Cereal cultivation as a correlate of high social status in medieval Iceland

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany - Tập 27 - Trang 679-696 - 2017
Scott Riddell1, Egill Erlendsson1, Guðrún Gísladóttir1,2, Kevin J. Edwards3,4, Jesse Byock5,6, Davide Zori7
1Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
2Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
3Department of Geography and Environment, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
4Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
5Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Scandinavian Section, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
6Department of History and Viking Studies Program, Háskóli Íslands (University of Iceland), Reykjavik, Iceland
7Baylor Interdisciplinary Core, Baylor University, Waco, USA

Tóm tắt

Utilising a multi-profile palynological approach and a rapid scanning technique, this paper examines whether or not cereal cultivation is representative of a medieval Icelandic farmstead’s social status; first as a correlate by confirming that cereals were grown in association with the archaeological features characteristic of high status and second, as an indicator in its own right through comparison with other datasets from inferred lower status farms in the same valley. The results suggest that medieval cereal cultivation in Mosfellsdalur was confined to the landholding of the Mosfell Estate. This is probably a direct consequence of the locale being settled early during Iceland’s colonisation and thereby allowing settlers there to secure the prime location in the valley for agriculture. The later abandonment of cereal cultivation on the Estate also appears to be linked to social circumstances in Mosfellsdalur c. ad 1200. An evaluation of other pollen studies and historical sources intimates a transition in cereal cultivation from inland toward coastal (and perhaps geothermal) sites in the mid-13th century, probably as a consequence of the onset of the Little Ice Age. These sites may also be linked with high status institutions. Despite this effort to adapt to altered climate conditions, cereal cultivation in Iceland is believed to have been completely abandoned by ad 1500. Overall, the temporal and spatial dynamics of cereal cultivation are shown to be complex, subject to both societal and environmental changes.

Tài liệu tham khảo

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