Marine resource intensification in Viking Age Europe: the molluscan evidence from Quoygrew, Orkney

Nicky Milner; James Barrett; Jon Welsh

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2006.11.004

Marine resource intensification in Viking Age Europe: the molluscan evidence from Quoygrew, Orkney

Nicky Milner, James Barrett, Jon Welsh

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper addresses whether molluscan evidence from Orkney can shed light on the hypothesis that there was a trend towards the intensification of marine resource use at the end of the first millennium AD. The stratified middens of Quoygrew, which date from approximately the 10th to the 13th centuries, are shown to contain predominantly limpets, which may have been used for baiting fish. Front metrical data it is shown that these limpets reduce in size through time. In order to test whether this observation is related to intensification in exploitation, analysis of limpet shoreline location was carried out. In addition, age data were used to demonstrate a lowering of average age which suggests intensification in gathering rather than environmental influences, particularly during the 11th-12th centuries at this site. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1461-1472
Number of pages	12
Journal	Journal of archaeological science
Volume	34
Issue number	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2006.11.004
Publication status	Published - Sept 2007

Keywords

Viking Age
middle ages
marine resources
limpet
shell inidden
Orkney
Quoygrew
human impact
NORTHERN SCOTLAND
NORSE ORKNEY

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jas.2006.11.004

Coastal shell middens and agricultural origins in Atlantic Europe
Bailey, G. (Principal investigator), Milner, N. (Co-investigator) & Craig, O. E. (Researcher)
AHRC
1/10/04 → 31/05/06
Project: Research project (funded) › Research

Cite this

@article{27505a9ba8c04f3eb3ed8b9d25bc5fd2,

title = "Marine resource intensification in Viking Age Europe: the molluscan evidence from Quoygrew, Orkney",

abstract = "This paper addresses whether molluscan evidence from Orkney can shed light on the hypothesis that there was a trend towards the intensification of marine resource use at the end of the first millennium AD. The stratified middens of Quoygrew, which date from approximately the 10th to the 13th centuries, are shown to contain predominantly limpets, which may have been used for baiting fish. Front metrical data it is shown that these limpets reduce in size through time. In order to test whether this observation is related to intensification in exploitation, analysis of limpet shoreline location was carried out. In addition, age data were used to demonstrate a lowering of average age which suggests intensification in gathering rather than environmental influences, particularly during the 11th-12th centuries at this site. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",

keywords = "Viking Age, middle ages, marine resources, limpet, shell inidden, Orkney, Quoygrew, human impact, NORTHERN SCOTLAND, NORSE ORKNEY",

author = "Nicky Milner and James Barrett and Jon Welsh",

year = "2007",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1016/j.jas.2006.11.004",

language = "English",

volume = "34",

pages = "1461--1472",

journal = "Journal of archaeological science",

issn = "0305-4403",

publisher = "Elsevier",

number = "9",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Marine resource intensification in Viking Age Europe: the molluscan evidence from Quoygrew, Orkney

AU - Milner, Nicky

AU - Barrett, James

AU - Welsh, Jon

PY - 2007/9

Y1 - 2007/9

N2 - This paper addresses whether molluscan evidence from Orkney can shed light on the hypothesis that there was a trend towards the intensification of marine resource use at the end of the first millennium AD. The stratified middens of Quoygrew, which date from approximately the 10th to the 13th centuries, are shown to contain predominantly limpets, which may have been used for baiting fish. Front metrical data it is shown that these limpets reduce in size through time. In order to test whether this observation is related to intensification in exploitation, analysis of limpet shoreline location was carried out. In addition, age data were used to demonstrate a lowering of average age which suggests intensification in gathering rather than environmental influences, particularly during the 11th-12th centuries at this site. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

AB - This paper addresses whether molluscan evidence from Orkney can shed light on the hypothesis that there was a trend towards the intensification of marine resource use at the end of the first millennium AD. The stratified middens of Quoygrew, which date from approximately the 10th to the 13th centuries, are shown to contain predominantly limpets, which may have been used for baiting fish. Front metrical data it is shown that these limpets reduce in size through time. In order to test whether this observation is related to intensification in exploitation, analysis of limpet shoreline location was carried out. In addition, age data were used to demonstrate a lowering of average age which suggests intensification in gathering rather than environmental influences, particularly during the 11th-12th centuries at this site. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

KW - Viking Age

KW - middle ages

KW - marine resources

KW - limpet

KW - shell inidden

KW - Orkney

KW - Quoygrew

KW - human impact

KW - NORTHERN SCOTLAND

KW - NORSE ORKNEY

U2 - 10.1016/j.jas.2006.11.004

DO - 10.1016/j.jas.2006.11.004

M3 - Article

SN - 0305-4403

VL - 34

SP - 1461

EP - 1472

JO - Journal of archaeological science

JF - Journal of archaeological science

IS - 9

ER -

Marine resource intensification in Viking Age Europe: the molluscan evidence from Quoygrew, Orkney

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Projects

Coastal shell middens and agricultural origins in Atlantic Europe

Cite this