{"title":"Central Places in a Rural Archaeological Landscape","authors":"M. Comber","doi":"10.3721/037.006.3601","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3721/037.006.3601","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Archaeological survey in western Ireland has identified the existence of clusters of activity within the mapped landscapes of the 5th to 12th centuries A.D. Exploring this further, it is possible to identify elements characteristic of such clusters, and discuss the possible significance of such places. The basics of German geographer Walter Christallers Central Place Theory provide an interesting analytical tool in this regard. Although a spatial theory developed in the study of urban geography, some elements of Christaller's work have been applied to urban archaeological landscapes in recent times. Their application in the rural ringfort landscapes of western Ireland proves an interesting exercise, one that suggests that Central Places also existed in more dispersed, rural communities in Early Medieval Ireland.","PeriodicalId":38506,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the North Atlantic","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76924520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Piper, Rosie R. Bishop, P. Rowley-Conwy, Lorne Elliott, M. Church
{"title":"Fire in the Moor: Mesolithic Carbonised Remains in Riverine Deposits at Gleann Mor Barabhais, Lewis, Western Isles of Scotland","authors":"S. Piper, Rosie R. Bishop, P. Rowley-Conwy, Lorne Elliott, M. Church","doi":"10.3721/037.006.3501","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3721/037.006.3501","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper presents the results of a palaeoenvironmental investigation of riverine deposits containing charred heathland plant material, recovered during an archaeological survey of Gleann Mor Barabhais, Lewis, Western Isles of Scotland. This survey was conducted to identify Mesolithic occupation in the interior of the island and was undertaken as part of a wider project investigating the Mesolithic of the Western Isles. The recovery of carbonised material of Mesolithic date is discussed in light of the long-standing debate on detecting hunter-gatherer impact on environments using palaeoenvironmental records. The findings are compared to regional pollen sequences, where peaks in micro-charcoal levels and associated reductions in arboreal pollen are interpreted as evidence for anthropogenic fire ecology. These have been identified in areas where archaeological evidence for human occupation is absent. It is argued that this site reflects deliberate burning of vegetation by humans, most likely a small hearth, and therefore represents the first direct inferred evidence for the Mesolithic in the interior of the Western Isles.","PeriodicalId":38506,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the North Atlantic","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84069725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Taming the Waterways: The Europeanization of Southern Québec's Riverside Landscapes During the 16th–18th Centuries","authors":"G. King, T. Muller","doi":"10.3721/037.006.3401","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3721/037.006.3401","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract \u0000 The arrival of Europeans in the New World effected the interaction of 2 temperate biogeographical eco-zones: the Palaearctic and Nearctic. Alfred Crosby has hypothesized that the success of the Europeans as imperialists was due, in part, to the ability of their introduced biota to bring about the collapse of the indigenous populations and local ecosystems, leading to the formation of Neo-European eco-spaces. Through a comparison of paleontological and environmental archaeological data from southern Québec, Canada, we examined Crosby's ecological imperialism model and assessed the biological impact of colonialism on the physical landscape during the 16th to early 18th centuries. The Intendant's Palace site in Québec City is employed as a case study and diachronically contextualized with data from contemporaneous sites in the region. The Europeanization of the landscape as a result of settlement construction, subsistence, and commodification was evidenced through signs of deforestation as well as the arrival of socioeconomic taxa. The biological transfer of European species did not appear to herald the collapse of local ecosystems but rather the establishment of an ecological melting pot along the early colonial waterways of southern Québec.","PeriodicalId":38506,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the North Atlantic","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82240493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Peopling of the North Atlantic: Isotopic Results from Iceland","authors":"T. Price, H. Gestsdóttir","doi":"10.3721/037.002.0sp712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3721/037.002.0sp712","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Iceland was colonized by settlers from the North Atlantic rim of Europe near the end of the first millennium AD. This ws a remarkable achievement and the subject of much discussion. Historical documents, the Sagas, suggest that the settlers came from western Norway and all arrived within a brief period after which no further settlement took place. Genetic data, both modern and ancient, suggests that the settlers came from several places in Scandinavia and the northern British Isles and Ireland. We have used isotopic proveniencing, focusing on strontium, oxygen, and carbon in tooth enamel from early burials on Iceland to examine questions of place of origin. We have dated a number of these burials to discuss questions of the timing and pace of arrivals. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in bone collagen were measured along with the radiocarbon date. Our data indicate that the settlers came from several different places, that settlement continued until around AD 1000 and stopped around the time of the transition to Christianity. We can also suggest that there was movement in both directions across the Atlantic. Changes in diet are suggested with greater consumption of marine foods over time. Some differences in diet are also related to the location of settlement, whether coastal or inland.","PeriodicalId":38506,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the North Atlantic","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87190859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Peopling of the North Atlantic: Isotopic Results from Greenland","authors":"T. Price, J. Arneborg","doi":"10.3721/037.002.0sp713","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3721/037.002.0sp713","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This discussion of the isotopic analyses of human samples from Greenland begins with a review of the colonization of the island and a description of the sites and the samples that were collected for analysis. In addition, a brief consideration of the geology and bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr is provided. The analysis of the human data from Greenland follows an introduction to the variation present and observable differences between the Eastern and Western Settlements. Specific sites on Greenland are discussed in some detail in terms of the isotopic data that is available. A summary of dietary and mobility estimates is provided. Non-local individuals are identified and in some cases suggestions of place of origin are made. It is important to remember that Greenland was settled later than Iceland and all the Norse graves are from the Christian period, meaning burial in churchyards with few if any grave goods.","PeriodicalId":38506,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the North Atlantic","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81743326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Norse Penny Reconsidered: The Goddard Coin—Hoax or Genuine?","authors":"Svein H. Gullbekk","doi":"10.3721/037.006.3301","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3721/037.006.3301","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The discovery of a Norwegian Viking penny on 18 August 1957, at Naskeag Point, the prehistoric Native American settlement close to Blue Hill Bay, Brooklin, Hancock County, ME, USA (also known as the “Goddard site”), has long been regarded as material evidence for contact between the continents and cultures of North America and Europe during the Viking Age. More recently, however, the veracity and validity of this find have been called into question. To this end, this article considers the penny's numismatic and archaeological context, and engages with the debate from a Norwegian perspective. There is little doubt that the coin is a genuine Viking penny, struck during the reign of Olaf the Peaceful (the epithet is Kyrre in Norwegian, 1067–1093); what is more complex, however, is whether the discovery constitutes a genuine find or an elaborate hoax. In assessing the evidence, this article considers the penny's appearance and its relationship to other Norwegian coin finds, both registered and unregistered, and within Norway and further afield. Accounting for the remarkable and exceptional nature of the find, this article concludes that both the penny and its modern archaeological and numismatic context offer plausible evidence that this find is genuine.","PeriodicalId":38506,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the North Atlantic","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87499072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mid-Late Holocene Vegetational History and Land-Use Dynamics in County Monaghan, Northeastern Ireland—The Palynological Record of Lough Muckno","authors":"C. Chique, Karen Molloy, A. Potito","doi":"10.3721/037.006.3201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3721/037.006.3201","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract \u0000 We conducted high-resolution palynological analysis on a sediment core obtained from Lough Muckno, County Monaghan, Ireland. The results presented represent the first paleoecological account of Mid-Late Holocene vegetational change and land-use dynamics in the study region. Human activity and agriculture is first recorded during the Early Neolithic (ca. 3870–3500 B.C.). After a period of undiscernible human activity of ∼900 years, farming resumes during the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2600 B.C.). Henceforth, human presence on the landscape is constant with fluctuating levels of intensity. During the Bronze Age, anthropogenic activity is most pronounced during ca. 2000–1750 B.C. and ca. 1500–1300 B.C. followed by a phase of reduced intensity in the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1000–650 B.C.). Farming activity increases during the Iron Age and is disrupted with the onset of a period of rapid woodland regeneration from ca. 200 B.C. to A.D. 200. During the prehistorical period agriculture has a strong focus on pastoral grazing with a limited arable component. An upsurge in agricultural activity is recorded in the historical period from ca. A.D. 400 in which a mixed agricultural economy placing more emphasis on cereal-crop cultivation is adopted. Arable farming attains its maximum levels ca. A.D. 990–1140. Evidence of farming disruptions in the pollen record may reflect of a period of local “conflict” during the Viking Age/Medieval period (ca. A.D. 800–1190). We explore the characterizing features of the pollen assemblage of this large lake system and its use in reconstructing past cultural landscape change.","PeriodicalId":38506,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the North Atlantic","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88719052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Roque Island Archaeological Project, Maine, USA: Methodologies and Results","authors":"William R. Belcher, D. Sanger","doi":"10.3721/037.002.sp1013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3721/037.002.sp1013","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract \u0000 Between the early 1970s and to the mid-1990s, David Sanger was largely responsible for a series of large-scale regional survey and excavation projects throughout Passamaquoddy Bay (New Brunswick) and the central/Downeast coasts of Maine. While resulting in an important understanding of the paleoenvironment and prehistoric/historic resource exploitation along the Gulf of Maine, these projects also allowed the development of a unified analytical strategy for the excavation of shell middens using column sampling, documentation, and excavation protocols, as well as sediment analysis and classification. This strategy is detailed below along with a summary of excavations from the Great Spruce Island site (61-17) in the Roque Island Archipelago, Downeast region, ME, USA. Pre-European occupation at this specific site ranges from before 3000 years B.P. to ca. 400 years B.P.","PeriodicalId":38506,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the North Atlantic","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78171256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introduction: North American East Coast Shell Middens","authors":"Matthew w. Betts, M. G. Hrynick","doi":"10.3721/037.002.sp1012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3721/037.002.sp1012","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Archaeological shell bearing deposits, or shell middens, are ubiquitous along the Atlantic Seaboard, and have been the focus of archaeological interest for more than a century. This volume presents recent research on shell-bearing deposits from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Chesapeake Bay. The papers cover topics ranging from fundamental subsistence changes as reflected in archaeofaunas, to the role of select species in hunting practices and diets, to methodological issues of shell midden excavation and interpretation, to aspects of ideation and ontology as reflected in features and assemblages. A consistent theme among the papers is the issue of coastal erosion caused by sea-level rise and climate change. This looming crisis has made the comprehensive investigation of these deposits more important than ever before.","PeriodicalId":38506,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the North Atlantic","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79910916","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
T. Rick, Leslie A. Reeder-Myers, M. J. Carr, A. Hines
{"title":"3000 Years of Human Subsistence and Estuarine Resource Exploitation on the Rhode River Estuary, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland","authors":"T. Rick, Leslie A. Reeder-Myers, M. J. Carr, A. Hines","doi":"10.3721/037.002.sp1011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3721/037.002.sp1011","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract \u0000 Chesapeake Bay is home to highly productive marine ecosystems that were a key part of Native American subsistence for millennia. Despite a number of archaeological projects focused on Chesapeake Bay prehistory, key questions remain about the nature of human use of the estuary through time and across space. Recent work at 7 shell middens on the Rhode River Estuary, MD, provides insight into human subsistence and estuarine res ource exploitation from ∼3200 years ago through the mid-19th century. This is an important diachronic sequence of coastal land use and subsistence for the Chesapeake and helps fill a gap in our understanding of coastal adaptations along North America's Atlantic Coast. Despite climate change, fluctuating sea levels, and the likely appearance of maize agriculture in the area ∼1000 years ago, Native American exploitation of oysters and estuarine resources remained fairly consistent across the Early to Late Woodland. These data stand in contrast to the mid-1800s assemblage, which was likely deposited by 19th-century Euro-Americans and contains overall larger oysters perhaps obtained from deeper waters that may not have been a focus of Native American harvest. When placed in the context of other regional data, our analysis illustrates the value of shell middens for helping understand human subsistence strategies and the historical ecol ogy of the North American Atlantic Coast.","PeriodicalId":38506,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the North Atlantic","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77466203","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}