Climate impacts: The Norse and the Inuit in Greenland Flashcards
Case study: Applications of various techniques in the Scandinavian North Atlantic in Medieval times
- What are the 3 key locations
- What was the maximum medieval human population in each location?
- Iceland: maximum medieval human population, c. 60,000
- Greenland: maximum medieval human population: c. 2,500
- Faroes: maximum medieval human population: c. 3000
Which domesticated terrestrial mammals were introduced to the Atlandtic islands by the Norse?
- Sheep
- Goats
- Cattle
- Horses
- Pigs
- Dogs
4 examples of wild resources harvested by the Norse in the Atlantic Islands
- Birds/eggs
- Fish
- Marine Mammals
- Shellfish
Norse Greenland settlement: what were the main resources?
- Walrus ivory
- Fur bearing animals
- Narwhal tusks (arctic exotica: unicorn horns)
- Greenlandic falcon
Norse Greenland settlement: Western and Eastern settlement dates and number of site
- Western Settlement: occupied AD 985-1400, about 90 sites
- Eatern Settlement: occupied AD 985 - 1450, about 550 sites
Evidence of Norse sustainable hunting
- Norse farms in Greenland
- Small number of caribou bones found throughout the early-late record
- Norse had the means to exterminate the caribou but chose not to
C13th climate change
- Increased summer ice
- Reduced growing season
- Changing seal populations
- Limited populations of non-migrating seals are harmed, but greater access is possible to effectively infinate populations of migrating seals
How did the Norse adapt to C13th climate change in Greenland?
- More migrating seals were hunted
- These migrator hard and hooded seals are only available for a limited time and hunt comunally
- Shift in subsistence practice
How did the Norse adaptations to C13th climate change in Greenland create vulnerability?
- Seal harvest became a potential critical point of failure
- Narrow window of opportunity, critical access conditioned by extent of sea ice
- Changing sea tide could make the migration late
- Settlement is about 70km from the sea, what if the seals are 20km from the shore?
Comparison of the Norse to the later Inuit adaptations to climate change in Greenland
Norse:
- Communal hunt of migrating seals
- Used boats, nets, dogs, and clubs
- Massive short lived communal effort in the Spring
- Targeted huge populations of Harp or Hooded seals
Inuit:
- Individualistic hunting in Winter conditions
- Primarily hunted single Ringed seals
- Used toggle harpoons, specialised spears, kayaks, and dog sleds
Which adaptation techniques were NOT taken by the Greenland Norse to the C13th climate change?
- Stock fish production (winter activity)
- Wool production (sheep surplus, standardised production)
Impacts of climate change on animal husbandry: lessons from early modern inuit sheep farming
- Data from C20th
- Recurrent cold can prevent rebuilding livestock
- Sheep are killed but numbers aren’t restored
Impacts of unprecedentic climate change in C15th Greenland
- Settlements
- Western and Middle Settlements abandoned
- Settlements contracting into inner fjord areas
- Abandonment of outer fjords
- Population concentrating on the land which is best for farming
C15th Greenland: trade
- Europrean markerts change and demands for Greenland exports fade away
- Walrus ivory is out of fashion, Elephant ivory from Africa is in higher demand
- Tradesmen want stockfish and wool from iceland instead
Inuit childhood education + transmission of knowledge
- Inuit: A hunter dies and is reborn into a child, patronising to re-teach the child what they already know
- They will realise it
- Inuit children learn from doing
