High resolution paleoenvironmental and chronological investigations of Norselandnámat Tasiusaq, Eastern Settlement, Greenland

Abstract

High-resolution paleoenvironmental data from a peat profile with a small pollen source area are used to reconstruct the impacts oflandnámon vegetation and soils at a Norse farm complex (∅2 at Tasiusaq) comprising two farms in the Eastern Settlement of Greenland. Analyses include the AMS14C dating of plant macrofossil samples and the use of Bayesian radiocarbon calibration to construct improved age–depth models for Norse cultural horizons. The onset of a regionallandnámmay be indicated by the clearance ofBetula pubescenswoodland immediately prior to local settlement. The latter is dated to AD 950–1020 (2σ) and is characterised by possible burning ofBetula glandulosascrub to provide grassland pasture for domestic stock. Clearance and grazing resulted in accelerated levels of soil erosion at a westerly farm. This was followed by an easterly migration of settlement and agriculture. Site constraints prevent an assessment of the demise of the easterly farm, but pressures of overgrazing and land degradation may have been the major factors responsible for the abandonment of the earlier farm.

Norse–Inuit interaction and landscape change in southern Greenland? A geochronological, Pedological, and Palynological investigation

“…A.D. 1220-1290 onward). In this respect they bear comparability with the patterns seen at other farm sites in the Norse Eastern Settlement (Fredskild 1973(Fredskild , 1978(Fredskild , 1988Edwards, Schofield, & Mauquoy, 2008;Schofield, Edwards, & Christensen, 2008). A point of departure for Sandhavn lies in the signal for Rumex acetosella, which is absent during the settlement period (SAN-2) and extremely sparse thereafter.…”

“…Perhaps surprising by its absence, however, is pollen from Rumex acetosella (sheep's sorrel), which only emerges in trace amounts in subsequent assemblage zones (SAN-3 and -4). The appearance and expansion of R. acetosella following landnám is a prominent feature in many other pollen diagrams published from Norse Greenland (e.g., Iversen, 1934;Fredskild, 1973;Edwards, Schofield, & Mauquoy, 2008), although this may be less characteristic of more southerly and coastal areas.…”

“…Recent paleoecological studies demonstrate the clear impact of Norse landnám and European-style farming on the vegetation and landscape of southwest Greenland (Buckland et al, 2008(Buckland et al, , 2009Edwards, Schofield, & Mauquoy, 2008;Schofield, Edwards, & Christensen, 2008), yet the nature and extent of soil and archaeological sediment modification associated with Norse settlement has still to be systematically determined. Thus far, soils-based studies have largely focused on factors affecting Norse agricultural production such as home-field irrigation requirements (Adderley & Simpson, 2006) and human-induced soil erosion (Jacobsen & Jakobsen, 1986).…”

Climate changes, lead pollution and soil erosion in south Greenland over the past 700 years

“…This pattern reflects the Norse abandonment at Sandhavn (Golding et al, 2011), occurring at approximately the same time as many other farms across the Eastern Settlement were also falling into disuse Ledger et al, 2014). A number of other studies from the Eastern Settlement of Greenland have produced convincing evidence for an increase in soil erosion following Norse landnám on the basis of rising mineral content in peat or lake sediments (e.g., Sandgren and Fredskild, 1991;Fredskild, 1992;Edwards et al, 2008;Massa et al, 2012). At Sandhavn, the concentrations of lithogenic elements remain low throughout the LIA and show little variation until~AD 1900.…”

Towards a First Chronology for the Middle Settlement of Norse Greenland: 14C and Related Studies of Animal Bone and Environmental Material

“…Ingstad 1966;Fitzhugh and Ward 2000;Edwards et al 2008;Schofield and Edwards 2011;Massa et al 2012). The Eastern Settlement is in the extreme south of Greenland, a sea journey of some 600 km from its "western" partner.…”