Abstract
Rangifer tarandus, the northern species including both reindeer and caribou, is a pillar of northern ecosystems and the lives of northern peoples. As the only domestic cervid, reindeer are important not only to the herders and hunters who presently interact with them, but also to zooarchaeologists and palaeontologists tracing their histories. Unfortunately, limited anatomical information on Rangifer tarandus muscles is available beyond descriptions of the large muscle groups. The lower limb and hoof in particular is poorly documented. This is problematic, as this important body part has the potential to be informative in zooarchaeological analyses of habitual activity, especially in regards to historical animal health, movement, and habitual activity. Better understanding of the hoof can additionally be useful to herders and veterinarians seeking to provide veterinary care for living animals. This study has used dissections and comparisons of the reindeer hoof with other domestic ungulates to document both the common and unique structures in Rangifer tarandus hooves, including the presence and attachment points of these structures. As these structures have proved unique, especially in regards to the dewclaw, it is important that other ungulates not be used exclusively in the analysis of Rangifer tarandus remains.
Highlights
While reindeer and caribou are and have been a keystone species for human survival and ecological stability in the Arctic and sub-Arctic north, gaps in our knowledge of Rangifer tarandus anatomy persist
This study presents the origins, insertions, and primary actions of the tendons and ligaments of the hoof in order to further knowledge of Rangifer biology and anatomy
The discreet attachment point of tendon insertion and ligamentory architecture of the lower limbs are not described in enough detail that points of insertion and connection on the phalanges can be determined, there are no muscles present in the metapodial or hoof, as their movements are affected by muscles closer to the body and attached by these tendons
Summary
While reindeer and caribou are and have been a keystone species for human survival and ecological stability in the Arctic and sub-Arctic north, gaps in our knowledge of Rangifer tarandus anatomy persist. Osseous changes at the points of muscle, tendon, or ligament insertion, known as entheseal changes, are commonly examined to help reconstruct habitual activity (Villotte and Knüsel 2013; Wilczak 1998; Molnar 2005). This technique, in conjunction with paleopathology, is beginning to be used in zooarchaeology in. The study of entheseal changes as an analytical technique is predicated on the knowledge of the exact muscles, tendons, and ligaments that act to cause habitual stress on the bone Without this baseline information, accurate and effective assessments of habitual activity are impossible. Polar Biology (2021) 44:1803–1816 without an understanding of what tendons and ligaments are acting upon bone to develop these changes, and the actions that produce these changes are not possible to investigate without knowing what muscles, and which actions, produce stress at an entheses
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