which were assembled by the Canadian Wildlife Service. This is the largest and most statistically representative sample of a modern reindeer population. The exact date of death, age in months, sex, size, weight, reproductive condition, diet and geographic range are documented for each specimen. For each, she will measure the crown height above the mandible and also section individual teeth to study the cementum annuli. These latter structures are usually deposited annually much like tree rings and serve to anchor the tooth in the jaw. Together these measures permit one to estimate the age of an animal as well as the season of death. Dr. Pike-Tay has two goals. The first is a quantitative evaluation of the biological and environmental factors which affect cementum deposition. This will allow better seasonality determinations. Secondly, she will analyze the annuli and crown height measurements to derive techniques for age estimation. Reindeer provided an important source of food and other materials such as antler and hide for prehistoric peoples in both North America and Europe. Their bones are often found in archaeological sites and therefore constitute an important focus for archaeological analysis. In their attempts to reconstruct how prehistoric peoples lived, archaeologists try to determine how long and in what season individual sites were occupied. They also want to learn how animals were hunted. By knowing a reindeer's age of death and the season in which it was killed these questions can be directly addressed. While many scientists have recognized the potential of crown height measurements and annuli counts, the basic essential work which Dr. Pike-Tay has undertaken has never been done. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide an extremely valuable tool not only to archaeologists ,but to biologists and wildlife management specialists. It will be applicable in a wide variety of situations. Since a graduate student is included, the project will also serve a training role.
