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Introduction
The Arctic is commonly perceived as a pristine wilderness. Svalbard in particular has known no indigenous people. From a historical point of view, however, references to 'a virtually untouched environment in Svalbard' (Norwegian Government 2001) are as misleading as allusions to 'the rape of Spitsbergen' (McGhee 2006: 173). Both extremes underrepresent and devalue centuries of human commitment and endeavour in the remote archipelago. First documented by Willem Barentsz in 1596, Svalbard now benefits from exceptional archaeological and historical records of subsequent periods of whaling, sealing, and hunting and trapping. Yet, the data have not been analysed sufficiently to offer a pre-arrival baseline of the high Arctic ecosystem or to provide long-term ecological trends. Generalisations such as '[walruses] were hunted virtually to extinction in Svalbard during three and a half centuries of heavy commercial exploitation' (Norwegian Polar Institute, nd) are not based on sound historical knowledge. At worst, they hamper research in this direction.
This paper explores the historical dimension of Svalbard's marine and terrestrial ecosystems. It places focus solely on historical human presence as a proxy of human-induced pressure. Its aims are 1) to reconstruct and quantify historical human presence using only published sources and public databases; 2) to ascertain if human presence is a suitable indicator of long-term anthropogenic pressure on the archipelago; 3) to infer trends in anthropogenic pressure on five species of game animal; and 4) to postulate trends in the subpopulation sizes of these animals.
This study is a first step towards adding time-depth to the current practices of environmental monitoring. Historical ecological data are as of yet not being sought systematically and are therefore lacking from the 'new understanding of the links between different kinds of environmental pressures and their impacts on nature' (MOSJ nd). In the Arctic as elsewhere, historical ecology is a key component in an integral approach to conservation, restoration, and the enhancement of natural and cultural heritage (Crumley 2007).
Concepts, definitions, and delineations
This study uses the interdisciplinary concept of historical ecology, which is defined as 'the study of past ecosystems by charting the change in landscapes over time' (Crumley 1994: 6). Although it centres on Svalbard, it strives to achieve universal applicability by adopting the terminology of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (Nelson and others...