The Potential of Palynology with Regard to the Archaeology of Medieval Monastery Sites in Iceland
In 2014, as part of the Kortlagning klaustur á Íslandi (Mapping Monasticism in Iceland) archaeological project, bulk samples retrieved from various archaeological sites associated with Icelandic monasticism were subsampled for pollen analysis. The objective was to discern something about the charact...
Published in: | Religions |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050586 https://doaj.org/article/731de27174894a9c821e2156aea85c11 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:731de27174894a9c821e2156aea85c11 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:731de27174894a9c821e2156aea85c11 2023-06-11T04:13:03+02:00 The Potential of Palynology with Regard to the Archaeology of Medieval Monastery Sites in Iceland Scott J. Riddell Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir Guðrún Gísladóttir Egill Erlendsson 2023-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050586 https://doaj.org/article/731de27174894a9c821e2156aea85c11 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/5/586 https://doaj.org/toc/2077-1444 doi:10.3390/rel14050586 2077-1444 https://doaj.org/article/731de27174894a9c821e2156aea85c11 Religions, Vol 14, Iss 586, p 586 (2023) pollen grasses cereals taphonomy archaeology monasteries Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050586 2023-05-28T00:33:02Z In 2014, as part of the Kortlagning klaustur á Íslandi (Mapping Monasticism in Iceland) archaeological project, bulk samples retrieved from various archaeological sites associated with Icelandic monasticism were subsampled for pollen analysis. The objective was to discern something about the character of the past vegetation that surrounded the sites under archaeological investigation as well as to detect the presence of exotic pollen derived from plant species with medicinal, culinary, and other utilities. Two methods were applied: a standard pollen count (up to 300 pollen grains) and rapid scanning (where all pollen were examined but only exotics were recorded). The pollen surveys showed mixed results in achieving the intended insights, mostly due to taphonomic processes (wind and depositional environments), exacerbated by poor chronological resolution. However, there was sufficient data to suggest that careful selection and analysis of subsamples from archaeological contexts can allow some reconstruction of past vegetation communities and land use practices. The presence of cereal type pollen might suggest cultivation and/or storage of grain in association with medieval archaeological contexts. Furthermore, palynology was able to discern some evidence of the importation of plants for medicinal purposes to Iceland. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Klaustur ENVELOPE(-18.803,-18.803,65.168,65.168) Religions 14 5 586 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
pollen grasses cereals taphonomy archaeology monasteries Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790 |
spellingShingle |
pollen grasses cereals taphonomy archaeology monasteries Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790 Scott J. Riddell Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir Guðrún Gísladóttir Egill Erlendsson The Potential of Palynology with Regard to the Archaeology of Medieval Monastery Sites in Iceland |
topic_facet |
pollen grasses cereals taphonomy archaeology monasteries Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790 |
description |
In 2014, as part of the Kortlagning klaustur á Íslandi (Mapping Monasticism in Iceland) archaeological project, bulk samples retrieved from various archaeological sites associated with Icelandic monasticism were subsampled for pollen analysis. The objective was to discern something about the character of the past vegetation that surrounded the sites under archaeological investigation as well as to detect the presence of exotic pollen derived from plant species with medicinal, culinary, and other utilities. Two methods were applied: a standard pollen count (up to 300 pollen grains) and rapid scanning (where all pollen were examined but only exotics were recorded). The pollen surveys showed mixed results in achieving the intended insights, mostly due to taphonomic processes (wind and depositional environments), exacerbated by poor chronological resolution. However, there was sufficient data to suggest that careful selection and analysis of subsamples from archaeological contexts can allow some reconstruction of past vegetation communities and land use practices. The presence of cereal type pollen might suggest cultivation and/or storage of grain in association with medieval archaeological contexts. Furthermore, palynology was able to discern some evidence of the importation of plants for medicinal purposes to Iceland. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Scott J. Riddell Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir Guðrún Gísladóttir Egill Erlendsson |
author_facet |
Scott J. Riddell Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir Guðrún Gísladóttir Egill Erlendsson |
author_sort |
Scott J. Riddell |
title |
The Potential of Palynology with Regard to the Archaeology of Medieval Monastery Sites in Iceland |
title_short |
The Potential of Palynology with Regard to the Archaeology of Medieval Monastery Sites in Iceland |
title_full |
The Potential of Palynology with Regard to the Archaeology of Medieval Monastery Sites in Iceland |
title_fullStr |
The Potential of Palynology with Regard to the Archaeology of Medieval Monastery Sites in Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Potential of Palynology with Regard to the Archaeology of Medieval Monastery Sites in Iceland |
title_sort |
potential of palynology with regard to the archaeology of medieval monastery sites in iceland |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050586 https://doaj.org/article/731de27174894a9c821e2156aea85c11 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-18.803,-18.803,65.168,65.168) |
geographic |
Klaustur |
geographic_facet |
Klaustur |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Religions, Vol 14, Iss 586, p 586 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/5/586 https://doaj.org/toc/2077-1444 doi:10.3390/rel14050586 2077-1444 https://doaj.org/article/731de27174894a9c821e2156aea85c11 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050586 |
container_title |
Religions |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
586 |
_version_ |
1768389621160345600 |