Search Project Results: Iceland

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	Snow modelling Skaftártunga	This is the southern Iceland field site for the snow modelling in Iceland project. Fieldwork in March 2014 collected measurements of snow depth and density at the farms of Hrifunes and Búland. These measurements along with LANDSAT imagery is used to calibrate a process based snow model for the region. This model will be run under different climatic scenarios to simulate the changes in snow cover and duration from the Medieval Climate Anomaly through the Little Ice Age.
	Snow modelling Hörgardalur	This is the northern Iceland field site for the snow modelling in Iceland project. Fieldwork in March 2014 collected measurements of snow depth and density near the archaeological site of Skuggi. These measurements along with LANDSAT imagery is used to calibrate a process based snow model for the region. This model will be run under different climatic scenarios to simulate the changes in snow cover and duration from the Medieval Climate Anomaly through the Little Ice Age.
	Palaeoanthropocene in Iceland	This project used published and new records of vegetation change and soil erosion from all of Iceland to look at the timing, extent and rate of change in natural systems at Landnám. This dataset was used to investigate the what extent it was possible to distinguish a distinct 'anthropocene' in Iceland, based on these records alone.
	NUM3NA: Norse Use of Marine Mammals in the Medieval North Atlantic, North Atlantic
	Lækjargata, Reykjavík	The archaeological remains of Lækjargata (64.146270, -21.938554) in downtown Reykjavík were excavated by archaeologists from Fornleifastofnun Íslands (FSÍ) under the direction of Lísabet Guðmundsdóttir in 2015.
	Útskalar , Southwest Iceland	Between 2005 and 2006 archaeologists from Fornleifastofnun Íslands (Icelandic Institute of Archaeology) conducted excavations at the coastal site of Útskalar, located on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Southwest Iceland. The site's material remains are understood in four phases dating between the late 10th century to the Modern period. A Viking Age structure was found to be the earliest indication of activity. Midden accumulation after the structure's abandonment suggests the site continued to be occupied between the 10th century and the present. Faunal evidence from all phases points to a central importance of domestic mammals, fish, birds and some marine mammals. Domestic mammals were largely caprines (sheep and goats) and cows, with lesser numbers of pigs and horses. Fish remains were mostly cod in all phases with other gadids, plus a few wolf fish and one shark specimen. A large diversity of bird species, especially alcids, including the now extinct Great Auk, may have played a special role in for early inhabitants of the site. The faunal remains were analyzed at the Hunter College NABO-NORSEC Zooarchaeology Laboratory, by Hunter College and CUNY students Megan T. Hicks, Barry Gordon, Quinn Bolte, Dylan Lewis, Barry Coe, Elisheva Charm, Regan Loggans, Lucretia Williams, Kelly Creary and Erina Perez. Gúðrun Alda Gísladóttir (FSÍ) is the post-excavation project manager and questions regarding the faunal remains can be directed to Megan T. Hicks (CUNY) meganthicks@gmail.com
	Investigations of the Long Term Sustainability of Human Ecodynamic Systems in Northern Iceland (MYCHANGE), Mývatn	This international, cross-disciplinary NSF-funded project focuses on change, the environment, and sustainability in Iceland during the period ca. AD 1700 to 1950. A major aim of the project is to establish developments in human and social ecodynamics by considering one specific region – the Mývatn district in northeastern Iceland. The written record of subsistence and economy in Iceland is extensive, and includes detailed historical and literary accounts produced by individuals at different scales from the personal, such as diaries and letters, to the official, including documents from governmental and municipal archives. The “MYCHANGE” project has a particular focus on such documentary evidence and written accounts of daily activities include: haymaking; herding animals; subsistence; and trade, and provide a rich source of different perspectives on how people experienced, structured, and made use of their environment. The project encompasses a number of disciplines including historical ecology, environmental history, and literary studies, and includes considerable input from archaeology, in particular zooarchaeology. The project time frame begins ca. 1700 as from that time onwards the documentary evidence is extensive, and extends to ca. 1950. After that time numerous changes occurred that are beyond the scope of this exploratory project. In order to establish a synthetic view of the vulnerabilities and strengths that formed past subsistence modes the project places primary emphasis on one specific yet crucial aspect of the economy: the productivity of the grass growth and hay yield. The main elements considered are: haymaking; grassland management; and their inter-connections with climatic, environmental, and socioeconomic aspects. The project team members are: Astrid Ogilvie, Árni Daniel Júlíusson, Megan Hicks, Viðar Hreinsson and Ragnhildur Sigurðardóttir. Refer to project descr. file for more information
	Zooarchaeology of the Skagafjörður Archaeological Settlement Survey (SASS), Skagafjörður	The Skagafjörður Archaeological Settlement Survey (SASS) examined the settlement pattern of Langholt, Skagafjörður, northern Iceland. Later creation of smaller farms through subdivision of larger, earlier settlements seems to have aided in the creation of social inequality in the late Norse and Medieval periods. For more information, see the SASS website (blogs.umb.edu/sass/) or contact Principle Investigators John Steinberg and Douglas Bolender. The zooarchaeological analysis is being done at Hunter College and will provide more data for the project as a whole while also addressing other questions of interest. Current research topics include the exploration of status, wealth, and social inequality through food remains.
	Hegranes Zooarchaeology Project, Skagafjörður	This project focuses on the zooarchaeology of Hegranes, in Skagafjörður. Partnered with the Skagafjörður Church and Settlement Survey (SCASS, http://blogs.umb.edu/scass/) and the Fornbýli Landscape and Archaeological Survey on Hegranes (FLASH, http://kathrynacatlin.net/blog/), the Hegranes Zooarchaeology Project allows us to explore the economic strategies of the first settlers on Hegranes. Rather than focusing on a large-scale excavation at one site, this project has benefitted from smaller excavations at nearly every site on Hegranes. This project has begun to illuminate local trade networks, specific resource specialization, early artisanal fishing, and social practices. The varied use of wild and domestic resources contribute to our knowledge of the changes in farm size over time as well as longevity of a site. By joining these three projects, we hope to gain a more holistic understanding of not just the settlement pattern of the region but of the activities taking place on the landscape and the factors that played into early decision-making.