Desirable teeth: the medieval trade in Arctic and African ivory*
This article examines the Danish archaeologist Else Roesdahl's hypothesis that, by the early fourteenth century, an abundance in Europe of elephant ivory from Africa caused a price drop that edged out walrus ivory, with a devastating economic impact on Norse Greenland that directly contributed...
Published in: | Journal of Global History |
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2009
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1017/s1740022809003155 |
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ftzenodo:oai:zenodo.org:891057 2024-09-15T18:08:48+00:00 Desirable teeth: the medieval trade in Arctic and African ivory* Seaver, Kirsten A. 2009-06-08 https://doi.org/10.1017/s1740022809003155 unknown Zenodo https://doi.org/10.1017/s1740022809003155 oai:zenodo.org:891057 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2009 ftzenodo https://doi.org/10.1017/s1740022809003155 2024-07-27T06:24:17Z This article examines the Danish archaeologist Else Roesdahl's hypothesis that, by the early fourteenth century, an abundance in Europe of elephant ivory from Africa caused a price drop that edged out walrus ivory, with a devastating economic impact on Norse Greenland that directly contributed to the colony's collapse. While it seems clear that artisanal use of walrus ivory decreased from the late fourteenth century onward, and that Greenland exports of walrus ivory decreased in the fourteenth century, evidence for a pre-1500 price drop for African elephant ivory in the European market is lacking. Nor can it be demonstrated that European demand for walrus tusks shrank prior to 1500. Roesdahl's speculations about changes in the ivory trade and their effect on the Norse Greenland colony are therefore open to question as an explanation for the colony's demise. An alternative view is proposed, namely that reduced export of Greenland walrus ivory was initiated by the Greenlanders themselves in response to political and economic changes in the Atlantic and North Sea region, at a time when codfish drew English fishermen and fish merchants ever farther west into the North Atlantic, and that the Greenlanders took part in that westward movement. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland greenlander* North Atlantic walrus* Zenodo Journal of Global History 4 2 271 292 |
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This article examines the Danish archaeologist Else Roesdahl's hypothesis that, by the early fourteenth century, an abundance in Europe of elephant ivory from Africa caused a price drop that edged out walrus ivory, with a devastating economic impact on Norse Greenland that directly contributed to the colony's collapse. While it seems clear that artisanal use of walrus ivory decreased from the late fourteenth century onward, and that Greenland exports of walrus ivory decreased in the fourteenth century, evidence for a pre-1500 price drop for African elephant ivory in the European market is lacking. Nor can it be demonstrated that European demand for walrus tusks shrank prior to 1500. Roesdahl's speculations about changes in the ivory trade and their effect on the Norse Greenland colony are therefore open to question as an explanation for the colony's demise. An alternative view is proposed, namely that reduced export of Greenland walrus ivory was initiated by the Greenlanders themselves in response to political and economic changes in the Atlantic and North Sea region, at a time when codfish drew English fishermen and fish merchants ever farther west into the North Atlantic, and that the Greenlanders took part in that westward movement. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Seaver, Kirsten A. |
spellingShingle |
Seaver, Kirsten A. Desirable teeth: the medieval trade in Arctic and African ivory* |
author_facet |
Seaver, Kirsten A. |
author_sort |
Seaver, Kirsten A. |
title |
Desirable teeth: the medieval trade in Arctic and African ivory* |
title_short |
Desirable teeth: the medieval trade in Arctic and African ivory* |
title_full |
Desirable teeth: the medieval trade in Arctic and African ivory* |
title_fullStr |
Desirable teeth: the medieval trade in Arctic and African ivory* |
title_full_unstemmed |
Desirable teeth: the medieval trade in Arctic and African ivory* |
title_sort |
desirable teeth: the medieval trade in arctic and african ivory* |
publisher |
Zenodo |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s1740022809003155 |
genre |
Greenland greenlander* North Atlantic walrus* |
genre_facet |
Greenland greenlander* North Atlantic walrus* |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s1740022809003155 oai:zenodo.org:891057 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s1740022809003155 |
container_title |
Journal of Global History |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
271 |
op_container_end_page |
292 |
_version_ |
1810446169427410944 |