The Viking Age Settlement of Iceland: The Change from Migrant Society to Settled Society

Summary

The rapid settlement of Iceland has a distinct beginning, but defining the end of the settlement turns out to be difficult. While there are anecdotal stories of earlier settlers, the beginning of large-scale migration to Iceland seems to happen in about AD 870, at the start of Harald Fairhair’s reign, and the time of a distinct volcanic ash layer. The landnám, or land-grab is an important template for our understanding of movements into new landscapes, from the Neolithic Revolution, to the English Pilgrims, and the California Gold Rush. Does the migrant origin of a society define its later nature? Specifically, is the end of the landnám in Iceland reflected in one or more inflection points or is the change from migrant society to settled society imperceptible? This paper argues that by about AD 1100, the last vestiges of the Viking-Age migrant society vanished, and while the Norse themselves might not have noticed, the change seen in the archaeological record is profound.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20569