Social-Ecological Resilience in the Viking-Age to Early-Medieval Faroe Islands
This dissertation aims to evaluate the development and maintenance of social-ecological resilience during the settlement-period (ca. 9th through 11th centuries CE) in the Faroe Islands. In particular, the core objectives include the identification of the key social and natural variables involved, th...
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2015
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ftcityunivny:oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:gc_etds-1884 2023-05-15T16:10:36+02:00 Social-Ecological Resilience in the Viking-Age to Early-Medieval Faroe Islands Brewington, Seth 2015-09-30T07:00:00Z application/pdf https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/870 https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1884&context=gc_etds English eng CUNY Academic Works https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/870 https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1884&context=gc_etds Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Faroe Islands Norse North Atlantic Social-ecological resilience Zooarchaeology Anthropology dissertation 2015 ftcityunivny 2021-08-28T22:16:22Z This dissertation aims to evaluate the development and maintenance of social-ecological resilience during the settlement-period (ca. 9th through 11th centuries CE) in the Faroe Islands. In particular, the core objectives include the identification of the key social and natural variables involved, the examination of how these variables contributed to overall resilience, and the investigation of the initiation of the Faroese domestic economy. This research focuses primarily on an analysis of the 9th through 13th century archaeofaunal assemblage from the site of Undir Junkarinsfløtti, located on the island of Sandoy. This analysis represents the first detailed study of the Faroese settlement-period domestic economy. In addition to the Undir Junkarinsfløtti archaeofaunal data, the research presented here draws from a wide range of archaeological, paleoenvironmental, and documentary evidence. These Faroese data are compared with contemporaneous datasets from elsewhere in the North Atlantic, including Iceland, Greenland, the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland, and western coastal Norway. Interpretation of this evidence is informed by a theoretical approach rooted in historical ecology, with an emphasis on the dynamic and dialectic nature of human-environment interactions, particularly as these relate to social-ecological resilience. This study suggests that the overall resilience of the Faroese social-ecological system can largely be attributed not only to the maintenance of a broad-based domestic economy that was heavily subsidized by the sustained exploitation of robust natural resources, but also to the development of a collaborative, community-based approach to resource management and use. In particular, these factors contributed to robustness against food shortfalls. The available evidence suggests that this resilient economic regime was initiated by a culturally-hybridized, Hiberno-Norse population. Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Faroe Islands Greenland Iceland North Atlantic Sandoy City University of New York: CUNY Academic Works Faroe Islands Greenland Norway Sandoy ENVELOPE(-6.776,-6.776,61.854,61.854) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
City University of New York: CUNY Academic Works |
op_collection_id |
ftcityunivny |
language |
English |
topic |
Faroe Islands Norse North Atlantic Social-ecological resilience Zooarchaeology Anthropology |
spellingShingle |
Faroe Islands Norse North Atlantic Social-ecological resilience Zooarchaeology Anthropology Brewington, Seth Social-Ecological Resilience in the Viking-Age to Early-Medieval Faroe Islands |
topic_facet |
Faroe Islands Norse North Atlantic Social-ecological resilience Zooarchaeology Anthropology |
description |
This dissertation aims to evaluate the development and maintenance of social-ecological resilience during the settlement-period (ca. 9th through 11th centuries CE) in the Faroe Islands. In particular, the core objectives include the identification of the key social and natural variables involved, the examination of how these variables contributed to overall resilience, and the investigation of the initiation of the Faroese domestic economy. This research focuses primarily on an analysis of the 9th through 13th century archaeofaunal assemblage from the site of Undir Junkarinsfløtti, located on the island of Sandoy. This analysis represents the first detailed study of the Faroese settlement-period domestic economy. In addition to the Undir Junkarinsfløtti archaeofaunal data, the research presented here draws from a wide range of archaeological, paleoenvironmental, and documentary evidence. These Faroese data are compared with contemporaneous datasets from elsewhere in the North Atlantic, including Iceland, Greenland, the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland, and western coastal Norway. Interpretation of this evidence is informed by a theoretical approach rooted in historical ecology, with an emphasis on the dynamic and dialectic nature of human-environment interactions, particularly as these relate to social-ecological resilience. This study suggests that the overall resilience of the Faroese social-ecological system can largely be attributed not only to the maintenance of a broad-based domestic economy that was heavily subsidized by the sustained exploitation of robust natural resources, but also to the development of a collaborative, community-based approach to resource management and use. In particular, these factors contributed to robustness against food shortfalls. The available evidence suggests that this resilient economic regime was initiated by a culturally-hybridized, Hiberno-Norse population. |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Brewington, Seth |
author_facet |
Brewington, Seth |
author_sort |
Brewington, Seth |
title |
Social-Ecological Resilience in the Viking-Age to Early-Medieval Faroe Islands |
title_short |
Social-Ecological Resilience in the Viking-Age to Early-Medieval Faroe Islands |
title_full |
Social-Ecological Resilience in the Viking-Age to Early-Medieval Faroe Islands |
title_fullStr |
Social-Ecological Resilience in the Viking-Age to Early-Medieval Faroe Islands |
title_full_unstemmed |
Social-Ecological Resilience in the Viking-Age to Early-Medieval Faroe Islands |
title_sort |
social-ecological resilience in the viking-age to early-medieval faroe islands |
publisher |
CUNY Academic Works |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/870 https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1884&context=gc_etds |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-6.776,-6.776,61.854,61.854) |
geographic |
Faroe Islands Greenland Norway Sandoy |
geographic_facet |
Faroe Islands Greenland Norway Sandoy |
genre |
Faroe Islands Greenland Iceland North Atlantic Sandoy |
genre_facet |
Faroe Islands Greenland Iceland North Atlantic Sandoy |
op_source |
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects |
op_relation |
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/870 https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1884&context=gc_etds |
_version_ |
1765995763230310400 |