Identity, Gender, Religion and Economy: New Isotope and Radiocarbon Evidence for Marine Resource Intensification in Early Historic Orkney, Scotland, UK

2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Barrett ◽  
Michael P. Richards
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Viking Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Protein Consumption ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Contingencies ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Fish Trade ◽  
Marine Protein

Stable isotope measurements and radiocarbon dates on 54 burials from northern Scotland document trends in marine protein consumption from the late Iron Age to the end of the Middle Ages. They illuminate how local environmental and cultural contingencies interrelated with a pan-European trend towards more intensive fishing around the end of the first millennium AD. Little use was made of marine foods in late Iron Age Orkney despite its maritime setting. Significant fish consumption appeared in the Viking Age (ninth to eleventh centuries AD), first in the case of some men buried with grave-goods of Scandinavian style but soon among both sexes in ‘Christian’ burials. There was then a peak in marine protein consumption from approximately the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries AD, particularly among men, after which the importance of fish-eating returned to Viking Age levels. The causes of these developments probably entailed a complex relationship between ethnicity, gender, Christian fasting practices, population growth, long-range fish trade and environmental change.

The Iron Age ritual building at Uppåkra, southern Sweden

Antiquity ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (311) ◽  
pp. 11-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Larsson
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Southern Sweden ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
New Directions ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Tall Structure

Six years ago we reported the discovery of a central place at Uppåkra in southern Sweden which promised to be unusually rich and informative (Hårdh 2000). At 40ha it already stood out as the largest concentration of residual phosphate in the whole province of Scania, with surface finds of Roman and late Iron Age metalwork (second-tenth century AD). Following this thorough evaluation, the project moved into its excavation phase which has brought to light several buildings of the first millennium AD, among them one that has proved truly exceptional. Its tall structure and numerous ornamented finds suggest an elaborate timber cult house. This is the first Scandinavian building for which the term ‘temple’ can be justly claimed and it is already sign-posting new directions for the early middle ages in northern Europe.

scholarly journals The excavation of pit circles at Romancamp Gate, Fochabers, Moray, 1990

1994 ◽  
Vol 123 ◽  
pp. 255-268
Author(s):  
Gordon J Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Regional Council ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
First Millennium Bc ◽  
Mesolithic Period

The excavation was undertaken with the funding and support of Grampian Regional Council to test hypotheses relating to the interpretation of cropmark pit circles: were they Neolithic or Bronze Age ceremonial or funerary structures, or were they Iron Age houses, and to what extent could the two classifications be differentiated on aerial photographs? The excavation revealed the remains of four circles (between 8.5 m and 11.5 m in diameter) of large post- holes, fence lines (one with a gate), and many other pits and post-holes. Radiocarbon dates place the post circles late in the first millennium BC uncal. The pit circles may be interpreted as the main structural elements of four substantial round houses, two of which burned down. Flint tools of the Mesolithic period were recovered.

scholarly journals medieval fisheries of Galicia (Northwestern Iberia): A preliminary archaeozoological overview

Archaeofauna ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 155-165
Author(s):  
EUFRASIA ROSELLÓ-IZQUIERDO ◽  
EDUARDO GONZÁLEZ-GÓMEZ DE AGÜERO ◽  
CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ-RODRÍGUEZ ◽  
LAURA LLORENTE-RODRÍGUEZ ◽  
ARTURO MORALES-MUÑIZ
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Fish Remains ◽  
Coastal Deposits ◽  
Fishing Fleets ◽  
Two Kingdoms

The origin and development of the Iberian Medieval fisheries is a poorly documented phenomenon both from the standpoint of historical (documentary) and material (archaeological) evidence. Such dearth of knowledge can be explained in terms of proximal (i.e., a deficient retrieval of fish remains) and ultimate causes. Among the latter, the Muslim invasion, that lasted ca. 800 years of the “medieval millennium” in the Iberian Peninsula, needs to be taken into account as it probably delayed the development of fishing fleets within the Christian kingdoms for a substantial period of time. Be it as it may, the lack of knowledge does not allow one to explore a range of critical issues of Spanish and Portuguese history, such as the role played by the ever-expanding fishing fleets of Portugal and Castilla in the process of maritime discovery and colonization that these two kingdoms fostered by the end of the Middle Ages. In this paper, the results from a comparative analysis of selected fish assemblages from primary (i.e. coastal) deposits of the northern Iberian shores are presented. The aim is to check whether changes can be documented both at the level of (1) the range of species occurring in sites from the late Iron Age (Castreña culture, IV-I BC) to the Late Middle Ages (XV AD), and (2) the skeletal spectra of certain species that could reveal a differential processing of taxa meant for local consumption and those that appear in inland sites.

New Evidence of Human Activities During the Holocene in the Lowland Forests of the Northern Congo Basin

Radiocarbon ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Morin-Rivat ◽  
Adeline Fayolle ◽  
Jean-François Gillet ◽  
Nils Bourland ◽  
Sylvie Gourlet-Fleury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Intermediate Phase ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Bimodal Distribution ◽  
Congo Basin ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Botanical Remains

In the last decade, the myth of the pristine tropical forest has been seriously challenged. In central Africa, there is a growing body of evidence for past human settlements along the Atlantic forests, but very little information is available about human activities further inland. Therefore, this study aimed at determining the temporal and spatial patterns of human activities in an archaeologically unexplored area of 110,000 km2 located in the northern Congo Basin and currently covered by dense forest. Fieldwork involving archaeology as well as archaeobotany was undertaken in 36 sites located in southeastern Cameroon and in the northern Republic of Congo. Evidence of past human activities through either artifacts or charred botanical remains was observed in all excavated test pits across the study area. The set of 43 radiocarbon dates extending from 15,000 BP to the present time showed a bimodal distribution in the Late Holocene, which was interpreted as two phases of human expansion with an intermediate phase of depopulation. The 2300–1300 BP phase is correlated with the migrations of supposed farming populations from northwestern Cameroon. Between 1300 and 670 BP, less material could be dated. This is in agreement with the population collapse already reported for central Africa. Following this, the 670–20 BP phase corresponds to a new period of human expansion known as the Late Iron Age. These results bring new and extensive evidence of human activities in the northern Congo Basin and support the established chronology for human history in central Africa.

scholarly journals Chronology of Prehistoric Cultural Complexes of Sakhalin Island (Russian Far East)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 353-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaroslav V Kuzmin ◽  
Alexander A Vasilevski ◽  
Sergei V Gorbunov ◽  
G S Burr ◽  
A J Timothy Jull ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Russian Far East ◽  
Far East ◽  
Sakhalin Island ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Continuous Sequence ◽  
The Middle Ages

A chronological framework for the prehistoric cultural complexes of Sakhalin Island is presented based on 160 radiocarbon dates from 74 sites. The earliest 14C-dated site, Ogonki 5, corresponds to the Upper Paleolithic, about 19,500–17,800 BP. According to the 14C data, since about 8800 BP, there is a continuous sequence of Neolithic, Early Iron Age, and Medieval complexes. The Neolithic existed during approximately 8800–2800 BP. Transitional Neolithic-Early Iron Age complexes are dated to about 2800–2300 BP. The Early Iron Age may be dated to about 2500–1300 BP. The Middle Ages period is dated to approximately 1300–300 BP (VII–XVII centuries AD).

scholarly journals 14C Dating of the Lime Burial of Cova de Na Dent (Mallorca, Spain): Optimization of the Sample Preparation and Limitations of the Method

Radiocarbon ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark van Strydonck ◽  
Roald Hayen ◽  
Mathieu Boudin ◽  
Tess van den Brande ◽  
Magdalena Salas Burguera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
14C Dating ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
General Belief ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Fossil Carbon ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Analysis Strategy ◽  
Geological Formation

Lime burials are a characteristic phenomenon of the protohistoric funerary tradition on the Balearic Islands. At Cova de Na Dent, six samples, representing the entire stratigraphy of the lime burial, were taken for analysis. The radiocarbon dates suggested that the lowest levels of the burial were Late Bronze Age. This is in contradiction with the general belief that the lime burials are a late Iron Age phenomenon. Therefore, a new analysis strategy is put forward, focusing on the so-called 1st fraction, the first CO2released during the acid lime reaction, which is supposed to be free of fossil carbon. The analysis demonstrates the impossibility to eliminate the fossil carbon fraction completely. This is probably due to the different geological formation of the local limestone deposits (ancient reef barriers) compared to the previous lime burials of Mallorca all coming from mountain areas.14C analysis from a cremation layer without lime at the onset of the lime burial reveals an Iron Age origin of the Cova de Na Dent lime burial.

scholarly journals AMAZONS IN VIKING AGE

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-84
Author(s):  
O. Ye. Fialko
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Viking Age ◽  
Demographic Expansion ◽  
Southern Sweden ◽  
Small Series ◽  
Age Range ◽  
The Military ◽  
Social Level

Amazons are usually associated with the period of the early Iron Age. However, a large number of graves of armed women of the early Middle Ages are known in the territory of Eurasia. In the Scandinavian countries, the period of the 9th — the first half of the 11th centuries was called the «Viking Age». This period is related to the military, commercial and demographic expansion of the Scandinavians. During the archaeological researches, burials of women with weapons were recorded in the cemeteries of Denmark, Norway and Southern Sweden. They constitute a small series of 16 funerary complexes. Typically, the female warriors were buried in individual graves, and only occasionally they were accompanied by a woman or a child. Only in two cases armed man and woman of equal social level were placed in one grave. In the necropolis, the graves of the Amazons are usually localized among the military graves. On the territory of Western Europe, both rites of burial of warriors — inhumation and cremation are registered. The age range of female warriors is quite wide — from 10 to 50—60 years, with the domination of young women. The material complex showed that women’s weapons were intended for both remote (bows and arrows, spears) and close combat (swords, knives, axes). And in this period preference was given to axes. Several graves of female warriors were accompanied by a horse or a set of horse ammunition. This means that women could also fight in the equestrian battles. Based on the range and the number of weapons, the Amazons of the Viking Age mainly were part of the lightly armed units. These women took up arms on a par with men in moments of acute necessity — periods of seizing of new territories or defending their lands from an external enemy.

scholarly journals Neolithic domesticity and other prehistoric anomalies: excavations at Laigh Newton, East Ayrshire

2011 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronan Toolis ◽  
Jo Bacon ◽  
Gillian McSwan ◽  
Ingrid Shearer ◽  
Torben Bjarke Ballin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Charcoal Burning ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Third Millennium ◽  
Third Millennium Bc ◽  
First Millennium

A series of archaeological evaluations and excavations at Laigh Newton in East Ayrshire revealed evidence for intermittent occupation of this valley terrace between the Mesolithic and the Late Iron Age. The plough-truncated archaeology included the remains of a rectangular building and associated features of the mid-late fourth millennium BC, a more ephemeral structure and related pits of the mid third millennium BC, a charcoal-burning pit of the mid-first millennium AD and two other rectilinear structures of indeterminate date.

scholarly journals Ornitofauna from the archaeological sites in Vojvodina (Serbia)

2013 ◽  
pp. 111-118
Author(s):  
Darko Radmanovic ◽  
Desanka Kostic ◽  
Jelena Lujic ◽  
Svetlana Blazic
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Migration Period ◽  
Vertebrate Fauna ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
The Middle Ages

After decades-long vertebrate fauna research, out of 42 archaeological sites in Vojvodina (Serbia) from different periods ranging from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages, remains of birds were registered at 17 sites (4 from the Neolithic, 1 from the Early Iron Age, 7 from the Late Iron Age, 5 from the Roman Period, 1 from the Migration Period, and 4 from the Middle Ages). A total of 14 species and 4 genera were registered for this vertebrate class. The richest ornithofauna is from the Neolithic, where 9 species and 3 genera were registered. The Migration and Medieval periods are next with 4 registered species and one genus each. There were 3 species registered from the Roman Period, and 2 species from the Late Iron Age. The poorest ornitofauna was registered from the Early Iron Age, only one species.

scholarly journals The Odal and its Manifestation in the Landscape

1994 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-238
Author(s):  
Torun Zachrisson
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Viking Age ◽  
Wide Sense ◽  
Narrow Sense ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Individual

The concept odal can be regarded in a narrow sense, i.e. as the inherited landed property of a family. But here it is argued that odal should be viewed in a wide sense - as a mentality that is of great importance to the understanding of Late Iron Age society in Sweden. The article focuses on the material expressions which belonging to a family and possessing a farm could take in the individual farmstead in the Mälar Valley. The Viking Age is interpreted as a time period in which there was a need to make the odal visible. The acts of burying dead relatives on top of the graves of early ancestors, erecting runestones, and possibly also erecting mounds are regarded as ways of guarding, marking, and confirming the possession of the odal in the odal man's own eyes and in his neighbours' and consequently also the odal man's position in society.

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