Pushing the Limits: Palynological Investigations at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the Norse Western Settlement

J. Edward Schofield; Danni M. Pearce; Douglas W.F. Mair; Brice R. Rea; James M. Lea; Nicholas A. Kamenos; Kathryn M.  Schoenrock; Iestyn D. Barr; Kevin J. Edwards

doi:10.1080/14614103.2019.1677075

Pushing the Limits: Palynological Investigations at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the Norse Western Settlement

J. Edward Schofield^* (Corresponding Author), Danni M. Pearce, Douglas W.F. Mair, Brice R. Rea, James M. Lea, Nicholas A. Kamenos, Kathryn M. Schoenrock, Iestyn D. Barr, Kevin J. Edwards

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

This paper presents two high-resolution pollen records dating to ~AD 1000-1400 that reveal the impacts of Norse colonists on vegetation and landscape around a remote farmstead in the Western Settlement of Greenland. The study is centred upon a ‘centralised farm’ (ruin group V53d) in Austmannadalen, near the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet (64º13’ N, 49º49’W). The climate is low arctic and considered marginal in terms of its suitability for the type of pastoral agriculture that the Norse settlers introduced. The data reveal that at a short distance (~500 m) from the farm buildings, the palynological ‘footprint’ for settlement becomes extremely indistinct, the only clear palaeoenvironmental evidence for a human presence being elevated levels of microscopic charcoal. This contrasts with the Eastern Settlement, where a strong palynological signature for Norse landnám is evident, from the local (individual farm) through to the regional (landscape) scale. The palynological data from Austmannadalen, and the Western Settlement more generally, imply that farming occurred at very low intensity. This aligns with ideas that promote the importance of hunting, and trade in valuable Arctic commodities (e.g. walrus ivory), ahead of a search for new pasture as the dominant motivation driving the Norse settlement of this region.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-15
Number of pages	15
Journal	Environmental Archaeology
Early online date	17 Oct 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2019.1677075
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 17 Oct 2019

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Leverhulme Trust under Project Grant 2014-093 (‘Calving glaciers: long-term validation and evidence’). JMLs participation with fieldwork was funded by the Quaternary Research Association (QRA) and the British Society for Geomorphology (BSG). Staff at the Greenland National Museum and Archives in Nuuk are thanked for granting us permission to conduct fieldwork within Austmannadalen. Audrey Innes, Jenny Johnston and Jamie Bowie provided laboratory and cartographic support. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers who provided helpful comments that led to improvements in the manuscript.

Keywords

Greenland
Norse
Western Settlement
pollen analysis
radiocarbon dating
microscopic charcoal
Landnam
trade
reconstruction
pollen
record
representation
eastern-settlement
end
vegetation

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This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Environmental Archaeology on 17 Oct 2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14614103.2019.1677075
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Cite this

Schofield, J. E., Pearce, D. M., Mair, D. W. F., Rea, B. R., Lea, J. M., Kamenos, N. A., Schoenrock, K. M., Barr, I. D., & Edwards, K. J. (2019). Pushing the Limits: Palynological Investigations at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the Norse Western Settlement. Environmental Archaeology, 1-15. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2019.1677075

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title = "Pushing the Limits: Palynological Investigations at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the Norse Western Settlement",

abstract = "This paper presents two high-resolution pollen records dating to ~AD 1000-1400 that reveal the impacts of Norse colonists on vegetation and landscape around a remote farmstead in the Western Settlement of Greenland. The study is centred upon a {\textquoteleft}centralised farm{\textquoteright} (ruin group V53d) in Austmannadalen, near the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet (64º13{\textquoteright} N, 49º49{\textquoteright}W). The climate is low arctic and considered marginal in terms of its suitability for the type of pastoral agriculture that the Norse settlers introduced. The data reveal that at a short distance (~500 m) from the farm buildings, the palynological {\textquoteleft}footprint{\textquoteright} for settlement becomes extremely indistinct, the only clear palaeoenvironmental evidence for a human presence being elevated levels of microscopic charcoal. This contrasts with the Eastern Settlement, where a strong palynological signature for Norse landn{\'a}m is evident, from the local (individual farm) through to the regional (landscape) scale. The palynological data from Austmannadalen, and the Western Settlement more generally, imply that farming occurred at very low intensity. This aligns with ideas that promote the importance of hunting, and trade in valuable Arctic commodities (e.g. walrus ivory), ahead of a search for new pasture as the dominant motivation driving the Norse settlement of this region.",

keywords = "Greenland, Norse, Western Settlement, pollen analysis, radiocarbon dating, microscopic charcoal, Landnam, trade, reconstruction, pollen, record, representation, eastern-settlement, end, vegetation",

author = "Schofield, {J. Edward} and Pearce, {Danni M.} and Mair, {Douglas W.F.} and Rea, {Brice R.} and Lea, {James M.} and Kamenos, {Nicholas A.} and Schoenrock, {Kathryn M.} and Barr, {Iestyn D.} and Edwards, {Kevin J.}",

note = "Acknowledgements This research was supported by the Leverhulme Trust under Project Grant 2014-093 ({\textquoteleft}Calving glaciers: long-term validation and evidence{\textquoteright}). JMLs participation with fieldwork was funded by the Quaternary Research Association (QRA) and the British Society for Geomorphology (BSG). Staff at the Greenland National Museum and Archives in Nuuk are thanked for granting us permission to conduct fieldwork within Austmannadalen. Audrey Innes, Jenny Johnston and Jamie Bowie provided laboratory and cartographic support. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers who provided helpful comments that led to improvements in the manuscript.",

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doi = "10.1080/14614103.2019.1677075",

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PY - 2019/10/17

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N2 - This paper presents two high-resolution pollen records dating to ~AD 1000-1400 that reveal the impacts of Norse colonists on vegetation and landscape around a remote farmstead in the Western Settlement of Greenland. The study is centred upon a ‘centralised farm’ (ruin group V53d) in Austmannadalen, near the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet (64º13’ N, 49º49’W). The climate is low arctic and considered marginal in terms of its suitability for the type of pastoral agriculture that the Norse settlers introduced. The data reveal that at a short distance (~500 m) from the farm buildings, the palynological ‘footprint’ for settlement becomes extremely indistinct, the only clear palaeoenvironmental evidence for a human presence being elevated levels of microscopic charcoal. This contrasts with the Eastern Settlement, where a strong palynological signature for Norse landnám is evident, from the local (individual farm) through to the regional (landscape) scale. The palynological data from Austmannadalen, and the Western Settlement more generally, imply that farming occurred at very low intensity. This aligns with ideas that promote the importance of hunting, and trade in valuable Arctic commodities (e.g. walrus ivory), ahead of a search for new pasture as the dominant motivation driving the Norse settlement of this region.

AB - This paper presents two high-resolution pollen records dating to ~AD 1000-1400 that reveal the impacts of Norse colonists on vegetation and landscape around a remote farmstead in the Western Settlement of Greenland. The study is centred upon a ‘centralised farm’ (ruin group V53d) in Austmannadalen, near the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet (64º13’ N, 49º49’W). The climate is low arctic and considered marginal in terms of its suitability for the type of pastoral agriculture that the Norse settlers introduced. The data reveal that at a short distance (~500 m) from the farm buildings, the palynological ‘footprint’ for settlement becomes extremely indistinct, the only clear palaeoenvironmental evidence for a human presence being elevated levels of microscopic charcoal. This contrasts with the Eastern Settlement, where a strong palynological signature for Norse landnám is evident, from the local (individual farm) through to the regional (landscape) scale. The palynological data from Austmannadalen, and the Western Settlement more generally, imply that farming occurred at very low intensity. This aligns with ideas that promote the importance of hunting, and trade in valuable Arctic commodities (e.g. walrus ivory), ahead of a search for new pasture as the dominant motivation driving the Norse settlement of this region.

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DO - 10.1080/14614103.2019.1677075

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JO - Environmental Archaeology

JF - Environmental Archaeology

ER -

Pushing the Limits: Palynological Investigations at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the Norse Western Settlement

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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James Schofield, BA, MSc, PhD, FSA Scot

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Pushing the Limits: Palynological Investigations at the Margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the Norse Western Settlement

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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James Schofield, BA, MSc, PhD, FSA Scot

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