Challenges and Solutions

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Challenges and solutions

Northern Worlds – Report from workshop 2 at the National Museum, 1 November 2011

Edited by Hans Christian Gulløv, Peter Andreas Toft and Caroline Polke Hansgaard Challenges and solutions

Report from workshop 2 at the National Museum, 1 November 2011

Edited by Hans Christian Gulløv, Peter Andreas Toft and Caroline Polke Hansgaard

Translated and revised by James Manley

Layout Anne Marie Brammer

Printed in Denmark by Rosendahls – Schultz Grafisk

ISBN: 978-87-7602-192-4

Published with financial support from the Augustinus Foundation and the National Museum

A digital version of the publication can be found on the home page of the National Museum: http://nordligeverdener.natmus.dk

Front cover illustration: Rødøy in Flatøysund, Alstahaug area, Helgeland, South Nordland Photo: Flemming Kaul Northern Worlds – Challenges and solutions

Report from workshop 2 at the National Museum, 1 November 2011

Edited by Hans Christian Gulløv, Peter Andreas Toft and Caroline Polke Hansgaard Copenhagen 2012 2

Contents

• Challenges and solutions – status of Northern Worlds 6 Hans Christian Gulløv

• A sense of snow? Archaeology, weather and the conception 9 of northernness | Bjørnar Olsen

Research theme A Climate changes and society: When climate boundaries move 24

• The landscape and climate of the early Mesolithic hunters 26 of Lundby Mose, southern Zealand – The end of the last glacial period and the Preboreal warming | Catherine Jessen

• ’Small trees’ from North East Greenland | Claudia Baittinger 30

• Kitchen middens and climate change – what happens if 36 permafrozen archaeological remains thaw? Henning Matthiesen, Jørgen Hollesen and Jan Bruun Jensen

• Conservation and drying methods for archaeological 42 materials modified for use in northern areas Martin Nordvig Mortensen, Inger Bojesen-Koefoed, Jan Bruun Jensen, Poul Jensen, Anne Le Boëdec Moesgaard, Natasa Pokubcic, Kristiane Strætkvern, David Gregory, Lars Aasbjerg Jensen, Michelle Taube and Nanna Bjerregaard Pedersen

• The Weather War: The German operation ‘Bassgeiger’ 46 on Shannon Island 1943/44 | Tilo Krause and Jens Fog Jensen

• Depopulation of the Cape Farewell region | Einar Lund Jensen 55 • The whaler and the ostrich egg – Introduction to a project 58 on life on the North Frisian Islands and whaling in the Arctic Ocean | Christina Folke Ax

Research theme B Farming on the edge: Cultural landscapes of the North 70

• Agricultural landscapes of Arctic Norway | Flemming Kaul 72

• Pioneering farmers cultivating new lands in the North 87 – The expansion of agrarian societies during the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Scandinavia | Lasse Sørensen

• Shetland – the Border of Farming 4000-3000 B.C.E. 125 Ditlev L. Mahler

• Resources, mobility and cultural identity in Norse Green- 137 land 2005-2010 | Jette Arneborg and Christian Koch Madsen

• Pastures Found… Farming in Greenland (re)introduced 142 Christian Koch Madsen

• Churches, Christianity and magnate farmers in the Norse 167 Eastern Settlement | Jette Arneborg

• Greenland dietary economy | Jette Arneborg 171

• Agriculture on the edge – the first finds of cereals in Norse 174 Greenland | Peter Steen Henriksen

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Contents

Research theme C Networks in the North: 178 Communication, trade and culture markers

• A common sea – the Skagerrak and the Kattegat in the 180 Viking Age | Anne Pedersen

• Networks in the north – foreign artifacts in the hands of 187 the Vikings | Maria Panum Baastrup

• Nørremølle – the largest Viking silver hoard of Bornholm 192 – Interactions in the Baltic Sea | Gitte Tarnow Ingvardson

• Greenlandic runic inscriptions | Lisbeth M. Imer 200

• Skin Clothing from the North | Anne Lisbeth Schmidt 205

Close-up of a string of beads on an amaut, a woman’s jacket, combining large worn 18th-century glass beads with unworn seed beads produced in the 19th century. Photo: Peter Andreas Toft. Pinhoulland seen from the • Challenges of cultural and colonial encounters – European 209 north west down commodities in the Historical Thule Culture | Peter Andreas Toft towards Voe of Browland. Photo: D. Mahler. • Timber houses in Greenland – diffusion and innovation 228 Niels Bonde, Thomas S. Bartholin, Claudia Baittinger and Helge Paulsen

• Tunit and the birds – echoes of another world 231 Martin Appelt and Mari Hardenberg

• Memory of a myth – a unique Late Dorset ritual structure 247 Ulla Odgaard

• Pre-Christian Cult Sites – archaeological investigations 261 Josefine Franck Bican, Anna Severine Beck and Susanne Klingenberg

• Contributors 269

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Challenges and solutions – status of Northern Worlds

Hans Christian Gulløv Koordinator

On 1 November 2011 the National Mu- hind this theme was to evaluate the seum’s cross-disciplinary research initi- various solution models that the individ- ative ‘Northern Worlds’ held a workshop ual projects had to make use of in order with a presentation and discussion of a to tackle the challenges that had number of projects which, under the emerged since the formulation of the heading ‘Challenges and solutions’, tasks set. demonstrated the breadth of this initiative. The theme was thus meant to challenge the individual researcher’s choice of At present the initiative consists of 20 method and the theoretical content of separate investigations and PhD projects the project, which was associated with as well as two associated research pro- one of the three overall research sub- grammes, all of which are presented in jects that constitute the bearing idea of the following pages of this publication. Northern Worlds: Climate changes and Some of the investigations have been society – Farming on the edge – Net- concluded since the initiative was offi- works in the North. cially launched on 1 January 2010, but subsequently a few new ones have been A cross-disciplinary initiative like North- added. ern Worlds, built up on the basis of projects that came in from seven of the The theme of the workshop was ‘Chal- museum’s ten research-conducting lenges and solutions’, and it was meant units, is thus not a project in itself. It is to follow up on the workshop held ear- rather a concept that can concentrate lier with the title ‘Changes and chal- and challenge thinking as long as one lenges’ (Gulløv et al. 2011). The idea be- knows what ‘the northern’ actually is. However, there seems to be no doubt gen, with her analytical challenges to about this in the following presentations Northern Worlds. She introduced the of the projects involved; and yet there is concepts ‘perspectivization’, perceived a search for another approach to the in terms of similarities and differences, concept than geography and climate, and ‘scales’, perceived in terms of rela- both of which are postulated to consti- tions and connections (Hastrup 2011). tute and determine ‘the northern’. The concept of ‘the northern’ can how- At the previous workshop such a new ever also be perceived in terms of an ar- approach was presented by Professor chaeological point of view, as it is in the Kirsten Hastrup of the Department of following by Professor Bjørnar Olsen, Anthropology, University of Copenha- Department of Archaeology and Social

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Anthropology, University of Tromsø, who As will be evident from this stocktaking as the invited guest speaker turned the of the projects presented, these have focus on ‘A sense of snow’. His lecture come a long way in the extensive work is featured here in full. with the collected empirical data, and solutions to the issue of the projects can The main point of Bjørnar Olsen’s pres- be outlined. Kirsten Hastrup and Bjørnar entation is to underscore the vital differ- Olsen have made it clear to us that ence between ‘weather’ and ‘climate’, Northern Worlds as a concept can be whose significance as concepts can only analysed phenomenologically, that the be clarified when we begin to form con- discursive approach (Hastrup) and an in- ceptions of mankind’s use of the land- tuitive approach (Olsen) to the concept scape, which in the northern hemisphere of Northern Worlds are both necessary lies barren for large parts of the year. to our understanding, and that it is in “The inclusion of winter and snow adds the context of the interaction of human to our already rich portfolio of experi- beings, landscapes and histories that ences and memories achieved through we must see the new results of the re- our ordinary summer fieldwork and in- search initiative. creases the interpretative and heuristic potential of our discipline [...] Bringing winter and snow to this experiential References record may prove decisive for how we Gulløv, H.C., Paulsen, C. & Rønne, B. 2011. activate this difference and make it Ændringer og udfordringer – Nordlige traceable as manifest deposits in the Verdener. Rapport fra workshop 1 på texts and images we are producing [...] Nationalmuseet 29. september 2010. to activate our material experiences of Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen. being in the north, activate the tacit knowledge achieved through many en- Hastrup, K. 2011. Perspektiver og ska- counters with northern places, with north laer: Analytiske udfordringer til Nordlige ern people and things and the skills they Verdener. In Gulløv, H.C., Paulsen, C. & possess about being in the north”. With Rønne, B. (eds.), Ændringer og udfordrin his personal experiences as his point of ger, pp. 6-17. departure Bjørnar Olsen succeeds in vita lizing the concept of Northern Worlds and shedding clarifying light on the cross- disciplinary research initiative. A sense of snow? Archaeology, weather and the conception of northernness

Bjørnar Olsen University of Tromsø

When asked to give this keynote address I was on my summer vacation. I was in a surprisingly good mood (for me), and I immediately and carelessly accepted; the workshop seemed ages ahead anyway.

Autumn came, and in my initial preparations I slowly and with increasing clear-sightedness started to realize how extensive and varied the interdisciplinary Northern Worlds research programme of the Danish National Muse- um really was. My confidence was not boosted much by discovering that the theme chosen for the workshop was “challenges and solutions”. How would it be possible to say something sensible that was relevant to the various projects gathered under such different and broad research headings as “Cli- matic changes”, “Farming on the edge” and “Networks in the North”?

My dreams started to be haunted by images of a bearded, serious, head- shaking audience. In other words, I started – to stick with the vocabulary of my own theme – to get rather cold feet. In an attempt to cure my initial panic, I read the address Kirsten Hastrup had been invited to give to the previous workshop to see how she coped with the task (Hastrup 2011). Needless to say, the depth and quality of her approach, and her elegant inclusion of all the research areas, did nothing to help my feeling of frostbite.

Anyway, it spurred me to work on it and, as you can see, helped me with the always-tricky task of how to introduce a paper.

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Among other things in her address, Has- have chosen to be more concrete and trup examined the concept of ‘northern- personal, perhaps even outright banal in ness’ – what constitutes the north or my comprehension of the northern. the northern and makes it analytically Sometimes such banality, or naivete, is significant? She asserted that the north worth a try, and may even suit the object is not a substance, something that is of study better than our usual urge to in- easy to concretize, and suggested think- tellectualize it. In my opinion research ing of the northern “as something that also involves the necessity – or at least affects society in a genuine way with- the desirability – of a certain empathy out determining it” (Hastrup 2011: 7, my and sympathy with what we are re- translation). The northern, she says, is searching. This includes an ethical di- manifested in three ways: first, by its mension, in the sense that we are con- matter or “fabric” (Danish: stof) (espe- cerned with what northern worlds, cially the elements of land and water); northern places, are in themselves, in secondly, by its dynamics and inner mo- their own frameworks of reality, involv- tion (seasonal changes, light and dark- ing far more than human concerns and ness), and thirdly, by what she refers to constructs. as its constitutive content or “fullness” (Danish: fylde), which is defined prima- For me, northernness is mostly about rily as a cognitive, identifying concep- substance and materiality; and one of tion of what northernness is to the na- the most defining elements of the north tive northerner, involving among other is the weather. Not in the abstract sense things the awareness of being ‘outer- as climate, but experienced as wind, most’ and peripheral (Hastrup 2011: sunshine, rain, hail, sleet, and not least 7-9). While I have few problems with snow and frost. There is – and has been the first two of these characteristics, I in the past – much talk about climate in am more hesitant – a point to which I archaeology, but little about weather. will return – about one particular aspect And it is to this particular way of concre- of the last one. tizing the north that I want to draw your attention. Hastrup’s take on the issue of northernness is analytically acute and thought- Being northern provoking; it is also, for better or worse, For me northernness is also part of a to some extent a view from a distance. personal involvement, not primarily be- With no illusion that I can escape the ef- cause of my professional career as a fective history of my academic fylde, I northern archaeologist, but because I 11

was born and have lived most of my life far to the north. I thus take the liberty of starting off by sharing some personal thoughts, experiences and reflections on being northern. Apart from the nar- cissistic pleasures such reminiscences always provide at a certain age, I hope this has some significance for the topic discussed here.

I grew up in a small village on the coast of Finnmark in Arctic Norway. At that time around 100 people lived in the village, and our only regular connection with the outside world was by boat, a local coastal steamer which called at the village three times a week carrying small loads of everyday goods and a few passen- Figure 1. gers. There I had a fairly uncomplicated was something that primarily emerged Childhood: Author, sheep childhood with my parents, five older when we joined the media network and and sister, siblings, our cow, chickens and sheep were thus ‘filled’ with a consciousness winter 1963 (figure 1). It was in the far north, approx- of being climatically peripheral. (unknown photographer, imately at the same latitude as Point probably Barrow and Uummannaq (71°N), and What has this everyday northern experi- author’s about 400 km as the crow flies north ence given me as a scholar? To what ex- mother). east of Tromsø, where I work at the tent is it different to be an archaeologist “northernmost university in the world”. with this background – where the north- Given the location, there was of course ern is not a place you visit temporarily to plenty of severe weather – though I never do fieldwork, a subject of your thesis or thought of it as anything exceptional for your field of research, but something in- us. Without access to national newspa- extricably bound up with your own per- pers or TV, we were not reminded very sonal memories and identity? Needless frequently of our climatic otherness and to say, there is no simple, single answer how fantastically warm, bright and pleas- to this question. However, it may have ant conditions were elsewhere. Bad given me a rather different understand- weather as an attribute of our life-world ing of things: an empathy clearly not ex-

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clusive to those with a similar personal evoked by a certain localized gaze; that biography, or peculiar to northerners, is, prompted and normalized by the hab- but perhaps more involuntary and imme- itat, roots and location of the scholar? In diate for us? Speaking for myself, this other words, by the inherent “fullness” empathy is often manifested as a kind of research itself, also as historically of gut feeling, an intuitive reaction pro- and geographically constituted. And to voked, for example, by a text or a lecture remain in this critical mode for one more which, without much reflection, de- sentence, we should perhaps also fur- scribes the northern landscape as ther scrutinize how research itself, in- sparse, unproductive, barren, peripheral, cluding fieldwork, has contributed to the marginal and inhospitable. Or when a creation or maintenance of ‘centres’ and visitor, tourist or scholar, encountering a ‘peripheries’, for example by normaliz- northern rural area, asks with astonish- ing the directions and routes that schol- ment what people live on here (though, ars, students and data take – such as to be fair, I have sometimes had similar the obviousness directionality of ‘going thoughts when visiting Copenhagen, out’ and ‘bringing home’ (cf. Olsen Brussels and other metropolises). And it 1991). always triggers rather naïve rhetorical counter-questions. Unproductive and in- However, amidst all this trivial critical hospitable for whom? Marginal and pe- reflection, let us not lose sight of weath- ripheral in relation to what? er. Visiting my childhood home last summer, I looked as usual through collec- Although of course we don’t know this tions of old photographs, most of them for sure, I still find it extremely unlikely from the 1960s and 1970s. Suddenly it that those who hunted and camped at struck me that there was something odd Qeqertasusuk, Tupersuai or Niertus- about these photos, a difference – even sannguaq some 4000 years ago were apart from their basic Kodak aesthetic full of a feeling of being marginal and and our captured black-and-white past. peripheral; of being situated outermost And after a while I realized how many of in the networks. Even among my fellow them depicted winter and snow; my par- villagers just 50 years ago I don’t think ents, siblings, me, friends, and relatives this feeling of peripherality very often skiing, playing, standing, sitting, posing filled their minds. At all events, such as- in snow (see figure 1). Of course, it sumptions should be used with caution, shouldn’t come as any surprise given and we should increasingly question the fact that the snow came in October how far their apparent naturalness is and stayed until early June. Thus in sta- 13

tistical terms winter images should pre- ways summer. In the magnificent, now dominate – my childhood was mostly already-classic book about Greenland’s winter. However, these basic photos prehistory (Gulløv 2004), we are pre- represented and mediated something sented with a large number of photos of more, a northernness different from the stunning Greenlandic sites and land- one I myself had become accustomed to scapes, but winter is completely absent. and cultivated in my academic life, and Not one image of winter can be spotted. which made me reflect on the images Besides, most or all of them seem to be we are creating of the north. taken at midsummer and in conspicu- ously calm and pleasant weather. The archaeological summer How do we as archaeologists represent Unfortunately, I cannot myself boast of northern landscapes and places in our any different practice worth imitating. My texts and figures? What do our photos own background – born in wind and snow, depict? Snow-covered land, frozen lakes so to speak – has helped little. For me and rivers which for most of the year and the others, the result is more or less were the physical reality for people and the same; the images in our books and animals? Certainly such images exist papers depict summer, sunshine and calm – at least I recall Morten Meldgaard’s sea. The perpetual summer of archaeol- photo of a wintry Qeqertasussuk in the ogy (figure 2). The reasons may seem early book about the site (Grønnow and obvious and legitimate. For workers in Meldgaard 1991: 139). Unfortunately, this the field, only the short summer season is close to the exception that proves the without snow will do – at least for exca- rule. The norm is summer. Only and al- vation. This climatic imperative actually

Figure 2. The perpetual summer of archaeology. Remains of four- thousand-year-old winter house in Bjørnelva, Finnmark, northern Norway (photo: Bjørnar Olsen).

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leads to an ironic paradox: While exca- It is thus an important challenge not just vations under more southern skies may to get a sense of snow, but also to re- be carried out throughout all or most of flect more on the role that weather plays the year, probably producing a relatively in our conception of the north. In what balanced (if not unbiased) seasonal im- remains of this paper, I will first have age of the area in question, the archae- something to say about weather more ological photographic record from the generally and how it affects our under- area with most winter ends up depicting standing of northern places and land- nothing but summer! We may talk about scapes, and then I will proceed to talk and analyse winter settlements in clev- more concretely about snow. er and original ways. However, what we show from these winter sites is summer, Weather and landscapes always summer (cf. Hedman and Olsen In my introduction I briefly hinted at the 2009). difference between weather and climate, where the latter may be seen as Whatever the reason, the actual imagery relating to basic long-term structural produced has effects. It sediments and conditions, while weather is the actual gathers in museum and university ar- effect of these conditions. Climate is of- chives and in personal folders; photos are ten described as the average weather increasingly circulated in publications and pattern shown by studies and measure- all kinds of visual media. They take on ments of wind, temperature and precipi- their own reality and cause what Roland tation in an area over many years, while Barthes (1986) called a “reality effect”, weather is what we actually encounter of affecting the public, our colleagues, and in these elements on a daily, ‘lived’ basis. the last analysis our own conception of the As stated by Ingold and Kurtilla, “climate north. This record perpetuates a pecu- is recorded; weather is experienced” liar – and perhaps southern – aesthetic, (Ingold & Kurtilla 2000: 187). Weather, which may also be seen as a mode of in short, is concrete; it can be felt, be appropriation and domestication, mak- seen, smelled and heard (figure 3). ing northern places more inviting, pic- turesque, and even sublime. Moreover, Anthropologist Tim Ingold is a scholar this coherently biased imagery also has concerned with weather as ordinarily the effect of turning winter and snow perceived and experienced. He has also into an anomaly, or at least rendering it criticized archaeological and anthropo- marginal and insignificant, something logical studies for having neglected this not worth attention or disclosure. phenomenon, for example in relation to 15

how weather conditions affect the way we experience a landscape. “Much has been written about how we see landscape,” he writes, but “virtually nothing on the relation between visual perception and the weather” (Ingold 2005: 97). Trying to find the reason for this neglect, he makes the following suggestion:

” because we generally think and write indoors, the world we describe in our writing is one that has been imaginatively remodelled as if it were already set up within an en- Figure 3. Katla and Marta fighting windy weather in Norðurfjörður, closed, interior space. In this as if NW Iceland (photo: Tryggvi Hallgrímsson). world, populated only by people and objects, those fluxes of the me- and often unpredictable elements of dium that we experience as wind wind and rain. The cure he prescribes is and rain, sunshine and mist, frost equally simple. We have to get out and and snow, and so on, are simply in- into the landscapes: “Only by spending conceivable. This, I believe, ac- time in them, and becoming accustomed counts for their absence from prac- to the sights, sounds, odours and feel- tically all discussions concerning ings they afford, under varying condi- the relations between human be- tions of illumination and weather, can ings and the material world.” they properly sink in” (Ingold 2005: (Ingold 2007: 32) 122).

According to Ingold, it is our academic It inevitably feels a little strange for a habitat – the fact that our analyses and northerner to be lectured by Ingold, an writing take place in safe, weather-free anthropologist whose field experience offices – which implicitly and uninten- is quite limited (though see Ingold 1976), tionally blinds us to weather as a com- about weather and outdoor practices: ponent in our research. The places we much of his weather observations seems describe and interpret thus appear as to stem from strolls with his students in screened and protected as our warm, hills and on beaches around Aberdeen. dry studies, unaffected by the dynamic Moreover, as archaeologists, zoologists,

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biologists, geologists, and others work- and not always to begin with the search ing each year in northern fields, we cer- for scholarly support and back-covering, tainly get acquainted with weather; all constructing a safety net of theoretical kinds of weather – heath, wind, cold, alliances, well-proven methods and the rain and yes, even snow in July. Not only comforting approvals of the said-be- do we stay there to ‘collect data’, it is fore. hard physical toil, and we travel, camp, live, sleep and cook food in varied, often Let me offer you with a trivial but hope- rough conditions. We even think and in- fully instructive example of northern- terpret while in the field. ness and weather. Look at this photo (figure 4); it was taken in Enontekio Mu- Still, Ingold does at least hit some nails nicipality, northeastern Finland, in late on the head. On the way from the field January 2009. It is the middle of the day, to the published text, there are indeed and the sun has just returned from its some peculiar losses. The immediate, two months of absence. The tempera- embodied experience of northernness, ture has reached its maximum of minus the direct and practical encounters 29 degrees C that day, after slipping to a which were such a self-evident part of low of minus 36 degrees during the pre- our life a few months ago soon seem ir- vious night. There is not that much to relevant; they wither from our reports, see: frost- and snow-covered birch trees, and when the scholarly texts are ready some hare and fox tracks in the snow, to be submitted, they have almost com- otherwise mostly snow, sky, and some pletely vanished. This of course applies glimpses of distant snow-covered moun- not only to weather but to all our direct tains. Perhaps you also can sense how experience of land and places, things, quiet it was; almost no sound could be soil and stones, how to land and launch heard, and there was hardly any smell. a boat in rough sea; making fire, setting up camp, etc. All these experiences and Then imagine the same place less than skills are overshadowed and displaced six months later; when the temperature by analytical safeguards, that is by mod- had risen by more than 60 degrees. The els, purified data and the weirdly- per forest was green, the ground was cov- sistent idea that knowledge can only be ered with plants and herbs, the air was obtained through theoretical detours. It full of smells and the sounds of birds is thus no small challenge to have the and mosquitoes, wasps, bumblebees courage to trust our own senses and ex- and insects of all kinds. This, more than periences, to include things and places, anything else, is what northernness is 17

Figure 4. Cold winter day near Kilpisjärvi, Enontekio, northern Finland (photo: Bjørnar Olsen).

to me. Just think of the enormous con- Certainly seasonal variations are contrasts between a snow- and ice-covered siderable and effective at other latitudes northern landscape during the months too, with their monsoons, hurricanes of darkness, when temperatures easily and droughts. Still, I venture to claim slip below minus 30°C, and the very that under no other skies where humans same geographical landscape during have settled is the transformation as summer when the sun never sets. The radical and – to some extent at least – entire reality of the land is totally trans- as predictable as in the Arctic and Sub- formed: its appearance, substance, Arctic. Archaeologists, anthropologists sounds and smells, as well as its ‘af- and others certainly talk about seasons fordances’ and risks. This transforma- and seasonality; they include them as tion not only affects us mentally, of parameters in models of economy and course; it affects most of the actions of settlement, but not very much is said humans and animals, all the everyday- about this particular dimension of the ness of their being-in-the-north. radically different life conditions that

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were the reality northern people, north- ger winter. Night frost in late July may ern animals, and yes, northern things, ruin the cloudberry season, and snow had to face for better or worse. This is a and slopes have often proved to be a kind climatic change that hasn’t fea- bad combination. As I myself experi- tured very prominently in our research enced several times in my childhood, agendas. avalanches may demolish houses and barns, harming people and animals. A sense of snow As superbly grasped by the title of Peter However, snow and winter also provide Høeg’s novel, northern peoples have a favourable conditions and offer possibil- sense of snow expressed, among other ities, and in our approaches to northern ways, in the rich and context-specific worlds we have been far too ignorant of vocabulary in Inuit and Sámi languages, the possibilities or positive ‘affordanc- for example, for types of snow, snow es’ offered by winter, snow and ice. The conditions, tracks in snow, the shape of concept of ‘affordance’ is derived from snow patches, their way of melting, etc. James Gibson’s “ecological psychology” (cf. Jernsletten 1997; Ryd 2001). This (1986), and I find it particularly useful in vocabulary reveals a concern with snow, this context. It relates to the qualities or with the problems that different snow ‘competences’ of a thing or natural en- conditions cause as well as the other tity which enable (or prevent) certain ac- challenges and possibilities they offer. tions and behaviour by people and ani- In our modern world, however, snow and mals. The ‘affordances’ of a landscape winter are mostly associated with some- are what it offers to people or animals, thing negative, something that hinders, “what it provides or furnishes, either for makes impossible and marginalizes, good or ill” (Gibson 1986:127). For ex- that creates chaos on the roads and that ample, a landscape may afford good generally makes life more dismal and reindeer pastures, migration passages difficult to live. And there are certainly and calving places, which in turn may problems and risks associated with afford hunting or herding. It may also af- frost, snow, and ice – also in the north. ford trout fishing, egg collecting, sheep For example, early snow followed by pasturage, and even sacred sites and rain and frost may create ice crust which burial grounds. What is important here prevents the reindeer from reaching li- is that snow and ice adds new affordanc- chen and other food plants (Roturier and es to the landscape, transforming it into Roué 2009), and which in turn may cause a different landscape with other compe- what the Sámi call nealggedalve – hun- tences. 19

Here we may add a critical remark to In- and smoothes the surface. Likewise, the gold’s weather anthropology. He has huge marsh areas found in the circumpo- claimed that weather is a medium of lar region are often untraversable in perception, something we conceive the summer. Thanks to frost and snow they landscape through or in, rather than an are transformed to a safe, solid surface object of perception. Thus, according to enabling travel on skis and on sledges him, weather has nothing to do with the pulled by reindeer or dogs. And these substance and surface of a landscape, affordances are something that north- its “matter”, to use Hastrup’s term: “.. ern peoples and travellers have always [A]s the weather changes, we do not appreciated. On the basis of his experi- see different things but we do see the ence of travelling across Arctic America, same things differently” (Ingold 2005: the Danish explorer Knud Rasmussen 102). This may seem plausible, but at described winter as the great provider, the same time it reveals that snow, ice one that build bridges across the sea, and frost do not feature very prominent- covers stones and fills in crevices (Ras- ly in his weather repertoire, nor is it mussen 1955: 63). Thus, it was hardly clear what kind of ontological status he accidental that the annual markets in actually ascribes to these phenomena. northern Fennoscandia, where traders Which may in turn say something about and tax collectors from Denmark-Nor- the location of the ‘knower’? Neverthe- way, Sweden and Russia met the Sámi, less, the baseline is still that snow, ice were called “winter markets” (Hansen and frost actually do provide landscapes and Olsen 2004). Only at this time of the with a new materiality, a new sub- year was it possible to reach the main stance, a new surface and thus new Sámi settlement areas efficiently and possibilities. speedily. Reindeer-drawn sledges and skis were thus used for travel by repre- Let us briefly recapitulate the immediate sentatives of state authorities as well and self-evident. Ice and snow make as traders and natives. northern travel and transport possible in a very different, and mostly far better Snow also affords an inexhaustible and more expedient way, than the land- source of water. And of course it is an scapes of summer. The northern land- enormous cold storage and freezing fa- scape often contains large areas of crev- cility, enabling long-term storage of ices, fault blocks and glacial striation food. Even during summer there are which are very difficult to pass through snow patches and glaciers that refriger- during summer. Snow fills in these gaps ate fish and meat, even enabling freez-

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ing. Snow also provides building materi- hunted animals, revealing where they als for snow houses, and as Therkel gather and when they have been there. Mathiassen concluded from his travels The list of affordances provided by snow with Peter Freuchen along the east coast and ice for hunters (including animal of the Melville Peninsula, Canada: “One hunters) is indeed extensive, for exam- can hardly think of a dwelling more suit- ple the hunting spots offered by the ed to the conditions of this land than the seals’ breathing-holes in the ice. As na- snow house. Outside a snowstorm may tive vocabulary and knowledge show, rage at minus 50°C, while the inside of different types of snow and ice yielded the house, when the blubber lamp is different affordances. For example, the lighted, feels warm and pleasant with a top layer of crust snow formed during temperature around freezing” (Mathias- late winter afforded a special type of sen 1926: 40-41, my translation). Snow reindeer hunting among the Sámi. By even acts as additional insulation for carrying the skiing hunters but not the the snow houses, as Knud Rasmussen hooves of the reindeer, the crusted snow was told by the Utkuhiksalingmiut Inuit provided a great advantage to the former at the lower Back River, northern Cana- (Tegengren 1952: 105). da. In his conversation with these inland hunters he was curious to know why Snow and northernness: they didn’t have blubber lamps like the Lessons to learn? coastal people, and he asked if they At this point most readers will probably didn’t miss this heating device in an agree that snow offers at least some area where the temperature might fluc- possibilities and advantages for north- tuate for months between minus 40 and ern living. However, for the archaeologi- 60°C: “To this they answered that it may cal craft it is not very likely that many feel cold in the unheated snow houses, will list snow as an advantage. Quite but only for a short while after they have the contrary, it is seen as an obstacle. been built. As soon as the snow houses Snow and ice impede our fieldwork, pre- get packed with thick layers of snow, vent us from digging and conceal the the many human bodies warm as much traces we are looking for. Though this as any blubber lamp and they don’t feel too is true, snow can actually be helpful any cold inside” (Rasmussen 1979: 56, to the surveying archaeologists, offering my translation). another view and revealing structures in the landscape. By foregrounding some Moreover, consider how the snow helps features and disclosing or obscuring the hunter by showing the tracks of the others (including those of the surround- 21

ings) the way snow drifts, packs and dulging ourselves in more theoretical melts can make the outline of a hunting exegeses. pit, a house ruin or a cache stand out much more clearly than during summer The inclusion of winter and snow adds (figure 5). At that time of the year the to the already-rich portfolio of experi- visibility of these very same structures ences and memories achieved through may be low because they are encased our ordinary summer fieldwork, and in- and absorbed by features of the sur- creases the interpretative and heuristic roundings and the ground vegetation. potential of our discipline – a great, but Moreover, even if snow prevents us from still not satisfactorily activated poten- digging and also often conceals the ac- tial. Without much pretensions to the tual surface remains of a settlement or usefulness of ‘reenactment’, I am con- a burial site, visiting a site during winter vinced that an archaeological engage- may prove very helpful as an experien- ment with northern sites also makes us tial way of understanding it. Walking in think of their past differently. Being snow, skiing, feeling the cold, and gen- there, undertaking fieldwork, walking erally experiencing how a place looks the land, digging the soil, being exposed and feels during winter brings another to things, is after all very different from dimension to our understanding of it; reading about these sites in the comfort one that cannot be achieved from in- of our study. Bringing winter and snow

Figure 5. Hidden and exposed: Old sheep pen in Krýsuvík, SW Iceland (photo: Bjørnar Olsen).

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to this experiential record may prove de- ing in the north. In short, we should dare cisive to the way we activate this differ- to be richer, more descriptive, and allow ence and make it traceable as manifest our own experiences of northernness to deposits in the texts and images we pro- shine through. duce. It may not fully compensate for the disadvantage of not being a northerner – but it helps (and gives me another References reason to love archaeology). Barthes, R. 1986. The Reality Effect. In R. As already stated, however, the media- Barthes, The Rustle of Language. Oxford, tion and dissemination of these experi- Basil Blackwell. ential features of northernness is a great challenge, and here I think we have Gibson, J. 1986. The ecological approach quite a lot to learn from the old explor- to visual perception. Hillsdale NJ, Law- ers, adventurers and researchers – from rence Erlbaum Associates. the way Fridtjof Nansen, Knud Rasmus- sen, Peter Freuchen, Helge Ingstad and Grønnow, B. and Meldgaard, M. 1991. others mediated their own experiences De første vestgrønlændere. Tidskriftet of the northern in their texts and images. Grønland 39 (4-7): 104-144. Certainly, you will not find much theory in Ingstad’s book about the Nunamiut; Gulløv, H. C. 2004 (red). Grønlands forhis- but it is full of lived life, experiences, torie. Copenhagen, Gyldendal. observations and encounters – and no one can deny the knowledge it contains Hansen, L. I. and Olsen, B. 2004. and transmits. Without suggesting that Samenes historie fram til 1750. Oslo, we should copy their style, we should Cappelen Akademisk Forlag. be encouraged by the way they implement what is also a great potential and Hastrup, K. 2011. Perspektiver og skalaer: advantage of the archaeological project, Analytiske udfordringer til ‘Nordlige Ver- compared for example with the histori- dener’. In Gulløv, H. C., Paulsen, C. and an’s approach: the activation of our ma- Rønne, B. (eds.), Nordlige Verdener – terial experience of being in the north, ændringer og udfordringer. Rapport fra of the tacit knowledge achieved through workshop 1 på Nationalmuseet 29. sep- many encounters with northern places, tember 2010. Copenhagen, National- with northern people and things, and museet. the skills they possess by virture of be- 23

Hedman, S. D. and Olsen, B. 2009. Tran- Rasmussen, K. 1955. Den store slede sition and order: A study of Sámi rectan- reisen. Oslo, Gyldendal norsk forlag. gular hearths in Pasvik, arctic Norway. Fennoscandia archaeologica XXVI: 3-22. Rasmussen, K. 1979. Slæderejserne. Knud Rasmussens ekspeditionsberet- Ingold, T. 1976. The Skolt Lapps Today. ninger 1902-1904. Bind 4: Fra Grønland Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. til Stillehavet II. Koch, P. (ed.). Copenha- gen, Gyldendal. Ingold, T. 2005. The eye of the storm: visual perception and the weather. Visual Roturier, S. and Roué, M. 2009. Of for- Studies 20(2): 97-104. est, snow and lichen: Sámi reindeer herders’ knowledge of winter pastures Ingold, T. 2007. Earth, sky, wind, and in northern Sweden. Forest Ecology and weather. Journal of the Royal Anthropo- Management 258 (9): 1960-1967. logical Institute 13: 19-38. Ryd, Y. 2001. Snö: en renskötare berättar. Ingold, T. & Kurtilla, T. 2000. Perceiving Stockholm, Ordfront. the environment in Finnish Lapland. Body of Society 6: 183-196. Tegengren, H. 1952. En utdöd lappkultur i Kemi lappmark: studier i NordFinlands Jernsletten, N. 1997. Sami traditional kolonisationshistoria. Acta academiae terminology. In Gaski, H.(ed.), Sami culture aboensis. Humaniora XIX(4). Åbo. in a new era. Kárásjohka, Davvi Girji OS.

Mathiassen, T. 1926. Med Knud Rasmus sen blandt Amerikas eskimoer. Copen- hagen, Gyldendalske Boghandel.

Olsen, B. 1991. Metropolises and satel- lites in archaeology: On power and asymmetry in global archaeological dis- course. In Preucel, R. (ed.), Processual and post-processual archaeologies: Mul tiple ways of knowing the past. Center for Archaeological Investigations, Occa- sional Paper 10. Carbondale, Ill.

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Climate changes and society: When climate boundaries move

Installing monitoring equipment at Qajaa, Ilulissat Icefjord, Disko Bay. Photo: Jesper Stub Johnsen. A

The following projects constitute the research theme:

• ‘Late Glacial Denmark – Humans and the natural environment’ Morten Fischer Mortensen, head of project, Danish Prehistory, Unit of Environmental Archaeology Presented by Catherine Jessen, Danish Prehistory, Unit of Environmental Archaeology

• ‘Small trees as climate indicators’ Claudia Baittinger, head of project, Danish Prehistory, Unit of Environmental Archaeology

• ‘Climate changes and kitchen middens – what happens when the permafrost disappears?’ Henning Matthiesen, head of project, Research, Analysis & Consulting, Conservation Department

• ‘Conservation and drying methods in northern regions’ Martin Nordvig Mortensen, head of project, Research, Analysis & Consulting, Conservation Department

• ‘The battle of the weather – weather stations of the German and the Allies in North East Greenland 1941-1944’ Jens Fog Jensen, head of project, Ethnographic Collection, in cooperation with Tilo Krause, Ethnographic Collection

• ‘Social changes in South Greenland 1900-1950 – from hunting to fishing’ Einar Lund Jensen, head of project, Modern Danish History

• ‘The Northern Frisian Captain Houses and their inhabitants’ Christina Folke Ax, head of project, Open Air Museum

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The landscape and climate of the early Mesolithic hunters of Lundby Mose, southern Zealand

The end of the last glacial period and the Preboreal warming

Catherine Jessen Danish Prehistory, Unit of Environmental Archaeology

The end of the last glacial period didn’t Johnsen et al. 1992). But the warming happen as a neat shift from a cold to a climate was still often punctuated by warm climate; it stuttered to an end rapid climatic shifts – not as large as with temperatures swinging within a the earlier ones at the end of the last few hundred years between glacial con- glacial, but affecting summer and win- ditions and conditions as warm as we ter temperature and precipitation pat- know today. The final cold snap, the terns in a fragile fresh landscape. These Younger Dryas period, lasted around sudden cool periods (for example, the 1100 years and saw the regrowth of ice Preboreal Oscillation/s or the 8.2 event) sheets in the Northern Hemisphere and lasted just decades or a few hundred the disappearance of woodland vegeta- years and were often caused by the cat- tion from Denmark. This was followed astrophic drainage of glacial lakes by rising temperatures and the final re- pumping large amounts of fresh water treat of the Scandinavian ice sheet, and into the North Atlantic and disrupting the Northern Hemisphere settled into ocean circulation (Jessen et al. 2008). the Holocene period. The very earliest centuries of the Holocene are known as The Preboreal saw the immigration of the Preboreal (c. 11,700 – 10,300 years warmth-demanding plants into Denmark BP) and many records tell us that this in a recognizable sequence of events was a period of very rapid warming (e.g. consisting of appearances and disap- 27

pearances of various plant taxa (Fritz- bøger & Odgaard 2010; Iversen 1967). A generalized model of vegetational immigration was developed over 40 years ago using the percentage of pollen types counted in lake and bog sediments, and although it has now been overtaken by radiocarbon dating, for many years this was the only method of relatively dating different sequences in this geological period. As the temperate vegetation returned, different faunal communities could follow, and along with these, the Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic human cultures of Northern Europe.

Lundby Mose The earliest evidence of humans in Den- mark after the Younger Dryas is found in Fig. 1. One of the deposits of marrow-split elk bones in Lundby a kettle hole in Lundby Mose, southern Mose. Photo: Charlie Christensen. Zealand, which was excavated in 1999 and 2000 (Hansen & Pedersen 2006: 75). (cal. BP). As indicated by both its strati- Concentrations of marrow-split bones of graphical position and pollen analysis, elk, red deer, aurochs and wild boar were the wild boar bones are much younger placed around the lake edge, mostly in than the other deposits and date to tight bundles along with Maglemosian around 10,000 years ago (cal. BP). artefacts (fig. 1). The earliest bones from these elk deposits have been radiocar- The environmental analysis bon dated to 11,796 years ago (cal. BP). As part of the Northern Worlds project One of the deposits looks different, as Lundby Mose was revisited in 2010 and the bones are spread over a larger area sediment cores through the peat and and it contains the bones of at least four gyttja were collected to investigate the individuals, including red deer, and one environment in which these early Meso- whole elk torso close to the lake edge. lithic hunters lived. At this core position This deposit may relate to butchering in the centre of the bog, the earliest sed- waste and is dated to 10,900 years ago iments above the Younger Dryas clays con-

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Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Excavation photograph from Lundby Mose showing the stratigraphic position of the bone Photograph of deposits. The thick whitish-coloured sediments beneath the bone layer are the Younger Dryas clays. the core ana- Photo: Charlie Christensen. lysed for pollen showing the organic- sist of bands of dark, relatively organic- vegetational composition of the land- rich and organic-poor rich and pale, relatively organic-poor scape, i.e. what proportion of the vegeta- sedimentary sediments only 1 or 2 centimetres thick. tion is birch and what proportion is pine, bands in Lund These shifts in paler and darker gyttja or what proportion are wetland plants by Mose. Photo: Charlie continue upwards but now as thicker relative to forest plants. Pollen concen- Christensen. (between 7 and 27 cm) bands (fig. 2). The tration diagrams can often reflect a very earliest bone deposits were of elk and similar pattern, but they give an indica- stratigraphically found in the earliest pale, tion of how much pollen is actually de- organic-poor sediments a few centime- posited on the bog and give a clue to tres above the Younger Dryas clays (fig. 3). how productive or how successful the vegetation was. What is noteworthy at High-resolution pollen analysis from this Lundby Mose (fig. 4), is that pollen con- core demonstrates the well-known se- centrations of all plants except wetland quence of vegetational immigration into plants show very low values during the Denmark seen in pollen percentage dia- early Preboreal period (when the bones grams, and dominated by birch, pine and were deposited) and do not show an ex- grasses with peaks of, for example, juni- pansion until around 3-400 years after per, meadowsweet and crowberry. Pol- the beginning of the Holocene. The pat- len percentage diagrams indicate the tern of immigration of vegetation into 29

Denmark was established many years ago and was based on pollen percentages without the calculation of pollen concentrations. This work from Lundby Mose suggests that the early Mesolithic hunters may not have been living in an environment of birch and pine woodland but may have been hunting in an environment with sparse or patchy tree cover. If our data can be replicated at other sites, this may mean that the traditional picture of pine and birch woodland landscapes from very early in the Holocene should be reconsidered.

References Fig. 4. Pollen percentages (left) and concentrations (right) of birch, pine and grasses showing the low concentrations in the lowest part of the Preboreal sediments in Lundby Mose. The arrow marks the Fritzbøger, B. & Odgaard, B. 2010. Skov- layer within which most of the bone deposits were located and the ens historie. In Møller, P. F. (ed.), Naturen brown and yellow colours represent the more organic-poor and i Danmark, Skovene, pp. 55-70. Nordisk more organic-rich sediment layers. Drawing: Catherine Jessen. Forlag, Copenhagen. Jessen, C. A., Rundgren, M., Björck, S., Iversen, J. 1967. Naturens udvikling Andresen, C. S. and Conley, D. J. 2008. siden sidste istid. In Nørrevang, I. & Variability and seasonality of North At- Meyer, T. J. (eds.), Danmarks Natur, lantic climate during the early Holocene: Landskabernes opståen, Vol. 1, pp. 345- evidence from Faroe Island lake sedi- 448. Politikens Forlag, Copenhagen. ments. Holocene 18 (6): 851-860.

Hansen, K. M. & Pedersen, K. B. 2006. Johnsen, S. J., Clausen, H. B., Dans- With or without bones – Late Palaeo- gaard, W., Fuhrer, K., Gundestrup, N., lithic hunters in South Zealand. In Hammer, C. U., Iversen, P., Jouzel, J., Hansen, K. M. & Pedersen, K. B. (eds.), Stauffer, B. and Steffensen, J. P. 1992. Across the Western Baltic, Vol. 1, pp. Irregular glacial interstadials recorded 75-92. Sydsjællands Museums Publika- in a new Greenland ice core. Nature 359 tioner. Vordingborg. (6393): 311-313.

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‘Small trees’ from North East Greenland

Claudia Baittinger Danish Prehistory, Unit of Environmental Archaeology

Dendroclimatology uses the variation in Formerly the dwarf shrubs of the Arctic the width of tree rings to describe chang- have not been used in dendroclimatolo- es in the climate of the past and is espe- gy as their growth rings are often diffi- cially useful in regions where we lack cult to analyse with very low growth historical records of climate change. One rates and missing and discontinuous such region is the Arctic, where we know rings. Recent advances in methodology very little about past climate variation now allow the analysis of these impor- but where we expect these variations to tant climate archives producing time se- have been relatively large and with ries with annual resolution providing in- marked effects on Arctic ecosystems. formation on the climate of the past.

Fig. 1. Arctic willow (Salix arctica) from Zackenberg Valley. Samples of Arctic willow (Salix arctica Photo: Claudia Baittinger. Pall.) have been collected since 2001 from an area close to Zackenberg Re- search Station1 in North East Greenland. Two hundred individuals of Arctic Wil- low have now been examined using a method developed for the analysis of the extremely narrow tree rings. These analyses contribute to the understanding of the climate variability effect, snow cover period, habitat type, gender and ontogenesis variations in Arctic regions. The first results have been used to describe changes in the yearly snow cover in the Zackenberg Valley over the past 100 years (Schmidt et al. 2006a). 31

Fig. 2. Arctic willow (Salix arctica) from Zacken- berg Valley. A photograph of a female plant with almost mature seeds taken on 20th July 2010. Photo: Claudia Bait- tinger.

Male and female plants from 3 different 2003. The analyses showed exciting re- habitats – Salix snow bed, Cassiope sults in relation to the plants’ access to heath and ablation plateau (Bay 1998; nutrients and water (Schmidt et al. Jones et al. 1999) – were collected in 2006b, 2010) but they also clearly

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showed that the tree ring curves of individuals in certain groups didn’t agree sufficiently, which means that the cross- dating of the tree rings was not optimal. To improve the analysis basic research into the annual growth of tree rings is necessary to clarify and verify the results. This important work will make it possible to produce proxy data2 which can be used to reconstruct past climate.

The method is time consuming and involves producing micro-sections of different parts of the plants which are then scanned with a slide scanner with a 4000 dpi optical resolution. Special com- puter software is then used to measure

Fig. 3. Cross-section/micro-section of a Salix arctica stem, scanned with a slide scanner. Each unit of the scale stands for 1 mm.

tree ring width on a large (30”), high- resolution monitor which is also used for the further analysis of tree-ring time series.

New material was collected in July and August 2010 and is expected to aid understanding of local changes in the living conditions of plants and animals in northeastern Greenland using the proxy data. At the same time, this adds to the improvements being made in the use of dendroclimatology on other ‘tree-like’ plants in the treeless environments of the North Atlantic. With this in mind, 33

Fig. 4. Late night volleyball match. Photograph taken by Claudia Baittinger on 29th July 2010 at 11:28 p.m.

the heather plant Cassiope tetragona Salix snowbed) present a much smaller was collected in Zackenberg Valley in annual growth than low-cover commu- the summer of 2010 with the aim of find- nities do (Ablation plateau and Fell- ing this plant’s potential in dendroeco- field). Individuals from dense populations logical and dendroclimatological stud- might therefore be rejected for dendro- ies (Callaghan et al. 1989; Rozema et al. climatological studies since they present 2009). The preliminary work on these too many incomplete and missing rings plants indicates that some of them are (Boulanger & Baittinger 2011). Results over 100 years old. from this project will be analysed and compared with data collected in the Ca- Preliminary results indicate that S. arc- nadian High Arctic and should provide tica growth is much more restricted by interesting insights into shrubs’ re- competition than by any other environ- sponse to climate change in the High mental variables. Thus, the rich and Arctic3. dense populations (Cassiope heath and

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1. Zackenberg Research Station (www.zackenberg.dk) is owned by the Government of Greenland and is operated by the Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University. The objective of the station is to facilitate ecosystem research in the High Arctic.

2. In the study of past climates, known as palaeoclimatology, climate proxies are preserved physical characteristics of the past that stand in for direct measurements (as statistical proxies), to enable scientists to reconstruct the climatic conditions that prevailed during much of the Earth’s history.

3. The first Shrub Synthesis Workshop was held in Davos, Switzerland, in September 2011 and included 13 participants from North America and Europe who work at sites around the circumpolar Arctic and at alpine sites. The Shrub Synthesis Workshop (http://shrubhub.biology.ualberta.ca/shrub-synthesis-workshop/) was sponsored by IASC (the International Arctic Science Committee, http://iasc. arcticportal.org/), which is a non-governmental organization that aims to encourage, facilitate and promote cooperation in all aspects of Arctic research in all countries engaged in Arctic research and in all areas of the Arctic region.

Acknowledgement Boulanger-Lapointe, N. & Baittinger, C. 2011. Arctic willow and Arctic bell- It has been a pleasure to work with mas- heather growth and populations’ dyna ter’s student Noémie Boulanger-Lapointe, mic in four community types. In Jensen, Trois-Rivières University, Québec, Cana- L. M. and Rasch, M. (eds.), Zackenberg da, both during fieldwork and when she Ecological Research Operations, 16th was attached to the National Museum’s Annual Report, 2010. Aarhus University, Dendrochronology Laboratory from June DCE – Danish Centre for Environment through to December 2010. Noémie works and Energy. http://www.zackenberg. with tree rings from the dwarf willow dk/news/zero-16th-annual-report/ species described above and has collected material relating to her research Callaghan, T. V., Carlsson, B. A. & Tyler, in the Canadian Arctic and is presently N. J. C. 1989. Historical Records of Cli- completing her master’s thesis. mate-Related Growth in Cassiope tetragona from the Arctic. The Journal of Ecology 77(3): 823-837. References Jones, M. H., Macdonald, S. E. & Henry, Bay, C. 1998. Vegetation Mapping of Za- G. H. R. 1999. Sex- and habitat-specific ckenberg valley, Northeast Greenland. responses of a high arctic willow, Salix Danish Polar Center & Botanical Muse- arctica, to experimental climate change. um, University of Copenhagen. Oikos 87: 129-138. 35

Fig. 5. Noémie Boulanger- Lapointe counting Arctic willow seedlings in the Cassiope heath, Zack- enberg Valley lowland, Greenland. Photo: Claudia Baittinger.

Rozema, J., Weijers, S., Broekman, R., Schmidt, N. M., Baittinger, C., Kollmann, Blokker, P., Buizer, Werleman, C., El Ya- J. & Forchhammer, M. C. 2006b. Habitat- qine, H., Hoogedoorn, H., Fuertes, M. M. dependent availability of nutrients and and Cooper, E. 2009. Annual growth of ground water for Arctic willow growth. Cassiope tetragona as a proxy for Arctic In Kitgaard, A. B., Rasch, M. & Caning, K. climate: developing correlative and ex- (eds.), Zackenberg Ecological Research perimental transfer functions to recon- Operations. 11th Annual Report, 2005. struct past summer temperature on a Danish Polar Centre, Ministry of Science, millennial time scale. Global Change Bio Technology and Innovation, Copenhagen. logy 15(7): 1703-1715(13). Schmidt, N. M., Baittinger, C., Kollmann, Schmidt, N. M., Baittinger, C., and Forch- J. & Forchhammer, M. C. 2010. Consistent hammer, M. C. 2006a. Reconstructing Dendrochronological Response of the Century-long Snow Regimes Using Esti- Dioecious Salix arctica to Variation in mates of High Arctic Salix arctica Radial Local Snow Precipitation across Gender Growth. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine and Vegetation Types. Arctic, Antarctic, Research 38(2): 257-262. and Alpine Research 42(4): 471-475.

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Kitchen middens and climate change – what happens if permafrozen archaeological remains thaw?

Henning Matthiesen, Jørgen Hollesen and Jan Bruun Jensen Research, Analysis & Consulting, Conservation Department

Permafrost can ensure excellent preser- ological sites. Will these sites be affect- vation of organic archaeological materi- ed by thawing and how will increasing als. Extraordinary examples recovered temperatures influence the decay rate in recent years include the discovery of of the archaeological remains? the Ôtzi man, as well as the first mapping of the complete genome for a pre- Here we present a four-year monitoring historic man, using hair from a perma- and research study which takes place at nently frozen midden (Rasmussen et al. Qajaa, situated 18 km south east of Ilulis- 2010). When organic materials are pre- sat in the western central part of Green- served, it is possible to obtain a much land. The purpose of the study is to in- more complete picture of the people vestigate current preservation conditions that once inhabited a site than from through field and laboratory studies and sites with only inorganic materials pre- to evaluate possible threats to future pre served. However, the global tempera- servation. Qajaa is a unique site where ture is rising and as a result permafrost permafrost has preserved organic re- is currently retreating. This is a particu- mains from the prehistory of Greenland. lar threat to arctic sites where preserva- Three different cultures settled here tion of organic material relies on the (Saqqaq 4,000-3,000 BP, Dorset 2,400- generally low or freezing temperatures. 2,200 BP, and Thule 800-250 BP) and Thus, it is important to know the conse- their waste accumulated in an up to 3 m quences for permanently frozen archae- thick kitchen midden. The site was first 37

described in 1870 by Nordenskiöld, who visited the site in 1879. Excavations were carried out in 1981-1982 by Jørgen Meldgaard, documenting the amazing archaeological potential of the site (Meld gaard 1982). The excavation history and some of the results have recently been described by Jensen (2011). It is considered the best preserved site for Saqqaq and Dorset culture in all of Greenland.

The kitchen midden covers an area of approximately 2900 m2 and has a maxi- Fig. 1 The Qajaa kitchen midden contains thick mum thickness of more than 3 m. It con- layers of refuse that represents 3 individual periods of settlement during the last 4000 years. tains huge amounts of bones from prey, Photo: Jesper Stub Johnsen. as well as very well preserved tools and remains made of wood, antler, baleen the risk of coastal erosion. Finally an au- and stone, all interlaid with natural peat tomatic camera was installed, taking (fig. 1). The midden lies next to Ilulissat pictures of the site four times per day. Icefjord, and is characterized by vertical Most equipment runs on solar panels, erosion fronts facing the fjord. supplemented by batteries for the dark period, and the data are stored in a da- During the monitoring project, Qajaa has talogger until they are downloaded at been visited four times up till now (the the next visit. Some of the open erosion period 2009-2011). In 2009 cores were fronts were cleaned in 2009 in order to drilled through the permafrozen soil lay- retrieve material for laboratory studies, ers in order to take samples for soil anal- both to document the state of preserva- ysis and to install monitoring equipment tion of the material, and to investigate (fig.2). The monitoring equipment includ- its vulnerability to changing tempera- ed sensors for measuring temperature tures. During the visit in 2010 a soil and water content down through the monolith of one of the main profiles was midden, and in 2010 was supplemented made (fig.1, right) – the profile was thor- by a climate station measuring air tem- oughly cleaned, and glued to a support- perature, wind speed, precipitation and ing textile using a special bonding agent. snow cover. Equipment for monitoring Then a 2-3 cm thick soil layer of the en- the sea level was installed to evaluate tire soil profile could be cut and pulled

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Fig. 2 Cores were taken down through the permafrozen midden (left), in order to take samples for analysis and install monitoring equipment (right). Photo: Henning Mat- thiesen and Jesper Stub Johnsen. 39

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loose giving a complete 1:1 presenta- ers are in an excellent state of preservation of the different soil layers including tion, whereas some decay is observed bones and artefacts. The soil monolith for wood that thaws every summer (Mat- was transported to the Conservation thiesen et al., manuscript). Department for mounting, and after a short exhibition at the National Muse- As for the future preservation condi- um in Copenhagen it is now on perma- tions, an initial evaluation based on the nent exhibit in Nuuk at the National Mu- field data from 2009 indicated that thaw- seum of Greenland. ing of the midden will probably be a relatively slow process, despite increasing Results from the monitoring are under air temperatures (Elberling et al. 2011). publication in scientific papers and no However, with the data from the auto- details will be presented here. Very matic monitoring equipment it will be briefly, the results show that most of the possible to evaluate the processes in midden is still permafrozen, and only the much more detail, and a numerical mod- uppermost 40-50 cm thaw during sum- elling of future thawing and preserva- mer. The mean soil temperature in the tion conditions will be conducted when deepest soil layer is -2°C, which is the latest data have been collected on slightly higher than expected (Hollesen the next field trip in August 2012. et al., accepted). The preservation conditions in the midden are controlled by Besides the scientific publications, the low temperatures as well as a lack of project has been presented to the public oxygen: As regards the temperature, through lectures in Ilulissat and at inter- laboratory studies have documented national conferences. Radio interviews how the decay rate for organic material have been given on Greenlandic radio, from the midden increases with temper- as well as a longer presentation in the ature, showing an abrupt change when DR (Danmarks Radio) programme “Alle the material thaws (Matthiesen et al., tiders historie” (available at the project’s manuscript). As regards the lack of oxy- website). The website also presents gen, high water/ice content in the mid- various films from the fieldwork, includ- den slows down the transport of oxy- ing a time-lapse video showing how the gen, which again slows down or even conditions change over a full year at halts the decay caused by insects and Qajaa, based on pictures from the auto- fungi. Correspondingly, studies of wood- matic camera at the site. Finally, a tem- en objects from the midden show that porary exhibition about Qajaa was artefacts from the permafrozen soil lay- shown at the National Museum in Den- 41

mark in February 2011. Overall, there Jensen, J. F. 2011. Qajaa – et glemt og has been great interest in the project genopdaget skatkammer fra Grønlands and its results, and it is the ambition of stenalder. Tidsskriftet Grønland 3: 169- the authors to continue the work and 179. use the results from Qajaa to evaluate current and future preservation condi- Matthiesen, H., Jensen, J. B., Gregory, D., tions at other sites in Greenland. Hollesen, J., Elberling, B. (manuscript). Preservation of archaeological wood under freezing and thawing conditions References – effects of permafrost and climate change. Elberling, B., Matthiesen, H., Jørgensen, C. J., Hansen, B. U., Grønnow, B., Meld Meldgaard, J. 1982. Qajâ, en køkken- gaard, M., Andreasen, C. and Khan, S. A. mødding i dybfrost. Feltrapport fra arbejds 2011. Paleo-Eskimo kitchen midden pre marken i Grønland. Nationalmuseets Ar- servation in permafrost under future cli- bejdsmark, pp. 83-96. mate conditions at Qajaa, West Green- land. Journal of Archaeological Science Rasmussen, M. et al. 2010. Ancient human 38(6): 1331-1339. genome sequence of an extinct Palaeo- Eskimo. Nature 463(7282): 757-762. Hollesen, J., Jensen, J. B., Matthiesen, H., Elberling, B., Lange, H., Meldgaard, M. Project website (accepted). Kitchen middens and climate http://nordligeverdener.natmus.dk/fors- change – the preservation of permafro- kningsinitiativer/samlet_projektover- zen sites in a warm future. In Gregory, D. sigt/klimaaendringer_og_koekken- and Matthiesen, H. (eds.), Proceedings moeddinger_naar_permafrosten_fors- from the 4th conference on Preserving vinder/ Archaeological Remains In Situ, May 2011. Special edition of Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites.

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Conservation and drying methods for archaeological materials modified for use in northern areas

Martin Nordvig Mortensen Research coordinator

Inger Bojesen-Koefoed, Jan Bruun Jensen, Poul Jensen, Anne Le Boëdec Moesgaard, Natasa Pokubcic, Kristiane Strætkvern, David Gregory, Lars Aasbjerg Jensen, Michelle Taube & Nanna Bjerregaard Pedersen Researchers

Research, Analysis & Consulting, Conservation Department

Conservation and drying methods for ar- dation patterns for archaeological wood. chaeological materials modified for use The status of the individual projects is in northern areas is a project under described below. Northern Worlds, which aims to develop simplified, but efficient methods for con- Drying rates for waterlogged servation of waterlogged organic mate- materials at atmospheric pressure rials. The most common method today is The project has so far confirmed that vacuum freeze-drying. This requires so- waterlogged materials can be freeze- phisticated equipment and experience. dried at acceptable rates as long as the For this reason methods that use house- temperature is just below 0°C and the hold freezers at atmospheric pressure relative humidity (RH) is low. Figure 1 are investigated. The project consists of shows the drying rates for three archae- research on equipment for conservation; ological wooden spear shafts of differ- qualities of archaeological objects, im- ent sizes. Diffusion coefficients, surface pregnation agents and packing materi- emission coefficients and heat transfer als; models for freeze-drying and degra- coefficients were determined. Further 43

research on diffusion coefficients will tion agents were used for freeze-drying be carried out in 2012. experiments on waterlogged Oasis at -5°C. Drying rates in relation to sorption Equipment for conservation materials, temperature and RH were at atmospheric pressure measured. It was found that molecular Standard household freezing cabinets sieve, silica gel and chrome-tanned and chest freezers have been tested leather had the best moisture sorption with and without moisture sorption qualities. The research will continue in agents. Freezing cabinets with shelves 2012. consisting of the cooling coils can be used without moisture sorption materi- Determination of moisture als, as the cooling coils work as an ice sorption isotherms condenser. Besides the freezers, ther- The moisture sorption isotherms for mo- mostats for regulating temperatures in lecular sieve, silica gel and cat gravel freezers and data-loggers for tempera- has been established at 20°C for RH be- ture and RH have been tested. The re- tween 0 and 95%. The research will be search will continue in 2012. continued in 2012 with determination of moisture sorption isotherms at -5 and Selected moisture sorption agents -20°C at RH between 0 and 95%. Cli- The capacity of selected moisture sorp- mate cabinets and moisture meters will tion agents was established. The sorp- be used.

Figure 1. 30 Drying time for wooden 25 objects freeze-dried at atmospheric 20 pressure. Nydam spear shaft 18 mm Drawing: Poul 15 Nydam spear shaft 15 mm Jensen. Nydam arrow 9 mm Weight (g) Weight 10

0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Time (days)

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Packing materials The influence of packing materials on drying rates and the quality of surface details of freeze-dried objects were examined. A range of different modern packing materials were examined by testing the drying rate of 4 cm cubes of waterlogged Oasis covered by the packing material (figure 2).

In 2012 another series of packing materials will be tested. This time the emphasis will be on natural materials and fabrics. Selected packing materials from both series will also be tested on 4 cm cubical samples of waterlogged oak wood. All tests will be carried out at -5°C and RH below 50%.

Mathematical models Mathematical and numerical models for ing at temperatures just below 0°C. The freeze-drying at atmospheric pressure research will be finished in 2012. are under development. The mathematical model will be finished in 2012 and Degradation of waterlogged the numerical model in 2013. Data for wood by fungus and bacteria diffusion coefficients, surface emission A research scheme where 2.5 cm cubes coefficients and heat transfer coeffi- of oak, pine and beech wood are de- cients from other parts of the research graded by soft rot, brown rot and white programme will be incorporated. rot was started in 2011 and will continue in 2012. The degraded wooden sam- Impregnation agents ples will be examined in order to see Phase diagrams, collapse temperatures how the degradation influences the po- and moisture sorption isotherms for im- rosity and diffusion coefficients for wa- pregnation agents (mannitol, sorbitol ter-soluble agents and water vapour and polyethylene glycols) are examined during freeze-drying. Light microscopy, in order to find methods for freeze-dry- scanning electron microscopy and elec- 45

Figure 2. Picture showing a stand, an Oasis cube and two covers made of different materials. Photo: Nata- sa Pokubcic.

trical conductance are used for evaluat- vestigated during 2012 in order to exam- ing the samples. If time permits, re- ine whether such facilities can be used search on degradation of waterlogged for freeze-drying voluminous archaeo- wood by erosion bacteria will be con- logical finds. ducted in 2012. Implementation of research results Cellulose-producing bacteria The results will be published in peer-re- In 2012 it will be tested whether cellu- viewed articles and at the WOAM-2013 lose-producing bacteria are able to pro- conference in Istanbul. If conservation duce cellulose inside already-degraded workshops in Greenland or elsewhere waterlogged wood in order to stabilize are interested, the knowledge of con- the wood before drying. serving waterlogged archaeological materials by freeze-drying at atmospheric Climate inside large freezing chambers pressure can be passed on and imple- The climate (RH and temp.) inside large mented during 2013. commercial freezing rooms will be in-

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The Weather War: The German operation ‘Bassgeiger’ on Shannon Island 1943/44

Tilo Krause and Jens Fog Jensen Ethnographic Collection

“In the faint evening twilight, we reach a short side tunnel leads to a larger cave the coast, entering solid ground at ap- with an empty tent. This will be our new proximately 4 p.m. Proceeding through home from now on. The main tunnel the short Wolf’s Glen, we arrive at the then leads further upwards over some large snowdrift. Scarcely visible from the steps, where we finally find our radio outside, two narrow tunnels lead into its operators’ tent in a cave to the left.” interior (Nos. 1 and 2, fig. 1). The whole (Schatz 1944: 129-130) complex appears romantic. The tunnel to the left is comparatively short, opening These words were written, originally in into a cave, where [a] tent […] is erect- German, on 4th January 1944, at an iso- ed. This is the humble abode of Schmidt, lated spot called Cape Sussi, situated Müller and Muschalek. There is light in- on the High Arctic coast of Shannon Is- side and a Primus is buzzing; we’re land, North East Greenland. The author, warming up together with two com- Heinrich Schatz, in civil life a professor rades from the ship, who have arrived of mathematics at the University of Inns- shortly after us. The key surprise, though, bruck in Austria, had arrived at this in- is the other tunnel to the right. This is hospitable coast by ship some months the main tunnel, approximately 15 me- earlier, in October 1943; and as the text tres in length, with a number of side tun- suggests, he had brought with him a con nels and caves on both sides. Right at siderable number of comrades: Schatz, the entrance to the left we find the privy then aged 42, was the senior officer and cave, followed by a storage cave further leader of a secret weather expedition inside. On the opposite side, to the right, code-named BASSGEIGER, comprising 47

Fig. 1: Snowdrift at Cape Sussi, where the German ‘Unternehmen Bassgeiger’ dug their makeshift headquarters for 1943/44. The remnants of Grotto Town’s front part are visible along the edge of the snowdrift (left). The expedition leader’s hand-drawn map of the cave quarters from January 1944 (right) corresponds well to the remains seen today. Photo: Morten Hjorth 2010. Archive: Arctic Institute, Copenhagen.

27 men, sent out to Greenland by the of 2010 we have carried out a complete German Navy, the Kriegsmarine. registration of the physical relics at the site at Cape Sussi. Research in German, With our Northern Worlds research Danish and American archives has pro- project “The Weather War” (Kampen om vided a considerable stock of original vejret), we are focusing on the relics, both written sources about the weather ex- physical and written, of this particular pedition in 1943/44, thus permitting a German weather expedition to North qualified interpretation of the physical East Greenland during World War II. As relics registered on site. In the longer part of our interdisciplinary, archaeolog- perspective, we hope that our results ical-historical approach, in the summer can contribute to future efforts to pre-

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serve and protect these exceptional really wintered on these distant shores: cent-time archaeological remains in the HOLZAUGE in 1942/43 and the afore- High Arctic. mentioned BASSGEIGER under the com- mand of Heinrich Schatz in 1943/44. The Weather War and the story of BASSGEIGER BASSGEIGER was sent out in the sum- Weather data from the High Arctic re- mer of 1943 to become the direct suc- gions were equally crucial to the Axis cessor to HOLZAUGE, thereby securing and the Allied powers during World War the crucial Greenlandic weather data for II. Their importance can be illustrated by Germany for yet another season. As the the simple meteorological fact that the previous expedition had run into a series general path of low-pressure areas over of hostilities with the Allied coastal de- the North Atlantic – west to east – is fence force, the “Northeast Greenland more or less dictated by the position and Sledge Patrol”, the BASSGEIGER team movement of cold Arctic air masses. was instructed to establish its weather Regular weather data from the High Arc- station as far north on the North East tic thus enabled reliable forecasts for Greenland coast as possible, in order to the battlefields in both continental Eu- avoid another encounter with the Patrol. rope and in the North Atlantic itself, where German submarines were oper- Like their predecessors, the BASSGEI- ating against Allied convoys. Since the GER party travelled to Greenland by ship Allied forces, soon after the outbreak of from occupied Norway. The expedition- World War II, had started coding the ary vessel Coburg left Narvik on 28th transmissions from existing Arctic August 1943, with her own crew of 18 weather stations under their control, on board, plus the actual BASSGEIGER Germany soon had to establish her own weather party of nine men. After only a network of weather stations in the High few days, however, the Coburg was Arctic, in order to fill in the gap. caught in the drifting ice off the North East Greenland coast – the vessel never In Greenland, a total of six German at- reached the shore: On 16 October 1943, tempts to establish manned weather after several weeks of struggling through stations are recorded for the period of the ice belt, she was finally stuck in World War II, all taking place on the un- landfast ice some eight km off the clos- inhabited northeastern coast of the est landmark within reach, which was enormous island. Yet only two of them Cape Sussi, situated at 75°20’ N on the managed to become operative and actu- flat, stony island of Shannon. Here the 49

BASSGEIGER party had to disembark, 40 metres wide, would turn into the and consequently spent most of their BASSGEIGER party’s “Grotto Town”, time during the following dark polar au- housing the complete radio equipment tumn months carrying the entire winter- plus quarters for the weather party and ing equipment of the coming weather parts of the Coburg crew. station across the eight km of bumpy sea ice to the shore at Cape Sussi, as Together with his mate and colleague the station naturally had to be estab- Ernst Günter Triloff, who was the party’s lished there on solid ground. For the 18- chief meteorologist, Heinrich Schatz man crew of the Coburg, though, the eventually joined his comrades in “Grotto original plan to return home after land- Town” on 4 January 1944; his first and ing the BASSGEIGER party could not be immediate impressions of the snowdrift implemented either because of the late- facilities on this day were presented at ness of the season. As a result they had the beginning of this article. From this to winter on the spot together with date, the BASSGEIGER weather and ra- Schatz’s weather party, which meant dio service was operated entirely from that BASSGEIGER ended up as a winter- the shore station at Cape Sussi. Apart ing expedition of 27 men. from the “Grotto Town”, the station at Cape Sussi comprised only one further Having used up nearly all their timber in building, erected no earlier than March a wooden hut (“Eislager”) on the ice 1944. The first spring foehn storm in halfway between the Coburg and the February had led to the immediate aban- shore, however, the weather party had donment of the hut at Eislager, which was no materials left to erect any wooden demolished shortly afterwards. From the facilities on shore. The solution to this materials saved, Riedl and Zima erected problem, suggested and carried out by a radio hut (“Funkhütte”) on shore, which the two Viennese radio operators Robert provided quarters for five persons. Riedl and Johann Zima, was to put up tents inside one of the permanent snow- The German presence on Shannon Is- drifts on land. On 23 November 1943, land, however, had not remained unde- these two young men formed the first tected this time either. Already back in group to move ashore, where they im- November 1943, one member of the mediately started digging the first tunnels North East Greenland Sledge Patrol, Pe- and caves into a large snowdrift close to ter Nielsen, had discovered fresh foot- the Cape. Over the next six months this prints on the sea ice off Cape Sussi. snowdrift, about three metres high and Still, the subsequent scouting of the sta-

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tion’s exact position, followed by lengthy sembled at the station for the first time. and fruitless negotiations with the The “Grotto Town” in the snowdrift was American Allies regarding reinforce- more crowded than ever before in these ments, had delayed the Patrol’s opera- last weeks, housing no fewer than 21 men tion on Cape Sussi, which was finally in its now-five tunnels with a total of mounted as late as 22 April 1944. A seven accommodation caves. The radio meagre force of six men was all the pa- operators Riedl and Zima had by then trol could muster for the attack. Com- moved into Funkhütte, together with pletely outnumbered by the alarmed their three younger assistants Schmidt, residents of “Grotto Town”, which count- Muschalek and Müller. ed 13 at this time, the patrol had to flee the spot after some 30 minutes of gun- On 3 June 1944, the whole party was fighting. There was one human casualty, picked up by a Ju-290 plane, which was though, this time on the German side: landed on the plain sea ice of Norden- The military leader of the BASSGEIGER skiöld Bay approximately five kilometres party, Lieutenant Gerhard Zacher, had by south of Cape Sussi, and flown home to an odd coincidence walked into the chief the occupied Norway. Before departure, scout of the patrol, Niels Ove Jensen, the tents inside “Grotto Town” were in- only minutes before the attack. Their cinerated, and the middle tunnel was meeting had resulted in a gun duel, in- blown up. Funkhütte on the other hand stantly fatal to Zacher, but nevertheless remained intact. Two months after the alarming his comrades in “Grotto Town” German party’s departure, on 31 July just in time to save them from being tak- 1944, the abandoned station facilities en by surprise. were inspected by an American landing force put ashore from the Coast Guard In the remaining weeks after the attack Cutter Northland. The remains of “Grotto and up to the BASSGEIGER party’s re- Town” as well as the still intact Funk turn home in June, four stone-built gun hütte, were identified as German instal- posts were erected around the station; lations, and after securing considerable one in each cardinal direction. Lieutenant amounts of German equipment, the Zacher was buried on the beach at Cape American forces incinerated the instal- Sussi; his grave has since become the lations, including Funkhütte. unofficial landmark of the site. The wrecked Coburg out on the sea ice was finally Fieldwork on Cape Sussi 2010 abandoned and blown up on 6 May Our three-man expedition visited the 1944, after which all 26 men were as- former German station BASSGEIGER on 51

Fig. 2: Two hydrogen cylinders found several hundred metres north of the main station at Cape Sussi (left). A close reading of Heinrich Schatz’s diary has identified the spot as the station’s balloon launching area, a fact that is further emphasized by Johann Zima’s photograph from 1944 (right). It shows the two meteorologists Heinrich Schatz and Ernst Günter Triloff on the same spot, preparing a weather balloon for launching. Photo: Morten Hjorth 2010. Archive: Johann Zima, private.

Cape Sussi in August 2010 with the fol- The written accounts lowing three purposes: a) the localiza- and the physical remains tion of all installations on site; b) preci- Having secured no fewer than three dia- sion measurement of the site’s natural ries and two extensive accounts by the topography and all localized installations; principal BASSGEIGER participants from c) description and photo documentation German archives, we were able to make of all localized structures as well as se- a comparatively precise reconstruction of lected objects. During ten intensive days the expedition’s history as outlined above. in the field, all three tasks were com- And we were also able to connect the pleted with the following results. In ad- written sources with the physical re- dition to the three distinctive structures mains on site. These interconnections can 1) Lieutenant Zacher’s grave, 2) the ruin be made with quite a number of struc- of the Funkhütte and 3) the snowdrift tures and objects at Cape Sussi, thus with the remains of “Grotto Town”, we demonstrating the potential of the his- localized 21 features on site, including torical-archaeological approach to such the aforementioned stone-built defence recent-time debris. structures, several hidden depots and waste heaps. The total number of regis- The most conspicuous example is of tered objects is well above 900. course the snowdrift itself, where the distribution of the remains in the eastern half of the former “Grotto Town”, exposed

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Fig. 3: A soaked cigarette packet, trademark “Gold-Dollar”, found in the remains of “Grotto Town” at Cape Sussi. The second officer of the Coburg, Kurt Koos, mentions the very same trademark in his account of the expedition. Photo: Morten Hjorth 2010.

by the now-shrinking snowdrift, quite pose. Close reading of Heinrich Schatz’s accurately matches the hand-drawn map diary reveals that these cylinders were of “Grotto Town” in Heinrich Schatz’s transported there to fill the weather bal- diary (fig. 1). As a result, we are able to loons, and that the locality thus must be assign virtually every heap of objects in identical to the station’s balloon-launch- front of the snowdrift to a former ice ing area (fig. 2). Finally, even the smaller cave as described in the diary – and as a objects can be identified in the sources: corollary, by reading the diary we can lo- A soaked cigarette packet, 60 years old, cate the exact spot where the described was found in the remains of one of the events must have taken place. Two hydro- accommodation caves of “Grotto Town”. gen cylinders, each so heavy that it takes Its trademark “Gold-Dollar” can still be at least two men to transport it, have deciphered with no great difficulty, and been located several hundred metres this particular cigarette is in fact men- north of the centre of the station. They tioned in the account of the Coburg’s were apparently placed there on pur- second officer Kurt Koos (fig. 3)! 53

Fig. 4: Tilo Krause visiting 88-year-old Johann Zima in Austria, October 2010 (top). When he participated in the BASSGEIGER expedition as a radio operator in 1943/44, Johann Zima was in his early twenties (right). Photo: Tilo Krause 2010. Archive: Johann Zima, private. recorded, have thus become the object of archaeological inquiry, but also of Last but not least, we were fortunate in looting and degradation by wind, precip- being able to meet and interview one itation and sunlight. As a result, the surviving participant of the BASSGEIGER well-preserved books and clothing reg- expedition, the former radio operator istered in 2010 after 60 years of ‘wait- Johann Zima. As he happened to be the ing’ under the snow will probably soon person who originally came up with the decompose and vanish. idea of digging tunnels and caves into a snowdrift for the headquarters of the The conservation aspect is also relevant station back in 1943, it was especially when one considers the increased ac- fascinating and stimulating to meet him cessibility of the North East Greenland in person and ask him questions con- shores caused by the depleting drift ice, cerning everyday life on the BASSGEIGER which has already resulted in increased expedition. We visited the then 88-year- cruise-ship traffic in the area. Souvenir- old Johann Zima at his home in Austria hunting activity and trampling may on in October 2010 (fig. 4). the whole soon spoil the hitherto ‘un- touched’ character of historical monu- Preservation and perspectives ments in North East Greenland. Histori- As indicated above, the site at Cape cal photographs clearly indicate for Sussi offers favourable conditions for instance that Lieutenant Zacher’s grave the preservation even of organic materi- at Cape Sussi already shows signs of als, since the majority of objects have having been disturbed. Finally, it should been buried in the collapsed snowdrift, be mentioned that not all objects at the the former “Grotto Town”. However, site are equally harmless to the inter- since the 1940s the snowdrift has melt- ested visitor: At least 15 unexploded ed and shrunk considerably (fig. 1). The hand grenades and an even greater front parts of the “Grotto Town”, where number of rifle grenades have been reg- most of the well-preserved objects were istered adjacent to the structures.

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To sum up, it has to be noted that in the Jensen, J. F. & Krause, T. 2011. Wehr- course of climate changes, the formerly macht occupations in the new world: ar- remote and generally inaccessible Arc- chaeological and historical investigations tic regions are currently becoming more in Northeast Greenland. Polar Record and more accessible, while at the same (on-line publication), pp. 1-11. time the natural conditions, such as the annual snow and ice cover, that have Jensen, J. F. & Krause, T. 2009a. Kam- hitherto ensured the preservation of the pen om vejret – Battlefield arkæologi i objects are in obvious retreat. Our de- Grønland. Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark, tailed mapping of the World War II sta- pp. 167-180. tions at Eskimonæs and Hansa Bugt in 2008 (Jensen & Krause 2009a, b) as well Jensen, J. F. & Krause, T. 2009b. Slag- as the registration of Cape Sussi in 2010, marksarkæologi i Nordøstgrønland. Rap- have recorded the status of the objects port over projektet ’Kampen om Klimaet’ in this process, thus providing a profes- - en arkæologisk-historisk undersøgelse sional basis for future efforts to pre- af allierede og tyske vejrstationer fra An- serve these exceptional relics from the den Verdenskrig. The National Museum weather war in the Arctic. We therefore of Denmark, Sila (Arktisk Center). Felt hope that this initial historical-archaeo- rapport. No. 30. logical project will be helpful in future assessments of Greenland’s historical Roura, R. 2009. Monitoring the transfor- remnants and their rate of deterioration, mation of historic features in Antarctica thus enabling specific measures to be and Svalbard; local processes and re- taken to protect them and to interpret gional contexts. Polar Record 46(239): heritage, similar to some of the meas- 289–311. ures already taken with historical monuments in Svalbard (Bjerck & Johannesen Schatz, Heinrich 1944. ”Abschrift” des 1999) and Antarctica (Roura 2009). grönländischen Tagebuches 1943-44. Unpublished. Copenhagen, Arktisk Insti- tut, Record No. A 073. References

Bjerck, H. B. & Johannesen, L. J. 1999. Poster Virgohamna: I lufta mot Nordpolen. Long- 2010. Frozen WWII battlefields in High yearbyen: Sysselmanden på Svalbard. Arctic Greenland. Poster presented at the conference ‘Frozen Pasts’, Trondhjem. 55

Depopulation of the Cape Farewell region

Einar Lund Jensen Modern Danish History

In the Cape Farewell region in the south- the attitudes of the population con- ernmost part of Greenland, the first half cerned to moving and being moved. of the 20th century was characterized by great transformations in the settlement The direct sources for answering these structure and the number of inhabitants. questions are the minutes of the meet- Mobility was high, many people moved ings of the Council of South Greenland, to other settlements, some even out of where the social and commercial condi- the region, and the number of inhabit- tions in the Cape Farewell region were ants decreased. The situation culminated discussed through the 1930s and 1940s in 1944 when the inhabitants of Sammi- (Beretninger & Kundgørelser 1923-1927). soq and Itilleq and in 1951 when the in- The Council agreed that conditions were habitants of Nuuk were forced to leave very poor and put forward several pro- their settlements. During a period of 50 posals to improve the situation. However, years, the number of inhabited localities this had no immediate effect, and the in the Cape Farewell region had fallen members of the Council came to the con- from ten settlements to the two settle- clusion that the only solution was to ments that still exist. move at least a part of the population to other areas with better commercial con- The events involved three parties: the ditions, especially areas with a burgeon- local population, Greenlandic politicians ing fishing and fishing-related industry. and Danish colonial authorities. The purpose of the investigation is to shed light However, the Council only had a consult- on the motives behind the changing po- ative role, while the Danish colonial au- sitions and decisions of the Greenlandic thorities had the last word. They coun- politicians and the Danish authorities on tered any proposal to move people or this matter during the period in ques- close down settlements with a demand tion. In addition the project will focus on that the people concerned should be

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asked. And only if all inhabitants at a well as in posterity, viewed the events settlement agreed to move would the as forcible relocation against the wish- authorities defray and reimburse the ex- es of the population. Many people seem penses of moving, building new houses to have lived with a trauma and a feel- etc. The majority of people who were ing that injustice had been committed asked did not want to be moved, and the against them and their relatives. Danish authorities therefore turned down the proposals from the Council. However, The investigation of the relocation of in 1944 the attitude of the authorities people viewed from different perspec- changed, and in accordance with a so- tives thus not only demonstrates a vari- called “administrative relocation of the ety of demands and wishes, but also population” all the inhabitants of the changes in these over time. At the southernmost settlements Sammisoq and present time, what remains is an analy- Itilleq were moved. This was the first step sis of the different positions outlined, in the implementation of a new Danish including the issues of population relo- policy, and over the next few years the cation and settlement closure viewed in authorities actively worked on concen- a wider perspective. In that connection trating the population in Greenland at the following questions will be asked. fewer settlements. In the Cape Farewell How can one explain the discrepancy region, this development had conse- between the population in the Cape quences for the inhabitants of the settle- Farewell region and the representatives ment Nuuk, who were moved in 1951, in the Council of South Greenland? Why some of them even out of the region. was there a conflict between the Coun- cil of South Greenland and the Danish The inhabitants of the three settlements colonial authorities regarding the ques- mentioned moved reluctantly, but the tion of relocating people and closing source material has little information on settlements? And why did the Danish the population and their reactions. The authorities change their attitude to this project therefore includes directive inter- question at the end of the 1940s? views in order to collect information that can contribute knowledge of people’s own understanding and opinion of the events References (cf. http://nordligeverdener.natmus.dk/ Beretninger og Kundgørelser vedrørende uploads/media/Affolkningen_af_Kap_ Styrelsen af Grønland, 1923 and subse- Farvel_omraadet.pdf). From this it is evi- quent volumes. Grønlands Styrelse, Co- dent that many people, at the time as penhagen. 57

For a time, Itilleq was the southernmost trade station in Greenland. In 1909 the trade moved to nearby Sammisoq, and in 1944 both settlements were closed down and the inhabitants were relo- cated. In the landscape, though, one still can see traces of former human presence and activities, in this case the foundations of what probably used to be the combined school and chapel building. Photo, Einar Lund Jensen.

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The whaler and the ostrich egg – Introduction to a project on life on the North Frisian Islands and whaling in the Arctic Ocean

Christina Folke Ax Open-Air Museum

There is an ostrich egg hanging from the or blue patterns and ceilings decorated ceiling in the farm from the island of with Rococo ornaments (Michelsen 1973: Rømø at the Danish Open-Air Museum. 185-190). One walks through the rooms It seems oddly out of context in the home with an increasing sense of confusion and of people who had a substantial part of amazement. Who were these people? their income from catching whales and seals in the Arctic Ocean. The fact is, The island of Rømø is situated in the however, that the whole interior of the Wadden Sea off the west coast of Jut- farm seems out of place. From the out- land. It is the third northernmost of the side the farm looks small and ordinary, Frisian Islands that lie like a string of as one would expect on an isolated is- beads along the Danish, German and land where farming can at best be de- Dutch North Sea coastline. Today, the scribed as marginal and under constant island is often perceived as a peripheral threat from sand and sea. Although the area in Denmark. During the period 1650 brick walls indicate that the inhabitants to 1850, the islands may very well have had considerable resources, it is only when been part of a periphery, but it was the you enter the building that the sense of periphery of some of the major cities and displacement sets in. Under the low ceil- harbours of the colonial trade: Amster- ing, the walls are covered with blue and dam and Hamburg. These ports, along manganese-coloured tiles, while other with British and other port cities in the rooms have panels painted in bright red area, dominated the Arctic whaling in- 59

Fig. 1: One of the painted rooms at the farm from dustry, and although the Danish Govern- Rømø at the Open-Air museum. ment attempted to engage in the commerce and keep other nations at bay, it did so without much success (Jónsson 2009: 17-27; Kappelgaard 1970: 6-7). almost 80% of all men on Rømø above Nevertheless, Danish subjects had a stake the age of six earned their living at sea in the whaling industry not only through – most of them in the whaling and espe- ships sailing from Danish ports, but also cially sealing industry in the Arctic Ocean because people on the Frisian Islands (Guldberg 2011: 76-87; Kelm 2005: 107). played a major role as captains and It is in this context that the sumptuously crews on the Dutch, German and British decorated rooms on the farms on Rømø whaling and sealing vessels. This reach and the other Frisian Islands are to be ed a peak in the late 18th century when understood.

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Fig. 2: The northern living-room museum with Dutch tiles, an octant and what may be the jaw of a whale.

The local community shaped by the participation in the whal- and the wider world ing and sealing industry. It is equally im- The aim of this project is to analyse in portant to examine whether there were what ways and through which routes aspects of life and culture on the islands the inhabitants on the North Frisian Is- that made the inhabitants sought after lands were connected to the Northern as captains and crew on the whaling world, and how life on the islands was ships. This reciprocity is often described 61

in this context. Is it the island of Rømø or does the local world include the other Frisian Islands or parts of the mainland? And although life on the North Frisian Is- lands was connected to life in the wider world, and the products and capital generated in the whaling industry were tied in with broader flows of commerce, this particular study can hardly claim global scope. Nevertheless, in spite of the many problems with the use of concepts such as global and local, the overall understanding that the two levels are entangled in actual life is highly relevant; life on the North Frisian Islands cannot be studied as a separate entity, but people on the islands were interwoven and actively participated in processes and networks that went beyond the local community as well as the Danish nation. (For an introduction to “entangled history” or “histoire croisée”, see for instance Kael- ble 2005: 1-10; Gould 2007: 1415-1422).

Likewise, the idea of reciprocity is central to this study. The world did not just come to the people of Rømø – they were involved in shaping it through their actions. Thus the influence of the whaling as an intertwining of the local and the and sealing industry on the local com- global. As Frederick Cooper has pointed munity and practices should not be stud- out, however, the terms ‘local’ and ‘glo- ied as a one-way transfer of ideas and bal’ are vague and do not hold much an- goods from an outside centre incorpo- alytical or methodological water (Cooper rated unaltered by the local community. 2005: 36). It can be difficult to determine It is more constructive to examine not exactly what can be described as ‘local’ only how ideas and objects were incor-

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porated and perhaps altered as they be- places and people outside the island it- came part of local life and practices, but self will be included in the analysis to also whether the practices and struc- the extent relevant to the study. The tures of the local community influenced project will focus on a selection of relat- the whaling and sealing industry and its ed topics that seem relevant in reveal- centres in some ways. For instance, the ing the connections with the wider world networks forming the backbone for the and the influence of the Arctic whaling: recruitment of crews on the whaling and that is, material culture, networks and sealing ships may have originated in the practices with regard to social organiza- local community. And in view of the tion and risk management. Furthermore, number of Dutch tiles that decorated the issues relating to gender, knowledge walls in the homes on the North Frisian and cultural horizons will be part of the Islands, the taste of the local communi- analysis because these variables may ties may be said to have supported that nuance the understanding of the topics particular Dutch industry. Of course the and tie them together. idea of reciprocity may be taken too far. The actions of the whalers and their Material culture families were restricted by government As one walks through the rooms of the policies, unequal power structures, finan- farm at the Open-Air Museum, it is obvi- cial fluctuations, the environment and ous that the inhabitants were sailors. A many other phenomena over which they compass hangs from one of the beams had little or no influence. in one of the living-rooms, and other sailing instruments are placed around When one is working with complex mat- the building, for instance an octant used ters, one methodological solution may be for determining position at sea. There to study how these play out within a well- are sea chests and models of ships. defined area (see for instance Chris- Closer attention reveals traces of the tiansen 2000). Thus the island of Rømø connections with the whaling industry, is the starting point for the analysis of but they are there in the shape of whal- the interplay between the European ers’ knives hanging on the wall inside whaling industry and the North Frisian the front door. The fence-posts are made Islands; bearing in mind, as stated of whalebone. In addition, as mentioned above, that the community on the island above, the richly decorated rooms, the was in no way cut off from the rest of Dutch tiles and the earthenware, and the world. After all, the aim of the what is assumed to be part of a sword- project is to trace such connections, and fish skeleton, but looks more like the jaw 63

Fig. 3: The entrance to the farm with the fence-posts of whalebone. of a toothed whale – and of course the on the island of Amrum and in the parish ostrich egg – all indirectly point to the of St. Laurentii on Föhr (Rheinheimer fact that the inhabitants had contacts 2005: 141-165). He found that captains with the Dutch and German ports through invested their money in houses and land, their participation in the North Atlantic but since land was a scarce resource they whaling and sealing. would go on to invest any further surplus in loans. There are suggestions that The project aims to reconstruct the be- the same practice can be found on Rømø longings of the people of Rømø, relying on (Kappelgaard 1970: 8), but this needs the archives found at the National Mu- further investigation. Looking at the seum, but also on inventories made af- beautiful rooms, however, it seems unter deaths or auctions. Such documents likely that the interiors can be explained have been used by Martin Rheinheimer, purely in financial terms, and this project who has analysed investment strategies focuses on the other explanations.

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The same kind of objects and decora- with strong connections with the Nether- tions can be found, however, in many of lands. the other maritime communities in the area, for instance the neighbouring is- Even before embarking on the whaling land of Fanø (Michelsen 1992: 94-105). business, the inhabitants of the North A direct connection between the interiors Frisian Islands had made their main in- and the whaling industry is thus proba- come from the sea. In the 16th and 17th bly hard to establish, but the farm indi- centuries people from Rømø owned a cates the residents’ financial and social considerable fleet of vessels and used standing and can also shed light on the them for shipping and trade along the connections and inspirations that the coast to the Netherlands, as well as to sailors brought back home with them. England, Norway and Sweden. For ex- Besides tracing these connections and ample, when the Swedes burned 14 of what they can reveal about the cultural the 21 ships during the war between horizon of the residents, it may be worth Denmark and Sweden in 1643-45 (Kap- investigating whether the objects were pelgaard 1970: 6), the contacts with the used differently in a new context, and Netherlands and Germany were already whether the whalers were role models established, and it may not have been a for other families in the island that did major step to become captain of a Dutch not participate in the North Atlantic or German ship. Nevertheless, networks whaling. Accordingly, it is not so much must have been of the utmost impor- the objects themselves or the artistic tance to the people who sailed as cap- style that is of interest, but the cultural tains and crews on foreign ships. Prelim- aspects and what they can reveal about inary reading suggests that the captain the residents and their way of living. was responsible for hiring at least part of his crew. In order to understand how Networks the North Frisian Islands were connect- The houses of the whalers are often re- ed with the whaling and sealing indus- ferred to as ‘Commanders’ farms’ (kom- try it is therefore essential to under- mandørgårde), although ‘skipper’ or ‘cap- stand how the networks functioned and tain’ may be a more correct translation how people became part of them. of the actual occupation of the residents. However, the Danish word kommandør This project relies on information and is a translation of the Dutch word com- names found in a variety of sources, from mandeur (www.ordnet.dk), so the word crew lists to information found in cen- itself places the residents in a network suses, church records and accounts. 65

Fig. 4: De twee jonge Hermans out of Hamburg. Combining the information found in these Copy from Handels- og Søfartsmuseet. The original belongs to Skærbæk Museum. documents will make it possible to trace at least some of the contacts of the inhabitants. The networks of the whalers were not the only networks in the com- tion is relevant in the case of the women. munity. Not everyone on the islands was Did they have separate networks, and if a sailor, and the question is whether the so, what was the nature of these net- networks of the sailors were connected works, and how far into the region did to the others in any way. The same ques- they extend?

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Fig. 5: Jochem de Vries, De Groenlandvaarder Zaandam. Original at Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. rescued. Engelbrecht Jensen from Rømø was captain of the ship De twee jonge It is very likely that ideas of reciprocity Hermans out of Hamburg. When he had and obligation were important to the the option of walking ahead with the working of the networks. This may be strongest members of the crew, he seen from an episode in 1777 when ten stayed behind to be with a 12-year-old ships were caught in the ice and were boy, Anders Mickelsen List, whom he wrecked along the east coast of Green- had brought with him from home. They land, so the crew had to walk across the both survived (Hanssen 1977: 30). Many sea ice to the shore in the hope of being of the people who survived did so be- 67

cause the Inuit took them in and fed returned, women had a special position. them during the winter or helped them People had to find practical solutions, so get to the colonies. Accounts of the ac- women could act independently and cidents preserved among the Inuit show take on responsibilities they did not have that the hierarchical structure from the in farming societies. The commanders’ ships was maintained in this time of cri- farms may for example have been named sis. The Inuit could not tell who the com- after the occupation of the husbands, mander was because the Europeans all but it was the women who lived in them looked equally dreadful after the long all year round and the women who did walk, but they worked it out when they the farming along with old men and noticed that one man among the sailors hired help. It is, however, highly unlikely was able to order the others around (Bis- that such practices can be ascribed solely trup 1931: 216). And Marcus Voss, a to the influence of the whaling industry, German commander, made his crew say since the same situation is found in prayers instead of heading for the safety many other maritime societies. of the shore (Hanssen 1977: 50-51). What is called for is not only a mapping It is of equal interest to know why the of the world of the women separate Dutch and Germans ship owners hired from that of the men, but also an inte- people from the North Frisian Islands in gration of the two in order to understand the first place. Was there a shortage of where and how they interacted and sup- skilled sailors and captains in the vicinity plemented each other. Curiously, the role of the big port cities, or was it because of the women in the whaling communi- within the whalers’ networks there was ties is often only mentioned in passing, reliable knowledge of the Arctic waters and in some cases the neatness of the and how to manoeuvre the ships in a homes of sailor families is ascribed to treacherous environment? The establish the fact that the men were used to clean, ment of navigation schools on Føhr and orderly, cramped conditions on board the Rømø in the late 17th century suggests ships (Michelsen 1992: 102). One cannot that training was of importance in main- help but wonder at this explanation, taining a place among the captains and since housekeeping was traditionally the crews on board the ships. women’s domain. In fact, there seems to be a scarcity of studies that combine the Practices world of the men with the world of the In a society where the men were absent women. With few exceptions, most stud- for long periods of time and some never ies of the whaling industry focus on men.

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Granted, there were no women on the What happened to networks that had ships; nevertheless an analysis of the connected the inhabitants with the role of the women in the communities whaling and sealing industry? Did the may prove to be another way of investi- families lose their social standing or gating how the whaling industry and the was it perpetuated in other forms and local communities influenced each other. against a different background? To what extent and in what ways were the women invested in the whaling in- The ostrich egg, the dustry? And what happened when the men whaler and the world settled at home after a career at sea? The people from the commanders’ farms are long gone, and all that is left is the Some of the practices were related to objects, buildings and names in docu- the management of the risk involved in ments. And we must try to make sense both whaling and farming. Whaling may of these sources, however difficult that have presented an opportunity to make may be when we stumble across puz- large profits, but these involved facing zling objects such as ostrich eggs in danger from ice, the hunt and diseases what seems an unfamiliar setting. As it such as scurvy. Likewise, Rømø was ex- turns out, the ostrich egg in the whaler’s posed to wind and weather, and farming house can actually be said to be out of can hardly be said to have provided much context. According to the records at the security. The study by Martin Rheinhe- Open-Air Museum, the egg was bought imer, mentioned above, shows that even in the 1930s from an antique dealer in if the surplus gained at sea was invest- the town of Sønderborg on the Island of ed, the strategies were conservative, Als off the east coast of Jutland. The egg with a strong emphasis on minimizing was probably put in the house by a mu- the risk of losing money. It may there- seum curator because – along with the fore be of interest to examine what tiles, compass and other objects with strategies the population on Rømø em- which people surrounded themselves – it ployed to handle the insecurities they points to the fact that seafaring commu- faced? And what happened as whaling nities were connected to a wider world, and sealing became less lucrative? How and that local life on the islands was not did this influence the local practices and isolated from that world. As such, the the relations between men and women? ostrich egg is in its proper place. 69

References Jónsson, M. 2009. Denmark-Norway as a Potential World Power in the Early Bistrup, H. 1931. Fra Ulykkesåret ved Seventeenth Century. Itinerario vol. Grønlands Østkyst. En Grønlænders, fra XXXIII no. 2, pp. 17-27. Forfædrene stammende, Beretning om nogle forlistes Ankomst og ophold ved Kaelble, H. 2005. Die Debatte über Ver- en Boplads i Nærheden af Nanortalik i gleich und Transfer und was jetzt?. H- Sydgrønland. Geografisk Tidsskrift 34: Soz-u-Kult 08.02.2005, http://hsozkult. 213-222. geschichte.hu-berlin.de/forum/2005-02- 002: 1-10. Christiansen, P. O. 2000. Kulturhistorie som opposition. Træk af forskellige Kappelgaard, E. 1970. Thades gård. Na- fagtradition. Copenhagen. tionalmuseets Kommandørgård på Rømø. Copenhagen. Cooper, F. 2005. Colonialism in Ques- tion. Theory, Knowledge, History. Berke- Kelm, B. 2005. Rømøs søfartshistorie. ley and Los Angeles. Sønderjysk Maanedsskrift 3: 100-108.

Guldberg, M. 2011. Hval- og sælfangere Michelsen, P. 1973. Frilandsmuseet. The fra Vadehavet. Sjæk’len. Årbog for Danish Museum Village at Sorgenfri, pp. Fiskeri- og Søfartsmuseet, Saltvandsak- 185-190. Copenhagen. variet i Esbjerg 2010: 76-87. Michelsen, P. 1992. Maritime miljøer på Gould, E. H. 2007. Entangled Atlantic Frilandsmuseet. Nationalmuseets Arbejds Histories: A Response from the Anglo- mark 1992, pp. 94-105. American Periphery. The American His- torical Review 122(5): 1415-1422. Rheinheimer, M. 2005. The Captains’ Money: Capital and Credit on the North Hanssen, L. 1977 (1806). Grønlandsfar- Frisian Island of Amrum and Föhr, 1763- erne i året 1777. New edition by H.E. 1812. International Journal of Maritime Sørensen. Skærbæk. History vol. XVII, No. 2, pp. 141-165.

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Farming on the edge: Cultural landscapes of the North

Agrarian landscape at Bø, just downward of the Grådusan cairn, Engeløya, Steigen, North Nordland. Photo: Flemming Kaul. B

The following projects constitute the research theme:

• ‘Expansion of agrarian societies into the North’ Flemming Kaul, head of project, Danish Prehistory

• ‘Expansion of the agrarian society in the Neolithic Age’ Lasse Sørensen, PhD student, Danish Prehistory

• ‘The Shetlands – agriculture on the edge 4000-3000 BC’ Ditlev Mahler, head of project, Danish Prehistory

• ‘Resources, mobility and identity in Norse Greenland’ Jette Arneborg, head of project, Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance

• ‘Farmers in Norse Greenland’ Christian Koch Madsen, PhD student, Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance

• ‘Agriculture of the Greenland Norse’ Peter Steen Henriksen, head of project, Danish Prehistory, Unit of Environmental Archaeology

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Agricultural landscapes of Arctic Norway

Flemming Kaul Danish Prehistory

Introduction north there are still areas with this broad Around 4000 BC Neolithization took spectrum of find categories, burial cairns, place in southern Scandinavia. Within a votive offerings, settlements and rock car short span of time most parts of south- vings. Even though the finds are scarce up ern Scandinavia were encompassed by in the far north, they are not randomly the Neolithic Funnel Beaker Culture. In scattered. The finds all appear concen- southwestern Scandinavia the Neolithic trated in areas which today represent the expansion halted close to what is now best possible farming land. The farming the Swedish-Norwegian border at Svine connections of the Bronze Age finds are sund. For centuries the border zone re- supported by pollen and macrofossil evi- mained stable, though a limited agricul- dence (Binns 1985; Arntzen & Sommer- tural impact can be seen in certain areas seth 2010). of southern, southwestern and western Norway. During the Late Neolithic period The Harstad-Kvæfjord and the Bronze Age a new expansion of area, South Troms agriculture took place, and there are finds Where Bronze Age objects have been related to Nordic Bronze Age Culture al- found, one always finds the best arable most as far north one can get, far north land – places with a mild local climate of the Arctic Circle. and rich soils. This is the case for Helge- land in southern Nordland (Binns 1985; North Trøndelag is rich in Bronze Age Kaul 2011; Kaul & Rønne 2008, 2011), finds of all categories. Here we find the but certainly also for areas much farther full agricultural package of the Nordic north: Let us go to the area around Har- agricultural Bronze Age Culture: houses, stad and Kvæfjord in southern Troms, farmsteads, burial cairns, votive offer- east and north east of Lofoten, not far ings, and iconography on rock carvings from Narvik. There, in the summer of and on portable objects. However, farther 2011, I went on a research journey with 73

Fig. 1: A row of farms at Borkenes, Kvæfjord, South Troms, seen from the Bronze Age Hundstad settlement site on Kveøy. Photo: F. Kaul.

our Norwegian research partner, Preben cavations demonstrate continuity of the Rønne, Vitenskapsmuseet, the University Hundstad farm into the Pre-Roman Iron of Trondheim (NTNU), analysing the Age and onwards. When I visited the landscapes around the Bronze Age finds. site (with Johan Arntzen) it was quite In the present project, part of the ‘North- obvious that this ranks among the rich- ern Worlds’ research initiative, Preben est farming areas of Arctic Norway. On Rønne is working on a full publication of the island of Kveøy itself there are a all Bronze Age metal finds from northern number of farms today, and at the time central Norway and northern Norway. of our visit the site of the northernmost Bronze Age farm was an oat field. When In Kvæfjord, at the farm Hundstad on one looks from the Hundstad site across the island of Kveøy, recent excavations Kvæfjord towards Borkenes, a long row have revealed the northernmost Bronze of farms in their agricultural setting is Age farm. Postholes give evidence of a clearly visible (fig. 1). This kind of land- three-aisled longhouse, which accord- scape view recurs every time Bronze ing to C14 dates was in use around 800 Age finds come to light. BC. Late Bronze Age fossil soils and finds of charred barley grains (and pol- Let us go to the area around Harstad len) are evidence of cereal cultivation. (about 40 km from Kveøy) with a small The dating evidence from the fossil soils concentration of Late Bronze Age finds. seems to show the existence of agrari- On the island of Grytøy, at Grøtavær, a an fields earlier, in the Early Bronze Age steatite mould for casting bronze celts (Arntzen & Sommerseth 2010). The ex- (socketed axes) has been found (Rønne

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Fig. 2: Agrarian landscape at Grøtevær on the island of Grytøy, South Troms. A steatite mould for casting bronze celts has been found at Grøtavær. Photo: F. Kaul.

2011: 66-67). It can be dated to period V the cliff there is evidence of another rich of the Nordic Bronze Age (900-700 BC). agricultural landscape, and at the recto- Once again, one sees an open, coastal ry farm of Trondenes a farm mound has agricultural landscape (fig. 2). produced finds from the Pre-Roman Iron Age. In the same area, at the edge of a Close to Trondenes Church, at Predikes- farm mound, a Late Bronze Age cooking tolen, Altevågen, Trondenes, a bronze pit has been excavated (pers. communi- collar and a celt were found under a cation from Johan Arntzen). Trondenes ledge in a marked vertical cliff (Arntzen Church is a magnificent Romanesque & Sommerseth 2010: 122-123). Behind church, almost of cathedral size, itself 75

At Tennevik two bronze neck collars have been found in a crevice in a low cliff overlooking a rich agricultural landscape (Munch 1966; Rønne 2011: 68) (fig. 4). These two collars can be dated to period V of the Nordic Bronze Age (900-700 BC). They are very similar to the necklace found at Predikestolen.

Fig. 3: The Romanesque Trondenes Church at Harstad, South Troms, late 12th century. Photo: F. Kaul.

testifying to the agricultural potential of Engeløya, Steigen the area (fig. 3). Trondenes Church is the Around 150 km south of Harstad, in northernmost of all Romanesque stone- northern Nordland, we find another rich built churches (Eide 2005). It is worth agricultural area. The present-day pos- noting that in the other areas of Bronze sibility of growing gardening perennials Age finds in northern Norway (Steigen and the presence of oak and chestnut are and Helgeland) a similar relationship indicative of the remarkably mild local between the Bronze Age finds and the climate at Steigen. The island of Engel few Romanesque churches can be ob- øya, the agricultural centre of the Stei- served. gen municipality, is dotted with prehis-

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toric monuments, mostly from the Iron Age and Viking Age (Pedersen 2008). Steigen Church on Engeløya is one of the few Romanesque churches of Nord- land. On the way from Harstad to Stei- gen it is possible to take the ferry from Lødingen to Boknes. The ferry brings you through a dramatic fjord ‘seascape’, and from the ferry it is possible to observe some landscapes quite different from those visited at Harstad and Steigen (fig. 5): rugged rocks descend directly into the sea with no fertile coastal zone well suited to agriculture. There are (consequently) no Bronze Age finds. Once again it should be noted how the

Fig. 4: Agrarian landscape at Tennevik, South Troms. In the foreground a barley field, in the background a grass field with sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella). Two late Bronze Age bronze collars have been found in at Tennevik. Photo: F. Kaul. 77

Fig. 5: Rough landscapes not suitable for agriculture, between the fertile areas of Harstad and Steigen. Photo: F. Kaul.

Fig. 6: Prehistoric burial cairn at Grådusan, Engeløya, Steigen, North Nordland. Photo: F. Kaul.

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Fig. 7: Rich agrarian landscape at Bø, just downward of the Grådusan cairn, Engel øya, Steigen, North Nord- land. Photo: F. Kaul.

landscape types that can be observed mountains of Lofoten, and in a com- today relate to the finds – of both the manding position in the local landscape. Bronze Age and subsequent periods. From the Grådusan cairn different types of landscape can be observed. In one di- On the western side of Engeløya, facing rection there is a coast where the rocks Lofoten, the burial cairn at Grådusan is drop almost directly into the sea (fig. 6), situated, with a spectacular view of the but in other directions the cairn ‘over- 79

fortunately, the central part of the cairn at Grådusan was destroyed during the Second World War; the cairn became integrated into the huge fortification systems built by the German occupation forces, Batterie Dietl. In the middle of the cairn a machine gun position was placed, using the ‘strategic’ position of the cairn. There is no record of finds from the cairn, though it has been claimed to be of a Bronze Age date (Ped- ersen 2008: 118-119). A Bronze Age date cannot be excluded, especially with reference to its landscape setting, but it must be underlined that there is no solid evidence of its date, and it could as well belong to the Iron Age. However, it is tempting to consider the cairn from Grådusan as a ‘mother cairn’, a cairn that can be seen from most of the more low-lying cairns of the area.

In a lower position in the landscape, though on a plateau overlooking the Bøsanden beach, situated close to the farms at Bø, some cairns and a large mound remain (one mound dated to the Iron Age). One of the cairns is dated to the Bronze Age (Rygh 1906; Rønne 2011: looks’ the most fertile land of Engeløya 64-65). It contained a pair of tweezers with many farms, fields and pastures and a double button with long rod. The (fig. 7). Close to the largest farms and top plate of the button is decorated with the finest fields there is a sandy beach, a star (solar) motif. This button can be Bøsanden, which – together with a cou- dated to period IV of the Nordic Bronze ple of smaller beaches – should be re- Age (1100-900 BC), probably an early garded as excellent landing places. Un- part of the period. Both artifacts were

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found when the owner opened and partly cleared the cairn in order to build a potato cellar in it. When visiting Bø in the summer 2011, Preben Rønne and I (with the help of the local historian Jarl Arne Pedersen) managed to identify the remains of the cairn at one of the largest farms of Bø. The potato cellar has now been removed, and the cairn remodelled (fig. 8). Other cairns too may be of Bronze Age date (fig. 9).

At Sandvågmoen, Engeløya, one of the Fig. 8: Bronze Age cairn at Bø, Engeløya, Steigen, northernmost rock carvings belonging to North Nordland. The cairn is seen to the right of the Bronze Age tradition can be seen. the farmyard. Photo: F. Kaul. A large flat stone block is dotted with Fig. 9: Small cairn at Bø, Engeløya, Steigen, North cup-marks, some of these connected by Nordland. Photo: F. Kaul. 81

Fig. 10: Stone with cup marks, Sandvåg- moen, Engeløya, Steigen, North Nord- land. Photo: F. Kaul. pecked lines (Pedersen 2008: 32-33). provide the soils needed as well as shel- This stone is situated in an open agricul- tered beaches for landing places (trans- tural landscape, mainly consisting of port and communication). grass fields (fig. 10). Today, the main crop of North Norway is Arctic agriculture in North Norway grass for hay harvest. With almost no The landscape of different Bronze Age darkness at night two hay harvests can find categories from Arctic Norway has be produced each summer. The hay is been illustrated. As mentioned above, used for winter provisions for dairy cat- all the Bronze Age sites are related to tle. Some of the grass fields are used as the best agricultural land, not just when pasture for the cattle, but a certain sys- one looks at the area generally, but also tem can be observed where during the in the quite local perspective. All the summer the cattle graze on higher lands finds belong to the coastal zone blessed of poorer quality. Then in the autumn, with a mild local climate (due to the Gulf after one or two hay harvests proper, the Stream that runs along the Norwegian cattle may return to these infields, graz- coast), the fields often lying in a shel- ing and supplying manure. Today, large tered position with hills or low moun- farms with byres for cattle can be seen tains close by. But a relatively mild cli- in the landscapes surrounded by grass mate is not enough. You need to have fields. At the byres there are silos for si- arable soils for agriculture and cattle lage (of grass, when not dried as hay). breeding, and exactly these areas could Mixed crops are also seen in the fields,

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for instance a crop consisting of barley, peas and vetch, excellent for silage cattle fodder. Unripe barley alone is also used for silage. The Steigen area and the Harstad/Kvæfjord area are rich milk- producing regions. A network of regular Fig. 11: Yellow seaweed at Rødøy in Flatøysund, ferries connecting the many islands per- Alstahaug area, Helgeland, South Nordland. Photo: F. Kaul. mits daily truck transport of milk to larger central dairies. used until recently as cattle fodder. The Today – as must have been the case in seaweed is exposed at low tide along the Bronze Age – fishing is of some im- the shoreline (fig. 11). According to Kjell portance, especially as an extra resource Flatøy it was collected, dried, and stored during the winter. However, another ma- as winter provisions for dairy cattle. The rine resource should be considered. In dried seaweed was given to the cows 2010 the rock carvings on the islands of together with the hay, not necessarily to Tro and Flatøy in Helgeland were revis- prevent starvation, but as an extra nutri- ited (Kaul & Rønne 2008; 2011). Our lo- ent with salt and minerals. In this case cal guide Kjell Flatøy informed us that the use of marine resources does not characteristic yellow seaweed had been run counter in any way to the agrarian

Fig. 12: Rich agrarian landscape on the island of Flatøy, close to Bronze Age rock carvings, Alstahaug area, Helge- land, South Nordland. Photo: F. Kaul. 83

Fig. 13: economy. On the contrary, this seaweed use there were 15-20 cows in the byre. Two horizontal mills, was used and harvested as an integral The mild local climate makes it possible Borkenes element in agricultural production. We to grow barley in Arctic Norway. Today Bygdetun, are (probably) dealing with the species barley is often harvested before the Kvæfjord, South Troms. Chondrus Crispus. In Ireland the bright grains have ripened. But in earlier times Photo: F. Kaul. yellow seaweed, dúlamán in Irish Gaelic, of dependence on self-sufficiency barley was part of the human diet (soup), espe- was of much greater importance. Barley cially in times of famine. was used for beer, but the grains were also milled, and the flour was used for On Flatøy itself, close to the rock carv- porridge and flat-bread. The significance ings (both Early and Late Bronze Age), a of barley is shown by the many small rich farming landscape can be seen, horizontal mills (Danish: skvatmølle; Nor though the farm has now been aban- wegian: bekkekvern) that once existed, doned, and the main building serves as a for instance in the Steigen area (Fygle summer cottage (fig. 12). When it was in 1985: 216-218) or in Kvæfjord (fig. 13).

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Almost as far north as one can get, at V or VI of the Bronze Age (900-500 BC), some places along the Alta Fjord, but some of the ships should be dated to Finnmark, a particularly mild local cli- the Early Pre-Roman Iron Age. At Alta mate enables barley to ripen in good potatoes, turnips and carrots are also summers (Magnus & Myhre 1986: 196- grown now. In sheltered inland areas a 198). The Alta Fjord is free of ice during few kilometres from Hjemmeluft, farms winter. At Hjemmeluft, Alta, the north- with byres for cattle can be seen today, ernmost rock-carving ships belonging to surrounded by large grass fields (fig. 15). the Bronze Age tradition have been At one of the largest farms a horizontal found (Helskog 1998, 2000; Kaul 2011) mill is preserved, testifying to the mill- (fig. 14). They belong probably to period ing of ripened barley grains (fig. 16). It is

Fig. 14: Rock-carving ship, left foreground, Late Bronze Age, period V Fig. 16: Horizontal mill at the same farm as fig. 15, or period VI (900-500 BC), Hjemmeluft, Alta, Finnmark. Photo: F. Kaul. at Alta, Finmark. Photo: F. Kaul. 85

Fig. 15: Large farm surrounded by grass fields, Tangen at Alta, Fin- mark. Photo: F. Kaul.

possible to speak of Arctic agriculture, a mild climate yield possibilities for even hundreds of miles north of the Arc- farming types such as cattle breeding tic Circle, at 70 degrees north. It is fasci- and milk production. nating to follow the 70 degrees latitude line, realizing that we are on the same We may envisage these patches – parallel as Disko Island in West Green- where agriculture was practised at the land or the northernmost parts of Alas- periphery – as islands of arable land ka, where agriculture is certainly no op- surrounded by mountains and the sea tion. On the other hand, it should be (many of the sites are actually on is- admitted that here at Alta we are deal- lands), where the only possible vehicle ing with farming on the (utmost) edge, for transport and contacts was the ship. and the degree to which an agrarian economy could have been sustained Acknowledgements over extended periods in prehistoric Warm thanks to Johan Arntzen and times is uncertain. Christian Roll Valen, the University of Tromsø, for guiding us around in the All the way from Trøndelag and Helge- Kvæfjord-Harstad area, and for showing land, along the coast as far north as Alta us the site of Hundstad on Kveøy. Also in Finnmark, we find evidence of the warm thanks to Jarl Arne Pedersen, Nordic Bronze Age Culture, and in each Engeløya, and Kjell Flatøy, Tro and Flatøy, case the sites are situated where there Helgeland, for guidance and assistance are patches of land well suited to agri- and for information on local agriculture. culture. Today these places favoured by

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References Kaul, F. & Rønne, P. 2011. Ved grænsen Arntzen, J. E. & Sommerseth, I. 2010. for den nordiske bronzealderkultur. Fersk Den første gården i Nord-Norge. Jord- forskning, ny turisme, gammel berg- bruksbosetting fra bronsealder til jernal- kunst. Rapport fra nasjonalt seminar for der på Kveøy. Tromura, Tromsø Muse- Bergkunstnettverket 2010. In Lødøen, T., ums Rapportserie Nr. 39. Stuedal, H. V. & Søborg, H. C. (eds.). Ver- densarvsenter for bergkunst – Alta Mu- Binns, K. S. 1985. De første tegn til jord- seums skriftserie nr. 1, pp. 31-39. bruk. In Pettersen, K. & Wik, B. (eds.), Helgeland Historie, vol. 1, pp. 148-171. Magnus, B. & Myhre, B. 1986. Forhisto- rien. In Mykland, K. (ed.), Norges Histo- Eide, O. E. 2005. Trondenes kirke. Trond- rie, Bind 1. J.W. Cappelens Forlag, arnes Distriktmuseums Skriftserie nr. 7. Oslo.

Fygle, S. 1985. Steigen Bygdebok, Bind Munch, J. S. 1966. Et nytt bronsealder- II, Bygda og Folket 1660-1900. Steigen funn fra Troms. Viking 30: 61-76. Kommune, Steigen. Pedersen, J.-A. 2008. Steigen – en van- Helskog, K. 1988. Helleristningene i Alta. dring gjennom tusenårig historie, Stei- Finnmarks Fylkeskommune, Icomus, Alta. gen Turistsenter, Steigen.

Helskog, K. 2000. Changing rock carv- Rygh, K. 1906. Videnskabsselskabets ings – changing societies. Adoranten, oldsagssamling. Tilvækst i 1906 af sag- 2000, pp. 5-16. er ældre end reformationen. Det kgl. norske videnskabernes selskabs skrifter Kaul, F. 2011. Early Agriculture at the No. 5. Trondheim. Border. In Mahler, D. L. & Andersen, C. (eds.), Farming on the edge: Cultural Rønne, P. 2011. Highlights from the Landscapes of the North. Short papers Northernmost Bronze Age societies in from the network meeting in Lerwick, Norway. In Mahler, D.L. & Andersen, C. Shetland, September 7th-10th 2010, (eds.), Farming on the edge: Cultural Northern Worlds, the National Museum Landscapes of the North. Short papers of Denmark, Copenhagen, pp. 44-57. from the network meeting in Lerwick, Shetland September 7th-10th 2010, pp. Kaul, F. & Rønne, P. 2008. Ved den ytter- 58-69. Northern Worlds, the National ste grense? Spor No. 2, pp. 24- 27. Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. 87

Pioneering farmers cultivating new lands in the North

The expansion of agrarian societies during the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Scandinavia

Lasse Sørensen Danish Prehistory

Expansions of agrarian societies during solidation of the agrarian way of life. The the Neolithic and the Bronze Age in southeastern part of Norway may be a Scandinavia can be studied in a long-term part of this Early Neolithic (4000-3500 BC) perspective lasting from 4000 to 500 BC. advance. The next advance, to the central Through a series of 14C datings of prima- parts of Scandinavia, is observed in the ry evidence of agriculture it is possible western part of Norway during the Middle to document the speed of the agrarian ad- Neolithic (2800-2400 BC), and the Late vance with its shifts between expansion, Neolithic (2400-1800 BC). The last advance stagnation and decline through the Neo- towards northern Scandinavia and beyond lithic and the Bronze Age. The reasons for the Arctic Circle is observable in the these shifts are discussed, and it is con- Middle and Late Bronze Age (1400-500 cluded that diversified climatic zones to- BC). The transition towards an agrarian gether with environmental and ideologi- way of life was probably different from cal factors play a central role in the region to region and occurred in a com- understanding of the expansion of agrar- plex and continuous process of migration ian societies. In geographical terms the with gradual assimilation of pioneering length of the Scandinavian Peninsula is farmers and local hunter-gatherers. equivalent to the distance from Denmark to the southern parts of Italy. The expan- Introduction sion in southern Scandinavia (Denmark The object of this paper is to investigate and southern Sweden) during the Early the speed of the expansion of agrarian Neolithic was rapid, lasting a few cen- societies in Scandinavia (Denmark, turies (4000-3700 BC), followed by a con Sweden and Norway) in a long-term per-

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Fig. 1. 14C dates showing the expansion of agrarian societies during the Early Neolithic. All radiocarbon dates have been calibrated using the OxCal v4.1.7 program. 89

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spective from 4000 to 500 BC (note 1). Einkorn (Triticum monococcum) and Na- Such an investigation could modulate ked barley (Hordeum vulgare convar nu- the hitherto entrenched positions in the dum) have been established for Early discussion of whether agriculture was Neolithic sites in southern Scandinavia. introduced by migrating agrarian socie- These are from the period 4000-3800 ties or by local populations into a combi- BC, which is contemporary with the pe- nation of the two hypotheses. But first it riod in which pollen samples from the is necessary to explain what distinguishes same area show a higher degree of Plan- a farmer from a hunter-gatherer. Hunting, tago lanceolata. This could indicate fishing and gathering could be practised clearances of the forest with the slash- anywhere these activities were possible, and-burn method (Andersen 1993: 161ff; independently of whether you were a Odgaard 1994: 1ff; Rasmussen 2005: hunter-gatherer or a farmer. What distin- 1116ff; Sjögren 2006) (figs. 1 & 2). At guishes farmers from hunter-gatherers in the same time a few grain impressions a Neolithic or Bronze Age context is culti- have been identified in some Late Erte- vation and husbandry all year round. In the bølle potsherds from the coastal sites first place, cultivation requires a whole Löddesborg and Vik in Scania (Jennbert new set of technologies, including slash- 1984). However, both sites have inter- and-burn activities for clearing the land- mixed layers with Late Ertebølle and scape, the preparation of fields, the sow- Early Funnel Beaker ceramics. Thus we ing and growing of crops, the processing cannot preclude the possibility that of grain and the storage of seeds. Sec- these sherds could originate from funnel ondly, keeping domesticated animals all beakers, since they have the same year round requires storage of food for the coarse tempering and thickness as the winter. I therefore see no problem with Ertebølle ceramics (Koch 1987: 107ff). the fact that Late Mesolithic or Neolithic Currently, there is no other archaeologi- hunter-gatherers could have kept a few cal evidence supporting any kind of cul- domesticated animals for meat reserves. tivation during the Late Mesolithic in This does not make them farmers. Let us southern Scandinavia. now take a look at the primary evidence of agriculture that documents the advance There are still no direct 14C datings of of agrarian societies in Scandinavia. cereal grains from the southeastern part of Norway (Østfold and Vestfold), but Cereal grains the region is probably connected with Direct 14C datings of charred cereal the Early Neolithic agrarian expansion, grains of Emmer (Triticum dicoccoides), because cereal pollen from Napperød 91

C-14 dates showing the expansion of Early Neolithic agrarian societies

Region Site Material Lab. Nr. BP ± References Northern Germany Wangels LA 505 Ovis/Capra KIA-7127 5325 45 Hartz & Lübke 2005, 119ff Northern Germany Wangels LA 505 Bos taurus AAR-4998 5165 45 Hartz & Lübke 2005, 119ff Northern Germany Wangels LA 505 Ovis/Capra KIA-7128 5085 45 Hartz & Lübke 2005, 119ff Northern Germany Wangels LA 505 Bos taurus KIA-9824 5047 53 Hartz & Lübke 2005, 119ff Denmark, Zealand Lollikhuse Bos taurus AAR-7410-2 5890 55 Sørensen 2005, 304f Denmark, Zealand Knoglebo Bos taurus AAR-6944 5135 45 Heinemeier 2002, 273f Denmark, Zealand Åkonge Bos taurus AAR-4453 5135 50 Heinemeier & Rud 1999, 340 Denmark, Zealand Lollikhuse Ovis/Capra AAR-4031 5120 55 Heinemeier & Rud 1999, 340 Denmark, Zealand Åkonge Bos taurus, calf AAR-4452 5120 40 Heinemeier & Rud 1999, 340 Denmark, Zealand Knoglebo Castrated bull? AAR-6943 5115 50 Heinemeier 2002, 273f Denmark, Zealand Skolæstbo Bos taurus AAR-6945 5110 40 Heinemeier 2002, 273f Denmark, Zealand Muldbjerg I Bos taurus AAR-4993 5050 45 Heinemeier & Rud 2000, 302 Denmark, Zealand Smakkerup Huse Bos taurus, ox AAR-3316 5040 65 Price & Gebauer 2006, 123 Denmark, Zealand Smakkerup Huse Bos taurus, ox AAR-3317 5040 60 Price & Gebauer 2006, 123 Denmark, Zealand Øgårde I Bos taurus, ox K-5057 5030 90 Koch 1998, 253 Denmark, Zealand Jorløse Mose Ovis/Capra AAR-3104 5020 60 Heinemeier & Rud 1998, 303 Denmark, Zealand Muldbjerg I Bos taurus AAR-4994 5010 50 Heinemeier & Rud 2000, 302 Denmark, Bornholm Limensgård Hordeum OxA-2895 5000 70 Fischer 2002 Denmark, Zealand Åkonge Bos taurus, cow AAR-4451 4965 45 Heinemeier & Rud 1999, 340 Denmark, Zealand Snævret Hegn Bos taurus, ox K-4771 4960 90 Koch 1998, 252 Denmark, Jutland Visborg Bos taurus AAR-5004 4955 60 Heinemeier & Rud 2000, 302 Denmark, Jutland Visborg Bos taurus AAR-5005 4925 55 Heinemeier & Rud 2000, 302 Denmark, Zealand Bodal A Bos taurus AAR-7054 4920 40 Heinemeier 2002, 273f Denmark, Zealand Øgårde SV Ovis AAR-4320 4900 50 Heinemeier & Rud 1999, 340 Denmark, Zealand Ullerødgård Cereal from pit A493 KIA-36139 4890 90 Esben Aasleff personal comment Denmark, Zealand Sigersted III Hordeum AMS 1 4780 70 Koch 1998 Sweden, Scania Hindbygården Bos taurus? Ua-1575 5570 110 Hadevik 2009 Sweden, Scania Almhov Charred cereal (a23455) Ua-20582 5095 45 Nilsson &Rudebeck 2010, 112ff Sweden, Scania Almhov Charred cereal (A190499) Ua-21383 5065 60 Nilsson &Rudebeck 2010, 112ff Sweden, Scania Almhov Charred cereal, A6b Ua-17156 5000 95 Nilsson &Rudebeck 2010, 112ff Sweden, Scania Almhov Charred cereal, A1942 Ua-32530 5000 40 Nilsson &Rudebeck 2010, 112ff Sweden, Scania Almhov Charred cereal, A61 Ua-17158 4990 70 Nilsson &Rudebeck 2010, 112ff Sweden, Scania Almhov Charred cereal, K24 (A32422) Ua-32532 4940 40 Nilsson &Rudebeck 2010, 112ff Sweden, Scania Almhov s. scrofa and s. domesticus Ua-22166 4960 50 Nilsson &Rudebeck 2010, 112ff Sweden, Scania Almhov Charred cereal, P04 (A32422) Ua-23873 4930 45 Nilsson &Rudebeck 2010, 112ff Sweden, Scania Mossby Charred cereal Ua-755 4925 115 Larsson 1992, 74 Sweden, Scania Mossby Charred cereal Ua-753 4915 110 Larsson 1992, 74 Sweden, Scania Almhov Charred cereal, A2778 Ua-14491 4910 80 Nilsson &Rudebeck 2010, 112ff Sweden, Scania Almhov Charred cereal (A35862) Ua-32533 4910 45 Nilsson &Rudebeck 2010, 112ff Middle Sweden, Närke Skumpaberget Bos taurus Ua-18718 5170 65 Hallgren 2008 Middle Sweden, Södermanland Trössla Bos taurus Ua-22409 5105 45 Hallgren 2008 Middle Sweden, Gotland Stora karlsö Ovis Ua-4952 5070 75 Lindqvist & Possnert 1997 Middle Sweden, Närke Skumpaberget Bos taurus Ua-18719 5055 50 Hallgren 2008 Middle Sweden, Södermanland Segersäng H. nudum Ua-32969 5025 45 Hallgren 2008 Middle Sweden, Södermanland Trössla Bos taurus Ua-22408 4955 45 Hallgren 2008 Middle Sweden, Södermanland Segersäng H. nudum Ua-32967 4940 40 Hallgren 2008 Middle Sweden, Gotland Stora karlsö Bos taurus Ua-3248 4935 75 Lindqvist & Possnert 1997 Middle Sweden, Västmanland Skogsmossen T. dicoccum/spelta Ua-15200 4880 110 Hallgren 2008 Middle Sweden, Närke Skumpaberget Bos taurus Ua-18720 4810 75 Hallgren 2008 Middle Sweden, Västmanland Skogsmossen H. nudum Ua-14835 4795 75 Hallgren 2008 Western Sweden, Halland Laholm 197 Charred cereal Beta-71658 5200 60 Svensson 2010 Western Sweden, Halland Veddige 128 T. dicoccon Ua-29267 5160 78 Johansson et al. 2011 Western Sweden, Västergötland Karleby 10 Bos taurus Ua-1367 4775 95 Persson 1999 Western Sweden, Halland Veddige 258 T. dicoccon Ua-27592 4750 50 Ryberg 2006 Western Sweden, Västergötland Karleby Log B Sus domesticus Ua-1364 4710 100 Persson 1999 Western Sweden, Bohuslän Skee 1616 Charred cereal Ua-26850 4615 40 Westergaard 2008 Western Sweden, Västergötland Karleby Log B Ovis Ua-13401 4530 60 Karl Göran Sjögren personal com.

Fig. 2. Table of the different Early Neolithic sites in Southern Scandinavia where primary agrarian evidence has been 14C-dated. Northern Worlds Workshop 2 92

tjern (5460±230 BP; 4827-3785 cal BC), land, indicates when agriculture ex- Haraldstadmyr (5010±100 BP; 4037- panded to the vicinity of the Arctic Cir- 3637 cal BC) and Haraldsvann (5010±70 cle and beyond (Johansen & Vorren BP; 3956-3661 cal BC) has been dated to 1986: 740; Johansen 1990: 5). In north- this period (Henningsmoen 1980; Østmo ern Norway (Troms) a grain of barley 1988; Prøsch-Danielsen 1996: 85ff; Glør- from Kveøya was 14C-dated to (3936±30 stad 2010: 275). Directly dated cereal BP; 2564-2307 cal BC) (Wk-26504). Cur- grains are also missing for western Nor- rently this is the only grain documenting way (Hordaland), although a wide range agrarian activities this far north during of sites from the Middle Neolithic (2800- the Late Neolithic. It must be treated 2400 BC) have produced charcoal layers with caution, because most 14C datings that have been interpreted as represent- place the cultivation of wheat and bar- ing cultivation with the slash-and-burn ley within the middle and later parts of method (Olsen 2009: 589ff) (figs. 11 & the Bronze Age (Arntzen & Sommerseth 12). Furthermore, cereals were present 2010). in pollen analyses 14C-dated to the Mid- dle Neolithic in western Norway (Horda- Domesticated animals land), which document cultivation activ- Domesticated cattle (Bos taurus) are ob- ities during this period (Hjelle et al. served throughout southern Scandina- 2006: 147ff). In the central part of Swe- via around 4000-3700 BC (figs. 1 & 2). den (Västernordland) direct 14C datings Recently, what were presumed to be do- of charred cereal grains from the Late mesticated cows from Rosenhof LA 58 Neolithic have been reported from and 83 were dated to 4700 BC. But after Bjästemon and Lill-Mosjön, whereas we a DNA analysis, they turned out to be have no direct 14C dates from central small aurochses (Hartz & Lübke 2005; Norway (Trøndelag). However, a piece Noe-Nygaard et al. 2005). An early cow of charcoal from the site Egge in Trønde- tooth from Lollikhuse was dated to lag was 14C-dated to the Early Bronze (5890±55 BP; 4929-4612 cal BC) (AAR- Age (3385±70 BP; 1745-1520 cal. BC) 7410-2). This is in fact probably an ex- (TUa-3645); this came from a plough- otic pendant demonstrating direct or in- mark that contained a grain of barley direct contacts with farming societies in (Solem 2002: 6ff). A grain kernel from central Europe (Sørensen 2005: 305). Stiurhelleren farther north in Nordland Cow bones from Smakkerup Huse have produced a slightly later 14C dating to also been used to argue that Ertebølle the Middle and Late Bronze Age. Pollen hunters had access to domesticated ani- of cereals from Bakkan, also in Nord- mals (Price & Gebauer 2006). These 93

bones were dated to (5059±68 BP; 3981- We lack direct 14C datings of domesticat- 3701 cal BC) (AAR-3316) and (5060±61 ed animals from the Early Neolithic in BP; 3968-3711 cal BC) (AAR-3317) and the southeastern part of Norway. From were found in stratified Late Atlantic the western part of Norway (Hordaland) refuse layers. Unfortunately the actual datings of Bos taurus and Ovis/Capra site was eroded by transgressions and from Skipshelleren and faeces from Ovis regressions in the Subboreal period, and from the site Budalen belong to the mid- we cannot rule out the possibility that dle and later part of the third millennium these bones belong to an Early Funnel BC. The same result emerged from a 14C Beaker occupation. Sheep and goat dating of a cattle tooth from the kitchen (Ovis/Capra) also appear in southern midden at Hammersvolden in Trøndelag Scandinavia during the period 4000 to in the central part of Norway. Farther 3800 BC and a few centuries later in north near the Arctic Circle (Nordland) an western Sweden. Domesticated pigs Ovis tooth has been 14C-dated to the Early (Sus domesticus) and wild boars (Sus Bronze Age on Stiurhelleren (Johansen scrofa), found together in a pit at the 1990: 5). A slightly later 14C dating to the Early Neolithic site Almhov in Scania, Late Bronze Age of a Bos taurus has have been dated to (4960±50 BP; 3937- been reported from Storbåt hallaran (Nor- 3645 cal BC) (Ua-22166) (Nilsson & dland), which is located north of the Arc- Rudebeck 2010: 112ff). However, the tic Circle (Johansen & Vorren 1986: 742). identification of domesticated pigs has Investigating the direct 14C datings of proven difficult, based as it often is on cereal grains and domesticated animals the criterion that they were smaller than has enabled us to follow the agrarian wild boars and had a different length expansion towards northern Scandina- and anterior breadth of the third molar via (figs. 11, 12 & 13). (Brinch Petersen & Egeberg 2009: 562). Future DNA analysis could resolve this Cultivation and crop processing issue. Currently there is no certain ar- Indirect evidence of cultivation has been chaeological evidence of entire domes- reported in the form of cereal crop ticated animals (except the dog) earlier processing and threshing waste from than 4000 BC in southern Scandinavia. Emmer (Triticum dicoccoides) used as A summary of the early datings of cereal chaff tempering in clay discs, which has grains and domesticated animals in been found in some pits from the Early southern Scandinavia clearly demon- Neolithic site at Lisbjerg Skole near strates that we are dealing with a proc- Århus (Skousen 2008: 124). 14C analysis ess of rapid expansion. of hazelnut shells from the pits (A-2087,

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A-2092 and A2165) dates the material pit which was dated by a hazelnut shell to (5190±90 BP; 4251-3785 cal BC) (AAR- to (4900±40 BP; 3770-3637 cal BC) (POZ- 8542) and to (4975±55 BP; 3942-3651 28068). Other plough-marks with more cal BC) (AAR-9225). Straw or chaff tem- limited extensions have been identified pering is also found in clay discs from beneath a few long barrows in Jutland the Early Neolithic site Store Valby and Funen (Jørgensen 1977: 7ff; Fischer (Becker 1954: 134ff; Helbæk 1954: 198ff; 1980: 23ff; Ebbesen 1992: 96). We can Nielsen 1984: 119). Other evidence of conclude that the larger fields were cul- crop processing can be revealed by the tivated using the ard to get the maxi- existence of quern stones. These have mum yield from the soil as early as the been reported from Early Neolithic sites beginning of the Early Neolithic. in Denmark and Sweden (Erantisvej and Kallmossen), which both contain short- From the southeastern part of Norway necked funnel beakers (Staal 2005; Hall- (Østfold and Vestfold) there are no gren 2008: 211). Moreover, wear on plough-marks, although some could be sickles from Early Neolithic sites also concealed underneath some of the few document harvesting activities (Juel megaliths from this region. Clear evi- Jensen 1994). The 14C dates of the pits dence of cultivation using the slash-and- at Lisbjerg Skole are very important, be- burn method has been reported from cause they document cultivation and western Norway (Hordaland) (Olsen crop processing which could be earlier 2009: 592ff). 14C datings of the charcoal than the Ulmus-fall (Andersen & Ras- layers from several sites in this region mussen 1993: 125ff). Currently our knowl- range from the Middle to the Late Neo- edge of cereal crop processing from lithic, making them contemporary with Neolithic contexts in Scandinavia is still the evidence of domesticated animals rather limited, but offers huge potential, and pollen analysis in western Norway. whereas cultivation using slash-and- In the central parts of Norway (Trønde- burn methods is better documented. lag) and Sweden (Västernordland) evidence of cultivation is rather sparse (As- The earliest plough-marks from south- prem 2012; Gustafsson & Spång 2007). ern Scandinavia were found beneath a However, farther north beyond the Arc- long barrow at Højensvej 7 near Egense tic Circle plough-marks from Moland on Funen. They covered an area of 85 (Nordland) have been dated by charcoal square metres, thus illustrating inten- found in one of the tracks to the Late sive cultivation (Beck 2009: 7ff, in prep.). Bronze Age and Pre-Roman Iron Age Some of the plough-marks were cut by a (Johansen & Vorren 1986: 742). A simi- 95

lar 14C result emerged from a plough- the Funnel Beaker Culture. In the west- mark from Skålbunes in Troms, which is ern part of Norway the agrarian expan- also located beyond the Arctic Circle sion during the Middle Neolithic is asso- (2273±35 BP; 400-209 cal BC) (Wk- ciated with the sudden appearance of 20626) (Arntzen 2012). The meagre evi- material culture containing thick-butted dence of cultivation shows more or less axes, battle axes and structures (two- the same tendencies in the rate of agrar- aisled houses) all belonging to the Bat- ian advance in Scandinavia (Figs. 11 & 12). tle Axe Culture (2800-2400 BC) (Olsen Let us go through the secondary evi- 2009: 590ff). In the central parts of Nor- dence from these agrarian societies. way artefacts like battle axes (Asprem 2012) and flint daggers (Hagen 1983; The secondary evidence Apel 2001: 282) of type 1 can be con- A different material culture, found in nected to the agrarian expansion (Lom- southern Scandinavia at the beginning of borg 1973) (fig. 10). In northern parts of the fourth millennium BC, points towards Norway bronze artefacts from the Mid- migrations of farmers from central Europe dle and Late Bronze Age together with expanding into southern Scandinavia. It rock carvings of ships have a southern consists of point-butted axes (Nielsen Scandinavian origin which may be con- 1977: 65ff), jade axes (Klassen 2004), nected with the latest expansion beyond battle axes (Zápotocký 1992; Ebbesen the Arctic Circle (Arntzen & Sommerseth 1998: 77ff), short-necked funnel beakers 2010: 122ff; Rønne 2011: 58ff; Kaul (Koch 1998), clay discs (Davidsen 1973: 5ff) 2011: 44ff). Furthermore a 12 m long and copper (Klassen 2000). The structures three-aisled house found on Kveøya in include two-aisled houses (Nielsen 1997: Troms, dated to (2642±30 BP; 892-781 9ff), flint mines (Becker 1980: 456ff; cal BC) (Wk-24533) may also have been Olausson et al. 1980: 183), long barrows connected with this advance (Arntzen & (Rudebeck 2002: 119ff) and later Sarup Sommerseth 2010; Arntzen 2012). enclosures (Andersen 1997) and long dolmens (Ebbesen 2011). Axes in southern Scandinavia The distribution of the Early Neolithic In the southeastern part of Norway ma- battle axes is significant, because they terial culture in the form of funnel beak- illustrate dense concentrations in central er ceramics (Østmo 2007), thin-butted Europe, thus indicating an origin of these axes (Hinsch 1955), polygonal battle pioneering farmers within the Michels axes (Mikkelsen 1984) and megaliths berg and Baalberg cultures (Lüning 1968) (Østmo 1988) can be associated with (fig. 3). The earliest types of battle axes,

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Fig. 3. Distribution of battle axes of type 1 in Ebbesen’s typology (1998: 77ff) or type FI-III in Zápotocký’s typology (1992). Data after Zápotocký 1992; Ebbesen 1998: 77ff; Fredrik Hallgren. personal comment and own studies. 97

Fig. 4. Drawing of point-butted axes and their cross-section of type 1 in Ebbesen’s typology (1998: 77ff) or type 1, 2 and 3. Type 1 has an oval cross-section. Type 2 has a three-sided cross-section. Type 3 has a four-sided cross-section. type FI-III in Zápotocký’s typology (1992), After: Petersen 1993. have been found in the Dragsholm burial. In this burial an antler pick was dated to (5090 ±65BP; 4036-3712 cal BC) (AAR- originally proposed by Nielsen (1977) 7418-2) and a human bone was dated to (figs. 6, 7 & 8). The distribution of the (5102±37; 3973-3797 cal BC) (AAR-7416- point-butted axes indicates relatively 2), thus dating the earliest battle axes to dense inland habitation during the Early the beginning of the fourth millenium BC Neolithic (fig. 5). They seem to be con- (Brinch Petersen 2008: 33ff). centrated in regions with light, easily arable soils. The point-butted and thin- Particularly important too is the distribu- butted flint axes from southern Norway tion pattern of polished point-butted (Hinsch 1955; Østmo 1988, 2007: 111ff) axes of flint, which are associated with are probably related to the Early Neo- Early Neolithic sites with short-necked lithic agrarian expansion, whereas the funnel beakers (fig. 4). Point-butted flint point-butted axes from Trøndelag repre- axes from 14C-dated contexts and depo- sent long-distance exchange networks sitions demonstrate overlaps among the with hunter-gatherer groups in the north- three types, but support the typology ern parts of Scandinavia (Valen 2012).

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Fig. 5. Distribution of point-butted axes in Southern Scandinavia based on data from Denmark (Brøndsted 1938: 130ff), Scania (Hernek 1988: 216ff), Bohuslän, Dalsland, Halland and Vester Götland (Blomqvist 1990), Bornholm (Nielsen 2009: 16ff), central parts of Sweden (Hallgren 2008), Southern Norway (Østmo 1986: 190ff), central parts of Norway (Valen 2012) and own studies. 99

Depositions of pointed butted flint axes and their combination of types

Site Region Nr. of axes Polished or unpolished 1 2 3 Thin Reference Järavallen Scania 11 unpolished X Rydbeck 1918, 9 Hammelen Scania 2 unpolished X Rydbeck 1918, 9 Lackalänga Scania 1+grinding stone unpolished X Karsten 1994, 226 Svedala Scania 1+grinding stone polished X Rydbeck 1918, 9 Grönby Scania 8 unpolished X Nielsen 1977, 121 Arrie Scania 4 unpolished X X Rydbeck 1918, 9ff Ravnekær Bornholm 5 polished and unpolished X P. O. Nielsen personal com. Karaby Scania 2 unpolished X Rydbeck 1918, 9 Dalby Scania 2 polished X Rydbeck 1918, 12ff Borgeby Scania 2 polished X Rydbeck 1918, 12ff V. Ågården Vendsyssel 2 unpolished X Nielsen 1977, 121 Eslöv Scania 2 unpolished X Nielsen 1977, 121 Fränninge Scania 1+grinding stone polished X Karsten 1994, 309 V. Ågården Vendsyssel 3 unpolished X X Nielsen 1977, 121 Li Markie nr. 7 Scania 3 unpolished X X Rydbeck 1918, 11ff Gualöv Scania 3 polished X X X Karsten 1994, 348 Vanstad Scania 2 polished X Rydbeck 1918, 16ff Smeby Slöta Västergötaland 5 polished X Nielsen 1977, 121 Ullerødgård Zealand 3 polished X X Rosenberg 2006 Kvistofta Scania 3 polished X X Karsten 1994, 215 Skegrie Scania 2 unpolished X X Karsten 1994, 294 Skurup Scania 10 polished and unpolished X X Karsten 1994, 303 Svedala Scania 11 polished and unpolished X X Karsten 1994, 274 Södra Åsum Scania 2 polished X X Karsten 1994, 310 Fjälkinge Scania 2 polished and unpolished X X Karsten 1994, 343 Kverrestad Scania 3 polished X X Karsten 1994, 328 Öster Sönnarslöv Scania 2 unpolished X X Karsten 1994, 347 Hörby Scania 6 polished X X Karsten 1994, 238 Bodarp Scania 6 unpolished X X Karsten 1994, 282

Fig. 6. Table showing the depositions of point- butted flint axes and their type combinations.

Evidence of agrarian activity is first ob- munication went not only east and west served from the Middle and Late Neo- but also south and north, since a huge lithic in the western and central parts of number of flint daggers from southern Norway. The Middle Neolithic battle axes Scandinavia have been found along the found in these areas have parallels in coast of Norway (Apel 2001). There must the Battle Axe Culture, thus indicating have been huge, systematic production communication between western and and distribution of axes, and later of eastern Norway and the western part of daggers and sickles, from these flint mines Sweden (Olsen 2009: 587). Lines of com- in southern Scandinavia. This is revealed

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Fig. 7. 14C dates of Early Neolithic sites or contexts containing point-butted axes. All radiocarbon dates have been calibrated using the OxCal v4.1.7 program. 101

C-14 dates of Early Neolithic sites and contexts with pointed butted axes

Site Type BP ± Lab nr. Material References

Baabe 1 5134 44 KIA-29951 Wood from leister prong Hirsch et al. 2007, 25ff Baabe 1 5203 36 KIA-29952 Wood from fishtrap Hirsch et al. 2007, 25ff Barkær 2 5270 75 K-2634 Charcoal Liversage 1992, 59 Barkær 2 5100 75 K-2633 Charcoal Liversage 1992, 59 Barkær 2 5090 100 K-2635 Charcoal Liversage 1992, 59 Barkær 2 5010 100 K-2636 Charcoal Liversage 1992, 59 Värby 2 4900 100 Kn-103 Charcoal Salomonsson 1970, 72 Skogsmossen 2 4940 50 Ua-18716 Cattle/elk Hallgren 2008, 233ff Skogsmossen 2 4930 80 Ua-10973 Food crust Hallgren 2008, 233ff Skogsmossen 2 4850 80 Ua-16201 Hazel-nut Hallgren 2008, 233ff Skogsmossen 2 4680 70 Ua-14834 Charred Triticum Hallgren 2008, 233ff Muldbjerg 2 4980 70 K-2889 Bark from Alnus Troels-Smith 1957, 1ff; Stafford 1999, 91 Muldbjerg 2 4940 65 K-4478 Burned hazelnutshell Troels-Smith 1957, 1ff; Stafford 1999, 91 Muldbjerg 2 4930 65 K-4477 Burned hazelnutshell Troels-Smith 1957, 1ff; Stafford 1999, 91 Muldbjerg 2 4830 65 K-4476 Burned hazelnutshell Troels-Smith 1957, 1ff; Stafford 1999, 91 Sigersted III 2 4840 70 AMS-2 Charred apple Koch 1998 Sigersted III 2 4780 70 AMS-1 Charred barley Koch 1998 Tjugestatorp 3 5050 90 Ua-10899 Charcoal Hallgren 2008, 233ff Tjugestatorp 3 4865 55 Ua-10898 Food crust Hallgren 2008, 233ff Kallmossen 3 5025 60 Ua-17207 Hazel-nut shell Hallgren 2008, 233ff Kallmossen 3 4795 75 Ua-18397 Hazel-nut shell Hallgren 2008, 233ff Ullerødgård 3 4965 35 KIA-36142 Charcoal Esben Aasleff personal comment

Fig. 8. Table of 14C dates from Early Neolithic sites or contexts containing point-butted axes in southern Scandinavia. by clear concentrations of Neolithic axes, berg Culture (4400-3500 BC) (Lüning 1968). daggers and sickles near the flint mines The mines at Spiennes in southern Bel- in northern Jutland (Hov, Bjerre and Skov gium, Rickholt in the Netherlands and bakken), eastern Zealand (Stevns, now Jablines/Le Haute Château in northern eroded by the sea) and Scania (Södra France all begin their activities between Sallerup) (Becker, 1980: 456ff; Olausson 4400 and 4200 BC (Bostyn & Lanchon et al. 1980: 183; Sarauw 2007; Bech & 1992; Collet et al. 2004: 151ff; Grooth et Mikkelsen 1999: 65ff; Eriksen 2010: 81ff). al. 2011: 77ff) (fig. 9). Preforms of point- butted axes found in all these mines Flint mining prove that we are dealing with system- Deep mining for flint is a characteristic atic production. The earliest evidence of feature of the central European Michels mining in southern Scandinavia is docu-

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Fig. 9. 14C dates of Early Neolithic flintmines. Flint mines at Spiennes in southern Belgium, Rickholt in the Netherlands, Jablines/Le Haute Château in Northern France and Södra Sallerup in Scania. Based on data from Bostyn & Lanchon 1992; Collet et al. 2004: 151ff; Grooth et al. 2011: 77ff; Olausson et al. 1980: 183; Elisabeth Rydebeck. personal comment. All radiocarbon dates have been calibrated using the OxCal v4.1.7 program. 103

mented at Södra Sallerup, which has been some of the best flint resources in north- dated to 4000 cal BC (Olausson et al. ern Europe. Clearly good flint resources 1980: 183). The practice of mining flint did not play a role during the later ex- probably came together with these central pansions farther north. Another possible European pioneering farmers. Many of the explanation could be growing popula- mines continued in use producing flint tion pressure combined with the fact daggers and sickles in the Late Neolithic that cultivation by the slash-and-burn and Bronze Age. method requires much space. These factors could have forced pioneering farm- Reasons for the different ers during the Neolithic and Bronze Age expansions in Scandinavia to cultivate new lands farther north, thus The reasons for the different expansions pushing agriculture farther north. The in Scandinavia are still unclear. One of various stagnations and declines might the reasons for the expansion during the be explained by reactions against the Early Neolithic to southern Scandinavia agrarian way of life or variations in the could be the relatively easy access to climate conditions. The ability of grains to

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grow in colder environments with short & Sørensen 2006: 39; Nielsen 2009: 9ff). summers, together with positive climatic Boats were probably also involved in the conditions for early agriculture, might be later expansions during the Neolithic very important reasons for sudden ex- and Bronze Age demonstrated by the pansions or stagnations. An example of distribution of thin-butted axes, battle stagnation and decline has been inter- axes, flint daggers and bronze artefacts preted for the Pitted Ware Culture (3200- along the western coast of Norway (Hin- 2300 BC). Instead of a consolidation phase sch 1955; Apel 2001: 282; Asprem 2012; in agrarian society during the Middle Valen 2012; Rønne 2011: 58ff). Neolithic, a return to a hunter-gatherer way of life along the east and west Cultural dualism coasts of Sweden is evident. The classical Discussion of whether agriculture was Pitted Ware sites from Gotland illustrate introduced by migrating farmers or local specialized hunter-gatherer subsistence. hunter-gatherers during the Neolithic and However, there are also examples of Pit- Bronze Age still characterizes the debate ted Ware sites with a mixed economy in Scandinavia. During the Neolithic an consisting of agriculture with some hunt- agrarian way of life was practised on in- ing and fishing (Larsson 1992: 91ff, 2004: land sites at the same time as hunting 61ff; Burenhult 1997). and fishing at sites near the coast, fjords or the larger inland lakes. Are we deal- Many of the expansions in Scandinavia ing with ‘commuting’ farmers or cultural could have consisted of small groups of dualism? If hunter-gatherers embarked pioneering farmers. Recently Rowley- on the venture of keeping domesticated Conwy (2011) has suggested that pio- animals all year round, they would have neering farmers expanded to the north in had to collect huge amounts of food for a process of leap-frogging, punctuated or the winter months. In order to get enough sporadic immigration. A similar model food it would be necessary to cultivate has been presented by Zilhao (2001: larger fields of grain and grass so that 14180ff) to explain rapid Neolithic expan sufficient straw and hay could be dried sion in the Mediterranean. The expansion for the winter. This would require long- towards Scandinavia happened so fast term skill in agrarian technologies to during the Early Neolithic that boats succeed. If these hunter-gatherers were must have been used, as indicated by to succeed as farmers, they would grad- very early Neolithic agrarian habitations ually need to integrate with agrarian soon islands like Bornholm and Gotland cieties. In particular, the use of slash- (Lindqvist & Possnert 1997: 73f; Casati and-burn technique to clear the forest 105

for cultivation required planning several in a kitchen midden and equipped as a years ahead. Several experiments have warrior. He might have been a typical shown that after two to three years of “manager of neolithisation” (Brinch Pe- cultivation the nutrients in the soil were tersen 2008: 33ff). Cultural dualism has used up, with the consequence that the also been proposed between the Pitted yield would fall drastically (Lünning Ware Culture (hunter-gatherers) and 2000: 174; Ehrmann et al. 2009: 44ff; Battle Axe Culture (farmers). The early Schier 2009: 15ff). After this the field battle axe types within the Battle Axe could be used as a grazing area for do- Culture were concentrated at inland mesticated animals. But in order to con- sites and are rarely found at the coastal tinue cultivation it was necessary to Pitted Ware sites. This indicates two start all over in another area, thus prov- separate material cultures and thus cul- ing that this method requires access to tural dualism. Later battle axe types, huge areas. Recently, Kind (2010: 457) however, have been found at coastal has proposed that the transition towards sites, and this documents a gradual as- agriculture is determined by intensified similation of Pitted Ware people into social interaction between local hunter- the Battle Axe tradition (Larsson 1992: gatherers and pioneering farmers, who 146ff; Iversen 2010: 32). are characterized as the “managers of neolithisation”. In Norway the process of cultural dualism might be indicated when a rapid Cultural dualism could be indicated by transition to agriculture is evident. Dur- evidence of actual cultivation found at a ing the Early Neolithic in southeastern hunter-gatherer site. The Early Neolithic Norway, there is very little primary evi- Bjørnsholm kitchen midden could be one dence of cultivation, which could indi- such site, because pollen of barley (Hor- cate that agriculture only played a minor deum) and wheat (Triticum) was found role in Early Neolithic subsistence (Pres- beneath the neighbouring long dolmen cott 1996: 77ff, 2009: 193ff). Recently (Andersen & Johansen 1992: 38ff; An- Glørstad has interpreted the Early Neo- dersen 1993: 59ff). Visborg could be an- lithic in southeastern Norway as an ex- other example, because a burned layer pansion of big game hunting, not of ag- beneath the kitchen midden indicates riculture (Glørstad 2010: 287). However, use of the slash-and-burn method (An- the sudden appearance of megaliths, dersen 2008: 69ff). A different case of polygonal battle axes and point-butted cultural dualism could be the Early Neo- and thin-butted axes together with pol- lithic Dragsholm man, who was buried len from cereals could be interpreted as

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pioneering farmers entering this area settlements. Many of these sites are lo- from southern Scandinavia (Østmo 1988). cated near the sea. It is probable that However, more investigation of this region farming in Norway also involved more is needed in the future. A rapid transition exploitation of marine resources than in towards agriculture is also documented other regions in Scandinavia. in western Norway during the Middle Neolithic by direct 14C datings of cultiva- Another way of documenting cultural tion layers. Whether agriculture was in- dualism is by conducting DNA analyses. troduced by migrating farmers or local The burial site at Ostorf in northern Ger- hunter-gatherers is still an open question many was originally interpreted as a (Hjelle et al. 2006: 147ff). If migrating hunter-gatherer enclave surrounded by farmers had arrived in large numbers, agrarian societies, because the individuals we should be able to find changes in showed a high intake of marine resources material culture corresponding to those (Lübke et al. 2009; Shulting 2011: 21). in the source areas. However, no such However, three burials contained Palae- evidence has been found. A possible olithic/Mesolithic haplogroups U5 and scenario could involve small groups of U5a, while four other burials contained pioneering farmers entering western Neolithic haplogroups J, K and T2e (Bra- Norway by boat from southeastern Nor- manti et al. 2009: 139). The individuals way or western parts of Sweden at places at Ostorf are a rare example of hunter- with easily cultivable land (Olsen 2009: gatherers and possible farmers who 590ff; Østmo 2010: 44ff). An expansion may have integrated with each other. farther north along the western coast of Moreover, recent studies have shown Norway may be associated with the wide that Palaeolithic/ Mesolithic haplogroup distribution of flint daggers during the U (U4 and U5) exists among Neolithic in- Late Neolithic, and of bronze artefacts dividuals and Bronze Age populations in during the Bronze Age (Prescott 1996: southern Scandinavia (Melchior et al. 85; Apel 2001; Rønne 2011; Kaul 2011) 2010: 6ff). This result therefore does not (fig. 10). Currently it is difficult to con- support a massive migration of Neolithic clude whether agriculture was brought to populations into Scandinavia. Arguably, the middle and northern parts of Norway it must be noted, the Neolithic material by migrating farmers or local hunter- lacks precise dating, since it comes from gatherers. Future studies should con- a passage grave where there may have centrate on finds from sites located on been reburials. All the preliminary DNA easily cultivable land in Norway in order to results from these analyses suggest a gain new knowledge from these agrarian possible scenario with a small migration 107

Fig. 10. The distribution of type 1 flint daggers in Sweden and Norway. After Apel 2001: 282.

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Fig. 11. 14C dates showing the agrarian expansion towards and beyond the Arctic Circle. 109

Table of 14C dates showing the agrarian expansion towards and beyond the Arctic Circle

Xx Xx Xx Lab no. BP References

Vestfold Napperødtjern Pollen of cereal T-2432 5460 230 Henningsmoen 1980, 175 Østfold Haralstadmyr Pollen of cereal XXX 5010 100 Østmo 1988 Vest-Agder Hallandsvann Pollen of cereal XXX 5010 70 Prøsch-Danielsen 1996 Østfold Holtnes Context:Charcoal from megalith TUa-5828 4660 80 Østmo 1985 Aust-Agder Barlindtjern Pollen of cereal XXX 4630 100 Høeg 1982 Østfold Skjeltorp megalith Context:Charcoal near small funnel T-4573 4560 100 Østmo 1985 beaker Hordaland Skipshelleren Sample date of bone fragm. T-2158 4020 120 Olsen 1976 Of ovis/capra and Bos taurus Hordaland Budalen 17 Faeces from a sheep TUa-2456 3700 80 Nærøy 1994, 152 Hordaland Skipshelleren Bos taurus TUa-3747 3635 65 Hjelle et al. 2006, 157 Hordaland Skipshelleren Capra TUa-3748 3595 50 Hjelle et al. 2006, 157 Hordaland Skipshelleren Ovis/capra Tua-3749 2955 50 Hjelle et al. 2006, 157 Hordaland Skipshelleren Ovis Tua-3750 1790 45 Hjelle et al. 2006, 157 Hordaland Njøs Clearance/cultivation Beta-147500 4000 90 Johannesen & Hjelle 2001 Hordaland Fjærestad Clearance/cultivation Beta-153606 4000 80 Diinhoff 2004 Hordaland Holsbruvatn Clearance/cultivation Beta-123668 3970 80 Lødøen & Hjelle 1999 Hordaland Berge Clearance Beta-200970 3900 60 Melle & Simpson 2005 Hordaland Ormelid Clearance/cultivation T-12982 3850 70 Bade et al. 2002 Hordaland Saunes Clearance T-13092 3805 110 Pilskog 1997 Hordaland Kvålsild Clearance/cultivation Beta-197155 3800 80 Slinning & Hjelle 2004 Hordaland Hjelle Clearance/cultivation Beta-78028 3760 70 Gundersen & Soltvedt 1995 Trøndelag Hammersvolden, Cattle tooth TUa-7564 3895 40 Asprem 2012 kitchenm. Trøndelag Egge Charred grain Hordeum TUa-3645 3385 70 Solem 2002, 6 Västernordland Bjästamon Charred cereal grain A983 Ua-27101 3985 45 Gustafsson & Spång 2007, 80 Västernordland Lill-Mosjön Charred cereal grain, Ua-25338 3790 55 Färjare & Olsson 2000, 32 Hordeum from pit 24 Västernordland Bjästamon Charred cereal grain from A983.S4 Ua-27100 3750 45 Gustafsson & Spång 2007, 80 Nordland Stiurhelleren Ovis tooth AMS? 3135 60 Johansen 1990, 5 Nordland Stiurhelleren Grain kernel 1 AMS? 3060 70 Johansen 1990, 5 Nordland Bakkan Pollen of cereals T-1635 3070 70 Johansen & Vorren 1986, 740 Nordland Storbåthallaren Bos taurus T-2268 2740 80 Johansen & Vorren 1986, 742 Nordland Storbåthallaren Bos taurus T-2267 2050 60 Johansen & Vorren 1986, 742 Nordland Moland Context:charcoal from plow marks T-2629 2010 150 Johansen & Vorren 1986, 742 Troms Kveøya Cereal grain of barley Wk-26504 3936 30 Johansen 1990 Troms Høfsøy Context:charcoal from pit containing T-3028 3060 80 Johansen & Vorren 1986, 745 Ovis/capra and Bos taurus Troms Kveøya Postholes to a house, charcoal, Wk-24533 2642 30 Arntzen & Sommerseth 2010 cereal grains Troms Skålbunes Plough mark:charcoal Wk-20626 2273 35 Arntzen 2012

Fig. 12. Table of 14C dates showing the agrarian expansion towards and beyond the Arctic Circle.

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of pioneering farmers in many regions. al. 1986; Brinch Petersen & Egeberg 2009: After a while, the agrarian technology 563; Milner et al. 2004: 9ff). However, could have been adopted by surrounding this does not necessarily mean that hunter-gatherers, who in many regions of farmers moved away from the coastal Scandinavia could have been superior in areas, as Funnel Beaker hunting stations numbers to the pioneering farmers. This are documented through the Early and model argues for a cultural dualism involv- Middle Neolithic (Skaarup 1972). But it ing a mixture of pioneering farmers and could reflect a possible gradual decline the integration of local hunter-gatherers in the use of marine resources. who adopted an agrarian lifestyle. Stable isotope analyses from Öland dem- Future research areas onstrate a marked dietary shift during Generally the hypothesis of cultural dua the second half of the third millennium, lism can be proved or disproved by C-14 from a mixed marine diet to the use of dating, stable isotope and DNA analysis. exclusively terrestrial resources (Eriksson However, if the DNA influx from Neolithic et al. 2008: 520ff). The result has been pioneering farmers consists of Palaeo- interpreted as the onset of the large- lithic/Mesolithic haplogroups (D and U4 scale introduction of farming on Öland. and U5) representing hunter-gatherers Large-scale farming took place at the end who became farmers, it will be difficult of the Neolithic, not at the beginning. to detect any differences (Bramanti et However, it is important to acknowledge al. 2009: 137ff). Stable isotope analysis that we are dealing here with an island has already been conducted in Denmark in the Baltic Sea where it is only natural by Tauber (1981) and Fischer et al. (2007: to exploit marine resources. The result 2125ff). Currently marine values of 13C therefore does not apply to the rest of and 15N have all been extracted from southern Scandinavia, as proven by the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, while most results presented by Tauber (1981), but of the Early Neolithic samples, except it demonstrates that local variations can one from Sejrø, showing non-marine be observed in the diet. values. It is clear that human bones from the Early Neolithic coastal kitchen-mid- Fig. 13. Map showing a preliminary interpretation of the agrarian expansion in Scandinavia during den sites are absent from these finds. the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Northern Germany The abrupt shift in 13C values in Early (4100-3900 BC), southern Scandinavia, western and Neolithic skeletons in Denmark could be southern Sweden (4000-3700 BC), southeastern Norway (4000-3500 BC), western Norway (2800- interpreted as a deliberate deselection of 2400 BC), central Norway and Sweden (2400- marine food as a resource (Andersen et 1800 BC) and northern Norway (1400-500 BC). 111

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Concluding remarks lithic. The earliest expansion in south- The agrarian expansion during the Early eastern Norway occurs during the Early Neolithic in southern Scandinavia was a Neolithic (4000-3500 BC). rapid process lasting only a few centuries between 4000 and 3700 BC. The speed of However, the evidence is rather limited the expansion was fast and involved small and the importance of agriculture may groups of migrating pioneering farmers, have been rather low, and this contrasts possibly using boats as a means of trans- with the sudden appearance of a differ- port. They originated from Middle Neo- ent material culture. The material culture lithic societies in central Europe. The rea- indicates that we could be dealing with son for the expansion is still unclear, but small groups of pioneering farmers orig- growing population pressure combined inating in southern Scandinavia. However, with the fact that cultivation with the more investigations in this region are slash-and-burn method requires much needed in the future. The next advance is space might have forced some pioneering observed in the western part of Norway farmers to move north. They brought with during the Middle Neolithic (2800-2400 them a complete agrarian technology, BC). The expansion could also have in- structures, new material culture and ide- volved small groups of pioneering farmers ology. The question of what happened to entering western Norway by boat from the local hunter-gatherers is still open to southeastern Norway or western parts of discussion. Either they became farmers Sweden, because thick-butted stone axes within one or two generations, which could and battle axes come from these regions. explain the settling of both inland and The advance continued during the Late coastal sites where they could both exploit Neolithic (2400-1800 BC) to central parts agrarian resources and engage in hunting of Scandinavia and towards northern and fishing activities; or we could be deal- Scandinavia and beyond the Arctic Circle ing with a cultural dualism consisting of during the Middle and Late Bronze Age pioneering farmers at inland-oriented sites (1400-500 BC). It is difficult to conclude and hunter-gatherers at coastal sites. whether agriculture was brought to the Cultural dualism could be an interpreta- middle and northern parts of Scandinavia tion when evidence of cultivation has been by migrating farmers or local hunter- found at a hunter-gatherer site. Both ex- gatherers. Future studies should concen- planations are possible, but currently the trate on finds from sites located on easily archaeological record in southern Scan- cultivable land in Norway and Sweden in dinavia tends to favour cultural dualism order to gain new knowledge from these during the earliest part of the Early Neo- agrarian settlements (fig. 13). Generally 113

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Prøsch-Danielsen, L. 1996. Vegetation socken, Veddige 33:3, RAÄ 258. UV Väst history and human impact during the Rapport 2006:5. last 11500 years at Lista, the southernmost part of Norway: based primarily on Rydbeck, O. 1918. Slutna mark- och moss professor Ulf Hafsten’s material and di- fynd från stenåldern, i Lunds Universitets ary from 1955-1957. Norsk geografisk Historiska Museum, deres tidsställning och tidsskrift 50(2): 85-99. samband med religiösa föreställningar. Från Lunds universitets historiska muse- Rasmussen, P. 2005. Mid- to late um, pp. 3-66. C. W. K. Gleerup, Lund. Holocene land-use change and lake development at Dallund Sø, Denmark: veg- Rønne, P. 2011. Highlights from the etation and land-use history inferred Northernmost Bronze Age societies in from pollen data. The Holocene 15: Norway. In Mahler, D. L. & Andersen, C. 1116-1129. (eds.), Farming on the edge: Cultural Landscapes of the North, Short papers Rosenberg, A. 2006. Beretning for Ull- from the network meeting in Lerwick, erødgård. Beretning over den arkæolo- Shetland, September 7th-10th 2010, pp. giske forundersøgelse og udgravning på 58-69. Northern Worlds, the National matr. 3x m.fl. Ullerød By, Tjæreby. (NFHA Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. 2424). Hillerød Museum. Salomonsson, B. 1970. Die Värby-Funde. Rowley-Conwy, P. 2011. Westward Ho! Ein Beitrag zur kenntnis der ältesten The spread of agriculture from Central Trichterbecherkultur in Schonen. Acta Europe to the Atlantic. Current Anthro- Archaeologica 41: 55-95. pology Vol. 52(4): 431-451. Sarauw, T. 2007. On the outskirts of the Rudebeck, E. 2002. Likt och olikt i de European Bell Beaker Phenomenon – the sydskandinaviska långhögarna. In Lars- Danish Case. Jungstein SITE articles, 15 son, L. (ed.), Monumentala gravformer i September 2007. www.jungsteinSITE.de det äldsta bondesamhället. Report Se- ries 83: 119-146. University of Lund. Schier, W. 2009. Extensiver Brandfeld- bau und die Ausbreitung der neoli- Ryberg, E. 2006. Arkeologisk undersökn- tischen Wirtschaftsweise in Mitteleu- ing. Vägen till Veddige. Huslämningar ropa und Südskandinavien am Ende des och annat från neolitikum och skiftet 5. Jahrtausends v. Chr. Prähistorische bronsålder/järnålder. Halland, Veddige Zeitschrift 84: 15-43. 123

Schulting, R. 2011. Mesolithic-Neolithic på Erantisvej i Nørre Alslev. Museet Fal- Transitions: An Isotopic Tour through Eu- sters Minder, 2005. rope, In Pinhasi, R. & Stock, J. T. (eds.), Human Bioarchaeology of the Transition Stafford, M. 1999. From Forager to Farm- to Agriculture, pp. 17-41. John Wiley & er in Flint: a lithic analysis of the prehis- Sons, Ltd. toric transition to agriculture in southern Scandinavia. Århus. Sjögren, K. G. 2006. Ecology and Econo- my in Stone and Bronze Age Scania. Svensson, M. 2010. What time is it? In Skånska spår – arkeologi längs Västkust- Situ 2009-2010: 7-26. banan. Riksantikvarieämbetet, UV Syd. Sørensen, S. A. 2005. Fra Jæger til Skaarup, J. 1972. Hesselø – Sølager. bonde. In Bunte, C., Berglund, B. E. & Jagdstationen der südskandinavischen Larsson, L. (eds.), Arkeologi och Natur- Trichterbecherkultur. Arkæologiske Stu vetenskap. Gyldenstiernska Krabberup dier vol. 1. Copenhagen. Stiftelsens Symposium Nr. 6, pp. 298- 309. Lund. Skousen, H. 2008. Arkæologi i lange baner. Undersøgelser forud for an- Tauber, H. 1981. C-13 evidence for die- læggelsen af motorvejen nord om Århus. tary habits of prehistoric man in Den- Moesgård Museum, Højbjerg. mark. Nature 292: 332-333.

Slinning, T. & Hjelle, K. 2004. Arkeolo- Troels-Smith, J. 1957. Muldbjerg-bop- gisk undersøkelser ved Kvålsild Aust, ladsen. Som den så ud for 4500 år siden. gnr. 23, bnr. 4 og 5, Sogndal kommune, De første spor af agerbrug i Danmark. Sogn og Fjordane. Unpublished report. Naturens Verden, juli 1957. Bergen Museum, University of Bergen. Valen, C. R. 2012. Neolitiseringen av Solem, T. 2002. Makrofossilundersøkelse Nord-Norge – hva sier det arkeologiske og pollenanalyse Egge, Steinkjer, Nord- gjenstandsmaterialet og de naturviten- Trøndelag. Institutt for naturhistorie, skapelige undersøkelser? In Kaul, F. & Vitenskapsmuseet, NTNU. Sørensen, L. (eds.), Agrarsamfundenes ekspansion i Norden – Netværksmøde i Staal, B. 2005. Udgravningsberetning Nordlige Verdener. Nationalmuseet, Co- for den arkæologiske undersøgelse i for- penhagen. længelse af arkæologisk forundersøgelse

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Westergaard, B. 2008. Arkeologisk un- Østmo, E. 1986. New observations on dersökning. Trattbägare i O-bygd. Arke- the funnel beaker culture in Norway. ologiska undersökningar längs E6 i Bo- Acta Archaeologica 55: 190-198. huslän, delen Lugnet-Skee. Bohuslän, Skee socken, Neanberg 1:14 och S:a Østmo, E. 1988. Etableringen av jord- Slön 2:4, Skee 1616. UV Väst Rapport brukskultur i Østfold i steinalderen. Uni- 2008: 40. versitetets Oldsaksamlings Skrifter, Ny rekke Nr. 10. Oslo. Zápotocký, M. 1992. Streitäxte des mit- teleuropäischen Äneolithikums. VCH Østmo, E. 2007. The Northern periphery of Verlagsgesellschaft, Weinheim. the TRB. Acta Archaeologica 78: 111-142.

Zilhao, J. 2001. Radiocarbon evidence Østmo, E. 2010. The Cord Stamp in Neo- for maritime pioneer colonization at the lithic Scandinavia. Acta Archaeologica 81: origins of farming in west Mediterrane- 44-71. an Europe, PNAS 98(24): 14180-14185.

Østmo, E. 1985. En dysse på Holtenes i Hurum. Nytt lys over østnorsk traktbegerkultur. Viking XLVIII: 70-82. 125

Fig. 1: Vementry, heel-shaped cairn. The facade is secondary and blocks the passage to the chamber (compare Henshall 1963: 177; Mahler 2011: 13). Photo: D. Mahler. Shetland – the Border of Farming 4000-3000 B.C.E

Ditlev L. Mahler Danish Prehistory

Introduction time (Mahler 2011: 13). The research The object of the three-year research project aims to survey the sequence and project Shetland – the Border of Farm- nature of the various elements in this ing 4000-3000 B.C.E. is to gather, ana- process as a basis for a comparative lyse and document the Shetland Islands analysis of the Scandinavian agrarian Neolithic material in order to deepen societies and their expansion. our understanding of the Neolithic process and the social impact on the exist- As far as I know, landscape analysis has ing societies of the period in question, not been applied to the identification of in the Shetland Islands as well as in the ritual landscape and cultural mark- Scandinavia. Recent research suggests ers in the same landscape in the North that the Shetland Islands became Neo- Atlantic region (fig. 1). The project could lithic in several steps over a period of provide us with a whole new perspec-

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Fig. 2: Caldback at Unst seen from the south east. The passage grave is the northernmost of its kind in Europe still in existence (Henshall 1963: 162). Photo: D. Mahler.

tive on the understanding of the Neo- rial it should be possible to create a lithic process in the area and provide chronological order as a basis for under- comparative material for Scandinavia. standing the Neolithic process in general In the light of the well documented Early and in the Shetland Islands in particular. Neolithic southern Scandinavian mate- 127

was established in the Shetland Islands with material and non-material elements characteristic of the Neolithic process all over Europe. These elements included monumental sites such as the chambered cairn at Caldback, Unst, which is probably the northernmost passage grave still existing in Europe (fig. 2), as well as polished tools for ritual use such as point-butted Felsit axes, ge- ometrically ornamented ceramic ware, the use of the ard and the creation of gathering sites.

Another approach involves the comparative study of and models for island societies, for example comparing their de- mographic and economic development in terms of human intervention in virgin nature. Such a comparison can be based on pioneer societies with or without written sources on their development. Examples are the Lapita dispersal in Oceania or the Saqqaq Culture dispersal in Greenland, both c. 2000 B.C.E. (Mahl- er IP; Kirch 1988: 103ff; Grønnow 2004: 78; Grønnow IP). The reason the Shet- land Islands formed the northern boundary for an agrarian expansion may have been maritime technological development. From a maritime point of view the In the expansion of agrarian societies in Orkney Islands and Fair Isle are stepping the Neolithic, the Shetland Islands were stones in the Neolithic expansion, but the ultimate northern boundary at lati- still represented a considerable expan- tude 60°5’ north. Within the timespan sion. Shetland was not virgin land when 4000-3000 B.C.E., an agrarian culture the Neolithic people arrived (Edwards et

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al. 2009: 118f; Melton 2009: 188; Gil- ± more & Melton 2011: 80). We cannot be sure that there was a stable Mesolithic ± population, but it is highly likely that Shetland had Mesolithic visits (Bennett et al. 1992: 241). It would be strange if Shetland was the only place in northern Europe that had no Mesolithic popula- 1 15 14 tion, at least during some periods. It is 16 18 1 unlikely, though, that there was a Meso- 13 15 14 lithic population that ‘went Neolithic’ ? 1617 18 (compare Sheridan 2010). 13 12 ? 17 This summer’s six weeks of fieldwork in- 1102 volved visits to 12 Neolithic sites, mainly 9 in West Mainland and some sites on Unst. 7 10 Of these 12 sites, six were mapped using precision GPS, and some of the results 7 11 9 will be touched upon in the following. Fig. 3: 2 6 11 Brunt Hill. Broken rough- New perspectives 2 6 out of ard During the fieldwork in 2010 a number point? Length c. 25 cm. of sites were surveyed to prepare for Photo: D. the mapping in 2011, as it was clear that 19 Mahler. 5 8 193

5 8 0 25 50 100 4 3 0 25 Me5te0rs 100 4 Meters the fieldwork had to be very selective. It was decided that the fieldwork in 2011 should begin at Brunt Hill, West Main- land. The site is a sandstone quarry and it was estimated that it might have been a quarry for stone ard points (fig. 3), a ± 129 ±

1 1 15 14 15 14 18 16 16 18 Fig. 4: Map of Pinhoulland. 13 13 Red dots: Clearance cairns. ? ? Grey: Dykes. 17 17 Green: Banks. Blue: Water courses. 12 12 Brown: (House) structures. Mapped by M. Hoydal, processed by P. Jensen. 10 10

7 9 7 9

11 11

2 6 2 6 low pits with debris from the production of rough-outs. It became clear that the deep pits must be of recent date, that 19 19 there are at least 17 krobbs and four 5 8 3 5 8 pens at Brunt Hill, and that the material 3 0 25 50 100 for these structures was quarried at the 4 0 2site.5 Only5 120 shallow pits of10 a0 prehistoric 4 Meters nature have survived until today (fig. 4). Meters

At Stanydale we mapped an area well well known feature in the Neolithic pe- over 2.3 x 1 km2 and several hitherto un- riod (Rees 1986: 75). During the days at known structures were discovered. There the site in 2011 it became clear that the are at least three cairns up on Hamars ruined 19th-century farmstead nearby to the west of the hall and five north of had seriously disturbed the possible pre- Stanydale Village (Calder 1951: 185ff; historic quarries. These look like shal- Fojut 2006: 26f). Some of these show

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signs of orthostats north of the cairns, contains at least six house structures all of them now fallen. Up at Lardie Hill besides the hall, and the many dykes there are some hundred metres of a hint at a possible relative chronology. At boundary dyke just 50 m below the two Stanydale there are at least four house cairns on the top. It appears that the dyke structures that are likely to be older than separates the land of the living from the the hall. One isolated structure not far land of the dead, and there is a parallel to the west of the hall and three house to this phenomenon in connection with structures to the north of the hall are the famous cairn at Vementry. The area linked by dykes (fig. 5). There are also known house structures to the south which will not be mentioned further here. Fig. 5: Stanydale House 2 seen from the The single house structure and the three north. The house, which lies 20 m west of the hall, can be seen as a shallow linked by dykes – and two round field depression. Photo: D. Mahler. 131

Fig. 6: Pinhoulland seen from the north west down towards systems – are interesting parallels to the Voe of Browland. The cluster of houses is seen in the middle. Photo: D. Mahler. suggested relative chronology at Pin- houlland. Most of the structures are on the gentle Pinhoulland was surveyed during the eastward slope down to Voe of Browland 2010 field season and again during 2011, (fig. 6). The site consists of rather acidic when some 360 x 215 m2 of the cultural grassland with areas of very wet, peaty landscape was mapped. At first glance the ground, the remains of now fossilized structures – as many as 20 – were quite small watercourses. In the case of Pin- overwhelming, and besides a krobb and houlland, dating can only be verified by the 19th-century pen down by the coast, coring or excavation, but it is very likely the site seems relatively undisturbed. that Pinhoulland was in use during the

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0 50 100 meter

Fig. 7: Brunt Hill. Fig. 8 (right): Pinhoulland phase 3. Grey: 19th-century structures. Beige: Quarries Red dots: Clearance cairns. Grey: Dykes. probably recent or of uncertain date. Dark brown: Green: Banks. Blue: Water courses. Shallow pits which could be of prehistoric date. Brown: (House) structures. Black: An orthostat. Mapped and processed by the curator M. Hoydal. Mapped by M. Hoydal, processed by P. Jensen.

Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (fig. 7). they could be contemporary, apart from Houses 2, 6, 7, 9 and 11 belong to the pre- the fact that 6 is younger than 11. blanket peat strata, and must thus be older than the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Phase 2 could be the houses that are in- Age (compare Whittington 1980: 35). The terconnected with dykes, forming three many dykes connecting the house struc- groups: House 1-2 as one; Houses 3, 4, tures may indicate a relative chronology. 19 and 5 as another interrelated group; Preliminary analyses indicate at least a and lastly Houses 9, 10, 12 as the third. relative chronology in three phases. One The chronology of these groups is still scenario could be that Houses 6, 7 and 11 unknown, but what we see today is very constitute phase 1, viewed as single struc- probably a diachronic picture. The hous- tures. It is impossible to say whether es in the cluster (Houses 13, 14, 15, 16, 133

13 18 16

0 5 10 20

Meters

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17 and 18) are built together and with These few examples give a picture of the exception of House 14 could have variation in settlement structures: sin- been in contemporary use and consti- gle house structures standing alone; tute the third phase. The nearest paral- small communities consisting of two or lels to the cluster of houses (fig. 8) are more households with field systems; Jarlshof House 8 and settlement types and finally a cluster of houses such as such as Skara Brae from Orkney (Hamil- the one at Pinhoulland consisting of five ton 1956: 9ff; Childe 1931: Plan of Vil- to six structures. As far as I know the lage). It is interesting that the chronolo- house cluster at Pinhoulland stands gy, moving from single houses to a group alone on Shetland, but further surveys of houses linked by dykes, has a parallel and mapping will undoubtedly reveal at Stanydale. The difference is that at that this kind of settlement type is more Pinhoulland the present chronology ends widespread. with a cluster of houses, and at Stany- dale with the hall. Jarlshof House 8 has It is to be hoped that further results will been dated to the Early Bronze Age, and follow during 2012 when the last data Skara Brae is dated between c. 3100 have been collected and processed. and 2500 cal. BC (Shepherd 2000: 139; Clarke 1976: 26; Ashmore 1998: 142- Acknowledgements 147, 2000: 299-308). Thus it is reasona- I thank Alison Sheridan for the inspiring ble to presume – at least as a model – discussions we have had both in Edin- that Pinhoulland actually began its burgh and on Shetland. Jenny Murray settlement phases at some time during has been a great help during the field- the Neolithic Period, and considering work and in Lerwick Museum, and with the number of houses this could have Laurie Goodlad and John Hunter we been quite early. have gone on exciting excursions, for example to sites we later decided to Further surveys have revealed a more map. Chris Dyer helped us with the map- complex settlement pattern, such as the ping on Unst, and we received much single structure at Skiords in Aithsting support from Amenity Trust and Val Turn- and the two house structures at Uni Firth er. Finally I would like to thank Susan on Longa Ness, where dykes indicate Dall Mahler for reading the proofs. that the houses could be contemporary. 135

References Edwards, K. J., Schofield, J. E., Whitting ton, G. and Melton, N. D. 2009. Palynology Ashmore, P. J. 1998. Radiocarbon dates “On the Edge” and the Archaeological for settlements, tombs and ceremonial Vindication of a Mesolithic Presence? sites with Grooved Ware in Scotland. In The case of Shetland. In Finlay, N., Mc- Gibson, A. & Simpson, D. (eds.), Prehis- Cartan, S., Milner, N., and Wickham- toric Ritual and Religion, pp. 139-147. Jones, C. (eds.), From Bann Flakes to Bush Stroud, Sutton Publishing. mills, papers in honour of Professor Peter Woodman. Prehistoric Society Research Ashmore, P. J. 2000. Dating the Neolithic Paper No 1: 113-123. Oxford, Oxbow. in Orkney. In Ritchie, A. (ed.), Neolithic Orkney in its European context, pp. 299- Fojut, N. 2006. A Guide to Prehistoric and 308. McDonald Institute Monographs, Viking Shetland. Lerwick, Shetland Times. Cambridge. Gillmore, G. K. & Melton, N. 2011. Early Bennett, K. D., Boreham, S., Sharp, M. J. Neolithic Sands at West Voe, Shetland and Switsur, V. R. 1992. Holocene history Islands: Implications for human settle- of environment, vegetation and human ment. Geological Society, Special Publi- settlement on Catta Ness, Lunasting, cations 352: 69-83. Shetland. Journal of Ecology 80: 241-273. Grønnow, B. 2004. Saqqaqkulturen. In Calder, C. S. T. 1951. Report on the Exca- Gulløv, H. C. (ed.), Grønlands forhistorie, vation of a Neolithic Temple at Stany- pp. 66-108. Gyldendal, Copenhagen. dale in the Parish of Sandsting, Shetland. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries Grønnow, B. IP. Independence I and of Scotland (1949-50), pp. 185-205. Saqqaq: the first Greenlanders. In Friesen, M. & Mason, O. (eds.), Hand- Clarke, D. V. 1976. The Neolithic Village book of Arctic Archaeology. Oxford. at Skara Brae, Orkney: 1972-1973 Exca- vations: an interim report. H.M. Station- Hamilton, J. R. C. 1956. Excavations at ery Office, Edinburgh. Jarlshof, Shetland, Ministry of Works. Archaeological Reports no. 1. Edinburgh. Childe, V. G. 1931. Skara Brae. A Pictish Village in Orkney. Monograph of the Royal Henshall, A. S. 1963. The Chambered Commission on the Ancient and Histori- Tombs of Scotland, Vols 1 and 2. Edin- cal Monuments of Scotland, London. burgh University Press, Edinburgh.

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Kirch, P. V. 1988. Long-distance exchange Rees, S. 1986. Stone Implements and and island colonization. The Lapita case. Artefacts. In Whittle, A., Keith-Lucas, Norwegian Archaeological Review 21(2): M., Miles, A., Noddle, B., Rees, S. and 103-117. Romans, J. C. C. (eds.), Scord of Broust- er. An Early Agricultural Settlement on Mahler, D. L. 2011. Shetland: The Border Shetland. Oxford University, Committee of Farming 4000-3000 BC. In Mahler, D. for Archaeology, Monograph No 9, pp. L. & Andersen, C. (eds.), Farming on the 75-91. edge: Cultural Landscapes of the North. Some features of the Neolithic of Shet- Shepherd, A. 2000. Skara Brae: Express- land. Short papers from the network ing Identity in a Neolithic Community. In meeting in Lerwick, Shetland September Ritchie A. (ed.), Neolithic Orkney in its 7th-10th 2010. Northern Worlds, pp. 6-18. European Context, pp. 139-158. McDonald National Museum, Copenhagen. Institute Monographs, Cambridge.

Mahler, D. L. IP. Shetland: The Border of Sheridan, A. 2007. Green Treasures from Farming 4000-3000 B.C.E., Peopling an the Magic Mountains. British Archaeology empty area? Papers from Nordic TAG Con 96: 22-27. ference April 26th-29th 2010, Kalmer. Sheridan, A. 2010. Neolithic Britain and Melton, N. D. 2009. Shells, seals and Ireland: are we nearly there? Antiquity ceramics: an evaluation of a midden at 84(325): 884-889. West Voe, Sumburgh, Shetland, 2004-5. In McCartan, S., Schulting, R., Warren, Whittington, G., 1980. A sub-peat dyke G. and Woodman, P. (eds.), Mesolithic in Shurton Hill, Mainland, Shetland. Pro- Horizons, Papers presented at the Sev- ceedings of the Society of Antiquaries enth International Conference on the of Scotland 109: 30-35. Mesolithic in Europe, Belfast 2005, Vol. 1, pp. 184-189. 137

Resources, mobility and cultural identity in Norse Greenland 2005-2010

Jette Arneborg & Christian Koch Madsen Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance

The 2010 field season concluded six Hunter College, City University New York years of reconnaissances in the Norse (CUNY), the North Atlantic BioCultural Vatnahverfi area, between Igaliku Fjord Organization (NABO) and the Leverhumle in the north and Lichtenau Fjord in the projects Landscapes Circum Landnam south. The project has had a twofold aim: and Footprints on the Edge of Thule (re- on the one hand the digital mapping of all search collaboration with Aberdeen, Norse cultural traces in the landscape Stirling and Edinburgh universities). with a view to elucidating the social and economic strategies of the Norse settlers In the years 2007-2010 further recon- and the interaction between man and naissances were conducted in the area, the changing surroundings; and on the and to date some 1000 ruins distributed other to enable junior researchers to over 115 ruin groups have been DGPS- participate in North Atlantic and Green- surveyed. Small trial excavations have landic Norse archaeology. been conducted at selected Norse farms, a larger-scale midden investigation was The fieldwork in 2005-06 consisted of carried out at the Norse farm Ø172, and pure reconnaissance projects conducted two of the area’s three churchyards have by two mature students from Copenha- been excavated. gen University, Niels Algreen-Møller and Christian Koch Madsen. The International The project collaborates with research- Polar Year initiative from 2007 made it ers and PhD students from the USA, possible to widen the scope of the project Canada, France and Scotland, all of to include small archaeological trial in- whom have done fieldwork in the vestigations in middens and cemeteries, Vatnahverfi region. The project functions and we embarked on a collaboration with as an umbrella for the Northern Worlds

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projects Landscape and livings, econo- • Secondly, they did not utilize addi- my and hierarchy – pastoral farming in tional available food sources such Norse Greenland by PhD student Chris- as fish, ringed and stranded whales. tian Koch Madsen: Churches, Christian- • And thirdly, they had established a ity and magnate farmers in the Norse rigid social system that could not Eastern Settlement by Jette Arneborg; adapt to the changing world. and Greenland Dietary Economy by a researcher group consisting of Jette Arne The most recent research results from borg, Jan Heinemeier, Niels Lynnerup, the Vatnahverfi investigations seriously Jeppe Møhl, Erle Nelson and Árný Svein- challenge the theories of maladaptation björnsdóttir. All the projects are de- and unsustainable farming practices. scribed in this report. The Norse landnám did impact on the A few provisional results environment. The introduction of animal In the latter half of the twentieth centu- husbandry and the stripping-off of large ry the prevailing theory was that the areas of turf for house construction did Norse community was ill-adapted to the cause increased erosion, but in the long surroundings in Greenland, and that a run Norse interaction with the environ- combination of overexploitation of the ment seems to have been sustainable natural resources and adverse climate (Massa et al. 2011; Schofield and Ed- change was the reason for the depopu- wards 2011). Vatnahverfi for instance lation of the settlements at the end of does not show erosion disasters of any the 1400s. consequence – many farms established artificial irrigation systems and they ma- The American professor of geography nured their grass fields, perhaps in the and physiology Jared Diamond summa- hope of increasing yields, or at least of rized the state of play in his famous book preserving the status quo (Buckland et from 2005, Collapse – How Societies al. 2009; Golding et al. 2011). Choose to Fail or Succeed, and argued that the Norse Greenland society col- In the Norwegian work The King’s Mir- lapsed for three reasons. ror from around AD 1250 it is stated that • Firstly, they depleted the environ- the Greenlanders had good pastures and mental resources on which they de- good, large farms, and that they kept pended by felling trees, stripping off many head of cattle and sheep for but- turf and overgrazing their pastures, ter, cheese and meat. Yet the author which resulted in severe soil erosion. also mentions that the Greenlanders in 139

Fig. 1. Gathering of material specimens. Niels Algreen-Møller, addition subsisted on meat from rein- National Museum of Denmark, and Andy Dugmore, University of Edinburgh. Photo: Christian Koch Madsen. deer, whale, seal and bear, and both the animal bone record (McGovern 1985) and the äC13 and äN15 values measured on Norse human bones show that In the first period settlement was con- the marine component of the diet in- centrated in the inner and mid-fjord re- creased over time. From the middle of gions where pastoral farming was pos- the 13th century the subsistence econo- sible. The largest and wealthiest farms my shifted from a predominantly terres- were situated in the inner fjords where trial diet to a more marine diet with seal conditions were by far the best. Large as the prime meat producer (Arneborg, houses, festal halls, byres for cattle, this workshop report, Arneborg et al. warehouses and related churches were forthcoming). clear marks of status. There are indica-

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tions that a smallish number of manors What we see in our archaeological re owned all the land and the farms on it, cord seems to be inconsistent. The die- and the reduction in the number of farms tary economy (cf. The Greenland Isotope with a related church in conjunction Project) came to depend more and more with the limited construction of much on the marine resources that were only larger stone churches in a few core man- available at the outer coast. Pastoral ors suggest a consolidation of power farming declined and the extent of animal around a few great families from the husbandry decreased at the same time 13th century on (fig. 3) (Arneborg: Pro as the elite consolidated their farms in ject. Churches, Christianity and magnate the inner fjords (cf. The Church Project). farmers in the Norse Eastern Settlement). This development could be interpreted In the same period new radiocarbon as symptomatic of rigidity – but may in dates show that marginal farms at less fact have been the opposite. Seals kept favourable locations were abandoned. people alive, and as long as the elite

Fig 2. GPS surveying of the ruins. Poul Heide, Århus Univer- sity, and Christian Koch Mad- sen, National Museum of Denmark. Photo: Troels Bo Jensen. 141

were able to control the resources and Palaeoecological and historical evidence maintain the perception of Norse Green- for manuring and irrigation at Garðar land as a society based on farming and (Igaliku), Norse Eastern Settlement, land ownership, sealing would only sup- Greenland. The Holocene 19(1): 105-116. port the prevailing social order. The concentration of settlement on the best Diamond, J. 2005. Collapse B How So- pasture lands indicates a consolidation cieties Choose to Fail or Succeed. Pen- of power in the hands of the landowning guin Books. elite; still, it does not seem to have led to unsustainable farming practices. Golding, K.A., Simpson, I.A., Schofield, J.E. and Edwards, K.J. 2011. NorseBInuit Publication is planned for 2013. As a Interaction and Landscape Change in preliminary to publication a workshop Southern Greenland? A Geochronologi- will be held in Copenhagen in the course cal, Pedological, and Palynological In- of 2012 for the project participants and vestigation. Geoarchaeology: An Inter- contributors to the publication. national Journal 26(3): 315-345.

The fieldwork in 2005 and 2006 was Massa, C., Bichet, V., Gauthier, É., Per- funded by the Research Councils through ren, B.B., Mathieu, O., Petit, C., Monna, an appropriation to SILA, the National F., Giraudeau, J., Losno, R. and Richard, Museum’s Centre for Greenland Re- H. 2011 (in press). A 2500 year record of search. The 2007-2010 field seasons natural and anthropogenic soil erosion were funded by IPY resources granted in South Greenland. Quaternary Science by the Commission for Scientific Investi- Reviews (2011), doi:10.1016/j.quasci- gations in Greenland and the National rev.2011.11.014 Science Foundation. McGovern, T.H. 1985. Contribution to Paleoeconomy of Norse Greenland. Acta References Archaeologica 54: 73B122. Arneborg, J., Heinemeier, J. and Lynnerup, N. (eds.), forthcoming. Greenland Norse Schofield, J.E. and Edwards, K.J. 2011. Dietary Economy ca. A.D. 980 B ca. A.D. Grazing impacts and woodland manage- 1450. Journal of the North Atlantic. ment in Eriksfjord: Betula, coprophilous fungi and the Norse Settlement of Buckland, P. C., Edwards, K. J., Panagi- Greenland. Vegetation History and Ar- otakopulu, E. and Schofield, J.E. 2009. chaeobotany 20: 181-197.

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Pastures Found… Farming in Greenland (re)introduced

Christian Koch Madsen Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance

The Norse settlements that were estab- (fig. 1). As exemplified in this short paper, lished in Greenland around the turn of for instance, the case study of pre-mod- the first millennium AD were based on ern Greenlandic farming shows how ini- farming practices and cultural traditions tial inexperience in farming and herding reaching back across the North Atlantic in the specific Greenlandic setting led to to Norway and wider Scandinavia. The catastrophic declines in livestock num- PhD project Landscape and Livelihood, bers; consequences, and subsequent Economy and Hierarchy: Pastoral Farm- adaptations which may also have been ing in Norse Greenland aims at outlining experienced and implemented by the the Norse Greenlandic farming commu- Norse settlers. nities as they developed from a shared North Atlantic landnám setup through Farming reintroduced nearly 500 years of existence on the Some 450 years after the Norse popula- unique and dramatically changing Arctic tion abandoned their settlements in frontier. With the geographical focus on Greenland in 1450 AD, livestock farming the central Eastern Settlement, South was reintroduced to Greenland. Certainly, Greenland, and using recent precision small-scale gardening and the tending of survey data on ruins from this core Norse a few domestic animals had been prac- settlement area, the project explores ticed ever since the earliest colonization how traditional archaeological data and in the 18th century (fig. 2) (e.g. Erslev research themes may be expanded and 1877; Jespersen 1916; Kleivan 1983); nuanced – for example by using critical- however, from 1906 onwards, farming ly and theoretically weighed historical increasingly took on serious scope as a evidence – to understand specific and full-time professional occupation. This complex human-environment dynamics was the fulfilment of a vision sustained 143

Photo: C.K. Madsen 2006. Fig. 1. View of modern sheep farm and hayfields in the central Vatnahverfi region, South Green- land. Like all existing Inuit sheep farms, this one Fig. 2. Julianehåb Colony, present-day Qaqortoq, at Tasilikulooq lies at the site of a Norse farm- around 1830. Visible close to the fjord are, left, a stead (E171); the 20th-century reintroduction of parcelled-out garden and, right, three grazing cat- sheep farming in Greenland was, effectively, a tle. Small-scale subsidiary household farming had second landnám developing along lines not too been a typical element of the colonies, mission dissimilar to Norse settlement, thus enabling a and trade stations ever since colonization (water- discussion of aspects of potential overlap. colour by J. M. Mathiesen 1800-1860).

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since the earliest decades of Danish co- development from a landnám popula- lonial rule (Bendixen 1927; Gad 1969), a tion platform to near-maximum sheep vision which also seems to have been stocking levels could potentially be nourished by the historical awareness of achieved in the specific environmental the Norse settlers and by the prevailing setting of South Greenland in as little as disbelief in the shortcomings of their es- 60 years, i.e. a few generations. Besides sentially European farming tradition (e.g. providing an estimate of the potential Wormskjold 1814). rapidity of Norse livestock development, this covers so brief a timespan that it Renewed farming in South Greenland could problematize the identification of developed from a Danish Government landnám phases in zooarchaeological sheep-breeding experiment: in 1906, 19 bone assemblages from Greenland. Faroese sheep were sent to South Green- land, followed in 1915 by another 170 However, this and the following lines of sheep, this time of Icelandic stock, to argumentation all build on the premise breed a stable population from which to that there is considerable overlap be- expand sheep farming locally (Chemnitz tween Norse and recent pastoral farming 1920; Walsøe 1919). Except for a very practices, a premise that warrants pause few earlier and later imported sheep of for critical consideration. Renewed farm- varied origin (Austreheim et al. 2008; ing in Greenland did not develop in the Johnstrup 1878; Walsøe 1919: 42), the form of the reoccupation of Norse farm- entire present Greenlandic sheep popu- steads by Scandinavian descendants, as lation grew from these first individuals. originally envisaged by Danish Govern- As shown in fig. 3, by 1966 sheep num- ment officials; instead it was realized by bers had reached a peak hitherto of an industrious Inuit; with only the most ba- estimated 47,968 ewes (i.e. not including sic technological aids, and often in areas lambs, rams, and wethers), a population much isolated from established infra- development spanning only 60 years. structure, pioneer Inuit, from the 1930s onwards, reclaimed Norse farmsteads From an archaeological perspective, this and fields (e.g. Christensen 1954; Kris- sheep population development is in itself tiansen 1955). This was effectively a an interesting observation; the aggregate second landnám. Nonetheless, it was a 189 sheep imported in the early 20th cen- landnám developing from a different tury does not seem to significantly ex- cultural background and aided by mid- ceed the likely number of a Norse found- 20th-century agricultural technology and ing sheep population. Accordingly, the knowledge. Clearly then, it is imperative 145

explicitly to single out both potential from pre-modern farming; however, it is overlaps and obvious differences be- characterized by being the period in tween Norse and recent Inuit farming, a which Greenlandic farming emerged as a discussion that can only be presented in fully modernized, mechanized, and com- summary form in this short paper. mercial occupation. This process of ma- turing was, naturally, already under way, First, the project sections off the period but 1976 marks the year when the sheep- 1906-1976, designated the period of breeding station at Upernaviarsuk was pre-modern farming, as the most perti- converted into an independent institu- nent for a comparative case study. Such tion (Heerfordt et al. 1980), future expan- a division is obviously somewhat capri- sions in sheep farming came under de- cious and constructed, since Greenlan- tailed and centralized supervision, sheep dic farming developed continuously. breeding had been centred on fewer However, the preceding phase of colo- larger farms (fig. 8), and farmers from then nial farming was characterized by being on in general received increased govern- small-scale, subsidiary household pro- ment subsidies (Egede et al. 1982; Heer- duction (Bendixen 1927; Bentzen 1920: fordt et al. 1980; Laursen & Ørnsholt 35) tied to the colonial settlement pat- 1979). These developments were largely tern, i.e. the trade and mission stations a result of the hard winter of 1975/76 that were, in turn, tied to Inuit coastal (fig. 9), which left the Greenlandic sheep settlement (fig. 2) (Amdrup et al. 1921a, population at its lowest point since 1921b). Thus, apart from two farming 1949; because of the improvements sub- settlements established at the inner sequently introduced, i.e. the transition to fjord sites of Igaliku in 1782 (Bóbe 1915) modernized intensive farming, 1976 also and Narsaq in the 1880s (Amdrup et al. became the last catastrophic winter. To 1921b), both suggestively also sites of sum up, after 1976 Greenlandic sheep Norse magnate farmsteads, colonial farming had evolved to such modern farming had a geographical distribution standards that comparison with Norse markedly different from the Norse one, farming practices is generally unfeasible. something that would also to a certain extent characterize the early settlement Pre-modern farming outlined pattern of Inuit farmers. The period of pre-modern Inuit farming, then, is the one that seems most inform- The period of farming developments fol- ative as regards Norse farming practices, lowing 1976, here designated modern among other reasons because, compared farming, is harder to delimit decisively with the preceding period, it is richly

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No. sheep in Greenland 1906-2006

50000

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Cattle, horses, and goats in Greenland, 1895-2006

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and accurately documented. The animal mesticates were bred by the Norse set- husbandry initially practised during the tlers, they will not be considered here. pre-modern farming phase included all the species brought to Greenland by the Interestingly, although goats were seem- Norsemen: goats, sheep, cattle, horses, ingly more numerous than sheep at the and pigs, listed roughly in the order of transition from colonial to pre-modern their prevalence at the beginning of the farming, they were completely phased period (cf. figs. 3, 4). Pre-modern farm- out by the mid 1950s (fig. 4), a diachronic ing also saw experimental breeding of development quite opposite to that of rabbits, geese, and reindeer, as well as Norse animal husbandry (Dugmore et al. the keeping of quite a considerable 2007; Enghof 2003). In the latter context, number of chickens (Christensen 1946; the relative increase in goats has been Hansen 1926: 75; Kampp 1964; Walsøe ascribed to their greater resilience and 1936); however, as none of these do- broader food spectrum (McGovern 1992). However, the specifics of keeping goats in early 19th-century Greenland are un- Fig. 3. Number of officially registered ewes in fortunately rarely touched upon in the Greenland in the period 1906-2006; dotted lines 19th-century sources; one author (Jes- indicate years with missing information. The sharp drops in the curve reflect the so-called persen 1916) notes that goats were in ‘catastrophic’ winters, i.e. winters with heavy decline because the Inuit had no liking sheep losses, discussed in the text. Notice also for goats’ milk, thus also pointing to the the relatively stable population post-1976 after regulation and modernization of Greenlandic seemingly arbitrary factors that some- sheep farming (data aggregated from: Amdrup times influenced developments. Pigs in et al. 1921; Chemnitz 1920: 30; Hansen 1926: 75; Greenland were always very few; exper- Jensen et al. 1963: bilag 2; Kampp 1964: fig. 1; Walsøe 1919, 1936; Statistisk Årbog 1951-1985; imental breeding culminated during and Grønland: Statistisk Årbog 1983-2006). just after World War II, but was abandoned because it was simply too im- practical (Christensen 1946; Jespersen 1916). Because of their low numbers Fig. 4. Number of cattle, horses, and goats in and insignificant role in pre-modern Greenland 1895-2006; dotted lines indicate years farming, goats and pigs will not be dis- with missing information. Figures from 1896 to 1945 are only estimates, because there was no cussed here either, leaving only sheep, official register of livestock (data aggregated cattle, and horses to be discussed. from: Amdrup et al. 1921b; Bruun 1895; Hansen 1926; Jespersen 1916; Knuthsen et al. 1906; Walsøe 1936; Statistisk Årbog 1951-1985; Grøn- During pre-modern farming these live- land: Statistisk Årbog 1983-2006). stock were herded extensively, i.e. they

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were mostly left free to graze in the ixen 1927; Hansen 1926; Knuthsen et al. mountains and valleys and fend for 1906; Walsøe 1936), and was indeed themselves throughout the year and known from elsewhere in the North At- rounded up merely for culling and shear- lantic; in the Faroes for instance, such ing; only the cattle would be stalled and catastrophic winters were called felli fed through the hardest winter months and were thought to occur on average (fig. 5) (Heerfordt et al. 1980; Jensen every 14 years (Brandt 1985). 1951). In the South Greenlandic environment, with its highly fluctuating and of- That farming in South Greenland remained ten harsh winter weather, this markedly strikingly extensive throughout its pre- extensive mode of production was a modern phase in spite of the known very risky farming strategy: the result risks was thus not a result of poor judge- was that livestock were depleted during ment or inexperience; it was rather a di- the hardest winters (fig. 9), sometimes rect consequence of factors specific to in disastrous proportions, which ac- the Greenland setting, i.e. the very fac- counts for these winters being termed tors that characterized pre-modern farm- ‘catastrophic’ (e.g. Christensen 1950; ing and make it such an interesting case Jensen 1958). This disadvantage of ex- study: first, the pronounced lack of agri- tensive farming was already realized by cultural machinery up until the late early farmers and observers (e.g. Bend- 1960s (fig. 6), primarily caused by Green- land’s distance from Denmark, meant that it was exceedingly hard to expand Fig. 5. Abandoned cattle byre at Igaliku, once the seat of the Norse hayfields and thereby increase produc- bishop at Garðar (E47); both the stones of the byre and the hayfield tion of winter fodder (e.g. Christensen in front have been reclaimed from the Norse farmstead. Such re-use of Norse vestiges was common in pre-modern Greenlandic farming 1946, 1955; Jensen 1951; Walsøe 1919). (Photo: K. Krogh 1979). Hay production was mostly limited to the re-use of relict Norse homefield areas, expanses that were quickly occupied (e.g. Christensen 1946: 152; Jensen 1951: 71). The slow increase in cultivated area during the phase of pre-modern farming is strikingly obvious from fig. 7. At the same time, livestock numbers increased dramatically, widening the critical gap between potential fodder resources and numbers of livestock in potential need of 149

Fig. 6. Raking hay at Qassiarsuk; because of Greenland’s logistical remoteness from Denmark and the trade monopoly, agricultural machinery and aids were very few – essentially just a few tractors owned by the sheep-breeding station – until the 1970s. Instead, fields had to be improved and worked by hand or with the aid of horses (Photo: Vebæk 1964).

fodder (cf. figs. 3-4, 7), even though Inuit points of prospective contrast with farmers also readily resorted to wild- Norse farming should also be suggested: growing fodder resources (Amdrup et al. first, before the modern phase of farm- 1921b; Bendixen 1927; Christensen 1955; ing, holdings were scattered among many Hansen 1926; Heerfordt et al. 1980; livestock owners, some of whom were Jensen 1958; Walsøe 1919, 1936). full-time farmers, but the majority of whom were to varying extents farmers/ Apart from the spatial and, especially hunters (fig. 8) (e.g. Jensen et al. 1963: during the first half of the period, the tech- tab. 3). The former group was settled in nological overlap with Norse farming, the inner fjord areas on prime Norse

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Fig. 7. The aggregate cultivated area in Green- Fig. 8. The number of registered sheep owners land at intervals in the period 1928-2006. Note in Greenland at intervals in the period 1936-2007. the very slow expansion in cultivated area up to Notice the drop in the number of holdings after the the mid-1970s (data aggregated from: Heerfordt catastrophic winter of 1975/76 and the subse- et al. 1980; Høegh 2007; Jensen et al. 1963; quent professionalization of farming in Greenland Walsøe 1936). (after Dietz 1989; Heerfordt et al. 1980; Høegh 2007; Jensen et al. 1963; Walsøe 1936: 162).

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farmland, while the latter was found in Centrally, four main points singled out the middle fjord and coastal areas. The from the history of pre-modern farming distribution over several, mostly small- make for interesting comparisons with scale owners is probably somewhat Norse farming: similar to the Norse farming pattern. 1) the South Greenland landscapes However, the middle fjord and coastal can, in terms of available summer situating of the pre-modern holdings is fodder biomass, naturally support surely linked to traditional Inuit settle- quite a large number of livestock; ment pattern and, according to the ini- agricultural surveys have through tial findings of the project, a trait rather time projected sustainable sheep opposite to than the same as Norse set- numbers between 55,000 and tlement; new, not yet published dates 900,000 (Egede et al. 1982; Kampp suggest that the Norse outer fjord and 1964; Laursen & Ørnsholt 1979); coastal sites were the latest to be occu- however, pied and the earliest to be abandoned. 2) summer fodder biomass is not the key factor regulating fluctuations in In summary, the Norsemen in Greenland overall Greenlandic livestock popu- were farmers who increasingly turned to lations; this factor is rather the avail- hunting, while the Inuit were hunters who ability of winter fodder, either occur- increasingly turned to farming; perhaps ring naturally or provided by Norse farming practices were, as a con- humans; sequence, more effective than even the 3) because pre-modern farmers pre- 20th century pre-modern ones, for in- dominantly re-used Norse home- stance in their use of manure and irriga- fields or naturally occurring resourc- tion (cf. e.g. Christensen 1953; Knuthsen es for winter fodder hay production, et al. 1906; Krogh 1982). In addition, pre- we can fairly assume that fodder modern sheep farming steadily became a production in neither period can specialized, commercial venture – increas- have greatly exceeded fodder pro- ingly relying on subsidies and imports – duction in the other; while Norse farming remained self-suf- 4) as this amount of fodder could win- ficient household production with the classic ter-feed only a fraction of the total North Atlantic composition of animal hus- number of livestock, Inuit farmers bandry. A number of such overlaps and relied on extensive grazing; the contrasts – suggestive rather than con- Norse settlers, likely also to try and clusive – are considered in the project, but maximize their animal husbandry, lie beyond the scope of the present paper. would have had to rely to some de- 151

gree on extensive farming practices ing off the ice cap – especially the warm to compensate for the insufficient Foehn winds – are highly influential on winter fodder production. the appearance of the South Greenland winter landscape. ‘Catastrophic win- The environmentally regulated fluctua- ters’ occur when certain of these weath- tions in livestock numbers observed his- er factors coincide. torically can therefore be taken as suggestive of similar fluctuations during the However, it must be stressed that ‘cata- Norse occupation of Greenland. strophic winters’ is not a meteorological term; rather, it is a ‘hands-on’ term tied ‘Catastrophic’ winters specifically to farmer-livestock-environ- The inner part of the South Greenlandic ment dynamics, i.e. it is a farmer’s per- fjords, where both Norse and pre-mod- ception of the severity of a specific win- ern Inuit sheep farmers primarily set up ter in terms of the loss of livestock, more their farmsteads, is an environmental specifically sheep. Clearly,severity is not niche characterized by a subarctic sub- an objectively fixed magnitude, but a rel- continental climate; i.e. mean summer ative observation. Still, severity is central temperatures lie above 10°C and the to the identification and description of growing season is somewhat longer this winter phenomenon, because some than in the low-arctic outer fjords (Born winters with minor livestock losses are & Böcher 2001; Cappelen et al. 2001; not referred to as catastrophic. If we com- Feilberg 1984). By contrast, winters are pare the historical use of the term (Chris- colder and somewhat drier in the inner tensen 1950; Jensen 1958; Heerfordt et than in the outer fjord. More significant- al. 1980) with actual losses (fig. 9), ‘cata- ly, however, winter weather varies strophic winters’ can tentatively be de- greatly in terms of temperature and pre- fined as winters when 10% or more of cipitation depending on the wider mete- the total number of ewes were lost. As orological conditions, especially the shown by fig. 9, there were ten such re- North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), anom- corded ‘catastrophic winters’ in the pe- alies in this system leading to either riod 1906-1976, plus an additional four cooler arctic winter weather or milder, years with population declines not re- wetter, and more unstable North Atlan- corded as ‘catastrophic’. It should be noted tic winter weather (ibid.). A further influ- that some yearly declines do not appear ence on South Greenlandic winter as grave as they really were; for instance, weather is the equally variable winds, in 1932/33 and 1933/34, as many as 30- among which the katabatic winds com- 40% of the ewes were actually lost, but

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Relative Sheep Declines (%) 1906-1976 60 %

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Fig. 9. Recorded relative sheep declines (% of the previous year’s population) in the period 1906- one hand, there were the winters when 1976. Historically termed ‘catastrophic winters’ the prolonged cold was accompanied by were those when 10% or more of the total stock was lost during a single winter. deep snow cover that was not occasion- ally thawed by Foehn winds or breaks of mild temperatures; this resulted in farm- because of a subsequent mild spring a ers running short of fodder, a deficit they larger proportion of lambs survived and could not remedy by grazing the animals, were added to and counted among the because of the deep snow cover (Chris- stock the subsequent year. Finally, although tensen 1950). However, equally disas- fig. 9 covers the entire pre-modern phase trous were winters when Foehn winds of farming, population declines in 1906- or generally mild weather thawed only 1925 should be viewed with some cau- part of the snow cover, but subsequent tion, because livestock records from the quick freezing led to the formation of an early years are somewhat uncertain. ice shield that the sheep could not dig through in their search for forage (Born A characteristic of the ‘catastrophic win- & Böcher 2001; Heerfordt et al. 1980). ters’ of pre-modern farming was exceptionally cold winter/early spring temper- In the historical records of pre-modern atures over prolonged periods. Addition - farming (fig. 3) such ‘catastrophic win- ally, they came in two varieties: On the ters’ occurred on average every seventh 153

year, i.e. with double the frequency ex- isons of the records of sheep numbers pected for instance in the 18th-century and meteorologically observed mean Faroes (Brandt 1985). However, fig. 9 re- annual temperature in the inner fjord veals that the severity of such cata- area in 1906-1976, e.g. at Narsarsuaq strophic winters was quite variable, (Cappelen 2007), do show some correla- with losses ranging from c.10% to 50%. tion; however, the correlation is not Also shown in fig. 9 is the circumstance strong, clearly signalling that while low that in 7 of the 10 instances, the ‘cata- temperatures are part of the explana- strophic winters’ occurred in 2 or 3 suc- tion for ‘catastrophic winters’, they are cessive years; these years must surely not the whole explanation. Inclusion of have been extra hard on the farmers. meteorological data on winter precipita- Following ‘catastrophic winters’, repop- tion in the same period (ibid.) results in ulation on average occurred within 4.1 much stronger correlation, emphasizing years (calculation based only on those snow cover as an important factor; un- years where repopulation actually oc- fortunately, detailed winter precipita- curred), although it varies from 2 to 8 tion records are only available for the years depending on the severity of pop- period after 1960 and therefore provide ulation decline. little statistical verification.

While such crude statistics are certainly Somewhat surprisingly, the strongest in themselves suggestive for farming positive correlation found so far between strategies employable by Norse farm- ‘catastrophic winter’ sheep declines and ers, they also need to be formulated in climate data overlapping the period of terms of climatic data in order to be tru- pre-modern farming comes from ice-core ly convincing; after all, Norse settlement records from the Greenland ice cap, es- spanned a period of quite striking cli- pecially the Dye-3 ice core (Dahl-Jensen matic and environmental change, i.e. et al. 1998; Vinther et al. 2010). Simply the transition from the medieval warmth explained, these data sets provide a rel- period (MWP) to the little ice age (LIA) ative temperature record back through (e.g. Ogilvie & Jónsson 2001; Patterson time which can be divided bi-seasonally et al. 2010; Xoplaki et al. 2011). Com- – winter and summer season – on the paring ‘catastrophic winter’ records and basis of their 16O/18O stable isotope con- different meteorological and climatic tent, henceforth referred to simply as data is still an ongoing process, the re- 18O data. Significantly, it has recently sults of which can only be summarily re- been demonstrated that winter-season ported here. But as an example compar- Dye-3 18O data mainly ties in with the

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NAO signal and display high correla- work is to refine the model, adding new tions with southwestern Greenland tem- data such as ice-core accumulation rates peratures, whereas summer-season Dye-3 (Andersen et al. 2006) and determining 18O data generally tie in with tempera- the exact prevailing weather of the spe- ture records from Greenland’s east coast cific ‘catastrophic winters’; i.e. when ex- and NW Iceland (Vinter et al. 2010). In actly did the ‘killing’ cold and snow set short, the Dye-3 18O data reflect tem- in? But even working simply with some peratures in the vital winter season and basic statistics has a number of inter- mainly in the geographical region that is esting implications. of interest to the present study; this, in all likelihood accounts for the correla- To begin with, the years prior to 1926 tion with recorded sheep declines (for must be left out of consideration simply discussion, see below). Besides the con- because of poor data quality, i.e. very in- siderable degree of correlation with secure population counts and such low sheep-number fluctuations, the 18O data sheep numbers that decline percentages is useful because, unlike the meteorolog- are too easily exaggerated. Thus, the ical records, it can be extrapolated back potential ‘catastrophic winter’ of 1922/23 in time to periods of Norse farming. must be omitted, leaving only the nine winters of 1932/33, 1933/34, 1936/37, Sheep population and 18O data 1937/38, 1948/49, 1956/57, 1966/67, Fig. 10 shows the sheep population in 1971/72, and 1975/76 in consideration 1906-1976 and corresponding seasonally (note, however, that 1936/37 is not men- separated 18O data; what are immedi- tioned historically as a ‘catastrophic ately visible are correlative ‘dips’ in the winter’). Using the 18O data means of curves. However, equally visible are in- these recorded ‘catastrophic winters’ as stances of correlation with only one set of a critical mean (dotted line fig.10, 13a-c) 18O seasonal data, correlation shifted – henceforth termed Winter Critical seasonally to either side, or very little Mean (WCM) and Summer Critical Mean correlation at all (cf. figs. 9&10). Clearly, (SCM) – for when sheep-decline/18O both data sets need to be carefully eval- data correlation can be expected (i.e. a uated for potential biases before an ac- catastrophic winter will occur when tual model for 18O data/sheep-decline winter and summer seasonal 18O data dynamics can be formulated. As expected, < WCM/SCM), seven instances occur in seasonal 18O data alone do not explain the period 1926-1976. Of these, three all of the ‘catastrophic winter’ sheep instances correspond with actual re- declines. Part of the upcoming project corded ‘catastrophic winters’, three cor- 155

No. ewes + winter/summer 18O dye 3 1906-1976 -21

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Sheep Winter 18O (‰) Summer 18O (‰) WCM SCM

Fig. 10. Graph showing correspondences be- Horse population and 18O data tween number of ewes (black line) and seasonal In the graph (fig. 4) of recorded numbers winter (dark grey line) and summer (red line) 18O data (after Vinther et al. 2010); broken dark grey of horses in Greenland from the colonial and red lines – termed winter critical mean phase of farming until today, two things (WCM) and summer critical mean (SCM) – show are immediately evident: first, that the mean values for the 9 recorded catastrophic winters 1926-1976 used in the inferential extrapola- population seems to have fluctuated tion to the Norse period. markedly, an interpretation that is however partially due to the generally low number of horses (between 56 and 216) respond with winters with smaller sheep and the consequent exaggerated dips declines, and one does not correlate at when this is shown in the chosen graphic all (cf. figs. 9 & 10). While yet imperfect, resolution; the second thing that is evi- the model does thus seem to account dent is the lack of detailed population most predominantly for years with sheep counts prior to 1945, and in the interval losses, although not necessarily of ‘cat- 1958-1965; this critically limits the com- astrophic’ proportions. parative statistical value of the data set.

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Recorded declines in the horse popula- ence has a range of only 1-13 horses, tion during the pre-modern phase of i.e. so few that declines can by no means farming are shown in fig. 11. If we also be convincingly attributed to environ- accept the >10% decline as a limit for mental factors. ‘catastrophic winter’ horse losses; there were only four such winters: 1948/49, The overlap of years with both horse 1950/51, 1966/67 and 1971/72. Of these and sheep population declines, also in four declines, the 1950/51 one was the some instances correlating with 18O most distinctive, with a c. 42% (51 hors- data (cf. figs. 12&10) suggests what has es) loss; it is furthermore the only cata- already been mentioned historically: i.e. strophic decline to occur in a year with- that horses were herded extensively out a parallel catastrophic sheep during pre-modern Greenlandic farming population decline. This could indicate and were liable to equal fluctuations. that the 1950/51 decline had other caus- However, the correlation is not strong, es, e.g. purposeful culling or disease. Of especially considering that horses are the five recorded <10% horse popula- more susceptible to harsh winter condition declines, two occurred in years with tions than sheep and that horse-popula- parallel sheep losses, while three did tion declines would accordingly be ex- not; however, these years are extremely pected to follow 18O data even more problematical because the yearly differ- closely. They do not, suggesting perhaps that horses were, in fact, stalled and fed Fig. 11. Recorded relative horse population declines (% of the somewhat differently from sheep. How- previous year’s population) in the period 1945-1976.

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Fig. 12. Graph showing correspondences between number of horses (black line) and seasonal Cattle population and 18O data winter (dark grey line) and summer (red line) 18O data (after Vinther et al. 2010). Note especially As displayed in fig. 4, accurate yearly both winter and summer seasonal 18O data cattle counts did not become customary values for 1967, corresponding to a significant until after the Second World War, and decline in the horse population as well as the sheep population (fig. 10). the period 1958-1965 also lacks published cattle counts. Cattle farming was temporarily abandoned in 1973, the year ever, a comparison for the year 1966/67 after the ‘catastrophic winter’ of 1971/72, in figs. 9-12 merits special attention be- until revived in 2002. Fig. 4 also shows cause it appears to have been a year of that cattle farming in Greenland never equal severity for both sheep and horses; involved many animals; the 98 regis- in the 18O data too this year stands out tered in 1948 being the highest number (cf. figs. 10 & 12) with extremely low val- recorded. The cattle data set is there- ues for both winter and summer: -29.57 fore of even poorer quality and compar- and -28.24‰ respectively. It is therefore ative value than the one for the horse not unreasonable to say that such low population, for which reason graphs re- seasonal 18O data values strongly sug- produced for the other livestock have gest extremely critical winters. been omitted for cattle.

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Nonetheless, fig. 4 offers some signifi- The catastrophic winter of 1948/49 is cant information; in spite of missing data: described as having freezing tempera- in the period from 1895 until around the tures, but little snow from early October, end of the 1930s, the Greenland cattle then in January heavy snow and cold, population seems to have been pretty followed by thawing, which then sud- stable and to have begun to expand mark- denly turned into week-long icy storms edly only as sheep farming did through that created an ice shield over the veg- the 1940s, a development that accords etation that the animals could not dig well with the historical record (e.g. Chris- through (Christensen 1950). After a rela- tensen 1946). The high point in cattle tively mild February and March, hard numbers, 1948, coincided with a peak in winter weather set in again in late April sheep numbers; a preliminary optimum in and lasted well into June. From this de- livestock expansion without correspond- scription, one would indeed expect 18O ing expansion in fodder production that, as values for both winter and summer that mentioned above, resulted in grave losses were exceptionally low; but they were of cattle, horses, and sheep during the not; nor do mean temperature records ‘catastrophic winter’ of 1948/49. Unlike from the measuring station at Narsarsuaq sheep and horses, cattle were stalled and – situated in the inner fjord core of the fed during the hardest winter months, but sheep-farming area – show any remark- in spite of this measure, cattle were still able lows for 1948/49 (Cappelen 2007). depleted by 38% during the 1948/49 The 1948/49 winter does, however, stand winter. This is of special interest because out as a low, as do almost all the record- the Norse settlers also stalled and fed ed ‘catastrophic winters’ in the PC1 time their cattle during the hardest winter series that consists of average aggre- months (e.g. Berglund 2001; Nørlund & gate data from seven Greenland ice Stenberger 1934); the potential identifi- cores (Vinther et al. 2003). This would cation of such exceptionally hard win- seem to suggest that correlating differ- ters, equally affecting extensively grazed ent ice-core records could potentially livestock and stalled and fed livestock, would evidently be highly significant. Figs. 13a-c. Dye-3 winter and summer 18O values (full dark grey and red curves) (after 18 However, the seasonal  O data for Vinther et al. 2010) with indication of winter 1948/49 shows no corresponding excep- critical means (WCM, broken dark grey lines), tionally low values, revealing that ice- summer critical means (SCM, broken red lines), extreme critical winter (ECW, dotted dark grey core temperatures alone cannot demon- lines), and extreme critical summers (ECS, strate all of the ‘catastrophic winters’. dotted red line). Dye 3 18O data (‰) A.D 985-1149 -24

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make the livestock-climate model more bility: observed 18O values falling below precise. Again, however, temporal over- both the WCM/SCM during the period lap with the relevant comparative peri- of Norse settlement have a high proba- ods is problematical. bility of reflecting the occurrence of a harsh year for extensively grazed live- 18O data and Norse stock with resulting population decline, ‘catastrophic winters’ although not necessarily of ‘catastroph- The main reason for trying find signals ic’ proportions, and with a slight chance corresponding to ‘catastrophic winters’ of no population decline at all. General- in historical pre-modern farming and ly, there were 13 years with sheep pop- 18O values is, as mentioned, because ulation declines in the period 1926- the latter data set can be extrapolated 1976, i.e. a sheep decline resulting from back to the Norse occupation of Green- harsh winters occurred every 3.8 years land and thereby substantiate potential on average (fig. 9). For the preliminary frequencies of occurrences of such win- identification of truly catastrophic winters during the Middle Ages, assuming ters, the extremely critical summer and that animals were herded somewhat winter 18O values (ECW/ECS) of 1966/67 similarly, i.e. predominantly in an exten- are suggested (figs. 13a-c). sive farming strategy. Figs. 13a-c show the seasonal Dye-3 18O data with indi- When we use this model to identify win- cations of the WCM/SCM calculated on ters that were probably hard on livestock the basis of the records of pre-modern during the Norse period (figs. 13a-c), Inuit farming. their relative frequency seems to have varied greatly (tab. 1). The frequency, of This simplified, preliminary model must course, depends somewhat on how the be interpreted with certain reservations; settlement period is divided up tempo- the WCM/SCM limit did not, when used rally, especially because harsh winters on 18O data from the pre-modern period clearly have a tendency to cluster, but of farming, single out only truly ‘cata- here we have chosen to work mostly strophic winters’; with equal frequency it with 50-year units, because this is the indicated winters with <10% sheep de- timespan (1926-1976) upon which the clines, and one instance of non-correla- model was also based. For the Norse tion (see above). The observations from landnám period AD 985-1049 harsh win- values extrapolated back into the Norse ters seem to have occurred considerable settlement period can therefore, for now, less often than during pre-modern farm- only be read in terms of relative proba- ing, while the subsequent 100 years until Harsh Harsh Winter Critical Year A.D. Winters Average Winters

985-1049 13 4,92 1 161

1050-1099 15 3,33 2

1100-1149 13 3,85 1

1150-1199 23 2,17 6

1200-1249 8 6,25 1

1250-1299 16 3,13 2 Tab. 1. The modelled averaged frequencies of harsh winters, i.e. winters with probable livestock declines, and the number 1300-1349 14 3,57 4 of extremely critical winters, based on the 1966/67 seasonal 1350-1399 14 3,57 1 18O data, separated only by intervals of 50 years (note that 1400-1449 20 2,50 3 the first landnám interval is 64 years). 1450-1499 16 3,13 2

AD 1149 were roughly comparable. Ex- marine diet (Arneborg et al. 2008). Yet, tremely critical years occurred only once because the extremely harsh half cen- or twice every 50 years. Overall, this tury was followed by the seemingly would seem to indicate that during the most favourable 50 years for extensive initial settlement of Greenland, and es- farming during the entire Norse settle- pecially during the landnám, reliance on ment period, the effects of the harsh an extensive farming and herding strat- years may have been cancelled out and egy was quite feasible and sustainable. extensive farming strategies may even have been reinforced. During the period AD 1150-1199, harsh winters suddenly seem to have ap- The period AD 1250-1400 saw years peared with much greater frequency – comparable to, or only slight worse than, in fact at almost double the rate of the those in the pre-modern phase of farm- preceding period – as did critical win- ing; that is, extensive herding was risky, ters, which all fell towards the end of but probably generally sustainable, partly the period. This would have put a seri- because seriously critical winters were ous strain on one or two generations of still infrequent and livestock had time to Norse farmers, perhaps prompting recuperate before a new catastrophic changes in livestock composition, farm- depletion. From AD 1400-1500 onwards, ing strategies, and general subsistence however, harsh winters for extensively economy. At this time, such changes herded livestock would seem to have cannot be confirmed directly in the ar- occurred with increased frequency, prob- chaeological material, because of the ably making the risks of extensive farming lack of finely stratified bone collections too great to sustain this mode of farming. or construction chronologies from the If, however, extensive herding had been Norse Eastern Settlement. It does, how- a significant element in Norse farming ever, correspond rather well to the over- throughout most of the settlement peri- all shift in 13C stable isotope values in od, a possibility for which the 18O data human bones after c. AD1250, signal- would seem to allow, this change could ling a shift towards a significantly more have been difficult and would have re-

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quired redirection of a small labour The proposed model can clearly be re- force, which at the time was heavily di- fined and corrected to generate even rected towards the exploitation of ma- more statistically sound and graduated rine resources (Arneborg et al. 2008). findings, and the model still needs testing against other archaeological and en- Conclusion vironmental evidence. However, the ini- One aim of the PhD project Landscape tial results suggest that extensive and Livelihood, Economy and Hierarchy: farming, i.e. the labour-effective mode of Pastoral Farming in Norse Greenland is farming where the livestock are left to to incorporate historical evidence of 19- graze mostly unsupervised throughout 20th century Inuit farming in Greenland. the year, was a risky, but feasible and Such evidence serves to identify key sustainable farming strategy throughout practical and environmental issues likely most of Norse settlement in Greenland. to face anyone trying to farm on the edge Only after AD 1400 does extensive farm- of the Arctic; it allows the archaeologist ing seem to have become an extremely or scientist to view the landscape, so to precarious strategy; at this point, how- speak, through the eyes of Greenlandic ever, farmers might have had a hard time farmers and to approach a more dynamic redirecting a sparse labour force into ‘dwelling’ perspective (cf. Ingold 2011): farm work and changing their basic sub- the Norse settlers must have existed as sistence economy, which was by then opportunistic and adaptive farmer/hunt- heavily dependent on marine resources. ers finding their livelihood in landscapes If Norse farmers were unwilling or una- that were intricately familiar and struc- ble to break with the continued reliance tured, but also landscapes that were on an extensive farming strategy, it could constantly changing, posing to some as- have influenced settlement economy, and pects of their livelihood, while creating ultimately led to abandonment, as envi- opportunities in others. ronmental conditions for extensive farming grew increasingly worse. Through the case study of the period of pre-modern Inuit farming, the paper As mentioned, the proposed model, and gives a preliminary example of how the inferences drawn from it, assumes that historical evidence can be used to ex- Norse farming remained markedly exten- plore scenarios of environment-farming sive throughout the settlement period. dynamics, not only for the historical pe- This assumption is clearly unsatisfactory; riod, but, using seasonal ice core data, following decades of harsh winter weath- potentially also for the Norse settlers. er and livestock declines, the Norsemen 163

would certainly be expected to react with- Andersen, K.K., Ditlevsen, P.D., Rasmus- in their capability to improve their situa- sen, S.O., Clausen, H.B., Vinther, B.M., tion and reduce livestock losses. Given the Johnsen, S.J. & Steffensen, J.P. 2006. lack of complementary archaeological Retrieving a common accumulation record evidence, the model can therefore only from Greenland ice cores for the past be used to explore ‘what-if’ scenarios, 1800 years. Journal of Geophysical Re- rather than ‘so-that’ scenarios. However, search 11: 148-227. given the historical example of the Faroes, even the most catastrophic livestock de- Arneborg, J., Heinemeier, J. & Lynnerup, clines need not always result in adaptive N. 2008. “… Husk at folk lever af flere response; until the 18th century, sheep ting end bare brød”. De norrøne grøn- farming was the mainstay of the farming lænderes kost. Nationalmuseets Arbejds economy, yet severe sheep declines remark 2008, pp. 149-160. sulting from hard winters are abundantly recorded without this ever leading to a Austreheim, G., Asheim, L., Bjarnason, G., large-scale move to an intensive herding Feilberg, J., Fosaa, A. M., Holand, Ø, strategy (Brandt 1985; Joensen 1979; Høegh, K., Jónsdóttir, I. S., Magnússon, B., Kampp 1950). Besides being suggestive Mortensen, L. E., Mysterud, A., Olsen, E., for the above study of livestock-environ- Skonhoft, A., Steinheim, G. & Thórhalls ment dynamics, the historical Faroese dóttir, A. G. 2008. Sheep grazing in the example also cautions us that farming North-Atlantic region – A long term per- strategy is just one element of a com- spective on management, resource econ- plex farming system that works as a to- omy and ecology. Rapport zoologisk serie tality, i.e. changes are determined by a 2008-3, Norges Teknisks-Naturvitenskabe range of different factors; and outlining lige Universitet, Vitenskabsmuseet, Oslo. and describing other such factors in the Norse Greenlandic farming settlements Bendixen, O. 1927. Grønland som Nybyg- is the next step in the PhD project. gerland. Dansk Forlag, Copenhagen

Bentzen, B. 1920. Faareavl og Kohold i References Grønland, II. Det Grønlandske Selskabs Amdrup, G. C., Bóbe, L., Jensen, A. D. & Aarsskrift 1919, pp. 32-36. Steensby, H. P. (eds.) 1921a & b. Grøn- land i Tohundredaaret for Hans Egedes Berglund, J. 2001. Omkring dagliglivet Landing, Vol. I & II. Meddelelser om på Gården Under Sandet. Tidsskriftet Grønland 60 & 61. Grønland 7: 267-278.

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Bóbe, L. 1915. Anders Olsen og hans Christensen, K. N. 1946. Faareavlen og Slægt ved Igaliku. Det Grønlandske Landbruget i Grønland under Krigen. Det Selskabs Aarsskrift 1915, pp. 100-112. Grønlandske Selskabs Aarsskrift 1946, pp. 146-154. Born, E. W. & Böcher, J. 2001. The Ecol- -- 1950. Tabet af får i Sydgrønland vin- ogy of Greenland. Eng. trans. by D. Eiby- teren 1948-49. Det Grønlandske Selsk- Jaconsen, Ministry of Environment and abs Aarsskrift 1950, pp. 109-118. Natural Resources, Nuuk. -- 1953. Grønlands jord under kultur. Tidsskriftet Grønland 4: 407-109. Brandt, J. 1985. En regional analyse af -- 1954. Ødemarken, som fik liv.Tidsskrift - bæreevnens udvikling i de færøske hauger. et Grønland 6: 201-208. Fróðskaparrit 33. Bók, Annales Societas -- 1955. Græsavl i Grønland. Tidsskriftet Scientarium Færoensis 1985, pp. 19-41. Grønland 4: 147-154.

Bruun, D. 1895. Arkæologiske Undersø Dahl-Jensen, D., Mosegaard, K., Gunde- gelser i Julianehaabs Distrikt. Meddelel strup, N., Clow, G. D., Johsen, S. J., ser om Grønland 16. Hansen, A. W. & Balling, N. 1998. Past Temperatures Directly from the Green- Cappelen, J. 2007. DMI Annual Climate land Ice Sheet. Science 282: 268-271. Data Collection 1873-2006, Denmark, The Faroe Islands and Greenland – with Dietz, R. 1989. Nuværende anvendelse graphics and Danish summary. Danish af områder i og tilgrænsende Narsaq Meteorological Institute Technical Report kommune, 1988. Grønlands Miljøunder 07-05, Copenhagen. søgelser 1989, 71 pp.

Cappelen, J., Jørgensen, B. V., Laursen, Dugmore, A. J., Keller, C. & McGovern, E. V., Stannius, L. S. & Thomsen, R. S. T. H. 2007. Norse Greenland Settlement: 2001. The Observed Climate of Green- Reflections on Climate Change, Trade, land, 1958-1999 – with Climatological and the Contrasting Fates of Human Set- Standard Normals, 1961-1990. Danish tlements in the North Atlantic Islands. Meteorological Institute Technical Report Arctic Anthropology 44(1): 12-36. 00-18, Copenhagen. Egede, K., Thorsteinsson, I., Køller-Jørgen Chemnitz, J. 1920. Faareavl og Kohold i sen, L. & Krogh, K. 1982. Detailplan for Grønland, I. Det Grønlandske Selskabs fåreavlen i Sydgrønland. Rapport udarbe- Aarsskrift 1919, pp. 30-32. jdet af Fåreavlskonsulent-tjenesten for 165

De samvirkende Fåreholder-foreninger i Jensen, L. 1951. Det grønlandske land- Grønland og Grønlandsministeriet. brugs udviklingsmuligheder. Det Grønland ske Selskabs Aarsskrift 1951, pp. 67-77. Enghof, I. B. 2003. Hunting, fishing and -- 1958. Fåreavl på Grønland. Den Konge animal husbandry at The Farm Beneath lige Grønlandske Handel, Copenhagen. The Sand, Western Greenland. Meddel elser om Grønland, Man & Society 28. Jensen, L., Jørgensen, C. A., Nilsen, J., Mosegaard, H., Sjelle-Hansen, H., Lund, Erslev, Ed. 1897. Om Havedyrkning i nord K. B., Andersen, A., Hansen, A., Schled- lige Egne. Geografisk Tidsskrift 1: 87-95. ermann-Larsen, C. V., Christiansen, H. C. & Jensen, M. A. 1963. Redegørelse vedr. Feilberg, J. 1984. A phytogeographical fåreavl i Grønland. Afgivet af det jord- study of South Greenland. Vascular plants. brugsfaglige udvalg for statens forsøgs- Meddelelser om Grønland, Bioscience 15. virksomhed i Grønland.

Gad, F. 1969. Grønlands Historie II, 1700- Jespersen, E. 1916. Lidt om Kvægavl i 1782, Andet halvbind. Nyt Nordisk For- Julianehaabs Distrikt. Det Grønlandske lag Arnold Busck, Copenhagen. Selskabs Aarsskrift 1915, pp. 74-82.

Hansen, K. 1926. Om Mulighed for Land- Joensen, R. 1979. Fåreavl på Færøerne. brug i Grønland. Det Grønlandske Selsk- Færoensia, Vol.XII, C.A. Reitzels Boghan- abs Aarsskrift 1925-26, pp. 70-88. del A/S, Copenhagen.

Heerfordt, L., Holmquist, B.K. & Wille, F. Johnstrup, F. (ed.) 1878. Gieseckes Min- 1980. Fåreavl i Grønland. Project i Arktisk eralogiske Rejse i Grønland ved F. John- Biologi. Københavns Universitet. strup, med et Tillæg om de Grønlandske Stednavnes Retskrivning og Etymologi af Høegh, K. (ed.) 2007. Årsberetning Da. H. Rink, Bianco Lunos Bogtrykkeri, 2006/2007 fra Konsulenttjenesten for Copenhagen. Landbrug, august 2007. Qaqortoq. Kampp, Aa. H. 1950. Færøerne. Folk og Ingold, T. 1993. The Temporality of Land- Erhverv. Det Danske Forlag, Copenhagen. scape. World Archaeology 25(2): 152-174. -- 1964. Fåreavl i Grønland. Geografisk Tidsskrift 63: 82-98.

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Kleivan, I. 1983. Herrnhuterne eller brød Patterson, W. P., Dietrich, K. A., Holm- remenigheden i Grønland 1733-1900. den, C. & Andrews, J. T. 2010. Two mil- Tidsskriftet Grønland 8: 221-235. lennia of North Atlantic seasonality and implications for Norse colonies. PNAS Knuthsen, H. J., Müller, R., Brummer- 107(12): 5306-5310. stedt, C. & Meldorf, G. 1906. Husdyrhold i Grønland. Det Grønlandske Selskabs Vinther, B. M., Johnsen, S. J., Andersen, Årsskrift 1905, pp. 42-46. K. K., Clausen, H. B. & Hansen, A. W. 2003. NAO signal recorded in the stable isoto Kristiansen, A. 1955. Fra fangererhverv til pes of Greenland ice cores. Geophysical fåreavl. Tidsskriftet Grønland 12: 464-470. Research Letters 30(7): 1387-1390.

Krogh, K. 1982. Erik den Rødes Grønland, Vinther, B. M., Jones, P. D., Briffa, K. R., Nationalmuseets Forlag, Copenhagen. Clausen, H. B., Andersen, K. K., Dahl- Jensen, D., Johnsen, S. J. 2010. Climatic Laursen, O. & Ørnsholt, H. 1979. Natur- signals in multiple highly resolved stable mæssige betingelser for Fåreavl i Qags- isotope records from Greenland. Quater- siarssuk-området (Sydgrønland). Forskn- nary Science Reviews 29: 522-538. ingsrapport nr. 6, Publikationer fra Institut for Georgrafi, Samfundsanalyse og Data- Walsøe, L. 1919. Om Faareavl i Grøn- logi. Roskilde. land. Det Grønlandske Selskabs Aarsskrift 1918, pp. 41-46. McGovern, T. H. 1992. The zooarchaeology -- 1936. Den grønlandske Faareavls nu- of the Vatnahverfi. In Vebæk, C.L., Vatna værende Standpunkt. Det Grønlandske hverfi – An inland District of the Eastern Selskabs Årsskrift 1936, pp. 160-171. Settlement in Greenland, pp. 93-107. Med delelser om Grønland, Man & Society 17. Wormskjold, M. 1814. Gammelt og Nyt om Grønlands, Vinlands og nogle fleere af Nørlund, P. & Stenberger, M. 1934. Brat- Forfædrene kiendte Landes formeentlige tahlid. Meddelelser om Grønland 88(1). Beliggenhed. Det skandinaviske Litteratur selskabs Skrifter, 10. Årgang, pp. 298-403. Ogilvie, A. E. J. & Jónsson, T. 2001. “Little Ice Age” research: A Perspective from Xoplaki, E., Fleitmann, D., Diaz, H., Lucien, Iceland. Climatic Change 48: 9-52. von G. & Kiefer, T. (eds.) 2011. Medieval Climate Anomaly. Pages News 19(1). 167

Churches, Christianity and magnate farmers in the Norse Eastern Settlement

Jette Arneborg Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance

The written sources give the impression datings were established by Aage Rous- that the Christianization of the Norse sell’s dissertation Farms and Churches Greenlanders was an element in the in the Medieval Norse Settlements of Crown-initiated Christianization of west- Greenland from 1941. It is the general ern Scandinavia around the year 1000 consensus that the large churches func- AD. However, AMS datings of skeletons tioned as a kind of public (parish) church- from “Tjodhilde’s Church” in Qassiarsuk es, but after the find of “Tjodhilde’s – Brattahlid – show that at least some Church” in 1961 the researchers became of the Icelandic colonists must already aware of a group of smaller and more have been Christian when they settled unassuming churches whose dating and in Greenland (Arneborg et al. 1999). The function were less clear. early Christianization of the Greenland population does not however preclude There is no doubt that “Tjodhilde’s the possibility that there were also at- Church” is from the early Norse period tempts from the centre – the Norwegian (Krogh 1982; Arneborg et al. 1999), and King and later the Roman Church organ- indeed some scholars regard the differ- ization – to influence the development ence between the large churches and of the Church in Greenland. the small ones as chronologically determined, such that the smaller churches The Greenland Norse churches are al- represent an early phase in the church- ways related to a farm. The ruins of the building (Keller 1989). Another theory larger, striking churches are clearly takes its point of departure in the differ- traceable in the landscape, and their ent functions of the churches, viewing

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the small churches as private prayer- The AMS datings of the small churches houses or chapels on the medieval Ice- ascribe them to the landnam period landic model with privately owned around the year 1000. The size of the church churches (Krogh 1982). building, the number of churches and the number of burials in the related church- The project “Church, Christianity and yards seem to indicate that the small magnate farmers in the Norse Eastern churches were built by the individual Settlement” was launched in 2001, and landnam families and functioned as ‘family archaeological investigations were con- churches’. In time several of these ‘family ducted at selected small churches in the churches’ were closed down, while others field seasons 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 developed into public (parish) churches and 2010. The aim of the archaeological which, against a fee to the farmer-owner, investigations has been to gather mate- served the surrounding churches. This rial for dating and to gain insight into process should be viewed in a social and the Christian life of the Norse Green- economic perspective and reflects a de- landers. The overall goal of the project velopment towards fewer but richer is to elucidate the function and role of magnate farmers. The Norse community the Christian churches in Norse-Green- became more hierarchical, and it is as- landic society. sumed that the fees to the church-owning

Figure 1. Excavation of mass grave, 2010. Jade De La Paz, CUNY, USA, Pauline Knudsen, Greenland National Museum & Archives, and Christian Koch Madsen, National Museum of Denmark. Photo: Jette Arneborg. 169

Figure 2. Cross-section I of the mass grave. The burials are positioned side by side in the dug grave and covered with the side of a ship. The lateral ‘stripes’ show where the joins between the individual ships’ planks were. The planks were joined with iron rivets. Note the dark area around the middle of the picture where a small child had been placed between two adults. Photo: Jette Arneborg.

farmers played a not insignificant role in generation immigrants to Greenland, this development. and strontium analyses of their teeth will reveal where they came from. Car- After minor investigations at all the bon and nitrogen isotope analyses will small churches in the central part of the reveal the dietary habits of the dead, Eastern Settlement, the fieldwork in and anthropological studies will eluci- 2008 and 2010 was concentrated on a date living conditions in the early years single church, the one at the ruin group of the Norse settlement in Greenland. Ø64 in Igaliku Fjord, where a small trial investigation of the actual church build- The intention is to continue the project ing was conducted, and a number of with a focus on the concentration of burials in the churchyard were excavat- power in the Greenlandic community ed, including a large mass grave con- and the development of the church land- taining at least nine adults, women and scape from many small to fewer larger men, and three small children. The ma- churches. There will be a further focus terial from the investigations is now be- on the way life was lived. The project ing processed. Among other things ge- will be funded by the Ministry of Sci- netic analyses of the skeletons are being ence, the Commission for Scientific In- done. There is much to indicate that the vestigations in Greenland and the US deceased in the mass grave were first- National Science Foundation.

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References Reports Arneborg, J., Heinemeier, J., Lynnerup, Arneborg, J., Hansen, J.T. & Paulsen, C. N., Nielsen, H.L., Rud, N. & Svein- 2002. Kirkearkæologiske undersøgelser. björnsdóttir, Á. E. 1999. Change of Diet Feltrapport 5, SILA, Nationalmuseets of the Greenland Vikings Determined Center for Grønlandsforskning. from Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis and 14C Dating of Their Bones. Radio- Arneborg, J. 2003. Arkæologiske under- carbon 41(2): 157-169. søgelser på norrøne kirkegårde, Narsaq kommune 2002. SILA, Nationalmuseets Keller, C. 1989. The eastern settlement Center for Grønlandsforskning. reconsidered. University of Oslo, 373 pp. Møller, N.A., Johansen, L.L., Madsen, Krogh, K.J. 1982. Bygdernes kirker. Tids C.K., Felding, L., Heide, P.B. & Smi- skriftet Grønland 1982, pp. 263-274. arowski, K. 2007. Vatnahverfi 2007. Ud- gravninger i norrøne kirkegårde og mød- Roussell, Aa. 1941. Farms and Churches in dinger. Report 26 Vatnahverfi 2007. the Medieval Norse Settlements of Green- land. Meddelelser om Grønland 89(1). http://www.natmus.dk/graphics/nat mus2004/sila/Rapporter/26.Feltrapport- Publications in connection %20%28Vatnahverfi%20Rapport%20 with the project 2007%29%20komp.pdf Edwards, K.J., Schofield, J.E. and Arne borg, J. 2011. Was Erik the Red’s Brat- Arneborg, J., Hebsgaard, M., Lynnerup, N., tahlið located at Qinngua? A dissenting Madsen, C.K., Paulsen, C.P. & Smiarow view... Viking and Medieval Scandinavia ski, K. 2008. Resources, Mobility, and 6(2010): 83-99. 10.1484/J.VMS.1.102137 Cultural identity in Norse Greenland, Vatnahverfi Project report from the field Arneborg, J. 2010. Brattahlids beliggen- work 2008. Compiled by Caroline Polke hed. Tidsskriftet Grønland 4: 320-228. Paulsen.

Arneborg, J. 2002. Kirke, Kristendom og http://www.nabohome.org/publications/ Storbønder i Grønland. Et 1000-års jubi- fieldreports/Vatnahverfi2008Rapport.pdf læum. Mindre Skrifter, Center for Mid- delalderstudier, pp. 8-26. Syddansk Uni- versitet, Odense. 171

Greenland dietary economy

Jette Arneborg Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance

The Greenland Dietary Economy project production of their own food. The Norse provides answers to the question of what Greenlanders had established perma- the Norse Greenlanders ate – and more nent settlements in South West Green- generally what the economic basis was land, where it was possible to have the for the life of the Norse settlers in Green- grazing economy required for their land, and whether there were changes stocks of cattle, sheep and goats. They during the period when the Norse- hunted walrus on their hunting expedi- Greenlandic settlements were occupied. tions to northern West Greenland.

The Norse-Greenlandic society endured The Greenland Dietary Project focuses from the end of the tenth to the latter on Norse subsistence and food produc- half of the fifteenth century, and during that period Greenlandic society under- Fig. 1: Recent farm and Norse ruins at Sillisit in Tunulliarfik Fiord. went several transformations. In the pe- The Norse ruins can be seen as dark green patches in the newly riod from the first settlement until c. harvested field. Photo: Jette Arneborg. 1200 the religious, social and economic power was concentrated in fewer hands, but the final and definitive change came towards the end of the 1400s when the settlements were totally depopulated.

The Norse Greenlanders based their society on two economies – and each was equally important to the continued existence of the society: long-distance trading in walrus tusk, which was necessary to imports of among other things iron, which was in turn one of the pre- conditions of the Norse Greenlanders’

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tion – and especially on how they han- became necessary to harvest the resourc- dled the climate changes that came in es of the sea, and it was not only the less the course of the 1200s. It became prosperous farmers who exploited this colder and windier. At the same time the possibility. The development from a main- volume of ice in the fjords rose, cooling ly terrestrial diet to a more marine one down the pastures, which became less was general. At the prosperous farms too productive, and at the same time mak- seal meat was often on the menu. ing both internal and long-distance com- munications difficult. So what role did the increased dependence on the marine resources play for Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of the development towards depopulation? human and animal bones shows respec- Up to a certain point the Norse Green- tively the proportion of marine to terres- landers were flexible, and viewed in iso- trial diet (ä13C) eaten by the individual, lation they could have survived in Green- and where in the food chain (ä15N) the land by basing their diet 100% on the individual ate. The results of analyses of marine resources as the Inuit did. But bones from the Norse settlers themselves, socially and culturally this was not an their domestic animals and the animals acceptable solution, and if we are to get they hunted, show that in time the Norse closer to an explanation of the depopu- diet became more and more marine. In lation of the Greenlandic Norse settle- other words, the Norse Greenlanders gra ments these factors too must be consid- dually grew more dependent on the diet ered in the discussion. they caught in the sea, first and foremost seal. In keeping with the results from the Researcher group: Jette Arneborg, Na- isotope analyses, the younger the depos- tional Museum of Denmark; Jan Heine- its, the more seal bones we find in the meier, AMS 14C Dating Centre/Aarhus Norse middens; and at the same time the University; Niels Lynnerup, Anthropolog- composition of bones from the domestic ical Laboratory/Copenhagen University; animals shows that in time only the large Jeppe Møhl, Zoological Museum/Copen- farms were able to keep cattle. The small- hagen University; Erle Nelson, Simon er farmers gradually replaced their cows Fraser University Vancouver; Árný E. with the less resource-intensive sheep Sveinbjörnsdóttir, University of Iceland. and goats. To optimize the yield from grass fodder the farmers also established irri- The project is to be published in Journal gation systems and manured their pas- of the North Atlantic. tures. But despite these measures it also 173

Fig. 2: The Norse population in the Western Settlement supplemented their diet with carribou meat. Fewer carri- bous in the Eastern Settle- ment limited hunting opportunities in this area. Photo: Jette Arneborg.

References Arneborg, J., Heinemeier, J., Lynnerup, N., Rud, N., & Sveinbjörnsdóttir, Á.E. Sveinbjörnsdóttir, Á.E., Heinemeier, J., 2002. 14C dateringer af menneskeknogler Arneborg, J., Lynnerup, N., Ólafsson, G. – med de grønlandske nordboer som ek- & Zoëga, G. 2010. Dietary reconstruc- sempel. Hikuin 27: 307-314. tion and reservoir correction of 14C dates on bones from pagan and early Arneborg, J., Heinemeier, J., Lynnerup, Christian graves in Iceland. Radiocarbon N., Nielsen, H. L., Rud, N. & Svein- 52(2-3): 682-696. björnsdóttir, Á.E. 2002. C-14 dating and the disappearance of Norsemen from Arneborg, J., Lynnerup, N. & Heinemeier, Greenland. Europhysics news, pp. 77-80. J. 2008. Faroese Isotopes – a “half- baked” study. In Paulsen, C. & Michelsen, Arneborg, J., Heinemeier, J., Lynnerup, H.D. (eds.), Símunarbók, pp. 15-22. N., Nielsen, H.L., Rud, N. & Svein- Fróðskapur – Faroese University Press, björnsdóttir, Á.E. 1999. Change of Diet pp. 15-22. of the Greenland Vikings Determined from Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis Arneborg, J., Heinemeier, J. & Lynnerup, and 14C Dating of their Bones. Radiocar- N. 2008. “....Husk at folk lever af flere bon 41(2): 157-168. ting end bare af brød”. De norrøne grøn- lænderes kost. Nationalmuseets Arbejds- The project is funded by the Carlsberg mark, pp. 149-160. Foundation.

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Agriculture on the edge. The first finds of cereals in Norse Greenland

Peter Steen Henriksen Danish Prehistory, Unit of Environmental Archaeology

The project the project also aims to investigate the The Norsemen settled in Greenland with possible use of manure. a thousand-year-old tradition as farmers. They continued their practices from The fieldwork Iceland and Norway with an agriculture In 2010 and 2011 a number of Norse mainly based on livestock, but did they farmsteads were visited in order to find also try to grow cereals or other crop preserved midden layers suitable for plants in Greenland? sampling.

A few possible pollen grains from cere- In 2010 samples were taken from four als and flax and a number of quern sites (Ø33, Ø35, Ø36 and Ø37) in the stones found at excavations of Norse Qorlortup Itinnera valley and from the farmsteads indicate that the Norse farm- midden at Gardar (Ø47, Igaliku). Samples ers did try to cultivate crops. The subject for phosphate analyses were also taken has nevertheless not been investigated from the infield area at Ø37. A more de- in detail. tailed description of the 2010 fieldwork can be read in Henriksen 2011. In this project the question of Norse agriculture is investigated using the analy- In 2011, six Norse sites were investigat- ses of samples from Norse refuse lay- ed. The placing of the sites is shown in ers. The aim is to find remains from crop figure 1. The excavation team this year, plants, e.g. cereal grains or threshing besides the author, consisted of Chris- waste. Through phosphate analyses of tian Koch Madsen, (National Museum soil samples from the infield and out- of Denmark), Inge Kjær Kristensen (Mu- field areas at several Norse settlements, seum Salling), Konrad Smiarowski (City 175

University of New York, USA), and Fig. 1: Michael Nielsen (University of Green- Locations of sites visited land and the Greenland National Muse- in southern um & Archives) (fig. 2). Greenland. The red numbers are sites The two sites, Ø3 and Ø4, were sampled visited in in the area north of Tasiusaq. At both 2011. The sites the ruins are well preserved and blue number is Ø35, visited only influences to a minor degree by in 2010. modern farming. The middens are very dry and the organic remains are therefore almost completely degraded. Never- theless carbonized material is still preserved in the two middens and a series of soil samples were taken for flotation. Samples for phosphate analysis were also taken at both sites with a distance of 20 metres between the samples. All 2009) and was still clearly visible on the in all, an area of 12 hectares was cov- surface, permitting ease of sampling. As ered by the sampling at Ø3 and Ø4. already recorded in 2008, the midden was degraded, but as pieces of charcoal North of Igaliku and the Bishop’s resi- were clearly visible in the profile, a se- dence Gardar, a little farmstead, Ø49, is ries of soil samples were take for flota- situated at the end of the Igaliku Fjord. tion. Samples for phosphate analyses Just south of the dwelling, a 70-centi- were taken from an area of 3.5 hectares metre thick midden layer was found. around the ruin. The midden is still well preserved with remains of bone and other organic mat- Two hundred metres north of Ø64 anoth- ter. From this midden a series of soil er smaller ruin group, Ø209, was inves- samples were taken. tigated. Just next to the dwelling a 15-centimetre thick midden layer was Twelve kilometres southeast of Igaliku, found under the remains of wall turfs. Ø 64 is situated at the head of the Ku- The midden was dry and degraded but jalleq Fjord. This site has been excavat- contained a lot of charred material. A ed several times. In 2008 a trench was number of samples could thus be taken dug through the midden (Arneborg et al. for flotation.

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Fig. 2: The excavation camp at Ø3. From left: Michael, Kon- rad, Inge and Christian. Photo: Peter Steen Henrik- sen.

The last ruin group visited was Ø171 in A total of around 165 kilograms of soil was Vatnahverfi. Here thick, well preserved sent to Denmark for further analyses. midden layers had earlier been recorded in a drainage ditch. As a result of a high Results from the analyses groundwater level, the organic remains So far soil samples from Ø35, Ø36, Ø37, of bones and wooden artefacts were and Ø47 have been analysed. The most well preserved. Samples from two pro- important find is rachis segments from files were taken as there were good Barley found in the bottom layers of the preservation conditions for both carbon- midden from Ø35 in the Qorlortup Valley ized and uncarbonized material. (fig. 1). The find of rachis segments indi- 177

These finds can help to form a picture of the local vegetation and the use of the natural resources.

The future work In the coming year the rest of the macrofossil samples and the soil samples for phosphate analyses will be analysed. On the basis of the results, a strategy for a more dedicated sampling of macrofossil samples from Norse ruins will be made.

References

Arneborg, J., Hebsgaard, M., Lynnerup, N., Madsen, C.K., Paulsen, C.P. & Smiarow ski, K. 2008. Resources, Mobility, and Cultural identity in Norse Greenland, Vatnahverfi Project report from the field work 2008. Compiled by Caroline Polke Paulsen.

Henriksen, P.S. 2011. Nordboernes ager- cates that the Barley had been grown in brug i Grønland – et agerbrug på græn Greenland. This part of the crop is re- sen. In: Gulløv, H. C., Paulsen, C. & moved during the threshing and it is un- Rønne, B. (eds.), Nordlige Verdener – likely that cereal crops were imported ændringer og udfordringer. Rapport fra unthreshed, as this would be very space- workshop 1 på Nationalmuseet 29. sep- consuming. tember 2010, pp. 84-89. National- museet, Copenhagen. The samples also contain seeds and other parts from wild plants and even parts from seaweed.

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Networks in the North:

Communication, trade and culture markers

Approximately 1.7 square metres of furred and de-haired sealskin were used to make this West Greenlandic woman’s costume. Photo: Roberto Fortuna. C

The following projects constitute the research theme:

• ‘Cultural contacts across the Skagerrak and the Kattegat in the Viking Age’ Anne Pedersen, head of project, Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance

• ‘Communication, cultural encounters and identity in Scandinavian Viking Age’ Maria Panum Baastrup, PhD student, Danish Prehistory

• ‘Greenland’s Runic inscriptions’ Lisbeth Imer, head of project, Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance

• ‘Skin clothes of the Northern Worlds’ Anne Lisbeth Schmidt, head of project, Research, Analysis & Consulting, Conservation Department

• ‘Trade as a cultural encounter Peter Andreas Toft, head of project, Ethnographic Collection

• ‘Buildings on the North Atlantic islands and in Greenland – diffusion and innovation’ Niels Bonde, head of project, Danish Prehistory, Unit of Environmental Archaeology

Associated the research theme: • ‘The Carpenter-Meldgaard Endowment – A research program based on the archives of the late Jørgen Meldgaard’ Bjarne Grønnow, head of project, Ethnographic Collection Presented by Martin Appelt, Mari Hardenberg and Ulla Odgaard, Ethnographic Collection

• ‘Nørremølle – the largest Viking silver hoard of Bornholm’ Gitte Tarnow Ingvardson, head of project, Danish Prehistory

• ‘Pre-Christian cultic sites of the Iron and Viking Ages’ Lars Jørgensen, head of project, Danish Prehistory Presented by Josefine Franck Bican and Susanne Klingenberg, Danish Prehistory, Anna Severine Beck, Køge Museum

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A common sea – the Skagerrak and the Kattegat in the Viking Age

Anne Pedersen Danmarks Middelalder og Renæssance

In the Viking Age the Skagerrak and the and the historical chronicles of later Kattegat were connecting elements in a times. The statements in the sources complex network of political, social and are often brief, and the information in economic relations. This network had them does not necessarily match. Each not arisen suddenly; on the contrary, the of the individual writers would have had links across the sea can be traced much his own goals, but as a whole they paint further back in the archaeological mate- a chequered picture of changing politi- rial; but in the Viking Age and in the ear- cal alliances, friendships and hostilities, ly post-Viking Middle Ages the first writ- rebellious conditions and peaceful coex- ten evidence appears – the rune stones, istence. The links were close, and south- the Frankish Annals from the beginning ern Scandinavia must have been a core of the ninth century, the trader Ohthere’s area with the Skagerrak and Kattegat as account of his journey around the year the common inner sea (fig. 1). 890, the Norse sagas, the skaldic poems The natural conditions created the basis

Fig. 1. for traffic between the regions. In- Nor The Skagerrak way the Oslo Fjord area turns naturally and the Kattegat towards the south and thus towards – a common sea. Map: Anne western Sweden and Denmark, and Pedersen. western Sweden is naturally oriented towards the west via the great rivers that flow into the Kattegat. Not only the coastal area but also Västergötland seems to have had easier access to the world towards the west than towards 181

Fig. 2. One of two soapstone vessels fished up from shallow water at Hals Barre off the mouth of the Limfjord in 1904. Photo: Natio nal Museum.

the east. The same is true of parts of of close relations between individuals southern Sweden, and to the west Den- and local societies. mark has a long and much-pitted coastline facing the Kattegat. Navigation The written sources give us an impres- northward and southward was (and is) sion of the overall political circumstanc- also favoured by the prevailing winds. es and the social groups that were in- For the trader Ohthere, who described volved in the maintenance of the political his long voyage from northern Norway power relations. In the year 813 the to Denmark at the end of the ninth cen- Danish kings Harald and Reginfred had tury, the voyage from Kaupang in Vest- to journey north and fight for their au- fold to Haithabu at the foot of the Jut- thority in Norwegian Vestfold, where land Peninsula took just five days. Even princes and people had refused to submit. in less ideal conditions, time consump- Nor was the balance of power stable in tion was therefore unlikely to have been the subsequent centuries. The sources any serious obstacle to the maintenance speak of conflicts, but not of how the al-

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liances and networks of the elite were Fig. 4. sustained and rendered visible; nor of Twelve unfinished axe-heads of iron from whether and if so how the local commu- Gjerrild Strand in nities in the individual regions were af- Djursland. The axe- fected. Was there for example a direct heads are mounted on a fir stock and proba- link between political power and eco- bly come from Norway nomic exchanges? In this case archaeol- or Sweden. Photo: ogy can supplement the statements of National Museum. the written sources at several levels.

Part of the economic incentive behind contacts across the Skagerrak and Kat- tegat was presumably the demand for

raw materials from Norway and Swe- Fig. 3. den: soapstone for cooking vessels, es- Whetstone of Norwe- pecially from southern Norway, Bohus- gian schist excavated at Viborg Søndersø. län and Halland (fig. 2), Eidsborg slate Photo: National from Telemark for whetstones (fig. 3), Museum. 183

high-quality iron (fig. 4), and presumably that could be used actively in the efforts also resources like antler and furs, and of an individual, a group or a community from around the year 1000 mica schist to promote their interests. A couple of from western Norway for quern stones. find groups may serve as examples. The project ‘Cultural contacts across the Skagerrak and Kattegat’ seeks to estab- In Denmark there is a particularly dense lish which ‘services’ or impulses (specif- concentration of finds of Norwegian and ic objects, ideas, cultural behaviour etc.) Swedish origin in the Kattegat region: in went in the opposite direction and in northern Jutland, Funen and northwest- which conditions. At what level of soci- ern Zealand. Whetstones and soapstone ety, for example, were the production vessels found along the west coast of and transport of goods organized? The Jutland show the transport routes, while point of departure is the material cul- the settlement finds give an impression ture of the period viewed both as con- of consumption patterns and the extent crete evidence of exchanges within the of trade. Norwegian and Swedish finds, networks in the area, and as a meaning- on the other hand, give us insight into bearing and communicative element the production environments.

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Such a potential environment emerges Another well known group of sources that in western Sweden between Götaelven sheds light on the connections across and Ätran, where several soapstone the Kattegat is the rune stones and the quarries are found, for example at similarities that can be seen between Hagakullen in Lerum Parish east of rune stones from northern Jutland and Gothenburg, at Källsagården in Vallda western Sweden. Perhaps the clearest Parish and Blixered in Tölö Parish south example is two rune stones from Hobro of Gothenburg, as well as in Nösslinge in eastern Jutland (DR 127) (fig. 5) and around 60 km farther to the south west. Ås in Västergötland (Vg 112), both raised At Skäggered immediately north west of around the year 1000. The inscriptions Gothenburg iron slag has been found as are more or less identical: “Thore raised well as a possible iron extraction fur- this stone after his fælle Karl the good, nace which has been C14-dated to the a very well-born youth” (Hobro), and 900s, and at Alleby not far from there “Thore raised this stone after his fælle four possible iron extraction furnaces Karl, a very well-born youth” (Ås). Such a have been excavated, one possibly from close match is hardly coincidental. One the 800s. Iron extraction and forging re- can imagine that Karl had fallen during a quire fuel. Among other places, traces stay in Denmark – close to Hobro lies the of charcoal production have been noted ring fort Fyrkat, built around 980 – after north of Gothenburg at Djupedal Forn- which Thore raised a memorial stone at borg, where one of the pits has been or near the place of his ‘companion’s’ C14-dated to the Viking Age, while a death and another one on coming home charcoal stack in Bergum Parish, around to Västergötland. The close connection 15 km farther inland, is from the elev- between the two stones is supported by enth century. In Halland too charcoal the rune types used. Irrespective of the stacks have been recorded, and although circumstances of Karl’s death, the in- they are often dated to more recent scription was clearly meaningful in both times, at least some of them seem to be places – why else pay for a rune stone from the Viking Age. The raw materials both in Jutland and in Västergötland? – may have been consumed locally, but which in turn suggests strong family ties they were also traded. Analysis of soap- or perhaps partnership in economic or stone from Haithabu shows for example military respects. The word fælle (kins- that some of the finds come from the man, companion, partner) was used of quarry at Källsagården on the Onsala men who took part in the same Viking Peninsula, from which they may also expedition, but an interpretation as trad- have been shipped. ing partner is also possible. 185

materials? Differences in local customs can Fig. 5. also be traced in Denmark, for example Rune stone from Hobro at Kumlhøj in Djursland, where a man in eastern was buried with nine arrowheads of iron Jutland. (probably in a quiver, and with the relat- Photo: National ed bow), equipment one would rather Museum. expect to find in southern Sweden. Was he himself a stranger in Djursland, or should the explanation of this choice of equipment be sought elsewhere?

That the men of the time could range wide is illustrated by two rune stones in Säve sjö, around 60 km north east of the lake Close alliances or family ties are per- Bolmen, one raised by Vråe to his brother, haps also the background for certain who died in England (Sm 77), the other similarities in the burial customs of the by Vråe’s daughter Tova, who speaks of time. Equestrian graves are a well known her father as Håkon Jarl’s ‘marshal’ (Sm phenomenon from the Denmark of the 76). Who this Håkon Jarl was cannot be 900s, but they also appear among the determined with certainty, but he may be graves in southern Norway especially, been Canute the Great’s nephew (the and to a lesser extent in southwestern son of Canute’s half-sister Gytha) and Sweden, for example in the landscape ally, a member of the Norwegian Lade- Finnveden at the lake Bolmen, where one jarls. He drowned in the Pentland Firth finds both equestrian graves with full between Orkney and Scotland in 1029. riding gear and graves with spurs, in both cases equipment that gives an impression Other find groups such as silver hoards of status. In contrast to Denmark, though, and coins, both western European and the dead have been cremated, and the Arab, present similar evidence of links sword is a rare weapon in the equestrian around the Skagerrak and the Kattegat. graves. Were these men who had stood The breadth of the archaeological mate- out from the general population by virtue rial underscores the importance of a cross- of their wide-ranging connections? And disciplinary approach to the issues of the had they won a special position in society, project, and the geographical framework for example by controlling the exploita- in itself requires the building of bridges tion and transport of sought-after raw between different research traditions,

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registration practices and antiquarian sourcer og Kulturkontakter. Arkæologi legislations, for example concerning the rundt om Skagerrak og Kattegat, pp. use of metal detectors, which especially 101-115. Kulturhistoriske skrifter fra in Denmark have contributed to a pro- Nordsjælland 1. Gilleleje. nounced growth in metal finds from the Viking Age. One of the challenges of the Gerdin, A.-L. & Zedig, H. 2011. Gamla project is for that very reason to expand köpstad och köpstaden i Halland – Lokali contacts with environments in Denmark, sering av två vikingatida handelsplatser på Norway and Sweden. The interest in the rutten Kaupang-Hedeby. In Appel, L. & ideas of the project is there, and a joint Langsted, K. (eds.), Ressourcer og Kultur seminar is planned with the aim of gath- kontakter. Arkæologi rundt om Skagerrak ering and discussing the complex mate- og Kattegat, pp. 67-82. Kulturhistoriske rial in an overall perspective with the skrifter fra Nordsjælland 1. Gilleleje. Skagerrak and the Kattegat as the shared point of departure. The seminar Hall, B. 2007. Hamnar och handel, will build further on results from earlier farledsspärrar och kommunikationer. In symposia organized by Gilleleje Muse- Hall, B. (ed.), Vikingagravar vid Nordre um (2006) and the Office of the State älv, pp. 194-226. Gothenburg. Antiquary in Sweden UV Väst (2004) under the heading Archaeology around the Pedersen, A. 2011. Kulturkontakt i Skager Skagerrak and Kattegat. rak-Kattegat området i vikingetiden – En arkæologisk skitse. In Appel, L. & Lang- sted, K. (eds.), Ressourcer og Kulturkon- takter. Arkæologi rundt om Skagerrak og References Kattegat, pp. 55-66. Kulturhistoriske skrifter fra Nordsjælland 1. Gilleleje. Bately, J. & Englert, A. (eds.) 2007. Oh- there’s Voyages. A late 9th-century ac- Sindbæk, S. 2005. Ruter og rutinisering. count of voyages along the coasts of Vikingetidens fjernhandel i Nordeuropa. Norway and Denmark and its cultural Copenhagen. context. Maritime Culture of the North 1. Roskilde. Svanberg, F. 2003. Death Rituals in South-East Scandinavia AD 800-1000. Englert, A. 2011. Rejsehastighed over Decolonizing the Viking Age 2. Acta Ar- Kattegat og Skagerrak i vikingetiden. In chaeologica Lundensia Ser. in 4 No 24. Appel, L. & Langsted, K. (eds.), Res- Stockholm. 187

Networks in the north – foreign artefacts in the hands of the Vikings

Maria Panum Baastrup Danish Prehistory

This PhD project has the working title “Communication, cultural encounters and cultural identity – the itinerary of items during the Viking Age of southern Scandinavia”. The aim is to analyse the contacts among southern Scandinavia, the English/Irish area and the European Continent during the Viking Age (750- 1050 AD) on the basis of evidence of imported metal items – primarily different types of jewellery and mountings.

The metal items in question were produced on the Continent and in the Eng- lish/Irish area (fig. 1). However, they ended up in southern Scandinavia through a widely ramified network. After a thousand years or more in the soil they have reappeared. In particular, the use of metal detectors by eager amateur archaeolo- Fig. 1: Gilded mask with eyes of amber found near Øster Vandet gists has led to a myriad of relevant in Thy. It is from the 8th or 9th century and was originally placed as finds. This increase in finds permits us a mounting on an elegant casket from the English/Irish area. Later to conduct new analyses of the Vikings’ on the mask was filled with lead to be re-used as a weight. Several examples of similar English/Irish mountings, re-used as weights, foreign activities and of the circulation have appeared at Viking settlements in Denmark in recent years. of various groups of items. Which types Photo: The Museum of Thisted, 2010.

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(a)

of items were of special interest as imports, and how did the items circulate in the southern Scandinavian area?

The reception or rejection of various arte facts represents conscious choices and may be due to ideological or economic factors. The treatment of the imported items – for instance whether the metal items were altered into jewellery or the like – reveals which designs were preferred, and which foreign social groups the Vikings tried to copy. The occurrence of the foreign items thus gives us unique insight in the thinking of the Vikings, their ideas (b) and their conscious choices (figs. 2a-d). 189

Fig. 2: These brooches with cross-motifs are The second study presents the imported standardized “everyday” jewellery that the Vi- metal artefacts from Tissø in western kings brought home from the western and continental European area. They contribute to the doc- Zealand (see for instance Jørgensen umentation of early Christian currents in the 2003), which like Gl. Lejre can be con- world of the Vikings, much earlier than the year sidered as a magnate farm which exist- 965 that is traditionally considered the year of the official transition to Christianity in Denmark. ed from the middle of the sixth century Photo: C. Krause and M. Baastrup. to around 1000 AD.

The last case study takes its starting The project is based on point in a complete survey and analysis three case studies: of imported metal items in Denmark. Did The first study is an analysis and inter- different types of settlement attract dif- pretation of the metal artefacts from Gl. ferent types of imports, and how did Lejre near Roskilde (for instance Chris- these imports circulate? tensen 1991, 1997, 2004). Gl. Lejre is among other things the site of one of The main focus of the three studies is the most important magnate farms from the cultural exchanges that took place the Late Iron Age and the Viking Era among communities in England, Ireland (500-1000 AD). (fig. 3), the Continent and southern Scan-

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also interesting – for how, in the northern part of the network, were the foreign items and the contacts with the neighbouring areas administered?

The project is coming to an end, and the whole dissertation will be handed in to the University of Copenhagen for as- sessment during the summer of 2012.

References

Christensen, T. 1991. Lejre – syn og sagn. Roskilde Museums Forlag.

Christensen, T. 1997. Hallen i Lejre. In Callmer, J. & Rosengren, E. (eds.), “… Gick Grendel att söka det höga huset…”: Fig. 3: Circular mounting of bronze which would originally have Arkeologiska källor till aristokratiska been on a reliquary. The mounting was produced in the Irish area, miljöer i Skandinavien under yngre and after coming to Scandinavia it was furnished with a pinning device on the back so it could function as a fibula. The mounting järnålder, pp. 47-54. Hallands länsmuse- was found at Vindinge near Nyborg on Funen. Photo: Jørgen er skriftserie No 9/ GOTARC serie C. Nielsen, Odense Bys Museer. Arkeologiska skrifter No 17. Halmstad.

Christensen, T. 2004. Fra hedenskab til dinavia. In the archaeological record kristendom i Lejre og Roskilde. In Lund, available today we can observe a move- N. (ed.), Kristendommen i Danmark før ment of ideas and impulses towards the 1050. Et symposium i Roskilde den 5.-7. North, and an acceptance and integra- februar 2003, pp. 191-200. Roskilde Mu- tion, to a certain degree, of these ideas seums Forlag. in the material culture. Jørgensen, L. 2003. Manor and Market However, the circulation of imported at Lake Tissø in the Sixth to Eleventh metal items in our part of the world is Centuries: The Danish ‘Productive’ Sites. 191

In Pestell, T. & Ulmschneider, K. (eds.), Baastrup, M. P. 2009. Småfibler af karo- Markets in Early Medieval Europe, pp. lingiske og ottonske typer i Danmark. 175-207. Windgather Press, Bollington. Aarbøger for Nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie 2005, pp. 209-255. Relevant publications Baastrup, M. P. 2007. Vikingetidens og Baastrup, M. P. 2010. Skattefundet fra den tidlige middelalders emaljefibler fra Duesminde – Europas største fund af Sydvestjylland. By, mark og geest. Kultur karolingisk sølv. In Andersen, M. & historisk årbog for Ribe-egnen 19: 5-16. Nielsen, P.O. (eds.), Danefæ. Skatte fra den danske muld. Nationalmuseet & Baastrup, M. P. 2007. Kirkebesøg. SKALK Gyldendal, København. 5: 16-17. Baastrup, M. P. 2011. Kommunikation, Baastrup, M. P. 2008. Små kulturhistor- kulturmøde og kulturel identitet – tin- iske skatte fra Thy. Historisk Årbog for genes rejse i Sydskandinaviens vi- Thy og Vester Hanherred 2008, pp. 65-74. kingetid. In Gulløv, H. C., Paulsen, C. & Rønne, B. (eds.), Ændringer og ud- Baastrup, M. P. 2009. Fremmede fugle i fordringer. Rapport fra workshop 1 på det arkæologiske materiale – Kontinen- Nationalmuseet 29. september 2010, tal og insulær import i Sydskandinavi- pp. 103-105. Nationalmuseet. ens vikingetid. In Lyngstrøm, H. & Stor- gaard, B. (eds.), Glimt fra en anden Baastrup, M. P. (in press). Småstykker og verden: specialer i forhistorisk arkæologi fragmenter – om de “manglende” insu 2006-2007 fra Københavns Universitet, lære hængekar fra Danmark. Aarbøger pp. 75-84. for Nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie.

Baastrup, M. P. 2009. Carolingian-Otto- Baastrup, M. P. & Petersen, P. V. 2010. nian disc brooches – early Christian Røvet gods eller gode gaver? – detek- symbols in Viking age Denmark. In Freed- torfundne metalsager fra fjerne egne. en, U. Friesinger, H. & Wamers, E. (hrsg.), Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark 2010, pp. Glaube, Kult und Herrschaft. Phänomene 85-99. des Religiösen im 1. Jahrtausend. Chr. in Mittel- und Nordeuropa. Kolloquien für Nielsen, J. & Baastrup, M. P. 2011. De- Vor- und Frühgeschichte 12: 517-528. tektorfundne amuletter fra Fredshøj i Gl. Lejre. ROMU 2010, pp. 111-127.

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Nørremølle – the largest Viking silver hoard of Bornholm

Interactions in the Baltic Sea

Gitte Tarnow Ingvardson Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance

The Viking Age hoards of Denmark are plates. The majority of the coins are Ger- composed of objects produced in many man, but there are also a large number different areas, from the British Isles in of English coins, and a smaller group of the north vest to the Caliphate in the Kufic, Scandinavian, and Bohemian coins. south east. The hoards stand as testi- The hack silver consists of ingots and mony to the Vikings’ extensive network, jewellery produced mainly in the West and tell the story of both peaceful and Slavonic territory and in Scandinavia. aggressive interactions in the Viking The treasure was located with a metal Age. In this article I sum up some of the detector in August 2006 and was exca- results from my research project on one vated by the Museum of Bornholm. Ar- of the largest Viking Age silver hoards of chaeological investigations show that the Denmark – the Nørremølle hoard of hoard was situated only a few metres Bornholm1. from the remains of a burnt-down Viking house. The exact find spots for all the A treasure of approximately 2½ kilos of objects in the hoard are recorded and silver was deposited in the first half of the deposition place of the hoard and its 1 The analysis was conducted the 11th century at a Viking settlement surroundings has been investigated by over six months and was funded on the east coast of Bornholm. The hoard archaeologists. The exemplary find his- by The Heritage Agency of Den- is composed of a heterogeneous group tory of the hoard gives us rare insight mark. It will be published in of objects: 1194 coins, 170 pieces of into the story of the treasure, its con- Journal of Archaeological jewellery and 87 other silver objects such tent, its owner and the society in which Numismatics (JAN) 2012 vol. 2. as ingots, rods, melts/lumps and silver the hoard was gathered and buried (fig. 1). 193

Fig. 1: A German penny minted in the period 1024-1045, probably at Luneburg by Duke Bernhard II, gives a ter- minus post quem for the hoard of 1024. The composition of the coin material shows that it is very unlikely that the hoard was deposited after 1040. Photo: National Mu- seum

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Æthelred II Knud d. Store

Fig. 2: Unlike the Tyskegård hoard of Bornholm, where only one coin type was represented, there are many different English coin types in the Nørremølle hoard, as illustrated in the graph.

The following questions are central to In order to answer these questions I have the analysis of the hoard. What is the chosen a contextual approach in my content of the hoard? How and why was analysis of the Nørremølle hoard. The the hoard gathered and by whom? And biography of the Nørremølle hoard can where and why was the hoard deposit- be divided into three contextual stages. ed and why was it not recovered? 195

1) The primary context – production bution among the English mints seems time and place more widespread than that of the Ger- 2) The secondary context – traces of use man coins. This picture is confirmed if 3) The tertiary context – deposition the English coin types are included in the survey (fig. 2). These stages are described by Kemmers and Myrberg (2011: 89ff). In their work In the light of hoards like Tyskegård on they use this approach in the study of Bornholm, the English coins in the Danish coins, but the methodological approach Viking Age hoards have been interpreted is valid for any archaeological object. as the result of Danegeld (Moesgård 2006: 405ff). The Tyskegård hoard is 711 German coins can be attributed to a composed of 81 coins all of the same specific town and 25 German mints are type, Ethelred II’s long cross minted in c. represented in the hoard. Coins minted 997-1003, and none of the coins bears in northern Germany particularly domi- test marks. This is not the case in the nate the Nørremølle hoard. More than Nørremølle hoard, which is composed of 40% (301 coins) of the precisely located many different English coin types. Fur- German coins are the so-called Otto- thermore, 98% of the English coins in Adelheid pennies (983/991-1040) mint- the Nørremølle hoard have been tested ed in Goslar. This is a common feature in for their silver content, as shown either hoards deposited at the beginning of the by test marks and/or by bending, which 11th century in present-day Denmark, indicates that the coins were in circula- Scania and Poland. This suggests a very tion for some time outside the British intense trade between northern Germa- Isles. The English coins in the Nørre ny and southern Scandinavia/the Baltic. mølle hoard are therefore probably the The many German coins can be ex- result of trade rather than raid. plained by the discovery of the silver mines in Harzen in the second half of Traces of use cover a variety of features the 10th century. The plentiful supply of such as fragmentation, test marks and silver resulted in large-scale coin pro- bending to which the object was subject- duction in the years that followed. The ed after it left the mint or the workshop. second largest group of coins was mint- In my opinion there are three important ed in England. 144 English coins can be aspects which may have influenced the attributed to 27 mints. Even though secondary treatment of the objects. Are coins from the London mint represent a differences in traces of use due to geo- large percentage of the coins, the distri- graphical aspects, due to chronological

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aspects and/or is the secondary treat- many, England and southern Scandina- ment influenced by the material of the via) show a high degree of conformity: objects? around 90% of the objects, which are almost exclusively coins, have been The Nørremølle hoard primarily consists tested with pecks, and around 20% have of objects originating from five areas: been tested with notches. This leads to Germany, England, western Slavonia, the conclusion that the coins had prob- southern Scandinavia and what I call ably been in circulation in the same ar- the Kufic group (a heterogeneous group eas, or at least in areas with the same of coins from Iran, Russia, Syria and tradition for testing the silver. The Kufic Iraq). Within the different geographic coins on the other hand present a differ- areas there are both some very distinct ent picture, as 43% have been tested differences and similarities (Table 1). with pecks and 69% with notches. This confirms the idea that notches are a 97% of the objects in the Nørremølle phenomenon associated with the east- hoard have been tested for silver con- ern areas. The Kufic coins are the oldest tent as shown either by test marks or by group of coins in the Nørremølle hoard. bending. There are very few objects with If the test marks were made during their nicks, which confirm that nicks are a circulation on Bornholm one would ex- chronologically earlier feature (Rispling pect that the Kufic coins showed more 2004: 3). Bending, on the contrary, is a pecks. The analysis of the test marks dominant feature in all the areas. If we therefore indicates that the coins were take a closer look at objects with pecks mainly tested before they reached Born- and notches, the western groups (Ger- holm.

Fragments Peck Nick Notch Bend Test marks/Bend

West Slavonia (127 p.) 90% 1% 0% 9% 82% 83%

South Scand. (45 p.) 16% 91% 0% 23% 98% 98%

Germany (846 p.) 15% 93% 1% 23% 99% 100%

England (204 p.) 20% (33%) 90% 0% 18% 94% 98%

“Kufic” (72 p.) 74% (75%) 43% 3% 68% 92% 99%

All objects (1451 p.) 34% 75% 1% 29% 92% 97%

Table 1: Pecks are defined as small impacts of a knife in the surface of the coin (Malmer & Lagerqvist 1987: XVIII; Kilger 2003). Nicks are defined as small scratches with a knife on the surface towards the edge of the object (Malmer & Lagerqvist 1987: XVIII). Notches are defined as small cuts with a knife in the edge of the object (Rispling 2004: 4f, type C). 197

A large percentage of the jewellery nally complete miniature vessel, a frag- (75%) in the Nørremølle hoard derives mented amber bead, and some fragment- from the western Slavonic area. Only 12 ed iron objects. This dates the house to out of 127 objects (10%) from the west- the Late Viking Age, and the house might ern Slavonic area show test marks, and be contemporary with the Nørremølle the group is thus differentiated from the hoard. The soil in and around the post- German, English, southern Scandinavi- holes was full of charcoal and the post- an and Kufic groups. This is most likely holes contained a large number of frag- due to the character of the objects rath- ments of burnt wattle-and-daub and er than their origin. All the objects from charred grains. It is therefore likely that the western Slavonic area are jewellery. the house was burnt down. Despite the The majority of the jewellery is fragile fact that the Nørremølle hoard is the silver-foil beads or mesh beads, where- largest Viking treasure found so far on as the bulk of the objects from the Ger- Bornholm, and the hoard must have rep- man, English, Scandinavian and Kufic resented a fortune, there is nothing ex- areas are coins. It is evident that fragile cept the treasure to indicate that the foil beads and mesh beads were not Nørremølle site was unusual. suited for silver tests like pecking and notching. The few objects that have The Museum of Bornholm has undertak- been tested all bear their test marks on en small archaeological excavation cam- a part of the object which is solid silver. paigns at the find spots of 29 Viking hoards. Most of the hoards are appar- A small excavation at the Nørremølle site ently located at ordinary settlements. showed that the hoard was deposited Surveys on Gotland have shown that the near a now-removed large stone (fig. 3). many Viking Age hoards on the island Several settlement remains such as were often deposited on the outskirts of trenches, pits and post-holes were found settlements, in areas where smiths’ work near the deposition place. Of special in- took place. The hoards have therefore terest are the traces of a pair of roof- been interpreted as raw material for the bearing posts just a few metres north of smith (Carlsson 2010: 7ff). On Bornholm the deposition place of the hoard. The 11 hoards were located on the outskirts post-holes have been interpreted by the of a settlement area, but only one (Nor- excavator as the western part of a north- dre Stensebygård) was associated with east-southwest orientated house. The to smiths’ work. Most of the hoards (15) post- holes contained Baltic Sea Ware, were deposited in or close to what the sherds of soapstone vessels, an origi- excavator has interpreted as longhouses.

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Only three hoards were deposited in areas without settlement traces. This indicates that the majority of the Viking hoards of Bornholm should not be interpreted as raw material for a smith.

The composition of the coins in the hoards of Bornholm reveals strong contacts with Scania, in terms of both their primary context and their secondary treatment. The jewellery of the hoards shows strong contacts with the western Slavonic area. The archaeological record of the hoards indicates that the inhabitants of Bornholm were sailors with trading connections both north and south. They brought back their accumulated wealth, which was often deposited at what appear to be ordinary settlements sites. If, where, and to what extent trade was carried out on Bornholm at the be- References ginning of the 11th century is an open question. In both settlement pattern and Carlson, D. 2010. Skatter, gårdar och coin material there are clear indications landskap – vikingatidens Gotland. Mynt- of a radical change in the economic situ- studier 2010, February, pp. 6-10. ation on Bornholm towards the end of the 10th century (Horsnæs 2012; Watt 1988: Horsnæs, H. W. 2012 (in press). Kort 113ff). There are few indications of a lægning af detektorfund. Perspektiver flourishing trading environment on Born- for udforskningen af bopladser fra jern holm at the beginning of the 11th century alder til middelalder. Nordisk Numisma- in the current archeological record. It is tisk Medlemsblad 2012 no. 2. to be hoped that future research on the settlement patterns of Bornholm will Kemmers, F. & Myrberg, N. 2011. Re- permit us to reach further into the world thinking numismatics. The archaeology of the Viking treasures of Bornholm. of coins. Archaeological Dialogues 18, pp. 87-108. 199

Fig. 3: During the excavation the plough soil was removed in two to three layers, and every layer was thoroughly investigated with metal detectors. The excavation method was chosen with the purpose of recovering more of the hoard, and 118 objects belonging to the hoard were found during the excavation. The excavation campaign had a very limited budget, and as the recovery of the hoard was given highest priority, the excavation area was dictated by where objects from the hoard were most likely to be en- countered in the plough soil. This unfortunately means that the information on other archaeological features is limited. Green: Traces of roof-bearing posts. Red: The Nørremølle hoard. Blue: Trace of now-removed stone. Excavation plan: BMR 3419 Nørremølle.

Kilger, C. 2003. Vad säger egentligen Cook, B. & Williams, G. (eds.), Coinage pecks och öjningar? Tanker kring meto- and History in the North Sea World c. diska och teoretiska frågor angående 500-1250. Essays in Honour of Marion sekundära individuella data och silver Archibald, pp. 389-433. Brill, Leiden. hanteringen under vikingatiden. Nordisk Numismatisk Unions Medlemsblad nos. Rispling, G. 2004. Cirkulationsspår på mynt 1-2, February 2003, pp. 3-12. från vikingatiden. Myntstudier. Mynttids skriften på Internet nr. 4, oktober, pp. 1-8. Malmer, B & Lagerqvist, L. O. 1987 (eds). Corpus Nummorum Saeculorum IX-XI. Watt, M. 1988. Bornholm mellem vikinge Qui in Suecia Peperti Sunt. 3.4. tid og middelalder. In Andersen, A., Dahlerup, T., Hansen, U. L., Jensen, J. S. Moesgaard, J. C. 2006. The Import of & Liebgott, N. K. (eds.), Festskrift til Olaf English coins to the Northern lands. In Olsen. Hikuin 14: 105-122. Greenlandic

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Greenlandic runic inscriptions

Lisbeth M. Imer Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance

In Greenland the farms of the Middle anything seen before with modern Dan- Ages are better preserved than any- ish eyes. It is because of the favourable where else in northern Europe. The ruins preservation conditions that we are able of the Norse settlement lie as oblong today to research the tradition of writing mounds in the landscape, and in some that the Norse settlers left. More than places stone-built walls up to a couple half of the preserved Greenlandic in- of metres in height still stand. The cold scriptions were written on wooden sticks, climate and agricultural exploitation that reindeer bones and whalebone. With the is not yet too intensive mean that the Greenlandic material we are therefore preservation conditions are especially able to describe the tradition of writing good compared with the occupation of as it looked in the countryside and on the the countryside in the rest of the north. magnates’ farms in the Middle Ages. In particular, organic material such as wood and bones is found plentifully and The material comprises more than 150 helps to nuance the picture of everyday inscriptions, mainly runic inscriptions, life. The Norse settlements in Greenland but also a small handful of inscriptions therefore give us a glimpse of life in the written in Latin letters. Inscriptions in countryside in the Middle Ages unlike Latin letters are far too often overlooked

Figs. 1a & b. Disease-expelling amulet from Qorlortup Itinnera with the inscription ... ora pro sanc[tus]...ora sanc[tus]. Skessa(?), which translates as ‘... pray for Saint...... pray Saint. Sorceress(?).’ Scale 10 cm. Photos: Lisbeth M. Imer. 201

in the discussion of the interpretation of The plan is to publish the inscriptions in runic inscriptions or in discussions of the a single publication dealing with the tra- use of writing, but if one is to describe dition of writing in Norse Greenland. So the tradition of writing as a whole, these far the artefacts have been investigated, constitute an important source for the drawn, described and collected in a cata- understanding of the overall picture. logue. The drawing work in particular has Generally speaking, the inscriptions are proved to be a methodologically excel- found first and foremost in the Western lent tool, because in making a drawing and the Eastern Settlements, but a very one is forced to consider every single small number have been found as stray crack and rune (cf. Imer 2009a, 2009b, finds at various Inuit settlements (for ex- 2011). In terms of presentation too it ample Illutalik) and as building elements gives the reader more help to show the in modern houses (Frederiksdal). A single inscription as a drawing than to describe runic inscription (Napasut) comes from the individual runes. the Middle Settlement, and interestingly this is on a tombstone, although no church In connection with the collection and re- has as yet been demonstrated in this view of the inscriptions several new read- Norse settlement. The northernmost runic ings and interpretations of inscriptions inscription found is the small slate from have come to light. One example is a c. Kingitorssuaq, which was found some 10 cm oblong wooden stick (figs. 1a & b) 40 km north west of Upernavik. In all, a with runes on two of the four sides. One good 100 inscriptions come from the of the edges of the stick has been cut Eastern Settlement, while about half as off, so the bottom part of most of the many have been found in the Western runes on side A is missing, and the top Settlement. is missing from the last five or six runes

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on side B. The last sequence on side B read separately from the rest of the text. has earlier been read as siesi(t) (Stok- Inscriptions of this kind, where the lund 1994: 9), but this disregarded the Norse language has been mixed with fact that the top of the runes is missing. Latin, are also known from Herjolfsnes, The word siesi(t) gives no linguistic where one of the cross-arms has the meaning. I have instead read the inscrip- Norse inscription Jesus Kristr hjalpi, tion as skes(s)a, where the last rune is that is ‘Jesus Christ help’, and along the to be read as an a-rune, since the top of trunk of the cross we see the Latin in- the object is missing. A new reading of scription [Ch]ristus natus est nobis, that an inscription often leads to a new in- is ‘Unto us Christ is born’. In other words terpretation, and this is also the case people wrote both in their mother tongue here. The whole text is a Latin text that and in Latin with runes. is full of either errors or abbreviations. Clearest are the Latin words ora pro A good number of new objects with ‘pray for’, and the object should proba- runes have also appeared. In most cases bly be interpreted as an amulet for driv- these are isolated runes on warp weights ing out illness or protection against ill- or bind-runes that have earlier been ness, like other known runic amulets viewed as owners’ marks. These have from the Middle Ages. It was very com- not earlier been incorporated in over- mon to give the illness a name to pin it views of the Greenlandic inscriptions. down or bind it, and then to expel it Inscriptions or runes on warp weights (Gustavson 2010; Imer 2010), and this is are however so common (about one fifth a tradition known all the way back to of the material) that it would be meth- the oldest known runic amulets in the odologically wrong to disregard this North (Stoklund 2004: 37). However, group when dealing with the tradition of there is no Latin word that corresponds writing. On the whole inscriptions on to the reading skes(s)a; but the Norse textile tools are very common in the ma- word skessa, which means ‘sorceress’ terial (they make up about one third), or ‘giantess’ is quite in keeping with the and this is probably related to the fact new reading. In addition, in front of the that textile production was one of the last word there is a very clear separator most important occupations in Norse consisting of four dots, whereas the Greenland. The inscriptions on the tex- separators in the rest of the inscription tile tools are often Christian prayers or consist of two dots. The last separator fragments of Christian prayers. A good should probably be regarded as a mark- example is a fragment of a mould for a er showing that the last word is to be spindle whorl (fig. 2), which has the 203

Fig. 2. Mould of soapstone from Gardar, half of which has been preserved. The inscription says ...ue (m)... and is c. half of Ave Maria. Scale 2 cm. Drawing: Lis- beth M. Imer. characters ...ue (m)... It is clear that the we cannot rule out the possibility that object has just enough space for Ave these single m-runes too have some- Maria, that is ‘Hail, Mary’, the begin- thing to do with the Marian cult. ning of the Archangel Gabriel’s greeting to the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation, When one looks at the total number of which became one of the most frequent- inscriptions in Norse Greenland, it is ly used prayers of the Middle Ages. ‘Ave quite clear that it was in divine worship Maria’, ‘Maria’ or abbreviations of this that writing really found expression. are found on the whole on many objects Faith and superstition ere closely relat- from Norse Greenland. One of the in- ed, as it was thought that one could ex- scriptions to which attention had not pel a disease – a sorceress – with a earlier been given is on a warp weight Christian prayer. The religious rural pop- from Gardar, where the inscription on ulation used writing both in personal one side is entwined with a cross in a worship, on tombstones and in connec- kind of religious bind-rune +=a=u (fig. 3), tion with their everyday work. while on the other side there is an m- rune. If we compare this to other abbre- After a total of one year’s work the viated Ave Maria inscriptions, for exam- Greenlandic inscriptions have been ple from Bryggen in Bergen, there is no drawn, registered and collected in a cat- doubt that we are dealing with an Ave alogue, and work has begun on the de- Maria inscription in much abbreviated scription of the objects and the analyti- form. On many other warp weights and cal method to be used in connection spindle whorls there are m-runes, some- with the publication. In 2013 the manu- times in conjunction with a cross, and script will be finished.

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Fig. 3. Warp weight of soapstone with runes on both sides of the object. The runes on one side are entwined with a cross in a kind of religious bind- rune. On the other side one sees an ‘m’. Scale 2 cm. Drawing: Lis- beth M. Imer.

Imer, L. M. 2010. Lille Myregård og bly amuletter fra middelalderen. In Danefæ. Skatte fra den danske muld. Til Hendes Majestæt Dronning Margrethe 2., pp. References 228-232. Gyldendal, Copenhagen.

Gustavson, H. 2010. Sårfeberbenet från Imer, L. M. 2011. Fortidens kalejdoskop Sigtuna. Situne Dei. Årsskrift för Sigtuna – Om definitionen af kontekster i runolo- forskning 2010, pp. 61-76. gien. Arkæologisk Forum 24, 2011, pp. 37-42. Imer, L. M. 2009a. The Runic Inscriptions from Vatnahverfi and the Evidence of Stoklund, M. 1994. Arbejdet ved Runolo Communication. Journal of the North At- gisk Laboratorium, København. Nytt om lantic, Special Volume 2. Norse Green- runer. Meldingsblad om runeforskning 9, land: Selected Papers from the Hvalsey pp. 4-12. Conference 2008, pp. 74-81. Stoklund, M. 2004. The Runic Inscription Imer, L. M. 2009b. Grønlandske runeind- on the Ribe Skull Fragment. In Bencard, skrifter B Forskning i nordboernes skrift- M., Kann Rasmussen, A. and Brinch kultur. E-nyt fra Nationalmuseet, Sep- Madsen, H. (eds.), Ribe Excavations tember 2009, pp. 1-6. 1970-76, Vol. 5, pp. 27-42. 205

Skin Clothing from the North

Anne Lisbeth Schmidt Research, Analysis & Consulting, Conservation Department

The project Skin Clothing from the North digital photos. The work was done at studies the Danish National Museum’s the Department of Conservation of the unique historical collections of skin Danish National Museum. Additionally, clothing from the Inuit, Aleut, Siberian approximately 100 items of clothing, and Sami peoples. The collection com- representing a number of costumes for prises approximately 2100 items of men and women, were selected from clothing made from different animal the collection and studied with regard to skins. In his thesis from 1914, Arktiske design, technique and material identifi- Skinddragter i Eurasien og Amerika, Gud cation. In general, the costumes consist mund Hatt indicated that circumpolar of clothing for the upper and lower part peoples from coastal areas and inland of the body as well as footwear. The followed different skin clothing tradi- items of clothing were grouped in terms tions according to their Asian origin. The of provenance, dating and gender. aim of the project is to demonstrate which contexts can be identified among The mounted costume was digitally pho- items of circumpolar peoples’ clothing tographed while it rotated 360° in front dating from approximately 1800 to 1950. of the camera. The series of photographs The analysis deals with 1) the geographi makes it possible to study the costume cal use of skin materials, 2) the gender from all sides – that is, to study every of the wearers, 3) manufacture, sewing costume’s characteristic individual sil- and design, and 4) lifestyle, geographical houette. The technology also makes it alliances, interactions and trade (Schmidt possible to magnify every part of the & Petersen 2010). costume. In addition, the elements of the clothing were measured, a pattern In 2010-2011, all the items of clothing was drawn, the sewing techniques were were registered by means of a new scien analysed, and the animal species of the tific documentation method. The individ- skins were identified. In this way, new ual items were documented in a data documentation was obtained about the base complete with high-resolution selected clothing and coordinated into

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The automated pattern-drawing proce- dure was developed in collaboration with Aalborg University (Jensen et al., work in progress) in order to document the clothing design. The method is based upon three-dimensional measurements from which a corresponding two-dimensional sewing pattern is generated. The method is non-damaging, quickly performed and accurate. The production of the two-dimensional pattern depends on the current flatness of the measured clothing element; buckling and distortion in the skin may thus affect the accuracy of the pattern. The drawing also reveals information about the area of the individual parts of the item of clothing – for instance of the front, back, hood and sleeve of a parka.

Once one has added together the areas of the elements for the individual items of Fig. 1 clothing that make up a whole costume, Woman’s complete costumes, representing as it becomes obvious that the amount of sealskin parka from West many circumpolar peoples as possible material consumed was generally small Greenland, within the collection. Since the Inuit col- in the historical Inuit women’s costumes Aasiaat Dis- lection is predominates, most of the cos- in Greenland. One example is a wom- trict, collected in 1918. Inv. tumes chosen were from Greenland and an’s costume collected in West Green- no. L.7819. Canada. The Siberian and Sami collec- land in 1918 (figs. 1 and 2). The costume Photo: Rober- tion is less abundant. Items that could consists of 1) a parka designed for carry- to Fortuna. be matched into a complete costume ing a baby at the back (a so-called were obviously chosen. To complete the amaat) made of furred sealskin, 2) trou- study, it was sometimes necessary to sers made of furred sealskin, 3) boots select only clothing for the upper part of made of depilated sealskin without epi- the body as representative of the Sibe- dermis (so-called white skin), and 4) rian and Sami peoples. stockings of furred sealskin. For the parka, 207

Fig. 2 Pattern of woman’s parka, inv. no. L.7819. The direction of the pattern elements refers to the actual hair direction in the skin. Drawing: Anette Hjelm Petersen.

approximately 1.0 square metres of skin of thread. The most prevalent sewing were used, for the trousers 0.3 square technique in Inuit skin clothing is over- metres of skin, and for the boots 0.4 cast stitching with 20-40 stitches, and square metres of skin. For the three items the thread is made of sinew. of clothing, approximately 1.7 square metres of skin were required (fig. 3). For Subsequent investigations will compare comparison, the human body is covered by the material consumption of all of the an average of 1.6 square metres of skin. selected items of clothing and costumes and will include animal species identifi- Together with the pattern production, cation. This study is being conducted in analyses and descriptions of the sewing collaboration with the Danish Natural techniques were noted on the measure- History Museum by means of DNA analy- ment sheets and registered in the data- ses (Schmidt et al. 2011). The analyses base. Joining and decorative seams were facilitate the mapping of animal skin us- identified with regard to type of stitch, age in the circumpolar area. number of stitches per 10 cm, and type

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viously hidden information treasures and to encourage new studies in the field. Furthermore, it is the intention that external museums and institutions will be given the possibility of adding information about skin clothing from the circum polar areas to the online database in order to supply the database with as much information as possible.

References Hatt, G. 1914. Arktiske Skinddragter i Eurasien og Nordamerika. En etnografisk Studie. Copenhagen, J. H. Schulz Forlags boghandel. [First English edition (1969), Arctic Anthropology 5(2): 3-132].

Jensen, K., Schmidt A. L. and Petersen, A. H. (in progress). Analysis of traditional historic clothing. Automated production of a two-dimensional pattern.

Schmidt, A. L. & Pedersen, K. B. (eds.) Fig. 3 Approximately 1.7 square metres of furred and de-haired 2010. Skin Clothing from the North. Ab- sealskin were used to make this West Greenlandic woman’s stracts from the seminar at the National costume. Photo: Roberto Fortuna. Museum of Denmark, November 26-27, 2009. The National Museum of Denmark. The future perspective of the project is, in 2012, to present the registered cloth- Schmidt, A. L., Gilbert, M. T. P., Cappel- ing with photos on the Internet together lini, E. and Olsen, J. V. 2011. Identifica- with the old and newly-obtained docu- tion of animal species in skin clothing mentation. By sharing knowledge, the from museum collections. In ICOM-CC Danish National Museum hopes to give 16th Triennial Conference Lisbon, Portu- all interested parties easy access to pre- gal, September 19-23, 2011. 209

Challenges of cultural and colonial encounters – European commodities in the Historical Thule Culture

Peter Andreas Toft Ethnographic Collection

Introduction challenges of the project: to study the Trade was the main motivation for the cultural encounters from the local view- cultural encounter of European whalers, point of the Inuit. The challenge was met merchants and missionaries with the Inuit by applying the theoretical framework of the Historical Thule Culture. The aim of cultural biographies and social histo- of the PhD project “Trade as a meeting ries to European commodities in Inuit of cultures – European artefacts in the context. How this anthropological model Historical Thule Culture” was to study worked as a solution will be illustrated by the cultural reception of European com- three types of European commodities: modities by the Inuit in order to illumi- iron hoops, bricks and glass beads, which nate the nature of the cultural encounters form a large part of the 11,068 objects between Europeans and Inuit in 17th-19th analysed in the thesis (Toft 2010). Prior to century Greenland. The focal point is the this, the arguments for the use of a local Inuit use and transformation of European approach in comparative studies of cul- trade goods and the cultural contexts in tural and colonial encounters, and the which European objects were used and histories of the three Greenlandic regions deposited. This analysis of archaeologi- included in the project, will be presented. cal and ethnographical collections in the Danish and Greenlandic National Muse- Two concepts of um from three Greenlandic regions was colonialism in archaeology combined with studies of European trade In archaeology, models of colonialism as records and trade goods in Inuit oral tra- a special form of cultural encounter have dition. This article presents one of the been discussed since the 1980s and de-

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veloped in two general directions, seeing of the word colonialism by world-system colonialism either as a universal pheno theorists as one universal process with- menon or as varying independent local out recognition of the local contributions constructs. The discussion of colonialism to the individual colonial encounters. is thus related to, and very similar to, the The use of the core-periphery model in discussion of globalization in anthropol- world system theory was further criti- ogy in the same period. cized for having a Eurocentric viewpoint assuming asymmetrical knowledge of Some archaeologists characterize colo- technology and power relations involving nialism as a given universal result of long connotations of military force, epidemics historical system-economic development and capitalism. This made the models – a structural phenomenon – which is a inapplicable to non-western or pre-capi- part of world systems (Wallerstein 1974, talistic cases of colonialism (Lightfoot 1980) governing change on a macro- 2005: 209f; Stein 2005: 24ff; van Dom- scale in core-periphery systems (Gosden melen 2005: 113). Inherent too in the 2004: 7f). In order to legitimize globaliza- world system thinking were acculturation tion as a universal phenomenon, it is of- models that made the adoption of cul- ten made historical by pushing its cha ture unidirectional from colonizers to the racteristics further back in time. The colonized; a donor-recipient relationship universal concept of colonialism is partly (Stein 2005: 16; van Dommelen 2005: grounded in criticism of fragmentary and 116). This was countered by the argu- localized fieldwork, and of the traditional ment that colonial encounters have at concept of culture in anthropology, which least three parties – the colonial home- often ignored change on the macro-scale. land, colonizers and the colonized – all However, studies of universal colonialism heterogeneous groups consisting of often go to the opposite extreme, ex- multiple subgroups and individuals who plaining local change only as the result were active agents in the social net- of external, global processes. works of that particular historical context (Stein 2005: 25). Using the concept The second school views colonialism as of colonial encounters, studying each multiple, independent colonial encoun- case of colonialism(s) in its own spatial ters observable only on the micro-scale, and temporal context, counters the arti- since different societies create their own ficial division into colonizers and natives versions of colonies and colonialisms in on the macro-scale, or into the global specific historical and geographical con- and local in the discussion of globaliza- texts. This approach is a critique of the use tion (Bubandt 2001: 42-51). 211

Furthermore, the varied nature and du- ration of cultural and colonial encounters makes the use of a local perspective inevitable, as is evident from the histories of Disko Bay, Nuuk Fjord and South East Greenland.

Local histories of cultural encounters Disko Bay was a whaling destination for the Inuit themselves (fig. 1) and natural- Disco Bay ly attracted Dutch, Danish, German and British whalers from the late 17th century (Gulløv 2004: 91). To monopolize whaling and trade, the Danish Crown established Nuuk Fjord colonies in the early 18th century in this region (Møbjerg & Canning 1986: 187) South East Greenland as well as in the rest of West Green- land. The region thus offers a unique opportunity not only to conduct a (first) cultural contact study in the Disko Bay area, Fig. 1: but also to study the development of a Europeans in the region were Danish The regions of the study. colonial situation for which these con- missionaries who came in 1721, fol- tacts have often been mistaken (cf. Silli- lowed by Moravian Brethren in 1733. man 2005: 60). However, it was not pos- Most of the local population was part of sible to identify pre-colonial European the Danish mission, whereas large par- objects with certainty among the archae- ties of southern Greenlanders gathered ological and ethnographic material of around the Moravian missions in their the three regions. existing annual cycle of travel between southern Greenland and Disko Bay (Gul- The Nuuk Fjord was an important stop in løv 1983: 247). After the smallpox epi- the existing Inuit trade network even demic in 1733-34 many southern Green- before the arrival of the Europeans be- landers settled permanently in the area cause of the natural deposits of soap- and stopped travelling north (Gulløv stone used for lamps and cooking ves- 1997: 401ff). The interplay between two sels by the local population. The first competing missions, two indigenous

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populations and a Danish colony makes proach makes it possible to study the the area a very interesting case for stud- impact of the varied spatial and tempo- ying the local reception of foreign cul- ral nature of contact on the constitution tures. of cultural encounters as part of local cosmologies. Central to this study is the Although whaling and later commercial analysis of the cultural biographies and sealing were intense along the east social histories of European artefacts coast of Greenland, European whalers found in Inuit contexts. were prevented from going ashore by the thick pack ice (Mikkelsen & Sveis- Cultural biographies trup 1944: 120; Fogsgaard 2003: 39-46). and social histories Thus for most of the period eastern In most previous research, European ob- Greenland only received European com- jects found in the Inuit contexts of modities indirectly through the hands of Greenland were seen as simple evi- the southern Greenlanders. The inhabit- dence of contact and as means of dating ants of southern Greenland played the house structures, middens and graves. role of middlemen, travelling from their But further steps must be taken to shed home to Disko Bay and returning along light on how these artefacts were used, the west coast to continue their voyage redefined and perceived in a different to East Greenland (Gulløv 2004: 340). cultural setting. South East Greenland was colonized as late as 1894 – a point in time which also One way to study the cultural adoption marks the end of the Thule Culture. of foreign artefacts and their effect on everyday and social life is through the The varied historical contexts of Green- concepts of cultural biographies and the land make it clear that it is not meaning- social histories of things as described by ful to study the impact of universal glo- the anthropologists Arjun Appadurai and balization. Both the local groups and the Igor Kopytoff. foreign groups involved in the trade are clearly heterogeneous, and the nature The construction of cultural biographies of contact and the groups involved means the study of the life-history of changed over time and space. Instead single artefacts: their origin, who made this historical period is ideal for con- them, their ideal use, their actual use, how ducting studies of the varying Inuit re- the function of the things changes with ception of foreign peoples and artefacts age, and what happens when a thing is in different regional contexts. This ap- finally discarded (Kopytoff 2003: 66f). 213

An ulo from the site Illorpaat in the Nuuk Fig. 2: Fjord region (fig. 2) is a good example of Ulo made of a European the usefulness of cultural biographies saw-blade. for understanding the cultural transfor- From Illorpaat, mation of foreign artefacts. This ulo was Nuuk Fjord. Photo: Peter originally a saw-blade made by a Euro- Andreas Toft. pean smith, which was shipped to Green land. When it came into the Historical Thule Culture it was used as raw material for making an ulo – a woman’s knife for cutting up seal and cleaning the skin. During this process the object was not only transformed from a saw to a knife; its meaning also changed – from a man’s tool to a woman’s. A similar change from men’s to women’s tools happened to Euro pean sailmakers’ knives, which because of their curved blades were commonly used as ulos (Gulløv & Kapel 1979: 125). umiaq (Gulløv 1997: 433). What is sig- In other cases, commodities are taken nificant is not that European artefacts out of trade circulation to be used as ex- are adopted, but the way they are rede- otic raw materials marking status or in fined and put to use. Another aspect of the religious sphere, a process called the redefinition of European commodi- singularization or sacralization (Kopytoff ties is the social histories of artefact 2003: 73ff). This process is frequent in types, which demonstrate changes in cases with huge distances between pro- the long-term perspective and the dy- ducer and consumer and results in the namics behind such changes (Appadurai construction of myths about the traders 2003: 34). and their goods – a general cultural phenomenon suggested by Appadurai (2003: Unravelling the social histories of the 48). One example is the use of European European artefacts in the Historical wood as amulets in the gunwale of an Thule Culture calls for contextual analy-

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sis at three levels: context-type, the lo- their meaning from simply expressing cation of artefacts within the context, the adoption of European identity, as of- and deposition practice, including the ten portrayed in culture contact and co- state of the deposited artefacts. First of lonial studies (Silliman 2005: 68) to all it is important to determine whether things used, transformed, redefined or some artefact types are repeatedly left even resisted by active social agents in in certain context types (tent rings, com- particular situations in a specific histori- munal houses, aggregation sites and cal context. The objects probably also graves). For instance, a high frequency lost their ‘European identity’ in the of European artefacts is already seen in minds of the Inuit in the early stages of some communal houses housing Inuit this process. Consequently the analysis shamans (Gulløv 2004: 93), which could and interpretation avoid the loaded be interpreted as signs of singulariza- terms ‘native’ and ‘European’ known tion or even sacralization. Secondly, the from historical archaeology and stays plotting of artefacts in the individual clear of the cultural adoption approach context may link European artefacts and donor-recipient relationship known with certain activities or even with gen- from many studies of colonialism (Stein der differences as at the site Ikaasap It- 2005: 16). tiva (Møbjerg & Robert-Lamblin 1989). Furthermore, systematic studies of the In the following, three of the 531 arte- practice of deposition could reveal fact types studied will be presented. whether foreign artefacts were treated The cases of iron hoops, bricks and glass differently from local ones in principle. beads exemplify the varied local use, The study of the cultural biographies transformation and reception of Europe- and social histories of European arte- an commodities in the Historical Thule facts offers opportunities not only to il- Culture of Greenland. lustrate the reception of foreign artefacts at a local or even individual level, Iron hoops but also to discover cultural practices In South East Greenland European com- not described in the historical sources modities are transformed for new func- of the Europeans and the tales and tions much more frequently than at the myths of the Inuit. Nuuk Fjord and Disko Bay. The creative use of foreign things is greater not only Working with cultural biographies and in quantity but also in the range of func- social histories of the European objects tions that the individual European arte- in the Historical Thule Culture changes fact type was reworked to accommo- 215

date. One of the best examples of this earliest contact with European whalers, practice is the reworking of iron hoops when the supply of European commodi- from barrels. Iron hoops are 0.5-1.5 mm ties was unstable resulting in greater thick with a rectangular uniform cross- creativity in their use. Later in the 18th section and regularly spaced holes, century at Disko Bay and the Nuuk Fjord, which makes them ideal for making a wide range of metal tools could be sharp edges by filing or grinding them bought by the Inuit in the Danish colo- and hafting them by tying string, sinew nies, making the reworking of metal ob- or baleen through the existing perfora- jects a rare phenomenon (Toft 2010: tions. Consequently, iron hoops were re- 52ff). In contrast, the reworking of hoops worked in South East Greenland into a and other commodities such as iron multitude of new functions related to plates, bar iron and cans in South East hunting and the processing of prey (fig. Greenland as late as the end of the 19th 3), for example blades for harpoons, century reflects a situation with an un- knifes, saws, ulos and side prongs for stable supply, necessitating a highly bird darts. At the base of the harpoon creative and opportunistic approach to heads, hoops could also be used as a metal objects (Toft 2010: 57-62). A knife plate for strengthening the shaft groove. blade from Nuuaalik consists of a hoop Furthermore, one hoop became the with an edge riveted to another piece of blade of a kamiut stick, used for clean- iron which functioned as the tang (fig. ing the ice off the soles of skin boots be- 3c). This object illustrates that metal fore going indoors. The most creative was used intensively in this region. This use of iron hoops is the reshaping of two is also evident from lance, harpoon, ulo pieces of hoop in Ammassalik using the and knife blades, which are generally natural curve to form the rim and bottom narrower in South East Greenland than of a landing net for scraping mussels, at Nuuk Fjord and Disko Bay. The differ- taking advantage of the perforations for ences in the widths of the harpoon hafting and forming the basis of the blades could also be related to the dif- sides with strings of skin. ferent types of animals hunted in the three regions (Toft 2010: 81ff). Strong The only case of a reworked hoop in the traces of grinding on the same artefact other two regions in this comparative types are seen in the material from study is a knife blade from Kangia in South East Greenland and Disko Bay. Disko Bay, which was collected in 1908, Whereas the hard grinding is visible presumably from a grave. The knife even on tools from the 19th century in blade may this have originated from the the former region, the intensive use of

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(a)

(b) 217

Fig. 3: Kamiut-stick (a), mussel scraper (b), knife (c), ulo (d) and harpoon heads (e-f) from South East Greenland made of reworked iron hoops. Photos: Peter Andreas Toft.

(d)

tools in the Disko Bay material may have also known from the Colony of Hope, originated in the unstable supply of iron the first Danish colony in Greenland during early contacts with European (1721-28) and from the subsequent colo- whalers. ny and Moravian mission, Neu Herrnhut, established at Nuuk (Gulløv 1997: 258f). Bricks Most of the bricks are found at nearby Another case of the variation in the use sites and at a Moravian mission, Uum- and meaning of European artefacts is mannaq, in the inner part of the fjord bricks. The majority of yellow and red (Toft & Gulløv 2011: 38, 47), where bricks brick fragments from Inuit contexts are could be picked up during the construc- found at Nuuk Fjord, where bricks are tion of European houses or from their ru-

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ins. Of these, only red bricks were used purposes (Gulløv 1997: 163). At Nuuk for new functions; as whetstones or for Fjord red bricks were perceived and used grinding bone or antler (fig. 4). From a by the Inuit as visually similar local raw strictly functional perspective the exclu- materials. sive use of red bricks is a paradox, since the much harder yellow bricks would be Only one piece of brick is known from more suited to many of the tasks in South East Greenland. This piece was question. The use of bricks must be seen used for making an amulet and was later in another light. The Inuit preference for left in a 17th-century house (fig. 5). The red bricks is related to the traditional turning the brick into an object with sacral use of red sandstone from Disko Bay functions demonstrates how exotic this and the Ivittut area in southern Green- material must have been in this region. land. Furthermore, the white and sand- Whether the brick fragment reached South coloured chamotte, sand and stones in East Greenland through the hands of a the red bricks resemble the white-spot- South Greenlander or came from an ice- ted red Igaliko sandstone from southern bound whaling ship in the pack ice off the Greenland, which was used for similar coast remains obscure (Toft 2010: 78f).

Fig. 4: Red brick used as a grinding stone in the Nuuk Fjord. Photo: Peter Andreas Toft. 219

Fig. 5: Amulet made of a reworked brick found in an 17th-century house at Qimisaa, South East Greenland. Photo: Peter Andreas Toft.

Fig. 6: Regional variation in the degree of wear on glass beads. Drawing: Peter Andreas Toft.

Glass Beads Glass beads are the most frequent Euro- were used on clothes and as jewellery in pean commodity in the ethnographic the hair or around the neck and wrists. and archaeological collections from the three regions, making up 73% of the to- Glass beads were more frequently in tal sample. A limited study of the sales South East Greenland than at Nuuk Fjord records of the Royal Greenlandic Trading and Disko Bay (fig.6). At Disko Bay 30% Company shows that this amount is only of the beads discarded have no traces of the tip of the iceberg. In the years 1806, wear. At Nuuk Fjord and in South East 1816 and 1826 the number of beads sold Greenland unworn beads make up 50% to the Inuit of the two southernmost col- and 2% of the regional samples. The re- onies at Disko Bay, Egedesminde and verse pattern is true for the much-worn Christianshaab, was at least 22 times beads, which make up 92%, 52% and higher than the total sample of beads 37% of the bead material from South from the three regions (Toft 2010: 215f). East Greenland, Disko Bay and the Nuuk Most of the beads from archaeological Fjord respectively (Toft 2010: 90f). The contexts bear no trace of their use, but different degree of access to glass beads according to historical descriptions they in the three regions is also evident from

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Fig. 7: Close-up of a string of beads on an amaut, a woman’s jacket, combining large worn 18th- century glass beads with unworn seed beads produced in the 19th century. Photos: Peter Andreas Toft. 221

the contexts where the beads were filing. In contrast, most beads from South nally discarded. At Disko Bay glass beads East Greenland are found in graves and were often left in middens. Beads were in communal houses, which were used also left in the middens of the Nuuk in this region not only during travelling Fjord area, but are more frequently found but also as winter houses. The deposi- in the large communal houses used dur- tion of unworn beads also follows these ing the long journeys along the west general patterns. Thus the beads left in coast of Greenland for trading and wha the communal houses of the Nuuk Fjord have been interpreted as stocks gathered for later exchange. Generally the consumption patterns of the Nuuk Fjord and Disko Bay reflect a ‘buy and discard’ practice, as opposed to the long lives of beads in South East Greenland. One practice common to all three regions is the deposition of much worn glass beads in graves. Only beads and other artefact types with a long life span were suitable for accompanying the dead (Toft 2010: 114-123). The re-use of old beads is visible in the ethnographic skin clothing, on which large worn 18th-century glass beads are combined with unworn small seed beads produced in the 19th century (fig. 7). These beads may have had life histories or even myths of their own associated with previous owners and older times, as is evident from both their size and the degree of wear.

Glass beads were used on Inuit clothing according to tradition and were placed in the same zones as traditional beads of calcite and fish vertebrae, often in combination with these. However, glass beads were also used in unique ways in

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South East Greenland and at Disko Bay. text in which European commodities A case in point is the use of two beads were easy to obtain. A further example from the Disko Bay area as tops for chil- is the incorporation of glass beads into dren (fig. 8). The wear patterns on their amulet harnesses and headdresses used ends reveal that the beads were previ- by men as protection against posses- ously strung with other beads either on sion by spirits (fig. 9). In West Greenland clothing or in jewellery. The re-use of only beads of local materials were used the costly beads in toys of the 18th cen- in amulet harnesses, and men’s head- tury not only shows affection for the dresses were exclusive to South East children, but also reflects a regional con- Greenland. This clearly demonstrates the 223

sacralization of foreign objects in areas objects were left in some phases at ka distant from the Europeans and their taq; the threshold between the living area commodities. Another regional use of and the house passage (fig. 10). This area glass beads is beads set in the hafts of was in many Inuit myths the zone in two ulos in South East Greenland. which orphans, murderers and the spi Whether these functioned as amulets rits of forefathers or whales materialized on tools related to hunting and the (Whitridge 2005: 232). Objects left at processing of prey, as on harpoons and kataq were probably gifts left for some kayaks or as ornaments or owners’ of these mythical figures. European com- marks, is impossible to tell (Toft 2010: modities are rare in the archaeological 91-93). However, sacralization was not contexts of the region before 1750 (Gulløv always a matter of distance from Euro- 1997: 248) and foreign things may have peans and their commodities; it can also been perceived as exotic even during the be seen in historical contexts in which first decades of colonization. European commodities are either a new phenomenon or the supply is not stable. Conclusion In some of the communal houses of the The analysis of the regional histories Nuuk Fjord used in the early decades of and the archaeological and ethnograph- the Danish colonization, glass ic objects shows the need for local stu beads were deposited ac- dies in the field of cultural encounters cording to a special and colonial history. Moreover, the re- practice. Glass sults of the project demonstrate how beads and the cultural biographies and social his- iron tories of objects are effective in giving cultural and colonial encounters a local perspective.

Fig. 8: Glass beads used in tops at lllorsuit and Qeqertag, Disko Bay. Photos: Peter Andreas Toft.

Fig. 9: Glass beads used in an amulet harness in 19th-century Ammassalik, South East Greenland. Photo: Peter Andreas Toft.

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Fig. 10: Glass beads left at the threshold of a communal house in Illorpaat 1740-60 (Gulløv 1997: 102).

Objects can tell many stories of material Greenland. Certainly there were religious and social practices not recorded in the specialists – shamans – who owned cer written sources. Consequently, cultural tain things only used for spirit-travelling, biographies and social histories are a but many ‘sacralized’ objects were also good solution to the challenge formulated used by people in everyday life. This is at the start of the project. One particular true not only of European commodities, aspect of the model which does not fit but also of local materials, as the Inuit the case of Greenland is the definition believed that animals, plants, places and of sacralization. In Kopytoff’s definition natural phenomena were inhabited by commodities are sacralized by being spirits called inua (Sonne 1994: 45f). One pulled out of the commodity sphere and example is amulets, which could be used set aside to demonstrate status or for for protection against many things – from religious purposes. However, the latter drowning accidents to spirit possession – function is not separate from everyday or were incorporated in hunting equip- life in the Historical Thule Culture of ment for luck. In this perspective, religious 225

practice was an integral part of Inuit life References and things could have both sacral and ordinary functions depending on the situ Appadurai, A. 2003. Introduction: com- ation. The separation of sacred and pro- modities and the politics of value. In Ap- fane is not a universal cultural concept; padurai, A. (ed.), The social life of things. the term sacralization must be contextu- Commodities in cultural perspective, pp. alized in every historical case and can- 3-63. Cambridge University Press. not be uncritically transferred. Further- more, distance between producer and Bubandt, N. 2001. Efter globalisering? consumer does not seem to be the sole – nogle antropologiske overvejelser. Den factor in sacralization in the Greenlandic jyske historiker 94-95: 42-70. case. The novelty of foreign objects seems to have played its part even in regions Fogsgaard, B. 2003. Dansk hvalfangst i with direct contact with the Europeans. Nordatlanten 1771-1789. http://www.fogsgaard.org/Hvalfangst.pdf A good example of an object which in a western perspective had both practical Gosden, C. 2004. Archaeology and Colo- and sacral functions is a lamp-stick with nialism. Cambridge University Press. an iron blade collected in 1908 at Am- massalik. This was lent to Perkilak, a 4- Gulløv, H. C. 1983. Hernhuternes grønlæn- year-old boy, by his parents, who told dere. Tidsskriftet Grønland 8-10: 247-259. him to swing it through the air to fight off the disease when he was ill. At other Gulløv, H. C. 1997. From Middle Ages to times the lamp-stick, which in form and Colonial Times. Archaeological and ethno- material resembles many others from the historical studies of the Thule culture in region, was simply used to adjust the South West Greenland 1300-1800 AD. flame of the family’s lamp. This story Meddelelser om Grønland. Man and So- shows how the purpose of things changes. ciety 23. It also illustrates that the social meaning of many things cannot be read directly Gulløv, H. C. 2004. Perler for hvaler – den from the object or its archaeological con europæiske indflydelse på 1700-tallets text. The many functional transforma- grønlandske udvekslingsøkonomi. In Lyng tions and new meanings of European strøm, H., B. Storgård & Brinch Petersen, things in the historical Thule culture re- E. (eds.), Vandkunstens mange ansigter. flect only a part of what once existed. 18 arkæologiske essays, pp. 89-94. SAXO- instituttet, Copenhagen.

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Gulløv, H. C. & Kapel, H. 1979. Haabetz Møbjerg, T. & Caning, K. 1986. Sermer- Colonie 1721-1728. A historical-archaeo- miut in the Middle of the Nineteenth logical investigation of the Danish-Norwe- Century. Arctic Anthropology 23(1-2): gian colonization and Greenland. Ethno- 177-198. historical studies of the meeting of Eskimo and European cultures, I. Publi- Silliman, S.W. 2005. Culture Contact or cations of the National Museum, Ethno- Colonialism? Challenges in the Archae- graphical series Vol. XVI. ology of Native North America. Ameri- can Antiquity 70(1): 55-74. Gulløv, H.C. (ed.) 2004. Grønlands forhistorie. Gyldendal, Copenhagen. Sonne, B. 1994. Eskimoernes førkristne religioner. In Boile Nielsen, P. (ed.), Reli- Kopytoff, I. 2003. The cultural biography gionshåndbogen, pp. 35-53. Gads Forlag, of things: commodization as process. In Copenhagen. Appadurai, A. (ed.), The social life of things. Commodities in cultural perspective, pp. Stein, G. J. 2005. The comparative Ar- 64-91. Cambridge University Press. chaeology of Colonial Encounters. In Stein, G. J. (ed.), The Archaeology of Colonial Lightfoot, K. G. 2005. The Archaeology Encounters. Comparative Perspectives, pp. of Colonization. California in a Cross- 3-32. School of American Research Ad- Cultural Perspective. In Stein, G. J. (ed.), vanced Seminar Series, Santa Fe. The Archaeology of Colonial Encounters. Comparative Perspectives, pp. 207-235. Toft, P. A. 2010. Livets ting – Tingenes School of American Research Advanced Liv. Inuit og europæiske genstande i Seminar Series, Santa Fe. Grønland 1600-1900 (Life of Things – Things of Life. The Inuit and European Mikkelsen, E. & Sveistrup, P. P. 1944. things in Greenland 1600-1900). PhD The East Greenlanders Possibilities of thesis, University of Copenhagen. Existence, Their Production and Consump- tion. Meddelelser om Grønland Vol. 134(2): Toft, P. A. & Gulløv, H. C. 2011. Fedtstens 1-244. udnyttelse på Uummannaq, Godthåbsfjor- den og rekognoscering efter norrøne loka- Møbjerg, T. & Robert-Lamblin, J. 1989. The liteter i Kapisillit-fjorden. S.O.A.P. 2007, settlement at Ikaasap Ittiva, East Green- del 1. SILA feltrapport nr. 32. land. An ethno-archaeological investiga tion. Acta Archaeologica 60: 229-262. 227

van Dommelen, P. 2005. Colonial Inter- Toft, P. A. in press. Uummannaq – fedt action and Hybrid Practices: Phoenician stenen og menneskene. Fjerde afsnit af and Carthaginian Settlement in the An- fortællingen om Nuukområdets fedtsten. cient Mediterranean. In Stein, G. (ed.), Tidsskriftet Grønland. The Archaeology of Colonial Encounters. Comparative Perspectives, pp. 109-138. Toft, P. A., Appelt, M. & Gulløv, H.C. School of American Research Advanced 2010. Nuuks grå guld. Nationalmuseets Seminar Series, Santa Fe. Arbejdsmark, pp. 68-83.

Wallerstein, I. 1974. The Modern World Toft, P.A. & McKinney-Valentin, M. in prep. System. Capitalist Agriculture and the Ori- Colonial consumption and the construc- gins of European World Economy in the tion of social identities in 19th century Sixteenth Century. Academic Press, New Greenland. In Nosch, M. L. et al. (eds.), York & London. Fashionable Encounters 1500-1800 Scan- dinavia and the World. Wallerstein, I. 1980. The Modern World System II: Mercantilism and the Consoli- Seiding. I. & Toft, P. A. 2011. Koloniale dation of the European World Economy identiteter: Ægteskaber, fællesskaber og 1600-1750. Academic Press, New York & forbrug i Diskobugten i første halvdel af London. det 19. århundrede. In Høiris, O. & Mar- quardt, O. (eds.), Fra vild til verdensborger, Whitridge, P. 2004. Landscapes, Bodies, pp. 269-312. Aarhus Universitetsforlag, Houses, Things: “Place” and the Archae- Aarhus. ology of Inuit Imaginaries. Journal of Ar- chaeological Method and Theory 11(2): Seiding. I. & Toft, P. A. in prep. Circum- 213-250. venting colonial policies – Consumption and Family Life as social practice in the Early 19th Century Disko Bay. In Naum, M Further publications of the project & Nordin, J. M. (eds.), Small time agents in a global arena: Danish and Swedish Toft, P. A. 2008. De fremmede og deres colonialism and the rise of modernity. ting set med inuits øjne: En etnohistorisk vinkel på kulturmøderne i Grønland 1600-1900. 1066 – Tidsskrift for Historie 38(4): 22-28.

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Timber houses in Greenland – diffusion and innovation

Niels Bonde, Thomas S. Bartholin, Claudia Baittinger and Helge Paulsen

Danish Prehistory, Unit of Environmental Archaeology

When the first missionaries settled in tianshåb in the Disko Bay. The house- Greenland in the 1720s, it was quickly building style is strongly influenced by apparent that they needed to find good Norwegian traditions and it has been housing. Traditional Greenlandic houses suggested that this house was originally and lifestyles did not fit easily into the a Norwegian timber house which was existing northern European norms, and bought, dismantled and then transported being among the first permanent settlers to Greenland. The house wasn’t sent from posed challenges. Initially, the mission- Bergen, though, but from Copenhagen, aries were organized via Bergen in Nor- since by this time the mission’s main con way, and in 1723 the first timber house tacts with Europe and its trading net- (log cabin) was sent to Greenland. This work went through Denmark’s capital. house will not be discussed here, but it The house has since had a rather varied is thought to have originated from ‘West history in the small community, both as Norway’, i.e. the region along the Atlan- a shop and a storehouse between 1806 tic coast of southern Norway. When one and 1990. Today it is a museum. looks back at this pioneering period for Europeans in Greenland, it is clear that When the house was being refurbished Hans Egede and the other pioneers rein connection with its new role as a mu- ceived very little financial backing from seum in the 1990s, it was possible to take ‘the Company’ in Bergen. ‘The Company’ a slice (cross-section) through some of was interested in making money. its timber posts. This slice was analysed using dendrochronology and revealed a The oldest preserved house from these secret. The construction date was con- colonial times is dated 1734 and was built firmed, but the pattern of tree rings show for Poul Egede’s new mission at Chris- ed that the trees that were used for the 229

“It smells Norwegian”. Sampling produces a lot of smoke and Helge Paulsen thought that he could determine where the timber came from just from the smell of the smoke. Pho- to: Thomas Bartholin.

timber posts had not grown in Norway but In the summer of 2010, dendrochronolog- somewhere in the Baltic area, most prob- ical cores were taken from 15 historical ably somewhere in present-day Poland. buildings in Ilulisat/Jakobshavn, Ilimanaq/ Claushavn and Sissimiut/Holsteinsborg. So we had a Norwegian timber house The samples were taken by Thomas Bar- made from Polish trees! tholin (dendrochronologist) and Helge

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Paulsen (building conservation consultant) ‘Holmen’ (the naval base with shipyard using a specially designed corer for use on in Copenhagen) probably played a signif- standing structures. This is work which icant role in the story. At Holmen there requires great care and not least strong were highly trained ‘masters’ who were biceps. most likely the equivalent of modern-day engineers, carpenters with experience of The laboratory analysis quickly revealed both house construction and shipbuild- that the timbers used in the extant houses ing, and not least contacts with most of in Greenland derived from a wide area, northern Europe. Ideas flowed along the especially from Poland but also from trade routes, and in this melting-pot new Sweden and perhaps Finland, with only ideas and inspirations were formed. a little from Norway. This is a totally different picture from the traditional idea, One of the advantages of dendrochrono- which assumed that the area that was logical dating is that it is rooted in a bio- closest, i.e. Norway, would be the major logical context. This means that it is to- supplier of timber. In this case it was not tally independent of all other dating – other forces and trends were important. methods, historical, archaeological or geological, for example radiocarbon dat- Our Norwegian building expert could ing. The results can therefore be used as quickly see that most of the buildings an independent contribution to the study didn’t follow traditional Norwegian build- of Greenland’s old buildings (cf. Bartho- ing styles, and that many details pointed lin 2011; Paulsen 2011). in quite different directions. There is virtually nothing ‘Norwegian’ in these buildings, but they do have similarities to the log cabins of eastern and central References Europe. The indications are that, at the end of the 18th century, a standard house Bartholin, T. S. 2011. Dendrokronolo- type had been developed which may giske undersøgelser af historiske byg- have been inspired by the building tradi- ninger i Grønland. NNU Rapport 34, 30 tions of the region that supplied the tim- pp. Nationalmuseet. ber for the houses. These new ‘type- houses’ could easily have been sent to Paulsen, H. 2011. Rapport – Grønland. Byg Greenland as a package solution and did ningsteknisk-Dendrokronologisk arbeid not need extensive expertise to erect. fra Ilulissat, Sisimiut & Ilimanaq. NNU Rapport 35, 69 pp. Nationalmuseet. 231

Tunit and the birds – echoes of another world

Martin Appelt & Mari Hardenberg Ethnographic Collection

With a point of departure in only a small ature portrayals of birds that are some- number of artefacts assembled from a times found in the archaeological assem- Late Dorset site in the eastern Arctic, it blages. The following text will cast some is suggested that historical trajectories flickering light on the Tunit and their re- sometimes move in highly asynchronous lationship with birds as viewed from a ways. It is also suggested that processes single aspect of their material culture. of cultural change, as reflected in archaeological records in the eastern Arctic, are Background mostly driven by cultural encounters. In 1939, the Oxford archaeologist Graham Rowley completed the first systematic Among the numerous artefacts from excavation of a settlement of the Tunit prehistoric sites in Arctic and sub-Arctic culture. The site is known as Abverdjar, Canada and Greenland, the miniature and it is located in the northwestern part carvings of the Tunit people (i.e. the Dor- of Foxe Basin, Nunavut. set culture) speak directly to our imagi- nation. When studying this particular Fourteen years earlier, in 1925, Diamond aspect, one feels almost able to under- Jenness had already suggested that the stand the worldview that led to the very eastern Arctic was inhabited prior to its specific way this group of prehistoric settlement by the Inuit population during carvers portrayed the beings that inhab- the 11-12th century AD. Jenness based his ited their world. The attention of both suggestion on observations of archaeolog- researchers and the public has mainly ical specimens from a collection that had been directed to the relationships among come to the Canadian National Museum humans, human-like beings (perhaps from Cape Dorset. Significantly, some of deceased humans), and polar bears as the objects looked stylistically different reflected in the carvings. Fewer scholars, from and older than those of the familiar however, have discussed the Tunit mini- Inuit culture. The artefacts were depos-

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ited in a single wooden box in which ence of a group of settlements older Jenness placed a little note citing the than, and different from, the earliest Inuit term “Tunit culture”, referring to the sto- settlements. A number of researchers ries told by the Inuit in Nunavut to Franz have since studied the artefacts from Boas and Knud Rasmussen during their Abverdjar; however, the finds have never journeys. These stories were about a been fully published. The Danish archae- people who inhabited the country before ologist Jørgen Meldgaard examined the and for some time after the Inuit arrived in artefacts from Abverdjar in connection the eastern Arctic. One can only guess at with his fieldwork in Nunavut in the 1950s why Jenness then went on to follow the and 1960s, and produced a number of normal archaeological practice of naming excellent photos and drawings of these cultures after the places where they are exceptional objects. Moreover, he con- first recognized as independent phenom- ducted minor additional excavations at ena, in this case the “Dorset culture”. Abverdjar in 1965 and produced the only existing archaeological site maps of In the following, we will adopt Jenness’ Abverdjar. Despite the lack of published first suggestion and use the term “Tunit information on the site, it is famous for culture”, although in a slightly different its varied and extensive occurrences of way from the common use of “Dorset organic artefacts (fig. 1). culture” by archaeologists. In this context, “Tunit” refers directly to the people with The Abverdjar site covers an area of whom the Inuit made contact when they 1,800 m2 and houses a small mission sta- first settled in the eastern Arctic, and not tion and eleven houses, most of which only to the specific composition of objects probably date from 1930 and 1940. The and their stylistic traits that generally objects made by the Tunit people were constitute the archaeological “Dorset obtained from two disturbed semi-sub- Culture”. terranean dwelling floors and the associated thick midden layers. This part of the At the beginning of the Second World settlement is now 10-12 metres above War, Graham Rowley joined the Cana- sea level and is situated at the northern, dian military, which is why his excava- highest part of the settlement. According tions at Abverdjar were only sporadically to Rowley’s preliminary description, the described in a brief article (1940). This excavations included a number of bones may be one of the reasons why it was to of such animals as walrus, bearded seal, take more than ten years before the wider ringed seal, polar bear and arctic hare. archaeological world accepted the exist- He noted that catching foxes seems to 233

Figure 1: Plan view of the Abverdjar site, Igloolik Region, Nunavut. Drawing by Jørgen Meldgaard, 1965.

have been of particular importance (Row condition. A wintertime use of the site is ley 1940: 492), indicating that the settle- further indicated by the large number of ment had also been inhabited during the fragments of snow knives and the so- winter months when fox furs are in prime called ice-creepers. The latter objects are

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Figure 2: Needles obtained from Abverdjar. Museum of Archaeology and Anthro- pology, Uni- versity of Cambridge. Photo by Mar- tin Appelt.

halved, flat pieces of walrus tusk where The birds one surface is smooth while the oppo- As was the case at Abverdjar, birds were site surface has a series of pointed buds. an important part of the Tunit people’s The pieces would have been bound under food resources wherever they resided. the kamiks with the buds facing down- At some settlements, bird bones make wards, thus making it possible to move on up nearly one third of the bone material icy surfaces. found in archaeological excavations. This 235

applies particularly to settlements that we imagine that their clothing included had been inhabited during the summer bird skins, as it is difficult to imagine when there would have been significant that the warm skins would just be dis- numbers of birds in the immediate vicin- carded. Many of the Tunit people’s nee- ity. Often, one will find the remains of dles are also so delicate that they must Tunit settlements at the so-called polynyas have been particularly suitable for sew- – that is, places where strong currents ing thin, soft leather such as fox and bird and local winds help to keep the sea skins. These needles were almost exclu- open in winter or to break the ice earlier. sively made of split bird bones (fig. 2). Sea mammals gather in the polynyas in order to breath and feed, thus creating Tunit carvings ample opportunity for hunters to find prey. Today, the total carvings known from the Polynyas are also ideal locations for many Tunit and their predecessors number more of the Arctic migratory birds to find their than 1000 individual pieces (e.g. Suther- food; in some places, such as Cape York land 2001), both complete and frag- Peninsula in the Thule district, the biolog- mented. The majority of the carvings ically productive North Water polynya are were produced during the period around the basis for 20-30 million breeding auks. the beginning of our era until the 13-14th According to Knud Rasmussen, the flocks century, peaking in the period from the are so large that they block out the sun fifth century onwards. when they take off. In other High Arctic areas, geese and gulls are particularly The carvings are primarily in ivory, antler, common in the archaeological assem- bone and wood, but soapstone had also blages (Darwent 2001). been used in Newfoundland and Labra- dor. They range from what appear to be There is no doubt that most bird species naturalistic portraits of individual people were caught for subsistence purposes. and animals to completely abstract forms But it is also likely that the skins of some apparently depicting creatures which in bird species functioned as clothing many cases (whether humans, animals among Tunit groups. We know, for in- or spirits) are only indicated by simple, stance, from the Inughuit in the Thule characteristic incisions. For example, the area in historical times that dovekie abstract representations of the bear may were especially prized for inner cloth- be as simple as five short lines repeated ing. While the Tunit people’s clothing is twice, representing the bear’s claws. In only known from indications on a small other cases, a simple incision along the number of carvings of human figures, axial spine of an animal carving repre-

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sents what seems to be the act of energy and a will, and is closely linked breathing and/or digestion. both in this and in other worlds; for several spirit worlds exists parallel to our For the Tunit people the skeleton ap- own. In the same vein, a number of ‘cross- pears to have played a distinct role, and es’ and in small and large versions are carvings of both humans and non-humans incised to mark the body’s joints. In later often have a number of skeletal ele- Inuit and Yupik societies, these images ments indicated (fig. 3). This kind of skel- marked the so-called ‘joint-souls’, but it eton motif, as it is called, is commonly is not known whether they were under- found in a number of communities across stood in the same way among the pre- the Arctic, but also among hunter-gath- historic Tunit people. erers in the far southern regions and even back in some of the oldest human Among both prehistoric and historic Inuit societies in Africa and Europe. In the groups, there has been a tradition of carv- course of time researchers from various ing two-dimensional ‘sceneries’ on piec- disciplines have discussed the meaning es of walrus tusk and antler. In contrast, and importance of the skeletal motif, and we only know of a few pieces carved by the interpretations are numerous. There Tunit. We shall later present some of the is some consensus that the use of skele- few ornamental exceptions that exist tal motif ornamentation is associated with among the Tunit people’s objects. a particular worldview that suggests a particular relationship among humans, The total assemblage of carvings most animals and spirits. In this special per- likely represents many different mean- spective, everything in the world has ings and uses. A large number of carvings are probably personal amulets, while others, such as some of the miniature versions of harpoon heads, may have functioned as toys. A third group of carvings may have been tools for particular Figure 3: Miniature collective ceremonies directed by reli- seal carving with in- gious specialists. It seems likely for ex- cised skeletal motif carved from walrus ample that the dramatic full-size wooden ivory. Obtained from a masks known from a single place in Can- Tunit dwelling in the ada, like bear teeth carved from walrus Thule region, Green- land. Drawing: Niels tusk, were used in large gathering cere- Levinsen. monies. A number of Canadian sites have 237

also revealed pieces of caribou Figure 4: Multi-facial carving (“Shaman’s antler with a large number of wand”) in caribou antler. Obtained from Abverdjar site, Igloolik region, Nunavut. carved faces, seeming to show Drawing: Nuka K. Godtfredsen. denizens of this and possibly other worlds. Of these types, 14 pieces have been found with up to 60 carved faces. These Other carvings on the Tunit varied representations of fac- people’s objects illustrate es, known by some scholars death and birth themes. as shamans’ wands, may well This applies to carvings of a have been used for collective bear and a man who has ceremonial events (fig. 4). been ‘killed’ with a stick through the heart, and also As earlier mentioned, there to images of a heavily preg- are a number of figurines nant woman, or a particularly that may have been used potent man. Amongst anthro- as personal amulets. As is pologists and archaeologists the case among historical there is a broad consensus Inuit, among the Tunit they that hunter-gatherer societies may have had the function do not create ‘art for art’s of protecting the wearer sake’ as known and prac- against evil and of transfer- tised in modern times. The ring the distinctive powers of view is that ‘art’ is prima- the animals reproduced. For rily a western concept that example, a carving represent- has only arisen over the past ing a caribou leg could have 500 years. However, when functioned as an amulet either one looks at some carvings of for attracting caribou or for giving the Tunit people, one is some- the owner the speed of the ani- times left with a feeling that some mal. Other types of figurines con- carvings were actually created for tain elements from several animals, the sake of expressing creativity, in each case mixed with human traits. sorrow and even amusement. It is These figures likely represent the act difficult to imagine that the Tunit of transformation from one creature to people and other hunter-gath- another, or perhaps simply the relation- erer peoples had no sense of ship between the represented creatures. artistic expression.

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According to an examination of more creature, and is frequently found carved than 800 Tunit carvings conducted in the with skeleton decoration on the body 1980s, human and bear representations surface, just as there are examples of are by far the largest groups represent- the breast pieces being ‘cut out’ so that ed. Man and bear have both been repro- the sternum is visible. In some instanc- duced in countless variations, from ab- es, the falcon, or rather its wings, are stract and sometimes hardly recognizable found in combination with other crea- forms to fully naturalistic forms, repre- tures or things, such as a bear or a har- sented by simple body elements or com- poon. It is probable that the wings of the plete individuals. The many carvings ex- falcon were represented to transfer its press variations that are still recognizable exceptional abilities as a killer to the today as ranging from happy and pleas- owner of the carving. In contrast, we ant to highly caricatured and upsetting also find examples of Tunit carvings from characters. Greenland and Nunavut depicting what appear to be vulnerable falcon chicks Creatures with beaks (many of the figures mentioned are re- Among the many artefacts from Abverdjar produced in Carpenter 1973). there are three or four representations of birds or bird-like creatures (fig. 5). One The bird figures from Abverdjar are part of the bird portraits is a perching falcon, of the group of more than 50 three-di- but the legs are oversized and appear to mensional bird carvings found at Tunit belong to a large mammal. In other words, settlement sites dated to the period the figure is ‘more than’ a falcon. On the from the sixth to the twelfth century. whole, the falcon in particular seems to have been viewed as a very particular Figure 5: a) A flock of loons? Obtained from Abverdjar site, Igloolik region, Nunavut. Canadian Museum of Civilization. Photo by Jørgen Meldgaard; b) Snowy owl obtained from Abverdjar site, Igloo- lik region, Nunavut. Eskimo Museum Churchill; c) Multi-facial carving obtained from Thule region, Greenland. The National Museum of Denmark. Illustrated figures are all carved from walrus tusk.

(a) 239

(c)

(b)

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These figures include one of the most large quantity of sides and bottoms of graceful of Tunit carvings – a pair of what may have functioned as small box- swans with necks and heads stretched es for storage and transport of the long, out in flight. The figure is from Mansel slender needles have been found (fig. 6). Island (a small island on the west side The containers are approximately five to of Ungava Peninsula, Nunavik), and in ten centimetres long and are made of the same place two more swan carvings two or three pieces of caribou bone/ant- were found that seem to illustrate a ler, tied together through small oval male swan in a courtship display. An- holes on the sides of the pieces. Some other group of figures includes small, of the side pieces have visible marks compact, naturalistic representations of suggesting lashing/coils that functioned the grouse, carved in wood or soap- to keep the container together. The in- stone. We also know of three or four side surfaces of the sides typically have carvings that probably show small flocks a narrow groove at the top and bottom of geese swimming in lines with their running across the piece breadth-wise. heads stretched out. The interpretation In this groove a bottom and a top disc of the species represented on the carv- head have been added. Some of the side ings is particularly subjective, but the pieces end in a narrow peak with a small group of birds represented seems at all cut hole which probably served as a sus- events to include snowy owl, diver and pension hole, so the container could be ivory gull, possibly a crane, and the oth- hung on a cord around the neck, on a er species already mentioned. The crane belt, or in some similar way. The oval or is a very rare visitor to the Arctic; but a circular top and bottom pieces are made bone has been identified from one of the of millimetre-thin slices of caribou Tunit settlements near Abverdjar which shoulder blade; each piece has small may well be from a crane (diary from holes for tying-on the sides. In some of 1957 by Jørgen Meldgaard). these top and bottom pieces there is one hole in the middle, which may well Returning to the approximately 2000 un- have served as the hole through which earthed artefact assemblages from Ab- one moved the needles in and out of the verdjar site, the needles in particular container (almost as in contemporary represent a very large group of assem- toothpick holders). blages. If one adds the number of whole needles to the number of intact rear Some of the container side pieces and ends of needles, at least 101 needles top/bottom pieces have ornamental en- are represented. Along with these a gravings which in some instances have 241

Figure 6: Needle case/box side obtained from Abverdjar site, Igloolik region, Nunavut. Note the lashing grooves on the top and bottom parts in 6a. Drawing: Martin Appelt.

immediately recognizable images. In sev- previous clarity thus gradually starts to eral cases it is rather difficult to deter- fade for the observer. However, there is mine whether the many highlights are little doubt that the people who carved abstractions of concrete objects or merely this ornamentation assigned a concrete served as ornamentation. If one studies meaning to it and that their contempo- the pieces for a long time, one slowly raries were well aware of the meaning. starts to recognize elements of small herds of caribou. Immediately after this The carvings on some of the top and bot- recognition, however, it begins to look as tom pieces contain elements that are if an entirely different creature is repre- more accessible. This applies to carvings sented, or perhaps even the sun, making of figures that share the common fea- the small strokes that first appeared to ture that they have two wings and two be caribou legs the rays of the sun. Any three-toed feet (see figure 7 a, b, c and

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figure 8 a, b). Figure 7 comprises a ‘spine’ creatures. The dominant figure is the bird, formed only by a thin line to which the but the figures in 7b and 7d appear to different body parts are connected. How have human-like faces. In figures 8a and ever, the torsos in figure 8 are trapezoid. 8b, one of the wings is apparently folded Both types have clear markings of the across the body and is thus more similar ribs (skeletal ornamentation) and feath- to a human arm than an actual wing. ers, while the heads are quite varied. In The figure in 8c is a four-legged creature figure 7a the head is lanceolate and has with bird feet, and the head has been six short lines along its edges. In figure formed with birdlike features. 7b the head is somewhat uneven pointed oval with clear markings of the eyes and As previously mentioned, several of the mouth, while the head is missing from Tunit people’s carvings include features figure 7c. Figures 8a and 8b both have or rather properties of various creatures, triangular heads. While figure 8b has in- such as a harpoon head with marks of dividual dots inside the head, figure 8a bear claws, which also has a human face again has six short lines along the sides or the face of a bird. In a number of places of the head. Figure 7d has an oval head we also find cylinder-shaped boxes made with seven dots, as known from other of one piece of the lower part of a wal- contexts, constituting facial orifices: ear, rus tusk. These types are known among eye, nose and mouth. Finally, figure 8c specialists as amulet boxes or ‘blowing differs from the others mentioned. This tubes’. The latter name refers to their figure seems to have four legs, two of possible use as tube-shaped objects for which end in three toes, while one leg healing sessions as known from Inuit has only two toes. angakkut or shamans. The ornamentation on a number of these pieces contains el- The engraved figures from Abverdjar ements from several creatures simulta- only have a few parallels in the material neously: bear, human, seal, and walrus, excavated from other Tunit settlements, like the well-known example of wolf although most of the individual ele- and caribou combined. ments on the carvings are known from other places. First and foremost, the skel- The juxtaposition of elements from dif- etal ornamentation is a recurrent feature ferent creatures has been interpreted as in many of the three-dimensional ren- an expression of the animistic world- derings of mammals, like the seven dots view that must underlie the Tunit peo- depicting facial openings, and the carved ple’s lifestyle. In this cosmology, every- figures reproduce features of several thing has energy and an intention to 243

Figures 7 & 8: Decorated top and bottom pieces of needle cases/boxes both obtained from Abverdjar site, Igloolik region, Nunavut. Drawing: Martin Appelt.

interact with the outside world that hu- several Tunit sites. These must once have man beings must deal with. However, had a use, and one can imagine that the some things are more important than person who put them in his mouth not others. Judging from the many carvings, only ‘dressed up’ as the bear/wolf, but humans, humanoids (spirits and/or peo- for a time became the predator. It is ple who live in other, parallel worlds) within the scope of this worldview that and animals played a particularly impor- we must understand the special carvings tant role. Tunit people apparently be- from Abverdjar. lieved, like many other hunter-gatherer groups in the Arctic, that humans and We suggest that there are two possible animals could give themselves one an- interpretations of the engraved bird/hu- other’s appearance; that is, for long or man figures from Abverdjar, i.e. that the short periods humans and animals could figures depicts humans that have become become other beings and possess their (or that are in the process of becoming) properties. One good example of this is a bird or a being with bird-like features. the composition of the predator (proba- Thus, as mentioned above, humans see- bly polar bear or wolf) denture sets ing the world from the viewpoint of the carved from walrus tusk known from bird, whether that would have been the

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view of the predatory falcon, trickster If one assumes that gender roles among birds like the raven, or the caring ptarmi- the Tunit were anything like what we find gan. It could also be depictions of humans in most historically described Inuit soci- having borrowed the “skin” of their help- eties, sewing belonged to the women’s ing-spirits. domain. The material from Abverdjar thus indicates an interesting correlation be- In a second interpretation, the figures tween women and birds, since almost could have been much more literally all needles are made of bird bones. The meant depicting people dressed in tan- figures carved on the needle cases, for gible human-made bird clothing. Quite example, are bird-like figures or people simply, bird-skin clothing is both warm in bird skin (who could then be women). and light, even if it is also very fragile. This seems unlikely, however, as the en- The bird/human figures graved figures also appear with birdlike, in a wider context three-toed feet. The unusual Tunit bird-people figures call to mind some of the oral stories from We suggest a combination of the two much later times (17-19th century) which explanations, i.e. that the figures depict were recorded among various Inuit and people in bird-skin costumes that has Indian groups across the Arctic and sub- become birds. Whether you accept one or Arctic. These stories relate that birds were the other interpretation, we argue that associated with various, sometimes pow- the engravings indicate that the Tunit felt erful symbolic meanings. Among some his- that important spiritual connections ex- torical groups, birds played a crucial role isted between humans and birds. in both the maintenance of and changes in the order of the universe. The many deco The different shapes engraved on the rative objects and shapes left by the Tunit two box bottoms seem to relate to each people may have referred to a similar role, other and probably illustrate a storytelling albeit with variations in symbolic mean- sequence (‘scenery’). It is striking that the ing and traditions through the ages. characters do not overlap, and that their style and the way they are engraved are In Graham Rowley’s short report from very similar. Whether the engraved fig- Abverdjar (1940), he suggested the pos- ures reflect actual events or are part of sibility that the Tunit may have been in purely mythical narratives (or both simul- contact with and/or inspired by southern taneously), it is unlikely that we will get Indian groups. So far, this possibility has any closer to understanding their content. not been verified by archaeological evi- 245

dence, but on the basis of the carved aspects of regional mobility, the prepara birds and human figures, it will be inter- tion of organic substances (e.g. walrus esting to investigate this possibility in tusk, antler, bones and wood) for tool the future. Jørgen Meldgaard too had an production, the styles of some hunting eye for the possible link between the Tunit implements, and the style of ornamenta and Native American groups when he tion. Particular harpoon-head styles and wrote his famous statement that the styles of dwellings for example, seem to Dorset culture had “a smell of the forest” suggest 4000 years of continuity, within (Meldgaard 1962). the eastern Arctic. Other traits seem to be more universal – like the use of skel- In the light of the striking overlap be- etal ornamentation. tween the historically known role of birds (and religious specialists in bird-costumes) In other elements we see very distinct and depictions of the Tunit, it becomes discontinuities and changes in the ar- important to consider whether this over- chaeological record from the early and lap is to be understood within the frame- to the late pre-Inuit groups respectively. work of general circumpolar phenome- The changes include the introduction or non amongst pre-modern populations, disappearance of particular key imple- like the use skeletal ornamentation. Or ments; for example, the use of bow-and- it may imply a direct historical link be- arrow technology, dogs, snow knives and tween Tunit and other Native American snow houses, of a particular style of groups found across the sub-Arctic. gathering-site architecture, various hunting implement styles, various inorganic For more than five decades archaeolo- raw materials, and not least in the pro- gists have debated whether there is di- duction of two- and three-dimensional rect continuity between the various early carvings. and late pre-Inuit groups (traditionally designated by the term palaeo-Eskimos) With regard to most of the above-men- and their material manifestations in the tioned traits/elements, the observed di- eastern Arctic. mensions of continuity seem to be dependent on the temporal and spatial scales It presently seems that a number of im- we decide to employ in our analyses. The portant traits predominantly signal con- style (i.e. the skeletal ornamentation) of tinuity. These traits include styles of the engraved figures from Abverdjar is dwelling architecture, the orientation on the one hand part of a long human towards subsistence resources, some history spanning all parts of the world

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and related to a universal animistic Carpenter, E. 1973. Eskimo Realities. worldview. On the other hand the parti Holt, Rinehart & Winston. cular style of the late Dorset bird/human figures is known only from a few sites Darwent, C. 2001. High Arctic Palaeoe- dating to the later part of the 3800-year skimo Fauna: Temporal Changes and Re- pre-Inuit occupation of the eastern Arc- gional Differences. Ph.D. Dissertation. tic (i.e. the late Dorset period). The carv- University of Missouri-Columbia. ings/ornamentation stand out, and seem to be part of storytelling sequences that Jenness, D. 1925. A New Eskimo Culture are otherwise only known from carvings in Hudson Bay. The Geographical Review among later Inuit groups. 15(3): 428-437.

In conclusion, we suggest that the his- Meldgaard, J. 1957. Dagbog fra Iglulik tory of the Tunit has to be understood by 1957. Archives of the Ethnographic Collec employing multiple, and sometimes tion, National Museum. asynchronous, scales of time and geogra phy. We’ve further indicate that the his- Meldgaard, J. 1962. On the Formative Pe- tory of the Tunit includes encounters with riod of the Dorset Culture. In Campbell, other groups, including Native American J. M. (ed.), Prehistoric Cultural Relations groups from more southerly regions. The between the Arctic and Temperate Zones mythology reflected in the Tunit human/ of North America. Arctic Institute of North bird figures seems furthermore echoed America, Techniocal Papers, no. 11, pp. among subsequent Inuit and Native 92-95. American groups several centuries later (Appelt & Gulløv 2009). Rowley, G. 1940. The Dorset culture of the Eastern Arctic. American Anthropol- ogist 42: 490-499. References Appelt, M. & H.C. Gulløv 2009. Tunit, Sutherland, P. D. 2001. Shamanism and the Norsemen, and Inuit in Thirteenth-Cen- iconography of Palaeo-Eskimo art. In Price, tury Northwest Greenland – Dorset Be- N. (ed.), The Archaeology of Shamanism, tween the Devil and the Deep Sea. In pp. 135-145. Routledge, London & New York. Maschner, H., Mason, O. & McGhee, R. (eds.), The Northern World AD 900-1400, Taçon, P. S. C. 1983. An analysis of Dor- pp. 300-320. The University of Utah set Art in relation to prehistoric culture Press, Salt Lake City. stress. Inuit Studies 7(1): 41-65. 247

Memory of a myth – a unique Late Dorset ritual structure

Ulla Odgaard Ethnographic Collection

In 1954 the Danish archaeologist Jørgen ‘read’ as a chronological open-air muse- Meldgaard from the National Museum of um, from the earliest traces at the high Denmark discovered a unique structure levels to the youngest down by the sea. from the Late Dorset culture (c. 500-1200 AD) at the Alarnerk site in the Igloolik On the terraces at Alernerk, Meldgaard area, Foxe Basin, northeastern Canada. found more than two hundred Palaeo- The structure contained human bones, Eskimo dwellings, at heights from the and Meldgaard interpreted it as a grave. Early Dorset phase, at 22 m above sea This paper, however, argues that the level, down to the Late Dorset phase at structure is the material relic of another 8 m above sea level. But Meldgaard also type of ritual than a burial. found other types of Palaeo-Eskimo structures that had not previously been Alarnerk is a large Palaeo-Eskimo settle discovered. In the barren, rocky terrain ment on the northeastern corner of the he registered several structures that he Melville Peninsula in the Igloolik area, Foxe Basin, northeastern Canada (fig. 1). It was Jørgen Meldgaard, from the Na- tional Museum of Denmark, who was the first archaeologist to survey and ex- cavate this site in 1954. He had already discovered that the marine beach ridges in the Igloolik area had been elevated Fig. 1. continuously into higher and higher ter- Igloolik area, with Alarnerk. Original races since the first pre-Dorset settlers. drawing: Jørgen Consequently the sites could now be Meldgaard.

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Fig. 2. Ritual mound during excavation. Photo: Jørgen Meldgaard.

interpreted as graves, although they – or semantics – of a particular prehis- only contained human bones in two in- toric ritual. In some cases, however, as stances. These structures included low, with the subject of this paper – a gravel oblong gravel mound. mound from a Palaeo-Eskimo, Late Dor- set (500-1200 AD) context – it is possible “Rituals are behavioural acts that often to recognize the different phases and entail material culture and therefore can possibly even the semantics of the ritual. be represented in the archaeological re cord” (Kelly and Thomas 2010: 297). But The ritual mound even though some archaeological finds The most spectacular and best document are clearly remains of ritual activity, it ed of the so called graves is the one can be difficult to interpret the meaning Meldgaard named the “Ochre Grave”, 249

but which I prefer to call a ‘ritual mound’. It was located on a terrace 15 m a.s.l., but the mound contained a type of harpoon head that dated this find to the Late Dorset phase, i.e. later than the Middle Dorset dwellings found at the same level.

The structure is described as an approximately 9 m long, 4 m wide and 0.80 m high gravel mound (fig. 2). There was no vegetation on the mound, except some moss and lichens in a shallow 2 x 2 m wide, 0.30 m deep concavity on the north side. An excavation here showed that three episodes had taken place (fig. 3). Fig. 3. Excavation of ritual mound. Cross-section and plan. Episode 1): A square area was dug down Original drawing: Jørgen Meldgaard. 10-20 cm into the original terrace surface. Here artefacts and bones were blades as side blades and one end blade, carefully placed, with parts of a walrus and two parts of a foreshaft of notched in a central position: The maxillary bones bone pieces, were placed near the fire- (upper jaw) were split, but the sockets place (fig. 4). Along with these finds there were placed close together on top of was a human long bone, probably a femur. three walrus ribs. On each side of this Across the whole area there was a thin arrangement, two halves of walrus tusk, layer mainly of walrus ribs and vertebrae split lengthwise, were placed together (backbones). None of these bones had with two groups of three ribs, resem- been split for the marrow. A c. 20-30 cm bling a skeleton design. In one corner a thick layer of sterile gravel had concluded couple of flat limestone slabs covered the first episode. with black soil had probably contained a fireplace. Around the fireplace were some Episode 2): On top of the applied layer of flint tools, a human femur, and another two gravel a second episode took place. halves of split walrus tusk. Furthermore, Here a fire had burned, and the place some artefacts including microblades, a was afterwards covered with a thin layer harpoon foreshaft, a knife or lance head of ochre. An ivory harpoon head for wal- composed of a wooden shaft, two micro rus hunting with a carved human face

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Fig. 4. Episode 1, the fireplace is in the foreground. Photo: Jørgen Meldgaard.

Fig. 5. Episode 2, an ivory harpoon head Fig. 6. Among other finds in the pit in episode 2 were: a. 3 ivory for walrus hunting with a carved human harpoon heads; b. one ivory miniature harpoon-head foreshaft; face was placed on top of a fireplace. c. parts of an ‘amulet box’. Photo: Jørgen Meldgaard. An ivory miniature harpoon head and foreshaft were also found at this level. Photo: Jørgen Meldgaard. 251

was placed on top of this fireplace. Fur- The context thermore, an ivory miniature harpoon head At the Palaeo-Eskimo settlement Alar (fig. 5) and four microblades were found at nerk, where the ‘ritual mound’ is located, this level. In one corner a c. 60 cm deep there are also other archaeological struc pit was dug down through the sterile tures, the function of which cannot be gravel layer, through the episode 1 layer rationally explained. and down into the gravel terrace. The pit was filled with black soil, the top layer Four other gravel mounds were observed of which contained fat. Near the bottom at heights of 15-19 m a.s.l. Their general of this pit, the mandible (lower jaw) of description is a rounded and flattened an infant child was found together with heap of gravel (2-9 m in diameter, with a three ivory harpoon heads, one ivory maximum height of 0.8 m) piled up on miniature harpoon head foreshaft, one the ridge of the terrace. On the top of walrus ulna ‘bone knife’ and parts of an one of these, at a distance of 600 m from ‘amulet box’ (fig. 6). The harpoon head the ritual mound, on a terrace 17 a.s.l., with the carved human face and one of a carving of a polar bear was found, partly the others are typologically type G (Park buried, with the head and front paws and Stenton 1998: 36). These harpoon sticking out of the gravel. The bear, made heads date the structure to Late Dorset, from walrus tusk, is a beautifully carved while the other types of harpoon heads example of Late Dorset art (fig. 7). An were also produced in the Middle Dorset. excavation revealed that 0.9 m west of the find spot, 0.2 m below the surface, a Episode 3): Above this layer, an approxi- fireplace set with flat-stone paving was mately 20-30 cm thick layer of fist- to found. The fireplace contained ashes and head-sized stones, many of which were traces of burned bones, and the ashes blackened and cracked by fire, was found. and blackened gravel continued 0.45 m Bones of walrus, seal and caribou (some down in a grave-like depression. The only crushed for the marrow) were scattered among the stones, but were mainly concentrated around the fireplace. Fig. 7. The polar bear made from walrus tooth, is a beautifully carved example of the Late Dorset art. Photo: Jørgen Meldgaard.

On the other side of the mound, a similar, rectangular, 1.1 x 0.65 m, dug-down floor was found 0.15-0.25 beneath the surface. There were also traces of fire here, but no finds.

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artefact found in the depression was a notched slate blade. No further documentation of this interesting structure is available.

Additionally, a total of 16 chamber-like stone structures were mapped at the highest levels 21-22 m above sea level. A few artefacts, all of Late Dorset origin, were found scattered around and inside several of these. Several of the structures, too small to be used as caches for walrus meat, had been rebuilt later as meat caches. Some, however, had not been destroyed and their description fits the local tradition stating that ‘Tunit graves’ were short and built with large stones (Lynnerup et al. 2003: 351). In one of the structures, consisting of two small stone chambers (called the ‘double grave’), Meldgaard found three human leg bones.

On terraces from 15 to 19 m a.s.l. one or two protruding stones, a slight depression – or both – marked twelve rounded pits, 70-100 cm in diameter, dug 30-60 cm down in the gravel and lined with smaller stones and with flat stone slabs at the bottom. In these pits too a few artefacts, where the people from the Late Dorset all of Late Dorset origin, were found. lived (fig. 8). Only two of the structures are located close to the dwellings of pre All of these probably ‘non-rational’ struc vious Palaeo-Eskimo occupation, while the tures are found at heights between 15-22 rest are found in small isolated clusters. m a.s.l., and at distances between 300 and 600 m from the dwellings at the Meldgaard described most of the possi- shore (today between 8 and 14 m a.s.l.) ble grave structures as having been 253

Fig. 8. The Alarnerk site. The ‘non-rational’ structures are found at heights between 15 and 22 m a.s.l. Drawing by Martin Appelt after Jørgen Meldgaard.

robbed and re-used as meat caches, and (Lynnerup et al. 2003). The human femur it seems that only the gravel mounds has not been examined, since it was were still intact, making his detailed de- probably left at the site after excava- scription of the ritual mound possible. tion, like the other three human leg But was this structure, as supposed by bones found by Meldgaard in the ‘dou- Meldgaard, really a grave? Well – it def- ble grave’. initely contained human bones. The human mandible was from an infant ap- Human graves are not common in the proximately nine months old at death Palaeo-Eskimo culture. A small number

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of Dorset graves have been found, most ple the Yupik people of Alaska and Sibe- of them in caves and crevices, close to ria believed that the animals would re- the Port-aux-Choix site 2500 km south ward a hunter if he took proper care of the of the Igloolik area (Brown 2011). Apart bones of his catch (Fienup-Riordan 1994: from this southern phenomenon there is 107). The Yupik hunters did not view them- only one example of a pre-Dorset skele- selves as dominant over animals. Nor did ton of a premature child from a tent ring they see themselves as dependent on or at Devon Island in northern Canada (Hel subordinate to animals. On the contrary, mer and Kennedy 1986) and a few human they viewed the relationship between bones found in a Saqqaq midden in west- humans and animals as a collaborative ern Greenland (Grønnow 2004: 107f) and reciprocity in which the animals gave in Dorset middens at Alernerk (Lynnerup themselves to the hunter in response to et al. 2003). the hunter’s respectful treatment of them as ‘non-human persons’ (op. cit. p. 50). Most probably, the common mortuary practice was similar to the Mongolian Furthermore, the compilation of human ‘casting-out’ (Haslund-Christensen 1949), and animal bones in episodes 1 and 2, where the dead bodies were placed in where parts of the human skeleton com- open-air burials in an uninhabited area, plement animal bones (animal maxillary and left there to be devoured by preda- / human mandible – animal ribs and verte tory animals. Revisits to an area like this brae / human long bone) suggests that could explain why a few bones are found the animal bones should not be under- at the settlements, detached from the rest stood as the remnants of a meal in hon- of the corpse and in secondary contexts. If our of a dead person. Rather, it reflects a the present structure is a grave, it is there- ritual that emphasizes a symbolic animal fore not an expression of the common / human relationship. Turning again to funerary ritual practice. Rather, it is a trace the Yupiit, they considered humans and of another kind of ritual than a burial. animals similar in a number of important respects. They extended personhood be Non-human persons yond the human domain and saw it as We can suggest that the careful place- an attribute of animals too (op. cit.). ment of the walrus bones in the ‘skeleton design’ in episode 1 points to a prac- Ritual and myth tice of treating the bones of the game In this case, however, we might go a animal with respect, as described in many step further than generally attributing historical circumpolar cultures. For exam- the mound to a – not surprisingly – ani- 255

mistic hunting society. Because of the Episode 1 in the archaeological structure structural sequence – the three episodes can thus be interpreted as the pre-liminal described above – an obvious step is to separation, which in this case is symbol look at the structure with the three phas- ized by the walrus. This animal, which es of the ritual analysis in mind. Van can be hunted both on land and in the Gennep defined “rites of passage” as sea, can function as a mediator between “rites which accompany every change of these two levels. place, state, social position and age”. “I propose to call the rites of separation In episode 2, the liminal phase, the ele- from a previous world, preliminal rites, ments are child mandible, harpoon those executed during the transitional heads and a box found together, and an- stage liminal (or threshold) rites, and the other harpoon head with a face (in the ceremonies of incorporation into the new fireplace). world postliminal rites” (Van Gennep 1960: 21). Episode 3 could be the remains of the common meal that confirmed the resto- This very useful approach to understand- ration of normal life and a celebration of ing rituals can be summarized like as the new. follows: 1) Separation phase – where prepara- The meaning – or semantics – of rituals is tions for the encounter with the ‘sa- embedded in mythic narratives. The “myth cred’ or numinous take place, some- and ritual” school claimed that there is times through a ritual death. always a connection between myth and 2) Liminal phase, where boundaries be- ritual, and the core theme is always tween time and space – and worlds – death and rebirth (Schjødt 2000: 455). don’t exist. This is the important phase, and everything happening here must In this case I will compare the archaeo- follow the ritual prescriptions with logical structure to a historical myth great care. from western Alaska comprising the 3) Incorporation phase, where normal life same elements as episode 2. This well- is restored and strengthened. known Yupik-Eskimo myth is about a boy whose parents wanted him to become a The ritual object may be a person, but great hunter. They therefore allowed the can also be a thing, a piece of land or shaman to send the boy down into the anything else on which a ritual can focus sea (child mandible in pit), where he (Sørensen 2004: 5). lived, reborn as a seal, with the seals

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and learned about the hunt (harpoon Both myths exist in multiple versions heads), as seen from the animals’ per- (the Chinook legend is told today as a spective. The next year, after he had tale for children), but the central theme been speared by one of the human hunt- is a boy who dies and is reborn as a seal, ers (harpoon head with face), he again is in turn killed and is then reborn again turned into a human being. He subse- as a human. And the other theme is the quently became a skilled hunter, who seals who teach the boy something that taught the other hunters about what the benefits mankind. Because the themes animals required to let the hunters kill are similar, we suggest that they origi- them. Because of this insight the ani- nally derive from the same myth. This mals became easier to hunt for humans. myth, which deals with death and re- The full version of the myth is found in birth, and describes the intimate rela- Swann (1994: 57-74). tionship between animals and humans, has survived in the version that fits best In episode 2 the child’s mandible has respectively in a coastal-oriented, Arctic been placed in a pit along with harpoon hunting society, and among a hunting/ heads, but also with pieces of the so fishing people who lived in historical called ‘amulet-box’ (see fig. 6), whose times along the Columbia River in south- function, however, we do not know. It is western Canada. interesting in this context that a box is included as an element in a similar Chi- The historian of religion Jørgen Pode- nook Indian myth about a boy who leaves mann Sørensen has argued that when his parents and people to live with the studying rituals we should look for the seals. The boy disappears from a camp “situating” and the “productive” elements. on the riverbank, but he is captured The “situating elements” positions the years later while swimming with a group ritual in a situation or a position from of seals. When he lived with the seals which it can work. “Any ritual is claimed they had taught him how to build canoes implicitly or explicitly to take place at and make beautiful carvings – skills he such a focal point” (Sørensen 2004: 4). can pass on to the humans. But he does The “productive elements” communicate not thrive among men, so he ends up go- the effect or the products of the ritual ing back to the seals. He tells his par- (ibid.). ents not to mourn, and they throw his box of carving tools in the river after Following these definitions, the object him. In return, he will continue to create of the ritual in the mound was probably beautiful carving work for mankind. not the human being – the child. Rather, 257

the child mandible, together with har- been described as the “phenomenology poon heads and the box, served as situa of religion” (Schjødt 1989: 21) but is now ting elements, placing the liminal phase termed the “comparative history of reli- of the ritual in a mythological time. The gion” (Sørensen 2001). As in all human walrus and other animal bones can be science there are two types of compari- interpreted as the productive elements son: the typological and the genetic. The that the ritual aimed at effecting. Re- typological method compares similari- generation of the game animals may also ties between phenomena in different have been the purpose of the other cultures. Obviously the typological meth- mound, the one with the bear carving, also od has limitations when it comes to examined by Meldgaard (Odgaard 2011). demonstrating a certain meaning content behind the material form – or mor- The element of learning – in the myth a phology – of rituals. The genetic method, seal mentor teaches the boy – could also on the other hand, compares elements point to a kind of initiation ritual. Even in cultures that are historically related though this ritual was only performed or which had contacts at some point once, the mound could have served as a (Schjødt 1989: 24). place where the memory of the insights gained by the boy could be communicated In this case there may have been a his- to young hunters. It is possible that the torical connection between the Late Dor- area with traces of fire on the other side set and the later Thule culture, who were of the mound reflects this kind of later the ancestors of the Yupiit in Siberia/ ceremony. Alaska and the Inuit in Canada/Green- land. The end and disappearance of the Late Dorset – Thule contact? Late Dorset coincides with the arrival of There seems to be a remarkable corre- the Thule culture in the same areas and spondence between the elements of ep- often at the same sites in the eastern isode 2 and the elements in the Yupik Arctic around 1200 AD. Although it is myth of the boy who went to live with very plausible that at least some people the seals. But is there any connection? from the two groups could have met at some point, this has been strongly ques- When we try to understand the ‘mean- tioned. According to Park (1993) there is ing’ or semantics of non-rational finds no evidence for the transfer of Thule from societies like the Late Dorset, from knowledge to the Dorset or vice versa which no written sources exist, it is nec- (op. cit. p. 225). The ritual mound at essary to apply what would earlier have Alarnerk, however, could be an argu-

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ment for a meeting between these two Transmission of external features, such cultures. And probably this was a friendly as ceremonial paraphernalia, is possible meeting. on the basis of superficial, possibly even hostile, meetings; friendly intertribal There are many examples of ceremonies gatherings render possible the borrowing being mimicked, borrowed or even sto- of ceremonial routine, songs, and the len (ritual artefacts) among different like – in short, of the exoteric phases of tribes in historical times in North Amer- the complex; while initiation into the in- ica. Furthermore: “The fact of diffusion ner meaning of a ceremony becomes must, then, be regarded as established; feasible only through the closest form of and the very great extent to which cer- personal contact (op. cit. p. 616). emonials have travelled from tribe to tribe, coupled with undoubted diffusion The communication and comprehension of other cultural elements in North of the ritual in the mound required America, indicates that, while the proc- knowledge of ‘hidden’ meaning. And ess has been greatly accelerated by when there is esoteric ceremonial improved methods of transportation and knowledge, the process of transmission other circumstances promoting inter- implies intimate contact. The borrowing tribal intercourse, it must have been individuals or groups must be treated, active prior to these modern conditions for purposes of initiation, as though they due to white influence” (Lowie 1914: belonged to the tribe from which the 614). knowledge is obtained (ibid.).

Ceremonial regalia were often carried in Conclusion war, and might readily be imitated, or In conclusion, we can suggest that the snatched away from the enemy, and thus ritual at Alarnerk communicated and re- become a ceremonial feature of a new enacted a specific myth which ‘worked’ tribe. During meetings of friendly tribes, for the participants in the sense that it dances were sometimes performed for strengthened memory and renewed the the entertainment of the visitors, who kinship with the game animals on which might thus learn a new ceremony. Wher- it was supposed to have an effect. At ever (as frequently happened) a ceremo- the same time a ritual structure was cre- ny was considered a form of property, ated which could serve as a ‘focal point’ the right to perform it was naturally or an ‘axis mundi’, where exchanges with transferable to an alien who paid the the numinous world could take place. customary price in goods. 259

In historical times, a myth that incorpo- land, pp. 227-250. Interdisciplinary rates the same elements as were found Contributions to Archaeology, Springer. in the mound has been told by Yupik Es- kimos and Chinook Indians living on the Fienup-Riordan, A. 1994. Boundaries and west coast of Alaska and Canada. For Passages: Rule and Ritual in Yup’ik Eskimo the Yupiit the myth was extremely im- Oral Tradition. University of Oklahoma portant for the fundamental understand- Press. ing of the reciprocal relationship between animals and humans. Furthermore, Grønnow, B. 2004. Saqqaqkulturen. In the myth provided a set of rules and Gulløv, H. C. (ed.), Grønlands forhistorie, “metaphors to live by” (Fienup-Riordan pp. 66-108. Gyldendal, Copenhagen. 1994). Haslund-Christensen, H. 1949. Mongolian The ritual adds to an otherwise rich pic- Journey. Routledge & K. Paul, London. ture of Late Dorset ritual life. But this structure still stands out as unique today, Helmer, J. and Kennedy, B. 1986. Early and no one except Jørgen Meldgaard in Palaeo-Eskimo Skeletal Remains from 1954 has ever been able to find ‘mounds’ North Devon Island, High Arctic Canada. from the Late Dorset culture. We can Canadian Journal of Archaeology 10: question whether it is really the case 127-143. that structures like this were only created at this site. Was Alarnerk at one point Kelly, R. L. & Thomas, D. H. 2010. Archae- a special place, or are there more ology. Wadsworth, Belmont. mounds to be found on the terraces above other Late Dorset sites? Lowie, R. H. 1914. Ceremonialism in North America. American Anthropologist 16(4): 602-631.

References Lynnerup, N., Meldgaard, J., Jacobsen, J., Appelt, M., Koch, A. & Frøhlich, B. Brown, S. C. 2011. Aspects of Dorset 2003 Human Dorset Remains from Igloo Palaeoeskimo Mortuary Behaviour on the lik, Canada. Arctic 56(4): 349-358. Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. In Renouf, M. A. P. (ed.), The Cultural Land- Odgaard, U. 2011: Arkitektur som erin- scapes of Port au Choix. Precontact Hunter- dring – med eksempler fra Jørgen Meld Gatherers of Northwestern Newfound- gaards udgravninger af pre-Dorset og

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Dorset strukturer i Igloolik området. kationer. In Barnes, G. & Ross, M. C. (eds.), Tidsskriftet Grønland 3, pp. 229-243. Old Norse Myths. Lit. and Soc. Proc. of the 11th International saga Conference, Park, R. W. 1993. The Dorset-Thule Suc- 2000, pp. 455-467. cession in Arctic North America: Assess- ing Claims for Culture Contact. American Swann, B. 1994. Coming to Light: Contem- Antiquity 58(2): 203-234. porary Translations of the Native Litera- tures of North America. Random House, Park, R. W. & Stenton, D. R. 1998. Ancient New York. Harpoon Heads of Nunavut: An Illustrated Guide. Parks Canada, Ottawa. Sørensen, J. P. 2001. Komparativ religions historie, Kong Gulerods katekismus eller Schjødt, J. P. 1989. Den komparative reli hvad? Tabu 14(1): 18-21. gionshistories muligheder som hjælpe- disciplin for arkæologien. In Larsson, L. Sørensen, J. P. 2004. Ritualer og studiet af (ed.), Arkeologi och Religion. Institute of forhistorisk religion. Arkæologisk Forum Archaeology Report Series 34: 21-29. 11: 2-8.

Schjødt, J. P. 2000. Myter som kilder til van Gennep, A. 1960 The Rites of Passage. ritualer – teoretiske og praktiske impli University of Chicago Press. 261

Pre-Christian Cult Sites – archaeological investigations

Josefine Franck Bican, Anna Severine Beck and Susanne Klingenberg

Danish Prehistory

The research project Pre-Christian Cult ter Christ (Jørgensen and Drotner 2011). Sites, led by Lars Jørgensen, has as its As part of the project archaeological ex- main objectives to research and investi- cavations have been carried out at three gate the background, identity and prac- of the sites in 2011. These have been tices of the pre-Christian religion. This funded respectively by the Heritage is illustrated by four prehistoric sites Agency of Denmark, the foundation with magnates’ residences, which all Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond have potential for research into the pre- and the cooperating museums: the Na- Christian religion: Tissø and Toftegård tional Museum, the Museum Lolland- on Zealand, Gudme on Funen and Hoby Falster, Vordingborg Museums and Køge on Lolland. Together the sites cover the Museum, together with Kalundborg Mu- whole period of the first millennium af- seum.

The archaeological excavations at Hoby, Lolland Susanne Klingenberg, The National Museum

The 2011 excavations of the settlement tion, with the excavators coming from area at Hoby took place between 10 the Saxo Institute of the University of June and 8 July and were undertaken by Copenhagen. The work was financed by the Museum Lolland-Falster and the the Museum Lolland-Falster, the Nation- National Museum. The investigations al Museum and the Heritage Agency of were carried out as a student excava- Denmark.

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In 2001 four house sites and a dump layer/ tinue outside the area of the 2011 inves- culture layer were investigated. One of tigation. The best preserved house site, the house sites has not yet been dated, however, was located in an up to 60 cm whilst the others can be placed in the thick culture layer. Traces of this build- Late Pre-Roman Iron Age and the Early ing consisted of large preserved areas Roman Iron Age, making them contem- of clay floor and fills containing patches porary with the two richly-furnished of clay. The house site is a three-aisled graves from the location. Three of the longhouse orientated west/north west house sites were identified in the subsoil; – east/south east, which has two differ- two of these were three-aisled long ent phases, respectively with five and houses (fig. 1), whilst an undated house four sets of roof-bearing posts. In both site featured two sets of roof-bearing phases a clay floor extended over the posts. This building may, however, con- entire area of the house. Two large pits were revealed in the middle of the house, which displayed traces of severe burn- Fig. 1: The southwestern part of the well-preserved house site area after removal of the culture layer. Traces of another house site ap- ing. In the eastern part of the building an peared in the subsoil. This house site’s roof-bearing posts are marked oven structure was uncovered. Outside with poles. Photo: Katrine Kølle Hansen, Museum Lolland-Falster. 263

Fig. 2: Part of culture layer/dump layer containing bones and the north east of the house site a dump ceramics found outside the well-preserved house site. Photo: Jannick Hansen. layer containing large quantities of cera mics and animal bones was excavated (fig. 2). The layer is contemporary with from the excavations is being worked the house site. The substantial quantities upon at present by Anders Nielsen of the of zoological material from the investi- University of Copenhagen for his disser- gation have been taken to the Centre for tation project. The soil samples from the Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology at post-holes of the roof-bearing posts have Schloss Gottorp. A provisional examina- been processed in the flotation appara- tion of the material has been carried out tus. However, an examination of this by Ulrich Schmölcke. This shows that it material is still required to identify the will be possible to analyse c. 3000 pieces environmental remains. In addition, AMS of animal bone and samples can be taken dating of the material from the undated for DNA analysis. The ceramic material house site is yet to be carried out.

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The archaeological excavations at Toftegård, Stevns Anna Severine Beck, Køge Museum

The excavation took place between 3 The aim of the investigation was to es- October and 12 October, 2011 and was tablish the western boundary of the carried out by Vordingborg Museums and high-status Viking Age settlement and Køge Museum. The work was funded by thus gain better insight into the size of the Heritage Agency of Denmark, Vord- the original settlement. ingborg Museums and Køge Museum. In the opened-up area, evidence of settle In October 2011 the excavation of the ment was seen in the subsoil. Traces of Viking Age settlement of Toftegård in the district of Stevns began again after a break of more than ten years (fig. 3). Figure 3 Topsoil is removed with the machine in several stages and is investigated with a metal detector. Photo: Køge Museum. 265

at least three houses were found, two of The significant finds from the year’s ex- which probably date to the Viking period. cavations include two trefoil (three-lobed) In addition, what may be the remains of and one equal-armed clothes brooch, to- two ploughed-out pit houses were found. gether with part of a sword hilt. One of A number of pits containing ceramics and the three-lobed brooches has obviously bones were also excavated. Soil samples been damaged by heating. These ob- were taken for environmental analysis jects match the other finds from the site from a number of selected pits to establish, in terms of dating, and collectively they amongst other things, their function. The point to a date for the settlement in the analysis is being carried out by agrono late Iron Age and the earlier part of the mics graduate Peter Steen Henriksen of Viking period. the National Museum’s Natural Sciences Research Unit. A large depression was The distribution of the finds and struc- also identified in the two easternmost tures indicates that the high-status Viking trenches. It is likely that there was a se- settlement continues a significant dis- ries of dug-out areas resulting from the tance west of the previously investigated excavation of clay for house construc- parts of the settlement. The investigation, measuring over 40 metres in length tions have thus provided evidence that and 15 metres in width, which subse- the settlement area was originally larger quently filled up with cultural material. than previously thought.

The archaeological excavations at Tissø, West Zealand, autumn 2011 Josefine Franck Bican, the National Museum

The excavation at Tissø was carried out The aim of the excavation was to inves- by the National Museum with support tigate the supposed area of ritual activi- from Kalundborg Museum and with the ties or the so-called open cult site dating help of Kalundborg Arkæologiforening to the 8th-9th century. The activity area is (the Kalundborg Archaeological Society) located at the edge of a wet hollow on between 5 October and 3 November. the highest hilltop of the settlement area, Fugledegård Formidlingscenter generously west of Tissø at Fugledegård. The exca- made their premises and facilities avail- vations of 1995 showed that a dark soil able for our use. The investigations were containing deposits of animal bones and funded with the support of the foundation special objects was deposited here at Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond. some time in the course of the 8th-9th

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century. Later a silver hoard was depos- tral Sweden. As is often the case on ited at the same location, which has archaeological excavations, a surprising been dated to the end of the 9th-10th cen- and exciting observation was also made tury. In 1995 these deposits were inter- when it was established that the wet preted as waste dumping, but subse- hollow had been made by human activity. quently this interpretation changed, as it was not thought to be appropriate to The deposits of dark soil were preserved place such material at the highest point in a c. 4 m broad belt on the southern of the area. Comparable deposits have edge of the wet area (fig. 4). The finds been found at sites of this period in cen- from here have included fragmented animal bones, glass beads, sherds of pot- Figure 4 The dark layer was located on the southern edge of the tery vessels and whetstones. The mate- wet hollow. The fill was investigated in squares and wet-sieved. rial from the dark fill is currently being Photo: Josefine Franck Bican, the National Museum. 267

Figure 5 An unimpressive piece of bronze with a holed drilled into it displayed a scratched-in picture of a horse. The piece is dated to the Viking Age and strength ens the supposition of ritual activities on the edge of the wet hollow. Photo: Pia Brejnholdt, the National Museum. worked upon and analysed. The animal The hollow itself proved upon closer in- bones are being vestigation to have been created by human activity, just before the dark layers from the examined and investigated by Anne Bir- supposed ritual activities were deposited. gitte Gotfredsen, ZM. The many soil The area had dimensions of c. 22 x 23 m samples will be analysed for environ- and people dug here in the past in order mental remains by agronomics graduate to get access to good clay, which is Peter Steen Henriksen of the National found at a depth of 1 metre (fig. 6). The top Museum’s Environmental Archaeology soil was first dug through in order to dig Unit. Two metal finds, which should be out the clay. Estimates indicate that around highlighted, came from the southern 1400 tons of topsoil was dug out in or- part of the wet hollow. One of these is a der to remove the same amount of clay. small piece of silver, which must origi So, considerable quantities of clay must nate from a silver hoard. The other is an have been used to daub the walls of the unimpressive piece of bronze measuring great hall a few hundred metres to the 2-3 x 4 cm, which has had a small hole east, near the lake. This is the first time drilled into it. A horse has been scratched that it has been possible to estimate the into this piece of bronze sheet (fig. 5). amount of clay used for such a purpose.

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Figure 6 Here the wet hollow can be seen with Conclusion Tissø in the background. The hollow has been created by human activity and consists of a large The archaeological Investigations and sci- group of associated clay extraction pits. Photo: entific analyses will continue in the com- Josefine Franck Bican, the National Museum. ing years at all three sites. Hoby is the earliest and least investigated of the sites. Here there is still much that needs to be excavated and to fall into place. The results so far are impressive and they provide new material for scholars. Tofte References gård is relatively well investigated, but its boundaries are yet to be properly Jørgensen, L. & Drotner, S. 2011. identified, a problem that the coming ex- Førkristne Kultpladser – et forsknings cavations should be able to re-address. projekt omkring jernalderens og vikinge Tissø is probably the most thoroughly in- tidens hedenske religion. In Gulløv, H. vestigated magnate’s residence in North C., Paulsen, C. & Rønne, B. (eds.), Nord- ern Europe. The excavations here will lige Verdner – ændringer og udfordringer. concentrate on selected locations, which Rapport fra workshop 1 på National- will give us greater insight into the society, museet 29. September 2010, pp. 130-135. religion and ritual activities of the time. Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen. 269

Contributors

Martin Appelt Josefine Franck Bican Project senior researcher, PhD Research associate Ethnographic Collection Danish Prehistory [email protected] [email protected]

Jette Arneborg Inger Bojesen-Koefoed Senior researcher, PhD Technician Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance Conservation Department [email protected] [email protected]

Christina Folke Ax Niels Bonde Project senior researcher, PhD Senior researcher Open Air Museum Danish Prehistory, [email protected] Unit of Environmental Archaeology [email protected] Claudia Baittinger Researcher Maria Panum Baastrup Danish Prehistory, PhD student Unit of Environmental Archaeology Danish Prehistory [email protected] [email protected]

Thomas S. Bartholin David Gregory Research associate Senior researcher Danish Prehistory, Research, Analysis & Consulting, Unit of Environmental Archaeology Conservation Department [email protected] [email protected]

Anna Severine Beck Bjarne Grønnow Curator Research professor Køge Museum Ethnographic Collection [email protected] [email protected]

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Contributors

Hans Christian Gulløv Einar Lund Jensen Senior researcher, Dr.Phil. Research associate Ethnographic Collection Modern Danish History [email protected] [email protected]

Mari Hardenberg Jan Bruun Jensen PhD student Conservator Ethnographic Collection Research, Analysis & Consulting, [email protected] Conservation Department [email protected] Peter Steen Henriksen Research associate Jens Fog Jensen Danish Prehistory, Project senior researcher, PhD Unit of Environmental Archaeology Ethnographic Collection [email protected] [email protected]

Jørgen Hollesen Lars Aasbjerg Jensen Research associate, PhD Conservator Research, Analysis & Consulting, Research, Analysis & Consulting, Conservation Department Conservation Department [email protected] [email protected]

Lisbeth Imer Poul Jensen Researcher, PhD Senior researcher, PhD Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance Research, Analysis & Consulting, [email protected] Conservation Department [email protected] Gitte Tarnow Ingvardson Researcher, PhD Royal Collection of Coins and Medals [email protected] 271

Contributors

Catherine Jessen Ditlev Mahler Senior researcher, PhD Project senior researcher, PhD Danish Prehistory, Danish Prehistory Unit of Environmental Archaeology [email protected] [email protected] Henning Matthiesen Lars Jørgensen Senior researcher, PhD Research professor, PhD Research, Analysis & Consulting, Danish Prehistory Conservation Department [email protected] [email protected]

Flemming Kaul Anne Le Boëdec Moesgaard Senior researcher, Dr.Phil. Technician Danish Prehistory Conservation Department [email protected] [email protected]

Susanne Klingenberg Morten Fischer Mortensen Research associate Senior researcher, PhD Danish Prehistory Danish Prehistory, [email protected] Unit of Environmental Archaeology [email protected] Tilo Krause Research associate Martin Nordvig Mortensen Ethnographic Collection Researcher, PhD [email protected] Research, Analysis & Consulting, Conservation Department Christian Koch Madsen [email protected] PhD student Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance Ulla Odgaard [email protected] Project senior researcher, PhD Ethnographic Collection [email protected]

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Contributors

Bjørnar Olsen Anne Lisbeth Schmidt Professor Conservator Institute of Archaeology and Social An- Research, Analysis & Consulting, thropology, University of Tromsø Conservation Department [email protected] [email protected]

Helge Paulsen Kristiane Strætkvern Architectural adviser Conservator Vest-Agder Fylke municipality, Norway Conservation Department [email protected] [email protected]

Anne Pedersen Lasse Sørensen Senior researcher, PhD PhD student Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance Danish Prehistory [email protected] [email protected]

Nanna Bjerregaard Pedersen Michelle Taube PhD student Chemist Research, Analysis & Consulting, Research, Analysis & Consulting, Conservation Department Conservation Department [email protected] [email protected]

Natasa Pokubcic Peter Andreas Toft Technician Research associate, PhD Conservation Department Ethnographic Collection [email protected] [email protected] Challenges and solutions

Back cover illustration: View of modern sheep farm and hayfields in the central Vatnahverfi region, South Greenland. Photo: Christian Koch Madsen.

National Museum Frederiksholms Kanal 12 DK-1220 Copenhagen Denmark

Northern Worlds Workshop 2 http://nordligeverdener.natmus.dk

Challenges and solutions

Report from workshop 2 at the National Museum, 1 November 2011