“The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway”: How Reindeer Herders of Sub-Arctic Finland Bioculturally Cope with the Cold
With mean annual temperatures ranging from 0.1 – 1.6°C and snow that reaches a depth of 72 cm, reindeer herders of sub-Arctic Finland negotiate not only a physically demanding livelihood, but also a harsh, cold environment. To understand what biological and behavioral adaptations herders employ to survive and thrive, I and my collaborators conducted physiological and ethnographic research among reindeer herders in northern Finland in October 2018 and January 2019. This research adds to the currently sparse understanding of biocultural resilience among modern cold climate populations, and provides key insights into the interaction between climate, health, and human evolution.