wood resource management in norse greenland
TRANSCRIPT
Wood resource management in Norse Greenland-
Study of every-day life artefacts from the Western Settlement
Élie PINTAPhD student, Universite Paris 1 Panthe on-Sorbonne
The Changing Arctic - Arctic Heritage and TourismNuuk, Greenland, Septembre 14, 2016
Wood - a key material for Scandinavian and Norse societies
● Mainland Scandinavia is characterized by large forests of both coniferous and deciduous trees
● Wood is a « mythical » material
● Used in almost all everyday life activities Wood workshop, 9th century, Lofotr Museum, Norway
Boreal forest, photo E. Pinta
Yggdrasil, artwork by A. Jorn, 2015
Origins of wood supplies available to the Norse in Greenland
Shrubs in Qinngua Valley, Greenland
● Locally collected wood : driftwood and native wood from Greenland
● Imported wood or timber : from America (Labrador-Markland) and Europe
Skudelev 1 (knarr), 9th century, Photo, E. PintaLabrador forest, Parks Canada
Driftwood in Greenland, Scoresbysound (Hellman et al. 2015)
The most northern and eastern settlements of the Scandinavian world
870
985
1000
~1400
~1450
860
Decline Western Settlement
Decline Eastern Settlement
Landnam New foundland
Landnam Greenland
Landnam IcelandLandnam Faroe Islands
Desertion New foundland~1050
A.D.
Gokstad ship, 9th century,T. SPIEGEL
Location of the Norse Greenland Settlements
NunaGis, modified, E. PINTA
Sandnes, one the of numerous farm in the Western Settlement
NunaGis, modified, E. PINTABeach edges in the 1930's
Church and cimeteryChurch and cimetery
Stables
« Anatomy » of a stave-built container
Stave(118 analysed)
Lid(8 analysed)
Stopper/bung(3 analysed)
Bottom(28 analysed)
All scales at 5cm
(reconstitution and drawings from VSM, Roskilde)
Stave-built containers are used for everyday life activities
Picea sp. - Spruce (X600)Radial section
Larix sp. - Larch (X600)Radial section
Pinus strobus – White pine (X600)Radial section
Juniperus communis – Common juniper (X400)Radial section
Looking at the wood under the microscope...
Wood identification results (n =228)
84 %
4%12 %
Composite and « single piece » handle-staves
All scales at 5cm
Decorations and runic inscriptions
Drawing by L. Imer
All scales at 5cm
Fragments of inscription
Intricate curves and trianglesChristian symbol
Concentric circles
« Tracing the origins of Arctic driftwood »
From Hellmann et al., 2013, « Tracing the origins of Arctic driftwood »
Origins of wood supplies available to the Norse in Greenland
Local wood
Localy growth timber
Origins of wood supplies available to the Norse in Greenland
Local wood
Localy growth timber
Driftwood
Origins of wood supplies available to the Norse in Greenland
Local wood
Imported wood
Localy growth timber
Driftwood
Origins of wood supplies available to the Norse in Greenland
Local wood
Imported wood
Localy growth timber
Driftwood
From Europe
Finished objectsor raw material
Origins of wood supplies available to the Norse in Greenland
Local wood
Imported wood
Localy growth timber
Driftwood
From Europe
Finished objectsor raw material
Reuse of ship parts or wrecks
Origins of wood supplies available to the Norse in Greenland
Local wood
Imported wood
Localy growth timber
Driftwood
From Europe
From Markland and North American forests
Finished objectsor raw material
Reuse of ship parts or wrecks
Acknowledgments
Dr Claire ALIX (Universite Paris 1 Panthe on-Sorbonne / CNRS UMR 8096)
Dr Jette ARNEBORG (Nationalmuseet - Senior researcher – Middle Ages, Renaissance and Numismatics)
Claudia BAITTINGER (Nationalmuseet – Curator – Environmental Archaeology and Materials Sciences)
At the National Museum & Archives (Nuuk, Greenland), Bo ALBRECHTSEN, Christian K. MADSEN et Michael NIELSEN
At the Maison de l'Arche ologie et de l'Ethnologie (Nanterre, France), Alexandra LEGRAND-PINEAU for the use of the microscopes at the SIMO laboratory
And also Konrad SMIAROWSKI for the next step of this study...
Financial supports :This research benefited from funds of the Chaire d'Excellence CNRS/Universite Paris 1 Panthe on-Sorbonne, « Arche ologie des Ame riques », awarded to C. ALIX (2009-2014)
The Dagmar & Joseph Samson Foundation
Doctoral school in Archaeology (ED 112) of the Universite Paris 1 Panthe on-Sorbonne
Thank you for your attention
Qinngua Valley, Greenland