Beyond Wild and Tame: Sentient Ecologies in Eurasia

Using ethnographic and archaeological data from eastern Siberia, this paper gives a theoretical overview of assumptions made about reindeer hunting vs. reindeer herding. The paper will review cases of the interreliance of taiga and tundra dwellers on both so called wild and tame stocks and suggest that metaphors of attention and collaboration better capture the archaeological and ethnographic
record. The paper will also review models of socialization wherein relationships with rangifer are keyed to those of other species.