An Archaeofauna from Háls, Southwestern Iceland

Summary

Excavations 1989-2000 at the small 10th c site of Háls in W Iceland directed by Kevin Smith produced a substantial collection of animal bone, carrying out extensive fine mesh sieving and providing excellent point provenience data for ecofacts. Unfortunately the collection is strongly affected by acid soil conditions and has limited potential for full quantification. Almost all fragments were either white burnt (calcined) or tooth enamel, the most resistant portion of an archaeofauna and the last to succumb to a hostile depositional environment (Lyman 1994, Reitz & Wing 2000). While it is not possible to reasonably quantify this collection, the presence of substantial numbers of cattle as well as sheep teeth and the presence of pig teeth does present a pattern now familiar from other 10th-11th c Icelandic archaeofauna and may serve to reinforce the dating of this early site based on radiocarbon and tephra. The presence of seal and cod bone on this inland site provides an interesting parallel to the presence of sea mammal and marine fish bones in inland site archaeofauna from the contemporary settlement in the Mývatn area.

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