The general trends in climate development over the past 10 000 years are relatively well known for Scandinavia. Most studies have been conducted in northern Lapland using vegetation, aquatic ecosystems or geochemistry in lake sediments. Some studies have also been carried out in the southern part of the Scandes in Jämtland.

However, very little is known about environmental change over the past 10 000 years in Vindelfjällen. Our aim is to fill this gap by using lake sediments to reconstruct past changes in the environment and climate. It is likely that large climate shifts occurring over several thousands of years will have been similar in the south, central and northern part of the Scandes. There is a large amount of evidence of past human activity in Vindelfjällen. Of specific interest to the archaeologists is the way humans used the natural resources found in the alpine environment. One of the study sites is Lake Luspasjaure. Our objective is to provide a detailed history of climate development for the area and allow identification of any possible link between climate forcing and human behaviour.