Disappearing Past: Seasonal Coastal Settlements in NW Iceland (Ninth–Fifteenth Centuries)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Climate and Heritage in the North Atlantic: Burning Libraries" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Throughout the settlement of Iceland there has always been a dependence on marine resources. Furthermore, studies have shown marine resources were being utilized far inland, indicating exchange networks from the start of the settlement period. However, there is a research bias within Icelandic archaeology, which has been described as “farm-centric,” where the importance of coastal sites and marine resources has been underrepresented. Due to climate change, coastal erosion is one of the greatest threats to Icelandic maritime archaeological sites. The majority of them are also related to acquisition of marine resources. Many of the maritime sites are seasonal specialized settlements with associated structural remains such as middens, boathouses, blubber melting pits, and facilities for fish production. In this project we have surveyed and recorded coastal sites in NW Iceland that are in various degrees of threat due to coastal erosion. One of the goals of this ongoing project is gaining as much knowledge as possible about these sites before they disappear completely. In this talk, I will discuss the preliminary results of our research to address the evolution of maritime technology, socioeconomic frameworks, and the living conditions in these seasonal settlements during the Viking Age and medieval period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Climate and Heritage in the North Atlantic: Burning Libraries   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36848.0