Date of Award

8-2024

Document Type

Campus Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Historical Archaeology

First Advisor

Heather B. Trigg

Second Advisor

John M. Steinberg

Third Advisor

Guðný Zoëga, Douglas J. Bolender

Abstract

This thesis examines foddering strategies at farmsteads in Hjaltadalur, a valley in northwestern Iceland, from about AD 870-1300. Fodder, animal food that farmers grow or forage, is important because it was central to the Viking Age and medieval Icelandic economy. During this period, Iceland was primarily a subsistence-based economy with a heavy reliance on animal products. Keeping animals alive and healthy through long winters was potentially an important factor in creating differential wealth. A major part of ensuring animals survived was having sufficient nutritious animal food. Furthermore, during this period, Iceland saw major environmental, political, and socio-economic changes. In AD 1106, as part of the adoption and institutionalization of Christianity, Hólar (a farmstead in the middle of Hjaltadalur) became a bishopric and would go one to become one of the most powerful farms in Iceland. Seeds, that reflect foddering strategies, were recovered and analyzed from flotation samples taken at nine Hjaltadalur household middens at farmsteads that were occupied both before and after the establishment of the bishopric. To assess any differences associated with the establishment of the bishopric, the seeds were divided into four environmental zones. The household midden seed samples were stratified based on a volcanic tephra (ash) layer that fell in AD 1104 and is widely preserved in the region. Because the tephra layer is coeval with the bishopric establishment, assemblages from neighboring farmsteads before and after its establishment can be compared. The comparison of seed assemblages indicates that on a valley-wide level, there is no significant change in seed metrics over time. This environmental seed similarity suggests relatively consistent foddering strategies. The continuity is remarkable given the social, economic, and environmental change and speaks to the profound stability and robust adaptation of these Icelandic farmsteads during rapidly changing social and environmental conditions. While foddering strategies seem to be consistent across the founding of the bishopric, individual farms have substantial variation in their seed metrics across the sampled space and time. Many of these seed metrics correlate with other farmstead metrics, such as elevation, eighteenth century tax value, and area occupied.

Comments

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Additional Files

Signatory Page, Joe Aramini.docx.pdf (206 kB)

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