Birds in Medieval Norway
Whilst modern avian distributions in Scandinavia are well studied, how past events and processes have shaped modern bird communities in the region remains poorly known. This is mainly due to the fact that work on post-glacial avian assemblages has been done mostly from an archaeological perspective,...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:bcf3d4b4c8ec4b25ac92b8666725de21 2023-05-15T13:00:48+02:00 Birds in Medieval Norway Samuel J. Walker Anne Karin Hufthammer Hanneke J. M. Meijer 2019-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.58 https://doaj.org/article/bcf3d4b4c8ec4b25ac92b8666725de21 EN eng Ubiquity Press /articles/58 https://doaj.org/toc/2055-298X 2055-298X doi:10.5334/oq.58 https://doaj.org/article/bcf3d4b4c8ec4b25ac92b8666725de21 Open Quaternary, Vol 5, Iss 1 (2019) Birds Zooarchaeology Scandinavia Middle Ages Falconry Domestic fowl Human evolution GN281-289 Prehistoric archaeology GN700-890 Paleontology QE701-760 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.58 2022-12-31T01:51:51Z Whilst modern avian distributions in Scandinavia are well studied, how past events and processes have shaped modern bird communities in the region remains poorly known. This is mainly due to the fact that work on post-glacial avian assemblages has been done mostly from an archaeological perspective, and on a site-specific basis. Therefore, in order to understand the history of bird species in Scandinavia, there is a clear need to collate data on the past occurrences and abundance of birds within the region. Here we present data on the presence of bird species within 21 Norwegian Medieval (1030–1537 CE) assemblages. Despite climatic fluctuations and the rise of urban centres, our re-examination and compilation of bird bone assemblages from Medieval Norway found no evidence to suggest that the Medieval bird fauna differed from the modern one. The most common birds in Medieval assemblages are Galliformes. In urban sites these are mostly domestic fowl, whereas on rural sites wild species are dominant. Our data indicates an introduction of domestic fowl in the early Medieval period and a slightly delayed introduction of domestic geese, with both species becoming more abundant during the mid to late Medieval period. This appears to be later than other Scandinavian countries. Interestingly, species that are now ubiquitous in urban areas, such as pigeons, corvids and gulls are mostly absent from Medieval urban centres. In addition, we found a bias towards the use of female 'Accipiter gentilis' in falconry, while 'Falco species' may have been exported. This is the first time that data on past avian occurrences for any period are reviewed and collated for Norway. In addition, our work highlights the importance of birds and bird exploitation in Medieval Norway. Article in Journal/Newspaper Accipiter gentilis Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Norway Open Quaternary 5 1 5 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Birds Zooarchaeology Scandinavia Middle Ages Falconry Domestic fowl Human evolution GN281-289 Prehistoric archaeology GN700-890 Paleontology QE701-760 |
spellingShingle |
Birds Zooarchaeology Scandinavia Middle Ages Falconry Domestic fowl Human evolution GN281-289 Prehistoric archaeology GN700-890 Paleontology QE701-760 Samuel J. Walker Anne Karin Hufthammer Hanneke J. M. Meijer Birds in Medieval Norway |
topic_facet |
Birds Zooarchaeology Scandinavia Middle Ages Falconry Domestic fowl Human evolution GN281-289 Prehistoric archaeology GN700-890 Paleontology QE701-760 |
description |
Whilst modern avian distributions in Scandinavia are well studied, how past events and processes have shaped modern bird communities in the region remains poorly known. This is mainly due to the fact that work on post-glacial avian assemblages has been done mostly from an archaeological perspective, and on a site-specific basis. Therefore, in order to understand the history of bird species in Scandinavia, there is a clear need to collate data on the past occurrences and abundance of birds within the region. Here we present data on the presence of bird species within 21 Norwegian Medieval (1030–1537 CE) assemblages. Despite climatic fluctuations and the rise of urban centres, our re-examination and compilation of bird bone assemblages from Medieval Norway found no evidence to suggest that the Medieval bird fauna differed from the modern one. The most common birds in Medieval assemblages are Galliformes. In urban sites these are mostly domestic fowl, whereas on rural sites wild species are dominant. Our data indicates an introduction of domestic fowl in the early Medieval period and a slightly delayed introduction of domestic geese, with both species becoming more abundant during the mid to late Medieval period. This appears to be later than other Scandinavian countries. Interestingly, species that are now ubiquitous in urban areas, such as pigeons, corvids and gulls are mostly absent from Medieval urban centres. In addition, we found a bias towards the use of female 'Accipiter gentilis' in falconry, while 'Falco species' may have been exported. This is the first time that data on past avian occurrences for any period are reviewed and collated for Norway. In addition, our work highlights the importance of birds and bird exploitation in Medieval Norway. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Samuel J. Walker Anne Karin Hufthammer Hanneke J. M. Meijer |
author_facet |
Samuel J. Walker Anne Karin Hufthammer Hanneke J. M. Meijer |
author_sort |
Samuel J. Walker |
title |
Birds in Medieval Norway |
title_short |
Birds in Medieval Norway |
title_full |
Birds in Medieval Norway |
title_fullStr |
Birds in Medieval Norway |
title_full_unstemmed |
Birds in Medieval Norway |
title_sort |
birds in medieval norway |
publisher |
Ubiquity Press |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.58 https://doaj.org/article/bcf3d4b4c8ec4b25ac92b8666725de21 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Accipiter gentilis |
genre_facet |
Accipiter gentilis |
op_source |
Open Quaternary, Vol 5, Iss 1 (2019) |
op_relation |
/articles/58 https://doaj.org/toc/2055-298X 2055-298X doi:10.5334/oq.58 https://doaj.org/article/bcf3d4b4c8ec4b25ac92b8666725de21 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.58 |
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Open Quaternary |
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