Emma Katrin Onshuus

• Walker, Samuel James; Boilard, Aurélie; Henriksen, Mona; Lord, Edana; Robu, Marius & Buylaert, Jan-Pieter [Show all 28 contributors for this article] (2025). A 75,000-y-old Scandinavian Arctic cave deposit reveals past faunal diversity and paleoenvironment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). ISSN 0027-8424. 122(32), p. 1–10. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2415008122. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  During the last glacial period (~118 to 11.7 ka), the Arctic has been characterized by a major redistribution of flora and fauna as a consequence of extreme climatic fluctuations, with associated glacial advances and retreats, sea-level changes, and shifting sea ice extent. In the high-latitude regions of Northern Europe that are currently subject to rapid climate warming, we lack a comprehensive understanding of faunal biodiversity in the last glacial period due to the extreme rarity of preserved organic remains. Here, we present a stratified sediment deposit with a diverse faunal composition preserved in a bone-bearing layer in Arne Qvamgrotta, part of the Storsteinhola cave system (68.10° N 16.38° E) in Northern Norway. Chronological analyses of sediments and bones including radiocarbon, optically stimulated luminescence, uranium–thorium, and phylogenetic dating place the faunal assemblage in Marine Isotope Stage 5a (MIS 5a, Odderade interstadial, ~85 to 71 ka). Combining comparative osteology and bulk-bone metabarcoding, we identify 46 taxa, including mammals, birds, and fish, with several species not previously found in Fennoscandia. The fauna implies a nonanalogous cold-adapted coastal community, with close proximity to sea ice and nearby freshwater bodies. Mitogenome analyses of a subset of taxa identify extinct lineages which attest to a lack of habitat tracking and the absence of a local refugium during the subsequent fully glaciated periods. This faunal record demonstrates long-term faunal dynamics and coastal environmental conditions during MIS 5a in the European Arctic.

View all works in NVA

• Frank, Lea; Walker, Samuel James; Onshuus, Emma Katrin; Boilard, Aurélie; Mauvisseau, Quentin & Furness, Lydia Hildebrand [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2025). From forests to fire: Reconstructing Holocene forest ecosystems and Nordic Bronze Age human cave activity at Solvikhola, Nordland, Northern Norway. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Caves offer exceptional preservation conditions for organics and archaeological remains, providing vital insights into biodiversity, ecosystem dynamics, and anthropogenic and climatic events over millennia. Solvikhola (67°12'46.2"N, Fauske, Nordland, Northern Norway), a cave excavated in 2023, revealed a remarkable palaeoarchive with a sedimentary deposit spanning the last 7600 cal. years. Ten distinct stratigraphic layers contained organic remains such as bones, shells, leaves, and charcoal, providing a unique opportunity to reconstruct past environments and prehistoric human activity in higher latitudes. Such long-term records are rudimentary and underexplored above the Arctic Circle, making Solvikhola an invaluable resource for understanding the region’s distant past. Applying a multidisciplinary methodology including archaeology, ancient DNA (aDNA) bulk-bone metabarcoding (BBM), palynology, geology, and isotope analysis (14C-dating), we uncovered a hearth with a torch and a Bronze Age cultural layer. Morever, we identified a diverse faunal sequence back to the Mesolithic. Zooarchaeological analysis identified 18 taxa across Amphibia, Aves, Mammalia, and Pisces representative of 9% of the bone fragments. aDNA BBM considerably expanded taxonomic resolution, identifying more than 56 taxa from the remaining 91% of bone fragments. This dataset highlights a relatively stable forest ecosystem with small climatic fluctuations, hosting foxes, wolves, reindeer, small mammals (e.g., Arvicolidae, Cricetidae, Leporidae), and birds (e.g., Strigidae, Hirundinidae, Phasianidae) resembling the present-day ecosystem in Northern Norway. Notably, the discovery of archaeological remains dating to c. 2700 cal. BP offers evidence of early human activity at the cave site, contributing valuable data to the limited knowledge of human presence in this northern interior region.

• Frank, Lea; Walker, Samuel James; Onshuus, Emma Katrin; Boilard, Aurélie; Furness, Lydia Hildebrand & Mauvisseau, Quentin [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2025). From forests to fire: Reconstructing Holocene forest ecosystems and Nordic Bronze Age human cave activity at Solvikhola, Northern Norway. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Caves offer exceptional preservation conditions for organics and archaeological remains, providing insights into biodiversity, ecosystem dynamics, and anthropogenic events over millennia. Solvikhola (67°12'46.2"N, Fauske, Nordland, Northern Norway), a cave excavated in 2023, revealed a remarkable palaeoarchive with a sedimentary deposit spanning the last 7600 cal. years. Ten distinct stratigraphic layers contained organic remains such as bones, shells, leaves, and charcoal, providing a unique opportunity to reconstruct past environments and prehistoric human activity in higher latitudes. Such long-term records are rudimentary and underexplored above the Arctic Circle, making Solvikhola an invaluable resource for understanding the region’s distant past. Applying a multidisciplinary methodology including archaeology, ancient DNA (aDNA) bulk-bone metabarcoding (BBM), palynology, geology, and isotope analysis (14C-dating), we uncovered a hearth with a torch and a Bronze Age cultural layer. Morever, we identified a diverse faunal sequence back to the Mesolithic. Osteological analysis identified 18 taxa across Amphibia, Aves, Mammalia, and Pisces representative of 24% of the bone fragments. Ancient DNA BBM considerably expanded taxonomic resolution, identifying more than 56 taxa from the remaining 76% of bone fragments. This dataset highlights a relatively stable forest ecosystem with small climatic fluctuations, hosting foxes, wolves, reindeer, small mammals (e.g., Arvicolidae, Cricetidae, Leporidae), and birds (e.g., Strigidae, Hirundinidae, Phasianidae) resembling the present-day ecosystem in Northern Norway. Notably, the discovery of archaeological remains dating to c. 2700 cal. BP offers evidence of early human activity at the cave site, contributing valuable data to the limited knowledge of human presence in this northern interior region.

• Onshuus, Emma Katrin (2024). Tracking Holocene ecosystem dynamics from a paleo-archive preserved in a cave in high latitudinal Fennoscandia. Full text in Research Archive
• Onshuus, Emma Katrin (2024). Tracking Holocene ecosystem dynamics from a paleo-archive preserved in a cave in high latitudinal Fennoscandia. Full text in Research Archive
• Onshuus, Emma Katrin (2024). Tracking Holocene ecosystem dynamics from a paleo-archive preserved in a cave in high latitudinal Fennoscandia. Full text in Research Archive
• Onshuus, Emma Katrin (2023). Exploring multi-millennial ecosystem archives in highlatitudinal Fennoscandia. Full text in Research Archive
• Onshuus, Emma Katrin; Boessenkool, Sanne & Frank, Lea (2025). Faunal Reconstruction of a High-latitude, Multi-millennial Cave Archive. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive

View all works in NVA