Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages.
Peer reviewed: True Funder: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research Mediaeval walrus hunting in Iceland and Greenland-driven by Western European demand for ivory and walrus hide ropes-has been identified as an important pre-modern example of ecological globalization. By contrast, the main ori...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
The Royal Society
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/345260 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.92682 |
id |
ftunivcam:oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/345260 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivcam:oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/345260 2024-01-28T10:03:58+01:00 Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages. Barrett, James H Khamaiko, Natalia Ferrari, Giada Cuevas, Angélica Kneale, Catherine Hufthammer, Anne Karin Pálsdóttir, Albína Hulda Star, Bastiaan 2023-01-11T17:00:18Z application/pdf text/xml https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/345260 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.92682 en eng eng The Royal Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.2773 Proc Biol Sci https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/345260 doi:10.17863/CAM.92682 Middle Ages Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus ancient DNA ecological globalization historical ecology stable isotopes Animals Archaeology DNA Ancient Geography Russia Walruses Article 2023 ftunivcam https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.92682 2024-01-04T23:19:37Z Peer reviewed: True Funder: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research Mediaeval walrus hunting in Iceland and Greenland-driven by Western European demand for ivory and walrus hide ropes-has been identified as an important pre-modern example of ecological globalization. By contrast, the main origin of walrus ivory destined for eastern European markets, and then onward trade to Asia, is assumed to have been Arctic Russia. Here, we investigate the geographical origin of nine twelfth-century CE walrus specimens discovered in Kyiv, Ukraine-combining archaeological typology (based on chaîne opératoire assessment), ancient DNA (aDNA) and stable isotope analysis. We show that five of seven specimens tested using aDNA can be genetically assigned to a western Greenland origin. Moreover, six of the Kyiv rostra had been sculpted in a way typical of Greenlandic imports to Western Europe, and seven are tentatively consistent with a Greenland origin based on stable isotope analysis. Our results suggest that demand for the products of Norse Greenland's walrus hunt stretched not only to Western Europe but included Ukraine and, by implication given linked trade routes, also Russia, Byzantium and Asia. These observations illuminate the surprising scale of mediaeval ecological globalization and help explain the pressure this process exerted on distant wildlife populations and those who harvested them. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Greenland greenlandic Iceland Odobenus rosmarus walrus* Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository Arctic Greenland |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcam |
language |
English |
topic |
Middle Ages Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus ancient DNA ecological globalization historical ecology stable isotopes Animals Archaeology DNA Ancient Geography Russia Walruses |
spellingShingle |
Middle Ages Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus ancient DNA ecological globalization historical ecology stable isotopes Animals Archaeology DNA Ancient Geography Russia Walruses Barrett, James H Khamaiko, Natalia Ferrari, Giada Cuevas, Angélica Kneale, Catherine Hufthammer, Anne Karin Pálsdóttir, Albína Hulda Star, Bastiaan Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages. |
topic_facet |
Middle Ages Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus ancient DNA ecological globalization historical ecology stable isotopes Animals Archaeology DNA Ancient Geography Russia Walruses |
description |
Peer reviewed: True Funder: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research Mediaeval walrus hunting in Iceland and Greenland-driven by Western European demand for ivory and walrus hide ropes-has been identified as an important pre-modern example of ecological globalization. By contrast, the main origin of walrus ivory destined for eastern European markets, and then onward trade to Asia, is assumed to have been Arctic Russia. Here, we investigate the geographical origin of nine twelfth-century CE walrus specimens discovered in Kyiv, Ukraine-combining archaeological typology (based on chaîne opératoire assessment), ancient DNA (aDNA) and stable isotope analysis. We show that five of seven specimens tested using aDNA can be genetically assigned to a western Greenland origin. Moreover, six of the Kyiv rostra had been sculpted in a way typical of Greenlandic imports to Western Europe, and seven are tentatively consistent with a Greenland origin based on stable isotope analysis. Our results suggest that demand for the products of Norse Greenland's walrus hunt stretched not only to Western Europe but included Ukraine and, by implication given linked trade routes, also Russia, Byzantium and Asia. These observations illuminate the surprising scale of mediaeval ecological globalization and help explain the pressure this process exerted on distant wildlife populations and those who harvested them. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Barrett, James H Khamaiko, Natalia Ferrari, Giada Cuevas, Angélica Kneale, Catherine Hufthammer, Anne Karin Pálsdóttir, Albína Hulda Star, Bastiaan |
author_facet |
Barrett, James H Khamaiko, Natalia Ferrari, Giada Cuevas, Angélica Kneale, Catherine Hufthammer, Anne Karin Pálsdóttir, Albína Hulda Star, Bastiaan |
author_sort |
Barrett, James H |
title |
Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages. |
title_short |
Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages. |
title_full |
Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages. |
title_fullStr |
Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages. |
title_sort |
walruses on the dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of greenlandic ivory in the middle ages. |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/345260 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.92682 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Greenland greenlandic Iceland Odobenus rosmarus walrus* |
genre_facet |
Arctic Greenland greenlandic Iceland Odobenus rosmarus walrus* |
op_relation |
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/345260 doi:10.17863/CAM.92682 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.92682 |
_version_ |
1789329540941611008 |