scholarly journals Identification of Bird Species Used to Make a Viking Age Feather Pillow

ARCTIC ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla J. Dove ◽  
Stephen Wickler
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Microscopic Analysis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Great Cormorant ◽  
Viking Age ◽  
Phalacrocorax Carbo ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Wool Textile ◽  
Level Identification

A grave containing the remains of a wooden boat was discovered in 1934 under a low mound in a bog at Øksnes in the Vesterålen islands of northern Norway. The boat grave dates to the 10th century in the Viking Age, and grave goods placed in the boat include an iron axe, a cowhide in which the body was wrapped, and pillow remains consisting of feather stuffing and a wool textile cover. A microscopic analysis of the feathers from a subsample of the pillow fill identified three avian orders: Anseriformes (eider); Suliformes (cormorant), and Charadriiformes (unspecified gull). It was possible to make one species-level identification of Great Cormorant (<em>Phalacrocorax carbo</em>) and to narrow the gull types to the “white-headed” gull group. The sample was composed of a nearly equal mix of downy and pennaceous feather types. Downy feathers from gulls (Laridae) composed the majority of the material in this sample. While it is reported that feathers and down (assumed to be eider) were used in the Late Iron Age, this is the first successful attempt to identify bird species used in these materials and suggests that avian species identifications should be explored in other such burial items to enhance our understanding of human-wildlife interactions throughout Norse history.

scholarly journals Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) predation on pikeperch (Sander lucioperca L.) in shallow eutrophic lakes in Poland

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Traczuk ◽  
Andrzej Kapusta
Keyword(s):  
Length Distribution ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Fish Populations ◽  
Great Cormorant ◽  
Phalacrocorax Carbo ◽  
Sander Lucioperca ◽  
Eutrophic Lakes ◽  
Breeding Colony ◽  
Great Cormorants

AbstractIncreases in the population abundance of the piscivorous great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) has led to conflicts with fisheries. Cormorants are blamed for decreased fish catches in many lakes in Poland. The aim of this paper is to describe to role of pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) in the diet of cormorants nesting in a colony on the island in Lake Warnołty. Since the breeding colony is located in the vicinity of Lake OEniardwy, the largest lake in Poland, the cormorants use the resources in this lake. In 2009-2016, 18,432 regurgitated fish were collected, of which 593 were pikeperch. The share of pikeperch among fish collected in 2009-2012 did not exceed 2%, but from 2013 this increased substantially to maximum of 38.2% in 2015. The smallest pikeperch had a standard length of 8.4 cm, and the largest 42.5 cm. Pikeperch mean length differed by year, and the length distribution was close to normal. The sizes of the regurgitated pikeperch indicate that cormorants prey almost exclusively on juvenile specimens. The results of the present study indicate that cormorant predation has a significant impact on pikeperch populations in lakes in the vicinity of the colony, and the great cormorants are possibly a significant factor in the effectiveness of pikeperch management. When planning for the management of fish populations in lakes subjected to cormorant predation pressure, it should be borne in mind that predation by this piscivorous bird species impacts the abundance and size-age structure of fish populations.

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.

scholarly journals Recent data about the fish consumption of great Cormorant in the area of Hortobágy Fish Farm Co

2015 ◽  
pp. 75-80
Author(s):  
Norbert Tóth ◽  
Péter Gyüre ◽  
Péter Juhász ◽  
Lajos Juhász
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Fish Farm ◽  
Great Cormorant ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Phalacrocorax Carbo ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Preventive Methods ◽  
Near Future

The cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is a bird species that nests sporadically but in colonies, besides larger fishponds and rivers in Hungary. The number of its individuals has been increasing during the last two decades. The species eats solely fish, therefore it can cause serious depredation of the fish stocks in fishponds of intensive system and after the freezing of the ponds, in larger rivers, which are not yet frozen. The aim of our research was to reveal the damages the birds can cause on the studied areas and the extent of the losses the Hortobágy Fish Farm Co. has to realize. Our studies were carried out between April 2012 and November 2014. During cleaning, the investigation of the craw contents of the birds and their biometric studies were conducted. The results revealed the diverse food base of the species. In the samples, we have determined 379 fish individuals; in 368 cases, the exact fish species were determined, too. Significant differences were found between the consumed fish species rations of the units (P=0.05% beside). We have also found significant difference in the fish consumptions of adult males and females. Under the ever harder fish production conditions, the presence and thus the permanent predation of the birds affect the fishermen. In favour of maintaining ecological balance as well as to hold the income of the fish farmers, elaboration of adequate protective and preventive methods will be needed in near future.

scholarly journals Fish consumption of the great cormorant in the area of Hortobágy Fish Farm

2014 ◽  
pp. 81-84
Author(s):  
Norbert Tóth ◽  
Péter Gyüre ◽  
Lajos Juhász
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Fish Farm ◽  
Great Cormorant ◽  
Phalacrocorax Carbo ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Nature Preservation ◽  
Near Future ◽  
The Given ◽  
Intensive System

The cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is a bird species that nests sporadically but in colonies, besides larger fishponds and rivers in Hungary. The number of its individuals has been increasing during the last two decades. The species eats solely fish, therefore it can cause serious depredation of the fish stocks in fishponds of intensive system and after the freezing of the ponds, in larger rivers, which are not yet frozen. The aim of our research is to reveal the damages the birds can cause on the studied areas and the extent of the losses the Hortobágy Fish Farm Co. has to realize. Our studies were carried out between April 2012 and November 2013. During cleaning, the investigation of the crop contents of the birds and their biometric studies were conducted. The results revealed the diverse nutrition base of the species. In the samples, we have determined 300 identified fish individuals; in 289 cases, the exact fish species were determined, too. Although statistical differences were found between the given pond unit and the consuming of the corresponding fish species (P=0.05% beside), this cannot be considered as absolutely certain. Our investigation is of considerable significance in terms of nature preservation and not least, it has substantial financial concerns too. Under the ever harder fish production conditions, the presence and thus the permanent nutrition of the bird affect the fishermen. In favour of the maintaining of the natural ecological balance and the income of the fishers, the elaboration of adequate protective and efficient preventive processes will be necessary in the near future.

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.

scholarly journals The Ambiguous Boeslunde Figure

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Trine Louise Borake
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Symbolic Meaning ◽  
Viking Age ◽  
Female Figure ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Shape And Size

This article presents a unique female figure found in Boeslunde, Zealand, Denmark. It stands at just 1.5 cm and is made of gilded silver with remarkably refined details. The date of the figure is discussed based on details of her garments, accessories, and hairstyle and she is compared to other archaeological representations and finds. Based on these criteria, a dating to the Late Iron Age/Early Viking Age is proposed. Her function is likewise discussed. By means of an examination of parallel finds, the figure’s function as a gaming piece or garment accessory has been ruled out. It is argued that she functioned as an amulet and her features are evaluated and discussed. Contemplating the figure from a ritual perspective, her necklace appears to be a significant attribute, an observation which has great implications for other representations such as the Odin-from-Lejre figure. It is, further considered whether her necklace is a representation of Freyja´s Brisingamen, and the little figure thus a depiction of Freyja, herself. Lastly, the intentionally differentiated shape and size of her eyes and their symbolic meaning is evaluated, and parallels are examined and discussed.

scholarly journals Some interactions between coastal fisheries and sea birds in the Aegean Sea

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147
Author(s):  
Tevfik CEYHAN ◽  
Okan AKYOL
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Aegean Sea ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Great Cormorant ◽  
Fish Farms ◽  
Phalacrocorax Carbo ◽  
Sea Birds ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Sea Cage ◽  
Cage Fish

In this study, it is aimed to determine the some interactions between various fishery types and seabirds, results of this interaction and sea bird species that have been interacting due to secondary attraction factors. A total of 80 fishermen, working in fish farms, small scale fishery (SSF) and lagoons located in Izmir, Aydın and Muğla were face-to-face interviewed between September 2016 and December 2018. The great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis), great white egret (Ardea alba), some yelkouan shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) and great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) are the bird species that have an interaction with coastal fishermen and sea-cage fish farms. 82% of employees in sea-cage fish farms mentioned that they have an interaction with sea birds in winter, besides %50 of SSF have an interaction with sea birds in summer. The difference between interaction rate according to seasons has been found as statistically significant (p<0.05). 33% of employees in fish farms expressed that they see sea birds during the day. This ratio is 21.7% and 15% for SSF and fishermen in lagoon, respectively. Furthermore, 8.3% of fishermen in lagoon, 11% of employees in fish farms and SSF mentioned that they have an interaction with seabirds especially in the morning time.

The knowable, the doable and the undiscussed: tradition, submission, and the ‘becoming’ of rural landscapes in Denmark's Iron Age

Antiquity ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (281) ◽  
pp. 661-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina L. Thurston
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Landscape Change ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Viking Age ◽  
Political Structure ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Settlement Movement ◽  
Economic Interaction ◽  
New Settlements

Farmers in Late Iron Age Denmark lived in centuries-old villages, within territories inhabited for milfennia. Long-held patterns of settlement, movement, economic interaction and socio-political structure characterized the cultural landscapes of these loosely integrated, heterarchical societies. During the transition to a state in the late Viking Age, many new settlements were established and rapid landscape change transformed older communities into highly controlled, newly regulated places.

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