Soil Nutrient Management in Norse Greenland

Summary

In this paper we set out to establish the role of soil nutrient management in the sustainability and resilience of livestock agricultural systems in Norse Greenland (ca. late 9th – 14th centuries AD). Using a landscape sampling framework that includes large church farm, medium sized farms and small farms we use thin section micromorphology and associated SEM-EDX analyses of cultural soils and sediments (anthrosols) in home field areas to identify materials used in the endeavour to sustain soil nutrients together with nutrient levels achieved. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal from the anthrosols provides a robust chronological framework for our stratigraphies. Our findings allow us to identify selection of materials and the intensity of endeavour to sustain nutrient status across different types of farm and with different environmental conditions over time. The paper concludes by assessing viability of the contrasting management strategies that emerge from the study.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Resilience, Sustainability and Collapse in the North Atlantic

Keywords

Spatial Coverage