Paul M. Ledger

Shieling activity in the Norse Eastern Settlement: Palaeoenvironment of the ‘Mountain Farm’, Vatnahverfi, Greenland

Transhumance agriculture formed a key component of subsistence strategies in the Norse economies of the North Atlantic, with evidence of shielings or sæters found in Norway, Scotland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland. It is frequently assumed to have played a role in Norse Greenland, yet little enquiry has been made into such activity. This paper seeks to address this deficit, presenting the first palaeoenvironmental study of a suspected Greenlandic shieling site in the uplands of the former Norse Eastern Settlement. Pollen analysis, 14C and associated proxies are used to date and assess the environmental and landscape impact of shieling activity. Evidence for vegetation disturbance associated with Norse settlement is indicated from c. ad 985, but the shieling itself is interpreted as having been established somewhat later (cal. ad 1050–1150). Initially the site appears to have been used exclusively for grazing of livestock and there is tentative evidence for the use of burning to stimulate the spread of pastures. Pollen influx figures suggest the intensification, or initiation, of hay production c. cal. 1225–1325 reflecting either the spread of settlement from the lowland valleys, or evolution of the site into a full farm in response to population pressure. A reduction of human impact cal. ad 1300–1390 suggests a reversion to shieling activity, indicating similarities to transhumance in northern Iceland. Abandonment of the site dates to cal. ad 1325–1415 and is in agreement with previous evidence from Norse Greenland.

Vatnahverfi: A Green and Pleasant Land? Palaeoecological Reconstructions of Environmental and Land-use Change

Abstract Accounts describing the Vatnahverfi region of Greenland are almost always effusive in their praise for the rich and bountiful nature of the landscape. Whether it was the dense scrub and woodlands, or the freshwater lakes and fertile green pastures, this landscape—contrary to elsewhere in the Eastern Settlement—is frequently assumed to have been an excellent location for Norse pastoral farming. Nevertheless, these observations are merely anecdotal in nature and based on the perceptions of archaeologists, or others who have visited the region. This paper asks whether Vatnahverfi was really the green and pleasant land that the literature would suggest, while exploring the rationale behind settlement in this region. Pollen-analytical data and associated proxies are deployed here in an attempt to assess whether the pre-landnám landscape was an attractive location for settlement, and to investigate vegetation and land-use changes consequent upon settlement. Pollen analysis allows an assessment of the natural capital of the pre-landnám (initial settlement) environment, which suggests that the central valley of northwest Vatnahverfi supported substantial Betula-Salix scrub or low woodland prior to landnám. The presence of woodland at landnám indicates the availability of a key resource (for fuel, building materials, or as fodder for livestock), and a cluster of early landnám-era dates have been returned on pollen sequences from farms in the center of Vatnahverfi. Data from pollen influx and coprophilous fungal spores associated with grazing animals also point towards this landscape having been particularly suitable for pastoralism. Poaceae (grass) pollen influx values, for instance, are often double those of farms in the Qassiarsuk region, suggesting higher hay yields with the potential to support larger numbers of domesticates. Radiocarbon age-depth modelling of pollen sequences suggests that abandonment of farms in the region may have begun from the mid-13th century AD, culminating in the 14th century.

The Palaeoenvironmental Impact of Prehistoric Settlement and Proto-Historic Urbanism: Tracing the Emergence of the Oppidum of Corent, Auvergne, France

Early human societies and their interactions with the natural world have been extensively explored in palaeoenvironmental studies across Central and Western Europe. Yet, despite an extensive body of scholarship, there is little consideration of the environmental impacts of proto-historic urbanisation. Typically palaeoenvironmental studies of Bronze and Iron Age societies discuss human impact in terms of woodland clearance, landscape openness and evidence for agriculture. Although these features are clearly key indicators of human settlement, and characterise Neolithic and early to Middle Bronze Age impacts at Corent, they do not appear to represent defining features of a protohistoric urban environment. The Late Iron Age Gallic Oppidum of Corent is remarkable for the paucity of evidence for agriculture and strong representation of apophytes associated with disturbance. Increased floristic diversity – a phenomenon also observed in more recent urban environments – was also noted. The same, although somewhat more pronounced, patterns are noted for the Late Bronze Age and hint at the possibility of a nascent urban area. High percentages of pollen from non-native trees such as Platanus, Castanea and Juglans in the late Bronze Age and Gallic period also suggest trade and cultural exchange, notably with the Mediterranean world. Indeed, these findings question the validity of applying Castanea and Juglans as absolute chronological markers of Romanisation. These results clearly indicate the value of local-scale palaeoecological studies and their potential for tracing the phases in the emergence of a proto-historic urban environment.

Are circumpolar hunter-gatherers visible in the palaeoenvironmental record? Pollen-analytical evidence from Nunalleq, southwestern Alaska:

Identifying evidence for hunter-gatherers in the palaeoenvironmental record is far from simple. Despite decades of research, few studies have demonstrated unambiguous palynological evidence of hunter-gatherers. This paper presents the results of high-resolution palaeoecological analyses of a peat sequence located within the vicinity of the pre-historic Yup’ik village of Nunalleq in southwestern Alaska. The aim of this research was to examine whether there are any discernible palaeoenvironmental impacts associated with the 15th–17th century occupation of the site. Presuming an ephemeral character to any palaeoecological signal, this study selected a sampling location approximately 30 m east of the limit of archaeological remains. Pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs and microscopic charcoal analysis were then used to generate a highly resolved (contiguous 1 cm) environmental history for the site. The results are striking and indicate that the activities of prehistoric Yup’ik hunter-gatherers at Nunalleq did leave a clear material trace in the palaeoenvironmental record. Through the application of high-resolution Pb210 and C14 dating and Bayesian modelling, these impacts were found to be concurrent with the occupation of the archaeological site. These findings suggest that not only can circumpolar hunter-gatherers leave a material palaeoenvironmental trace but that these traces may be used to accurately date such site activity in lieu of excavation.

Reconstructing Battles and Battlefields: Scientific Solutions to Historical Problems at Bannockburn, Scotland

Abstract The need for scientists to add objective data to historical studies is argued using as a case study the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. The terrain was critical in this battle, as in so many others, but cannot be understood from the few primary sources, which are not contemporary and are strongly biased. Scientific techniques can cut through hyperbole. The methodology and techniques used to better understand the landscape around the battle are briefly discussed, particularly new advances in radiocarbon dating which enable analysis to approach the chronological precision of the archaeologist, if not the historian. Our data are argued to have clarified muddled interpretations.