Europeanization of sub-Arctic environments: perspectives from Norse Greenland’s outer fjords

Europeanization of sub-Arctic environments by Norse communities in Greenland, from the early 11th to mid 15th centuries AD, varied spatially and temporally, with pastoral agriculture and associated homefield management at the heart of this transformation. This process is poorly understood for the ou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human Ecology
Main Authors: Golding, Kirsty A, Simpson, Ian, Wilson, Clare, Lowe, Emily C, Schofield, J Edward, Edwards, Kevin J
Other Authors: The Leverhulme Trust, University of Stirling, Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, orcid:0000-0003-2447-7877, orcid:0000-0002-0287-8576
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1893/21750
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-014-9708-y
http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/21750/1/Hum%20Ecol_2015.pdf
Description
Summary:Europeanization of sub-Arctic environments by Norse communities in Greenland, from the early 11th to mid 15th centuries AD, varied spatially and temporally, with pastoral agriculture and associated homefield management at the heart of this transformation. This process is poorly understood for the outer fjord areas of Norse Greenland and from this locality we contribute a homefield soils and sediments-based analysis. Our findings identify a recipe effect - the partitioning of turf, domestic animal manure and domestic waste resources used to manage soil fertility, field irrigation channels and the effects of eroded material deposition in the homefield. These management practices increased soil macro-nutrient status relative to pre-settlement concentration in some areas of the homefield whilst macro-nutrient concentrations in other areas of the homefield were allowed to decline. We suggest that where resources were limited, sustainable intensification could only be achieved in some areas of the homefield with other areas managed unsustainably.