Norse–Inuit interaction and landscape change in southern Greenland. A geochronological, pedological and palynological investigation

• Published in: Geoarchaeology
• Main Authors: Golding, Kirsty A, Simpson, Ian, Schofield, J Edward, Edwards, Kevin J
• Other Authors: University of Stirling, NS Management and Support, University of Aberdeen, orcid:0000-0003-2447-7877
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2011
• Subjects: Greenland; inuit; Thule; Thule culture
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/19680; https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.20351; http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/19680/1/Geoarch%202011.pdf

Ruins representing both medieval Norse and Inuit (Thule culture) settlements can be found together on the coast at Sandhavn (59°59′ N, 44°46′ W), Greenland. The site presents a rare opportunity to investigate the character of past contact and interaction between these two peoples. Soils-based, radiocarbon, and palynological analyses demonstrate the creation of hortic anthrosols within Norse home-fields used between the mid-11th and late 14th centuries A.D. Irrigation channels have been identified within the home-fields, while rising grass pollen influx reveals intensification in hay production over the period ca. A.D. 1260-1350 despite climatic deterioration setting in around this time. Floor deposits and wall packing from an Inuit winter house returned dates of cal. A.D. 1220-1290 (2σ), yet no direct landscape-based evidence for Inuit activity could be determined. Although the exact nature of the relationship between Norse and Thule at Sandhavn remains unclear, the role of this site as a harbor and possible trading area may have attracted Inuit settlers keen to participate in European trade networks.