Norse Greenland Research Articles

Unmatched DNA preservation prove arctic hare and sheep wool in Norse Greenlandic textile from “The Farm Beneath the Sand”

GUS (Gården under sandet- The Farm Beneath the Sand) is a Greenlandic Norse settlement site 80km from Nuuk in the former Norse western settlement occupied between 1000 and 1400CE. Renowned for its excellent preservation caused by its interment under large quantities of sand and permafrost after its abandonment, GUS is unique in Norse Greenlandic contexts as perishable materials and artefacts are extremely well preserved. Some aspects of fibre admixtures used in Norse Greenlandic clothing are unknown to us, but of great relevance to understanding the history of the colony and its subsistence practices. Here we present the results of shotgun genomic data from 11 samples originating from ten archaeological textiles from a variety of different Norse Greenlandic sites. The obtained sequences were mapped to mitochondrial genomes of 15 diverse mammals and only samples from GUS had any endogenous DNA (4,5 and 3,5%), resulting in a 70x mt-genome of arctic hare (Lepus arcticus) and a 20x mt-genome of domestic sheep (Ovis aries). The evidence of arctic hare in Greenlandic textile is one of the few examples confirming the use of exotic textiles and mixtures of wool types in Norse clothing. Furthermore, the study overall finds the biological material from GUS to have unmatched DNA preservation, indicating potential for genetic investigations in the future from this locality.

Daniel Bruun:

One of the most remarkable contributions to our understanding of the Norse cultures of the North Atlantic was that of Daniel Bruun (1856-1931). A child of an innovative, prominent family from central Jutland, he received a military education and became a skilled cartographer. A dream from his youth to study Norse culture in Greenland was finally realised in 1894 when he conducted an impressive field campaign in the so-called Eastern Settlement. In the following years, he pursued his observations in Norse Greenland with comparative studies in Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway. On his initiative, and to a wide extent based on material collected by himself, the North Atlantic cultures were presented as a section of the Danish contribution to the World Exhibition of 1900 in Paris. His adventurous life, however, was not confined to the North Atlantic, but also included travels in Africa, Siberia, Asia, and North America. In many ways, the energy and curiosity of Daniel Bruun can be compared to that of recently departed Klavs Randsborg, to whose memory this article is dedicated.

Medieval Iceland, Greenland, and the New Human Condition: A case study in integrated environmental humanities

This paper contributes to recent studies exploring the longue durée of human impacts on island landscapes, the impacts of climate and other environmental changes on human communities, and the interaction of human societies and their environments at different spatial and temporal scales. In particular, the paper addresses Iceland during the medieval period (with a secondary, comparative focus on Norse Greenland) and discusses episodes where environmental and climatic changes have appeared to cross key thresholds for agricultural productivity. The paper draws upon international, interdisciplinary research in the North Atlantic region led by the North Atlantic Biocultural Organization (NABO) and the Nordic Network for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies (NIES) in the Circumpolar Networks program of the Integrated History and Future of People on Earth (IHOPE). By interlinking analyses of historically grounded literature with archaeological studies and environmental science, valuable new perspectives can emerge on how these past societies may have understood and coped with such impacts. As climate and other environmental changes do not operate in isolation, vulnerabilities created by socioeconomic factors also beg consideration. The paper illustrates the benefits of an integrated environmental-studies approach that draws on data, methodologies and analytical tools of environmental humanities, social sciences, and geosciences to better understand long-term human ecodynamics and changing human-landscape-environment interactions through time. One key goal is to apply previously unused data and concerted expertise to illuminate human responses to past changes; a secondary aim is to consider how lessons derived from these cases may be applicable to environmental threats and socioecological risks in the future, especially as understood in light of the New Human Condition, the concept transposed from Hannah Arendt's influential framing of the human condition that is foregrounded in the present special issue. This conception admits human agency's role in altering the conditions for life on earth, in large measure negatively, while acknowledging the potential of this self-same agency, if effectively harnessed and properly directed, to sustain essential planetary conditions through a salutary transformation of human perception, understanding and remedial action. The paper concludes that more long-term historical analyses of cultures and environments need to be undertaken at various scales. Past cases do not offer perfect analogues for the future, but they can contribute to a better understanding of how resilience and vulnerability occur, as well as how they may be compromised or mitigated.

The lost norse.

Archaeologists have a new answer to the mystery of Greenland's Norse, who thrived for centuries and then vanished.

Northern exposure: Mandibular torus in the Greenlandic Norse and the whole wide world.

In the first issue of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, E.A. Hooton noted the expression of Eskimoid characteristics in the Icelandic skull, one of which was mandibular torus. Our goal is to evaluate this trait in another North Atlantic population, the Greenlandic Norse. An investigation of mandibular torus was carried out on all Greenlandic Norse skeletons disinterred up to 1986 (n = 109), along with comparative samples from Iceland (n = 82), Norway (n = 98), and Denmark (n = 64). Torus expression was scored on a six grade scale with absence and five degrees of trait presence. Greenlanders and Icelanders show extraordinarily high frequencies (65-97%) and pronounced expressions of mandibular torus. More surprising was the almost complete absence of this trait in a Danish Viking sample (9%) and a significantly lower frequency in medieval Norwegians (48%). The dramatic expression of mandibular torus in the Greenlandic Norse and their contrast to related Scandinavian populations in Europe stimulated the collection of data from the literature and the database of Christy G. Turner II for 49,970 individuals in 335 populations. When plotted on a global scale, mandibular torus shows a strong clinal distribution with the highest frequencies in northern latitudes and the lowest frequencies around the equator. Although mandibular torus has some hereditary component, as indicated by family studies, the trait has a strong environmental component of variance. How factors of a northern environment, including climatic stress and dietary behavior, influence torus expression remains enigmatic.

Stable Isotopes and Oral Tori in Greenlandic Norse and Inuit

Stable Isotopes and Oral Tori in Greenlandic Norse and Inuit

The ‘Burgundian’ hat from Herjolfsnes, Greenland: new discoveries, new dates

In 1921, during Poul Norlund’s excavation at the Norse farm Herjolfsnes, Greenland, a tall hat was recovered from the burial grounds surrounding the farm’s church, where a substantial collection of medieval garments had been recovered. This unusual hat came to symbolize not only the end of the Greenland Norse colony but also its enduring cultural links with continental European fashions, following a comment to this effect published by Norlund himself. In 1996, the hat was dated to the early fourteenth century by Arneborg, a century earlier than Norlund’s dating, based on stylistic comparisons with European examples. Recent research on North Atlantic textiles led to a reexamination of the hat, with different sections sampled and resubmitted for accelerated mass spectrometry dating. The results suggest that the body of the hat and its crown are of different periods with c. 100 years between them. This reanalysis of the Herjolfsnes ‘tall brimless hat’ or ‘Burgundian’ hat suggests that a considerable amount o...

Europeanization of Sub-Arctic Environments: Perspectives from Norse Greenland’s Outer Fjords

Europeanization of sub-Arctic environments by Norse communities in Greenland, from the early 11th to mid 15th centuries AD, varied spatially and temporally, with pastoral agriculture and associated homefield management at the heart of this transformation. This process is poorly understood for the outer fjord areas of Norse Greenland and from this locality we contribute a homefield soils and sediments-based analysis. Our findings identify a recipe effect – the partitioning of turf, domestic animal manure and domestic waste resources used to manage soil fertility, field irrigation channels and the effects of eroded material deposition in the homefield. These management practices increased soil macro-nutrient status relative to pre-settlement concentration in some areas of the homefield whilst macro-nutrient concentrations in other areas of the homefield were allowed to decline. We suggest that where resources were limited, sustainable intensification could only be achieved in some areas of the homefield with other areas managed unsustainably.

Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus.

Milk is a major food of global economic importance, and its consumption is regarded as a classic example of gene-culture evolution. Humans have exploited animal milk as a food resource for at least 8500 years, but the origins, spread, and scale of dairying remain poorly understood. Indirect lines of evidence, such as lipid isotopic ratios of pottery residues, faunal mortality profiles, and lactase persistence allele frequencies, provide a partial picture of this process; however, in order to understand how, where, and when humans consumed milk products, it is necessary to link evidence of consumption directly to individuals and their dairy livestock. Here we report the first direct evidence of milk consumption, the whey protein β-lactoglobulin (BLG), preserved in human dental calculus from the Bronze Age (ca. 3000 BCE) to the present day. Using protein tandem mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that BLG is a species-specific biomarker of dairy consumption, and we identify individuals consuming cattle, sheep, and goat milk products in the archaeological record. We then apply this method to human dental calculus from Greenland's medieval Norse colonies, and report a decline of this biomarker leading up to the abandonment of the Norse Greenland colonies in the 15th century CE.

Ancient DNA unravels the truth behind the controversial GUS Greenlandic Norse fur samples: the bison was a horse, and the muskox and bears were goats

The Norse Greenlandic archaeological site known as ‘the Farm Beneath the Sand’ (GUS) has sourced many well-preserved and unique archaeological artefacts. Some of the most controversial finds are tufts of hair, which previous morphological-based examination concluded derive from bison, black bear, brown bear and muskox, all species whose natural presence in South Greenland is unlikely. If true, the consequences are potentially significant, as they could imply Viking trading with, or hunting within, North America. To validate these previous findings, we genetically profiled the samples, through mitochondrial 16S DNA analysis. The results revealed that the putative bison was, in fact horse, while the bears and muskox were goat. The results demonstrate the importance of using genetic analyses to validate results derived from morphological analyses on hair, in particular where such studies lead to sensational claims.

Endperiod Demographics of the Greenland Norse

Abstract The Norse who settled and lived in Greenland AD 1000–1500 provide a unique biological anthropological material for the investigation of human and environmental interaction. They were a relatively isolated population, constrained in both space and time. This study reports on demographic modelling of (1) marriage and fertility patterns and (2) total population level numbers with crude death rates and birth rates, including immigration and emigration scenarios. In addition to linear models, I also used stochastic models, which may be especially important when dealing with small populations. My results indicate that a small population such as the Norse inevitably will be close to a minimum sustainable level, and that simple emigration may explain the demise of the settlements. Furthermore, when the societal and economical implications of the population dynamics are considered, certain activities of the Norse in the latter phase of the settlement, such as the building of new churches, may acquire a ne...

Impact of Medieval Fjord Hydrography and Climate on the Western and Eastern Settlements in Norse Greenland

Abstract A comparison of the Medieval fjord hydrography and climate regime of the main Norse settlements in Greenland demonstrates important differences in the timing of sea-ice expansion and storminess when comparing the Western and Eastern Settlement regions. The Western Settlement, as well as the northern hunting grounds around Disko Bugt, had already experienced major climate deterioration in the first decades after AD 1200. This regime shift in West Greenland included an expansion of fjord and sea ice (“West Ice”) in coastal waters as well as a drastic atmospheric cooling and an increase in storminess, mainly in the summer season. In contrast, environmental conditions in the Eastern Settlement deteriorated notably later, i.e., around AD 1400. At that time, ice conditions became much more severe, whereas the previously prevailing strong wind activity decreased, which was coeval with a general decrease in aeolian activity in West Greenland, eastern Canada, and NW Iceland. Summer blockage of the fjord e...

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.

Towards a First Chronology for the Middle Settlement of Norse Greenland: 14C and Related Studies of Animal Bone and Environmental Material

The so-called Middle Settlement (Mellembygden) of Norse/Viking Greenland has received far less attention than either of its larger Eastern and Western counterparts. The Greenlandic Norse occupation is nominally taken to date between AD 985 and about AD 1450 and it is generally assumed that the Western Settlement was abandoned prior to the Eastern, but where the Middle Settlement fits into the pattern temporally has hitherto been completely unknown. This paper presents the first absolute dating evidence from the Middle Settlement. In addition to providing the results (14C, δ13C, δ15N) of a radiocarbon dating and stable isotope measurement program from domesticated (Bos, Ovis/Capra) and wild (Rangifer) animal bone and cultural-environmental (coastal, possibly midden) samples, the paper also addresses some problems of14C estimation for the period of Norse occupation in Greenland. Investigations show a Medieval Scandinavian presence close to the start of the conventionallandnámperiod (after AD 985) and with occupation continuing up to at least the 14th century AD. The start of this activity, found at 2 sites, bears comparison with various locations in both the Eastern and Western Settlement areas. The terminal phase of activity in the Middle Settlement is represented at 1 site only, but despite this limitation, it shows that the Norse may have been present for most of the period that they occupied sites in both the Western and Eastern settlements. Caribou bone from separate contexts that also contained Thule Inuit material proves useful in indicating dates for a probable post-Norse Inuit presence. The position of age estimates on the calibration curve underscores the need to look critically at such evidence when making chronological inference during the Norse period owing to the existence of plateaus and wiggles. The inclusion of samples from both domesticated and wild fauna considered to be possibly modern, yet reported from archaeological assemblages, provides a warning to archaeozoologists to be especially vigilant when considering the potential non-contemporaneity of material.

Towards a First Chronology for the Middle Settlement of Norse Greenland: 14C and Related Studies of Animal Bone and Environmental Material

The so-called Middle Settlement (Mellembygden) of Norse/Viking Greenland has received far less attention than either of its larger Eastern and Western counterparts. The Greenlandic Norse occupation is nominally taken to date between AD 985 and about AD 1450 and it is generally assumed that the Western Settlement was abandoned prior to the Eastern, but where the Middle Settlement fits into the pattern temporally has hitherto been completely unknown. This paper presents the first absolute dating evidence from the Middle Settlement. In addition to providing the results (14C, δ13C, δ15N) of a radiocarbon dating and stable isotope measurement program from domesticated (Bos, Ovis/Capra) and wild (Rangifer) animal bone and cultural-environmental (coastal, possibly midden) samples, the paper also addresses some problems of 14C estimation for the period of Norse occupation in Greenland. Investigations show a Medieval Scandinavian presence close to the start of the conventional landnám period (after AD 985) and with occupation continuing up to at least the 14th century AD. The start of this activity, found at 2 sites, bears comparison with various locations in both the Eastern and Western Settlement areas. The terminal phase of activity in the Middle Settlement is represented at 1 site only, but despite this limitation, it shows that the Norse may have been present for most of the period that they occupied sites in both the Western and Eastern settlements. Caribou bone from separate contexts that also contained Thule Inuit material proves useful in indicating dates for a probable post-Norse Inuit presence. The position of age estimates on the calibration curve underscores the need to look critically at such evidence when making chronological inference during the Norse period owing to the existence of plateaus and wiggles. The inclusion of samples from both domesticated and wild fauna considered to be possibly modern, yet reported from archaeological assemblages, provides a warning to archaeozoologists to be especially vigilant when considering the potential non-contemporaneity of material.

The home-field as a cultural and environmental archive of Europeanisation in Norse Greenland

The home-field as a cultural and environmental archive of Europeanisation in Norse Greenland

Human Diet and Subsistence Patterns in Norse Greenland AD C.980—AD c. 1450: Archaeological interpretations

In this concluding paper of the JONA special volume on the Norse Greenland isotope study, we summarize the archaeological interpretations of the previous, technical papers. The study supports the conclusions and widens the results of our earlier limited study, i.e., that the diet of the Norse Greenlanders became more dependent on marine resources over time. The isotope data provide information at the level of the individual, and the study indicates that the Norse Greenlanders had an isotopically varied diet; there is no evidence that these differences were linked to sex or age. The shift in diet seems to have happened gradually, perhaps beginning during the initial settlement. The swiftness of the change, however, depended on where the immigrants settled; settlers in the southern part of the Eastern Settlement and in the Western Settlement may have adapted to the marine resources more rapidly than those in the central Eastern Settlement region. Social differences may partly explain the isotopically varied diet within Norse society; this explanation is, however, not without its reservations. Despite the changes in the dietary economy, and the increasing dependence on the marine resources, farming strategies remained unchanged. Climate change and unsustainable land-use practices have been proposed as two of the main reasons for the depopulation of the Norse Greenland settlements in the late 1400s, and it is obvious to draw attention to these factors when trying to explain the changes in the dietary economy. It is, however, more doubtful whether the environmental changes were, after all, the sole cause of the depopulation of the Norse Greenland settlement. The Norse Greenlanders apparently adapted well to their physical environment, and they could survive on the marine resources in as far as they were available.

Appendix 1: SFU Archaeometry Laboratory Methods

The protocol for collagen extract used in the Greenland Isotope Project as discussed in the papers comprising the Journal of North Atlantic Special Volume 3, Greenland Isotope Project: Diet in Norse Greenland AD 1000–AD 1450, is described here in detail.

An Isotopic Analysis of the Diet of the Greenland Norse

Abstract Our understanding of the Norse dietary adaptations to their Greenlandic home comes primarily from sparse historical records, from what is known of the Norse dietary economy in other North Atlantic lands, and from zooarchaeological examinations of the animal bones found in the various excavations of Norse Greenlandic sites which have taken place over the past century. To obtain more detailed information on the diets of the Norse settlers in Greenland, measures of the stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) values of human bone collagen have been made for 80 individuals from an existing collection of Norse skeletal material. The material is from five churchyards in the Norse Eastern Settlement and two churchyards in the Western Settlement. These data are interpreted with the aid of similar data obtained for the wild fauna of Greenland, for the Norse domestic animals and for a number of Thule Culture individuals of about the same time period. It is clear that application of the isotopic dietary met...

Isotopic Analyses of The Domestic Animals of Norse Greenland

Abstract To provide a basis for the isotopic dietary study of the Greenland Norse, and as an interesting study in itself, measures of the stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios were obtained for 118 samples of archaeological bone from 6 species of the Norse domestic animals. These samples were obtained from museum faunal collections representing archaeological excavations of 10 Norse sites, five in each of the two Norse settlements in Greenland. In general, the carbon isotope values for the herbivores of dietary importance (cattle, sheep, and goats) were as expected for animals living in a C3 environment. The nitrogen isotope data hint at differing field management practices between the two settlements. There is no isotopic evidence for any unusual pastoral adaptation to conditions in Greenland, or for any change in animal management over the lifetime of the settlements. A few pigs form an exception to this statement, but they are peripheral to the Norse dietary economy. These data provid...