An early Holocene caribou antler from northern Ellesmere Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Abstract

During the last glaciation of northern Ellesmere Island many areas remained ice‐free. A caribou antler from deglacial‐marine sediments in Clements Markham Inlet dates 8,415 ± 135 B.P. (S‐2501). If locally derived it places caribou at the northern limit of their contemporary range at the onset of deglaciation in this area. Immediately to the south, on the Hazen Plateau, ice remained at its limit until c. 8,000 B.P. Therefore, this antler may indicate the presence of caribou during full glacial time.