Land: Its Organisation and Management at Norse Hofstaðir

Citation

Simpson I, Adderley WP, Thomson AM, Gudmundsson G, Vésteinsson O, Friđriksson A & McGovern TH (2009) Land: Its Organisation and Management at Norse Hofstaðir. In: Lucas G (ed.) Hofstadir - Excavations of a Viking Age Feasting Hall in North-Eastern Iceland. Institute of Archaeology Monograph Series, 1, 1. Iceland: Institute of Archaeology, Iceland, pp. 335-370. http://www.instarch.is/instarch/english/publication/monograph_series/hofstadir/

Abstract
Land, its organisation and management as well as its intrinsic quality are little understood aspects of the settlement process in Iceland. Yet an understanding of the concept and significance of land is vital if we are to recognise the way in which environmental resources were used to create and maintain social structures, the role of management decisions in setting new directions of environmental change, and the adoption and adaptation of land management strategies to sustain food production. Organisation of land was needed to ensure the requirements of grazing domestic livestock (dominantly sheep, cattle and cows) and access to fuel resources were met in order to provide foundations for subsistence and local economies.

Keywords
Soil; Iceland; Land; Micromorphology; Modelling; Evaluation; Geoarchaeology; Land settlement patterns Iceland; Archaelogical geology

People

Professor Ian Simpson

Professor, Biological and Environmental Sciences