Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorWalker, Samuel James
dc.contributor.authorHufthammer, Anne Karin
dc.contributor.authorMeijer, Hanneke
dc.date.accessioned2020-03-27T09:50:08Z
dc.date.available2020-03-27T09:50:08Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.PublishedWalker SJ, Hufthammer AK, Meijer H.J.M. Birds in medieval Norway. Open Quaternary. 2019;5(1):5eng
dc.identifier.issn2055-298X
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1956/21602
dc.description.abstractWhilst modern avian distributions in Scandinavia are well studied, how past events and processes have shaped modern bird communities in the region remains poorly known. This is mainly due to the fact that work on post-glacial avian assemblages has been done mostly from an archaeological perspective, and on a site-specific basis. Therefore, in order to understand the history of bird species in Scandinavia, there is a clear need to collate data on the past occurrences and abundance of birds within the region. Here we present data on the presence of bird species within 21 Norwegian Medieval (1030–1537 CE) assemblages. Despite climatic fluctuations and the rise of urban centres, our re-examination and compilation of bird bone assemblages from Medieval Norway found no evidence to suggest that the Medieval bird fauna differed from the modern one. The most common birds in Medieval assemblages are Galliformes. In urban sites these are mostly domestic fowl, whereas on rural sites wild species are dominant. Our data indicates an introduction of domestic fowl in the early Medieval period and a slightly delayed introduction of domestic geese, with both species becoming more abundant during the mid to late Medieval period. This appears to be later than other Scandinavian countries. Interestingly, species that are now ubiquitous in urban areas, such as pigeons, corvids and gulls are mostly absent from Medieval urban centres. In addition, we found a bias towards the use of female Accipiter gentilis in falconry, while Falco species may have been exported. This is the first time that data on past avian occurrences for any period are reviewed and collated for Norway. In addition, our work highlights the importance of birds and bird exploitation in Medieval Norway.en_US
dc.language.isoengeng
dc.publisherUbiquity Presseng
dc.rightsAttribution CC BYeng
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0eng
dc.titleBirds in medieval Norwayeng
dc.typePeer revieweden_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.date.updated2020-01-10T12:14:02Z
dc.description.versionpublishedVersion
dc.rights.holderCopyright 2019 The Author(s)eng
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.5334/oq.58
dc.identifier.cristin1726133
dc.source.journalOpen Quaternary
dc.identifier.citationOpen Quaternary. 2019, 5 (1), 5.


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record

Attribution CC BY
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution CC BY