The Hofstaðir Archaeofauna

• Main Authors: McGovern, Thomas H., Perdikaris, Sophia, Mainland, Ingrid, Ascough, Philippa, Ewens, Vicki, Einarsson, Arni, Sidell, Jane, hambrecht, george (CUNY), Harrison, Ramona
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: the Digital Archaeological Record
• Subjects: Data Recovery / Excavation; Hofstaðir; Hrísheimar; Sveigakot; Hamlet / village; Domestic Structures; Agricultural or Herding; Midden; Fauna; Mývatn; Iceland; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.6067:XCV8R78D52_meta$v=1352138015006

Early stages of the investigations at Hofstaðir directed by the Archaeological Institute Iceland revealed that substantial amounts of well-preserved animal bone were present in contexts throughout the site, with a major concentration in the fill of the large sunken featured structure G. The site directors kindly involved the NABO zooarchaeologists (led through various seasons by Tom McGovern and Sophia Perdikaris), and the zooarchaeology team was able to participate directly in the field excavations from 1996 onwards. The modern open area excavation of this major Viking Age hall and its associated buildings offered a unique opportunity for North Atlantic zooarchaeology, allowing comparisons of bone assemblages from fully excavated middens and structures and the combination of horizontal and vertical stratigraphic perspectives on the interpretation of site formation processes. The close cooperation between excavators and specialists continued from fieldwork through post-excavation analysis, and has unquestionably improved the quality of this report. The analysis and interpretation of the Hofstaðir archaeofauna has also greatly benefited from comparative zooarchaeological evidence from contemporary nearby sites in the Mývatn area (Mývatnssveit) carried out under the larger Landscapes of Settlement project, and this analysis will make use of comparative zooarchaeological data from the contemporary sites of Sveigakot (SVK) and Hrísheimar (HRH).