抖阴旅行射

Deep in the Sayan Mountains of northern Mongolia, patches of ice rest year-round in the crooks between hills.

Locals in this high tundra call the perennial snowbanks munkh mus, or eternal ice. They鈥檙e central to lives of the region鈥檚 traditional reindeer herders, who depend on the snowy patches for clean drinking water and to cool down their hoofed charges in summer months.

Now, a new study led by archaeologist William Taylor suggests that this eternal ice, and the people and animals it supports, may be at risk because of soaring global temperatures.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 unique about reindeer herding is how closely it鈥檚 tied to this very fragile thing鈥攖he ice,鈥� said Taylor, formerly of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and now an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at 抖阴旅行射 Boulder. 听

For research , he and his colleagues conducted a survey of reindeer herders to learn more about their relationship with that fragile ice. And, the team discovered, the once-reliable munkh mus seems to be melting faster than at any time in recent history.听

These patches of ice also contain some of this region鈥檚 only archaeological evidence of the deeper history of reindeer herding and pastoralism, Taylor said. The potential loss of that evidence highlights the threats climate change poses to the world鈥檚 cultural heritage.

鈥淚f we lose these unique cultural systems and ways of life, we鈥檙e losing the diversity of approaches and knowledge that we have as a species to deal with the future,鈥� said Taylor, also a curator in the 抖阴旅行射 Museum of Natural History.

Front lines

The archaeologist first discovered munkh mus for himself in the fall of 2017. That year, he traveled to the cold and windy Sayan Mountains to look for evidence of humanity鈥檚 ancient domestication of horses and other animals.听

But Taylor, who grew up in Montana with a family history of ranching, felt a sense of kinship with the valley鈥檚 modern reindeer herders, the Tsaatan. These people, who today comprise just 30 families, cultivate large stocks of reindeer, which they milk to make cheese and other foods.

鈥淚鈥檓 in this place where animals are part of everyone鈥檚 day-to-day life, and I feel this connection with my own family history,鈥� Taylor said.听

He also recognized how tenuous that livelihood was. In the last two decades, temperatures in Mongolia have risen more than 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th Century average. That rapid warming could spell trouble for the region鈥檚 munkh mus.

Reindeer are cold-loving animals and can overheat when the weather gets too warm, Taylor explained. To compensate, the Tsaatan bring their herds to the ice to give them a break from the heat and the tundra鈥檚 abundant insects.

The archaeologist and his colleagues wanted to better understand how climate change might threaten that existence.

In 2018, the team hopped onto horses and traveled across the Mongolian tundra to interview Tsaatan herders from eight different families. They all shared the same message: Many of these ice patches weren鈥檛 just melting but completely disappearing at the height of summer鈥攖he first time that had happened in as long as anyone could remember. Veterinarians on the research team reported that this melt could soon pose serious health risks to the herds of reindeer.

鈥淭he Tsaatan are literally at the front lines of climate change,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淭hese are folks that contributed nothing to the problem that we find ourselves in globally, but they鈥檙e the ones paying the first price.鈥�

Vanishing history

He鈥檚 quick to point out that it鈥檚 not just Mongolia鈥檚 modern history that鈥檚 at risk. The researchers also conducted an archaeological survey of 11 melting ice patches.听

In the process, they unearthed several artifacts, including two carved branches that may have once been part of a fishing pole. Similar discoveries, the team reported, could vanish forever in the melting ice.听

鈥淎rchaeology is non-renewable鈥�, said Julia Clark, an archaeologist at Flinders University in Australia who led the project alongside Taylor. 鈥淥nce the ice has melted and these artifacts are gone, we can never get them back.鈥�

While the ultimate fate of the Tsaatan is still unclear, Taylor said that similar threats likely face other mountain communities around the world who depend on snowpack for water鈥攕omething he has been keenly aware of since moving to Colorado.

鈥淲e鈥檙e sitting here in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd yet many of us probably haven鈥檛 thought all that much about how much global warming impacts mountain hydrology.鈥�

Craig Lee, a research scientist at the (INSTAAR) at 抖阴旅行射 Boulder also contributed to the new study. Other coauthors included researchers from the Humboldt University of Berlin; University of Arizona; National Museum of Mongolia; Clearview Animal Hospital; Mongolia鈥檚 State Central Veterinary Laboratory; and the University of New Mexico.