Late Iron Age Whaling in Scandinavia
The use of marine mammal bone as a raw material in the manufacturing of gaming pieces in the Scandinavian late Iron Age has been observed and discussed in recent years. New empirical studies have created a chronology as well as a typology showing how the design of the gaming pieces is tightly connec...
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Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia
2023
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ftuppsalauniv:oai:DiVA.org:uu-491226 2023-06-11T04:11:30+02:00 Late Iron Age Whaling in Scandinavia Hennius, Andreas Ljungkvist, John Ashby, Steven Christensen, Tom Presslee, Samantha Peets, Jyri Maldre, Liina Gustavsson, Rudolf Hagan, Richard 2023 application/pdf http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-491226 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11457-022-09349-w eng eng Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia Uppsala universitet, Arkeologi International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 1057-2414, 2023, 18:1, s. 1-22 orcid:0000-0003-3318-4574 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-491226 doi:10.1007/s11457-022-09349-w ISI:000900801500001 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Whales gaming pieces whaling viking age Archaeology Arkeologi Article in journal info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2023 ftuppsalauniv https://doi.org/10.1007/s11457-022-09349-w 2023-05-31T22:30:47Z The use of marine mammal bone as a raw material in the manufacturing of gaming pieces in the Scandinavian late Iron Age has been observed and discussed in recent years. New empirical studies have created a chronology as well as a typology showing how the design of the gaming pieces is tightly connected to different choices of raw material; from antler in the Roman and Migration periods, to whale bone in the sixth century, and walrus in the tenth century. Macroscopic examination can, however, rarely go beyond determining that the material is ‘cetacean bone’. The following article presents the taxonomic identifications of 68 samples of whale bone gaming pieces, determined using Zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry analysis. The results demonstrate the consistent use of bones from Balaenidae sp. most probably the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis). This paper presents strong evidence for active, large-scale hunting of whales in Scandinavia, starting in the sixth century. The manufacture of gaming pieces was probably not the driver for the hunt, but merely a by-product that has survived in the archaeological record. Of greater importance were probably baleen, meat, and blubber that could be rendered into oil. This oil might have been an additional trading product in the far-reaching trade networks that were developing during the period. This study supports previous studies suggesting that Iron Age and medieval trade and resource exploitation had a much more severe influence on ecosystems than previously expected. It adds additional insights into anthropogenic impact on mammal populations in prehistory. Viking phenomenon project Article in Journal/Newspaper Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale walrus* Uppsala University: Publications (DiVA) Journal of Maritime Archaeology 18 1 1 22 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Uppsala University: Publications (DiVA) |
op_collection_id |
ftuppsalauniv |
language |
English |
topic |
Whales gaming pieces whaling viking age Archaeology Arkeologi |
spellingShingle |
Whales gaming pieces whaling viking age Archaeology Arkeologi Hennius, Andreas Ljungkvist, John Ashby, Steven Christensen, Tom Presslee, Samantha Peets, Jyri Maldre, Liina Gustavsson, Rudolf Hagan, Richard Late Iron Age Whaling in Scandinavia |
topic_facet |
Whales gaming pieces whaling viking age Archaeology Arkeologi |
description |
The use of marine mammal bone as a raw material in the manufacturing of gaming pieces in the Scandinavian late Iron Age has been observed and discussed in recent years. New empirical studies have created a chronology as well as a typology showing how the design of the gaming pieces is tightly connected to different choices of raw material; from antler in the Roman and Migration periods, to whale bone in the sixth century, and walrus in the tenth century. Macroscopic examination can, however, rarely go beyond determining that the material is ‘cetacean bone’. The following article presents the taxonomic identifications of 68 samples of whale bone gaming pieces, determined using Zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry analysis. The results demonstrate the consistent use of bones from Balaenidae sp. most probably the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis). This paper presents strong evidence for active, large-scale hunting of whales in Scandinavia, starting in the sixth century. The manufacture of gaming pieces was probably not the driver for the hunt, but merely a by-product that has survived in the archaeological record. Of greater importance were probably baleen, meat, and blubber that could be rendered into oil. This oil might have been an additional trading product in the far-reaching trade networks that were developing during the period. This study supports previous studies suggesting that Iron Age and medieval trade and resource exploitation had a much more severe influence on ecosystems than previously expected. It adds additional insights into anthropogenic impact on mammal populations in prehistory. Viking phenomenon project |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hennius, Andreas Ljungkvist, John Ashby, Steven Christensen, Tom Presslee, Samantha Peets, Jyri Maldre, Liina Gustavsson, Rudolf Hagan, Richard |
author_facet |
Hennius, Andreas Ljungkvist, John Ashby, Steven Christensen, Tom Presslee, Samantha Peets, Jyri Maldre, Liina Gustavsson, Rudolf Hagan, Richard |
author_sort |
Hennius, Andreas |
title |
Late Iron Age Whaling in Scandinavia |
title_short |
Late Iron Age Whaling in Scandinavia |
title_full |
Late Iron Age Whaling in Scandinavia |
title_fullStr |
Late Iron Age Whaling in Scandinavia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Late Iron Age Whaling in Scandinavia |
title_sort |
late iron age whaling in scandinavia |
publisher |
Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-491226 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11457-022-09349-w |
genre |
Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale walrus* |
genre_facet |
Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale walrus* |
op_relation |
International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 1057-2414, 2023, 18:1, s. 1-22 orcid:0000-0003-3318-4574 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-491226 doi:10.1007/s11457-022-09349-w ISI:000900801500001 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11457-022-09349-w |
container_title |
Journal of Maritime Archaeology |
container_volume |
18 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
22 |
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1768386624168656896 |