Environmental Archaeology. The journal of human palaeoecology

Volume 10.2 Published October 2005

Research papers

Decadal-scale sea ice changes in the Canadian Arctic and their impacts on humans during the past 4,000 years

Peta J. Mudie, Andre Rochon and Elisabeth Levac

Abstract

Climate warming of >1.5 ^oC over three decades has diminished Arctic sea ice and forced drastic changes on Inuit people of the Canadian Arctic. Discontinuities in archaeological records also suggest that climatic changes may have caused site abandonment and life style shifts in Paleo- and Neo-eskimo societies. We therefore examine the decadal-scale palaeoclimatic changes recorded by quantitative palynological data in marine records from Coburg Polynya, near Palaeo- and Neo-eskimo settlements on the North Devon Lowlands, and from the North Water Polynya between Canada and Northwest Greenland . Palaeotransfer functions from dinoflagellate cyst assemblages provide quantitative estimates of changes in sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice cover (SIC) with the accuracy of historical measurements.

Both sites record temperature variations of 2-4 ^oC corresponding to changes in hunting modes and occupation-abandonment cycles on Devon and Ellesmere Islands . Our data show that from ~6500 to 2600 BP, there were large oscillations in summer SST from 2-4 ^oC cooler than present to 6 ^oC warmer and SIC ranged from 2 months more sea ice to 4 months more open water. The warmer interval corresponds to the period of pre-Dorset cultures that hunted muskox and caribou. Subsequent marine-based Dorset and Neo-eskimo cultures correspond to progressively cooler intervals with expanded sea ice cover. The warming took ~50-100 years and lasted ~300 years before replacement by colder intervals lasting ~200-500 years. These climate oscillations are more rapid than the archaeological cultural changes, but are of similar length to successive Palaeoeskimo occupations in the Nares Strait region.

Keywords : ARCTIC ARCHAEOLOGY , GREENLAND , PALAEOCLIMATE, PALAEOESKIMO, PALYNOLOGY, SEA ICE

Fishing Booths and Fishing Strategies in Medieval Iceland: an Archaeofauna from the of Akurvík, North-West Iceland

Colin Amundsen, Sophia Perdikaris,   Thomas H. McGovern, Yekaterina Krivogorskaya, Matthew Brown, Konrad Smiarowski, Shaye Storm, Salena Modugno, Malgorzata Frik, Monica Koczela

Abstract

Excavations in 1990 in North-West Iceland documented a stratified series of small turf structures and associated midden deposits at the eroding beach at Akurvík which date from the 11 th -13 th to the 15 th -16 th centuries AD. The site reflects a long series of small discontinuous occupations, probably associated with seasonal fishing. The shell sand matrix had allowed excellent organic preservation and an archaeofauna of over 100,000 identifiable fragments was recovered. The collections are dominated by fish, mainly Atlantic cod, but substantial amounts of whale bone suggest extensive exploitation of strandings or active whaling. This paper briefly summarizes the excavation results, presents a zooarchaeological analysis of the two largest radiocarbon dated contexts, and places the Akurvík collections in the wider context of intra-Icelandic and inter-regional trade in preserved fish. Analysis of the Akurvík collection and comparison with other Icelandic collections from both inland and coastal sites dating from 9 th to 19 th centuries AD both reinforces evidence for an early, pre-Hanseatic internal Icelandic fish trade and supports historical documentation of Icelandic participation in the growing international fish trade of the late Middle Ages.

Keywords: Iceland, North Atlantic, Fisheries History, Zooarchaeology

New Evidence for the Date of Introduction of the House Mouse, Mus musculus domesticus Schwartz & Schwartz, and the Field Mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus (L.), to Shetland

Rebecca A. Nicholson , Pauline Barber and Julie M. Bond

Abstract

This paper presents new evidence to challenge the accepted view that both the house mouse Mus domesticus and the field mouse Apodemus sylvaticus were introduced to Shetland by the Vikings. Archaeological remains of both Mus and Apodemus have been recovered from the site of Old Scatness Broch. While both mice were present in deposits dating to around the period of early Viking incursions, Apodemus has been identified in a number of deposits dated to the middle Iron Age while Mus bones have so far been recovered from two well-sealed early Iron Age contexts.

Keywords: archaeology, colonisation, mice, Scottish islands, Viking

Detecting the Seasonal Slaughtering of Domestic Mammals: Inferences from the Detailed Recording of Tooth Eruption and Wear

Anton Ervynck

Abstract

It has been proposed that the detailed recording of tooth eruption and wear (following Grant 1982) could shed light on the evaluation of seasonal slaughtering patterns in medieval domestic pig populations (Ervynck 1997). However, justifiable criticisms have been raised against the methodology proposed, necessitating a review of data obtained and an evaluation of possible methodological biases. The present contribution presents an attempt to deal with the problems outlined on a theoretical basis, and uses two case studies to elucidate the methodological problems involved. The results of the analysis indicate that the reliability of the Grant method could well differ per species, most probably including less inherent problems for domestic pigs compared to sheep (and cattle).

Keywords: Zooarchaeology, Seasonality, Slaughtering Patterns, Domestic Mammals, Tooth Development

Modern Coleoptera from Non Cereal Thatch: a Poor Analogue for Roofing Material from the Archaeological Record

David N. Smith, John Letts and Mike Jones

Abstract

The results of a survey of five Coleoptera faunas recovered from non-cereal roofing thatches (potato stem, bracken, water reed, heather and gorse) are presented here. Initially it was hoped that phytophage taxa contained in the thatch would correspond to the material used. This would indicate that these insects would have the potential to allow the identification of these types of roofing material in the archaeological record. However, the absence of any such phytophage species in the modern samples examined suggests that such an archaeological interpretation may be more difficult than initially expected.

Keywords: Coleoptera, roofing thatch materials, palaeoentomological interpretation

"Puffins, Pigs, Cod, and Barley: Palaeoeconomy at Undir Junkarinsfløtti, Sandoy, Faroe Islands "

Mike J Church, Símun V Arge , Seth Brewington, Thomas H McGovern, Jim H Woollett, Sophia Perdikaris, Ian T Lawson, Gordon T Cook, Colin Amundsen , Ramona Harrison, Ye kate rina Krivogorskaya and Elaine Dunbar

Abstract

This paper reports on the zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical remains from the first season of excavations at the Norse period site at Undir Junakarinsfløtti in the Faroe islands. These remains represent the first zooarchaeological analysis undertaken for the Faroes and only the third archaeobotanical assemblage published from the islands. The excavated deposits are described and the key findings from the palaeoenvironmental remains highlighted within the context of the wider North Atlantic environmental archaeology of the Norse period.

Keywords: Faroes, North Atlantic , Landnám, Zooarchaeology, Archaeobotany

Landscape Archaeology in a Dry-Stream Valley near Tell es-Safi/Gath (Israel): Agricultural Terraces and the Origin of Fill Deposits

Oren Ackermann, Hendrik J. Bruins, Pariente Sarah, Helena Zhevelev and Aren M. Maeir

Abstract

This investigation is part of a long-term archaeological project being conducted at Tell es-Safi/Gath in the semi-arid foothills of the Judean Mountains. A first order dry stream channel located in a valley east of the main archaeological site was surveyed and soil pits were excavated in selected locations. In addition a ditch, 10 m in length, was dug perpendicular to one of the agricultural terraces. The valley is filled with soil to a depth of more than 3 m above bedrock. Based on ceramic sherds within, the fill dates mainly to the Byzantine period (ca. 4 th -7 th cent. CE). On top of the fill and across the width of the valley are three check-dam wall terraces. Each of the terraces is about 0.5 m height and 50 m long. The valley is bound by two slopes: 1) a northeast facing slope characterized by Nari (hard calcrete crust) outcrops and soil pockets, and 2) a southwest facing slope without Nari. The source of the valley fill material is apparently from the slope without Nari. The accumulation of the fill in the agricultural terraces is either the result of natural erosion processes and/or deliberate human activity. The latter option is more likely.

Keywords: Landscape Archaeology, Mediterranean Environment, Tell es Safi/Gath, Contour Agricultural Terraces, Check-Dam Agricultural Terraces, Philistines