Crossing the ice: an Iron Age to medieval mountain pass at Lendbreen, Norway

Pilø, Lars; Finstad, Espen; Barrett, James H.

doi:10.15184/aqy.2020.2

Cited by 13 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(52 reference statements)

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“…Observations at Langfonne and other ice patch sites in the region (e.g. Lendbreen and Juvfonne) show that wood, birch bark, bone and antler can nevertheless survive for a long time outside the perennial ice (Ødegård et al, 2017; Pilø et al, 2020). How long has yet to be established empirically, but at least decades and possibly much longer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interpreting archaeological site-formation processes at a mountain ice patch: A case study from Langfonne, Norway

Pilø¹,

Barrett

Eiken

et al. 2020

The Holocene

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In the context of global warming, ice patches are increasingly important foci of high-elevation archaeology. Langfonne in Jotunheimen, central southern Norway, is uniquely suited to provide a window onto site formation processes and taphonomy in this novel archaeological setting. Here the site record from systematic survey includes the largest number of arrows, bones and antlers from a single ice patch worldwide. Combining data from these finds with the results of glaciological investigations provides an opportunity to interpret the influence of archaeological site formation processes and taphonomy on chronological and spatial patterning. It is inferred that the spatial patterning of artefacts at Langfonne is partly a result of displacement by ice movement, meltwater and other natural processes. Nevertheless, the finds yield information regarding past hunting practices and the extent of ice at different times. An early cluster of finds from c.6000 cal yr BP may result from ice deformation which has brought early objects to the surface. The number of arrows increases from c. 1700 cal yr BP onwards, peaking around c.1200 cal yr BP. Artefacts from this period show a wide spatial distribution indicating both the preferential survival of more recent finds and that they were lost when the ice patch was large. Based on comparison with the chronology of natural bone and antler samples from the site, the greater number of finds of this date may also reflect a period of increased hunting.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A few large sites show chronological and/ or spatial patterning of the finds (e.g. Pilø et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interpreting archaeological site-formation processes at a mountain ice patch: A case study from Langfonne, Norway

Pilø¹,

Barrett

Eiken

et al. 2020

The Holocene

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“…Global warming is already causing measurable damage to preservation conditions for organic remains in Greenland (Harmsen et al 2018). The same is true of glaciers around the world: although astonishingly well-preserved artefacts from for example the Lendbreen ice patch in Norway (Pilø, Finstad, and Barrett 2020) are capturing the public imagination via social media, the fact that these are now being found is part of a darker trajectory. Monitoring of conditions (cf.…”

Section: Final Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Editorial: Archaeobotany in the Wider Landscape

Mooney

Seijo

2021

Environmental Archaeology

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“…In particular, potential tipping points during periods of accelerated warming are strong opportunities for raising public awareness. Recent examples are updated investigations of sea-level rise (Kulp and Strauss 2019), the Florida-sized Thwaites Glacier in eastern Antarctica (Aguilera 2019), the Greenland ice sheet (Davis 2020), and, as an illustration of the field of glacial archaeology, the significance of artefacts along a medieval Viking trail in Norway exposed by receding ice (Pilø et al 2020). Clearly, authoritative statements on climate change by associations of geoscientists (e.g.…”

Section: Taking Stockmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropocene: Transdisciplinary Shorthand for Human Disruption of the Earth System

Koster

2020

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Increasingly, deliberations to potentially add the Anthropocene to the Geological Time Scale in recognition of humanity’s environmental impacts and stratigraphic record are attracting interest from non-geological disciplines and the news media. The 35 member Anthropocene Working Group, a constituent body of the International Commission on Stratigraphy, recently concluded that the worldwide fallout of radionuclides from atomic bomb testing in the mid-20th century best defines the base of the Anthropocene. With a search for the optimal ‘golden spike’ locality in progress as a key step toward any ratification by the International Union of Geological Sciences, there are widely held views outside of geological circles that the Anthropocene is already designated as an epoch. Regardless of its eventual formal or informal standing, this article opines that the term Anthropocene has become valuable shorthand for recognizing humanity as the dominant species which, in a geological nanosecond, has extensively detached itself from the Earth System, endangering the future of both. Accordingly, this article urges the entire geological profession to engage with the work of the Anthropocene Working Group and, as the originator of the term, to coalesce its activities with those of other disciplines concerned with environmental health and linked human health challenges. RÉSUMÉDe plus en plus, les délibérations visant à éventuellement ajouter l'Anthropocène à l'échelle du temps géologique en reconnaissance des impacts environnementaux de l'humanité et des données stratigraphiques suscitent l'intérêt des disciplines non géologiques et des médias. Les 35 membres du Groupe de travail sur l'Anthropocène, un organe constitutif de la Commission internationale de stratigraphie, ont récemment conclu que les retombées mondiales des radionucléides résultant des essais de bombes atomiques au milieu du XXe siècle définissent le mieux la base de l'Anthropocène. Avec la recherche de la localité de référence optimale du « clou d'or » en cours comme étape clé vers toute ratification par l'Union internationale des sciences géologiques, il existe des opinions largement partagées en dehors des cercles géologiques selon lesquelles l'Anthropocène est déjà désigné comme une époque. Indépendamment de sa position finale formelle ou informelle, cet article estime que le terme Anthropocène est devenu un raccourci précieux pour reconnaître l'humanité comme l'espèce dominante qui, dans une nanoseconde géologique, s'est largement dissocié du système terrestre, mettant en danger l'avenir des deux. Par conséquent, cet article exhorte l'ensemble de la profession géologique à s'engager dans les travaux du Groupe de travail sur l'Anthropocène et, en tant que créateur du terme, à fusionner ses activités avec celles d'autres disciplines concernées par la santé environnementale et les défis liés à la santé humaine.

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Crossing the ice: an Iron Age to medieval mountain pass at Lendbreen, Norway

Cited by 13 publications

References 29 publications

Interpreting archaeological site-formation processes at a mountain ice patch: A case study from Langfonne, Norway

Interpreting archaeological site-formation processes at a mountain ice patch: A case study from Langfonne, Norway

Editorial: Archaeobotany in the Wider Landscape

Anthropocene: Transdisciplinary Shorthand for Human Disruption of the Earth System

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