Provenancing wood used in the Norse Greenlandic settlements: A biogeochemical study using hydrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotopes
International audience A growing number of studies strive to examine wooden archaeological remains recovered from Norse sites in the North Atlantic, contributing to a better understanding of patterns in both wood exploitation and woodland management. Despite the limited diversity and abundance of tr...
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Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-03478821 https://hal.science/hal-03478821/document https://hal.science/hal-03478821/file/S0305440321000777.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105407 |
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ftunivparis1:oai:HAL:hal-03478821v1 2024-09-15T18:09:12+00:00 Provenancing wood used in the Norse Greenlandic settlements: A biogeochemical study using hydrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotopes Pinta, Élie Pacheco-Forés, Sofía Wallace, Euan Knudson, Kelly Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1) Archéologie des Amériques (ArchAm) Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Hamline University Memorial University of Newfoundland = Université Memorial de Terre-Neuve St. John's, Canada (MUN) Arizona State University Tempe (ASU) 2021-07 https://hal.science/hal-03478821 https://hal.science/hal-03478821/document https://hal.science/hal-03478821/file/S0305440321000777.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105407 en eng HAL CCSD Elsevier info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105407 hal-03478821 https://hal.science/hal-03478821 https://hal.science/hal-03478821/document https://hal.science/hal-03478821/file/S0305440321000777.pdf doi:10.1016/j.jas.2021.105407 PII: S0305-4403(21)00077-7 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 0305-4403 EISSN: 1095-9238 Journal of Archaeological Science https://hal.science/hal-03478821 Journal of Archaeological Science, 2021, 131, pp.105407. ⟨10.1016/j.jas.2021.105407⟩ [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory [SDU.STU.GC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geochemistry info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2021 ftunivparis1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105407 2024-08-12T23:38:12Z International audience A growing number of studies strive to examine wooden archaeological remains recovered from Norse sites in the North Atlantic, contributing to a better understanding of patterns in both wood exploitation and woodland management. Despite the limited diversity and abundance of trees in the North Atlantic islands, the Medieval Norse kept using wood in most everyday activities including the construction and repair of buildings and boats, the production of artifacts and tools, and as a source of fuel. The proximity of the Greenland settlements with the northeastern American coast, puts them at the forefront in the exploration and exploitation of remote resource regions. While some species may have arrived both as driftwood or imported material, there is currently no method to conclusively identify archaeological wood remains as driftwood. Here, we use biogeochemical analysis of stable hydrogen (δ2H), stable oxygen (δ18O), and radiogenic strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotopes in soil, water, and modern plant samples from various sites in Greenland and Canada to characterize expected local isotopic baselines. While 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios do not provide a clear distinction between the regions of interest, δ2H and δ18O ratios appear to help discriminate not only between regions but also specific sites. In addition, we completed a pilot study of archaeological wood samples obtained in Greenland to test the effectiveness of the 87Sr/86Sr biogeochemical baseline. Results demonstrate that at least in some cases, diagenetic processes were not sufficient to mask a non-local 87Sr/86Sr signature. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland greenlandic North Atlantic Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne: HAL Journal of Archaeological Science 131 105407 |
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collection |
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne: HAL |
op_collection_id |
ftunivparis1 |
language |
English |
topic |
[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory [SDU.STU.GC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geochemistry |
spellingShingle |
[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory [SDU.STU.GC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geochemistry Pinta, Élie Pacheco-Forés, Sofía Wallace, Euan Knudson, Kelly Provenancing wood used in the Norse Greenlandic settlements: A biogeochemical study using hydrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotopes |
topic_facet |
[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory [SDU.STU.GC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geochemistry |
description |
International audience A growing number of studies strive to examine wooden archaeological remains recovered from Norse sites in the North Atlantic, contributing to a better understanding of patterns in both wood exploitation and woodland management. Despite the limited diversity and abundance of trees in the North Atlantic islands, the Medieval Norse kept using wood in most everyday activities including the construction and repair of buildings and boats, the production of artifacts and tools, and as a source of fuel. The proximity of the Greenland settlements with the northeastern American coast, puts them at the forefront in the exploration and exploitation of remote resource regions. While some species may have arrived both as driftwood or imported material, there is currently no method to conclusively identify archaeological wood remains as driftwood. Here, we use biogeochemical analysis of stable hydrogen (δ2H), stable oxygen (δ18O), and radiogenic strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotopes in soil, water, and modern plant samples from various sites in Greenland and Canada to characterize expected local isotopic baselines. While 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios do not provide a clear distinction between the regions of interest, δ2H and δ18O ratios appear to help discriminate not only between regions but also specific sites. In addition, we completed a pilot study of archaeological wood samples obtained in Greenland to test the effectiveness of the 87Sr/86Sr biogeochemical baseline. Results demonstrate that at least in some cases, diagenetic processes were not sufficient to mask a non-local 87Sr/86Sr signature. |
author2 |
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1) Archéologie des Amériques (ArchAm) Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Hamline University Memorial University of Newfoundland = Université Memorial de Terre-Neuve St. John's, Canada (MUN) Arizona State University Tempe (ASU) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pinta, Élie Pacheco-Forés, Sofía Wallace, Euan Knudson, Kelly |
author_facet |
Pinta, Élie Pacheco-Forés, Sofía Wallace, Euan Knudson, Kelly |
author_sort |
Pinta, Élie |
title |
Provenancing wood used in the Norse Greenlandic settlements: A biogeochemical study using hydrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotopes |
title_short |
Provenancing wood used in the Norse Greenlandic settlements: A biogeochemical study using hydrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotopes |
title_full |
Provenancing wood used in the Norse Greenlandic settlements: A biogeochemical study using hydrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotopes |
title_fullStr |
Provenancing wood used in the Norse Greenlandic settlements: A biogeochemical study using hydrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotopes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Provenancing wood used in the Norse Greenlandic settlements: A biogeochemical study using hydrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotopes |
title_sort |
provenancing wood used in the norse greenlandic settlements: a biogeochemical study using hydrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotopes |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-03478821 https://hal.science/hal-03478821/document https://hal.science/hal-03478821/file/S0305440321000777.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105407 |
genre |
Greenland greenlandic North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Greenland greenlandic North Atlantic |
op_source |
ISSN: 0305-4403 EISSN: 1095-9238 Journal of Archaeological Science https://hal.science/hal-03478821 Journal of Archaeological Science, 2021, 131, pp.105407. ⟨10.1016/j.jas.2021.105407⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105407 hal-03478821 https://hal.science/hal-03478821 https://hal.science/hal-03478821/document https://hal.science/hal-03478821/file/S0305440321000777.pdf doi:10.1016/j.jas.2021.105407 PII: S0305-4403(21)00077-7 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105407 |
container_title |
Journal of Archaeological Science |
container_volume |
131 |
container_start_page |
105407 |
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1810446624380420096 |