Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2006, Page 93

The bishop’s beef. improved cattle at early modern Skálholt, Iceland
Figure 6. Naturally polled cranium from Skál-
holt
that the Bishop of Skálholt or one of his
household might have encountered this
beef enterprise and new breed imports
through the Danish nobility. Though the
Scottish polled beef breeds would also
seem to be good candidates for the cattle
of unit 454, this would be pure specula-
tion at this point. The cattle of unit 454 are
more likely from the 17th century and the
development of new breeds was not only
an 18th century phenomenon. The Nether-
lands were importing new breeds of cattle
for breeding purposes throughout Europe
by the 16th century (Thomas, 2005). It is
just as plausible to suggest that these cat-
tle might have been of originally Dutch
origin. Regardless of the individual coun-
try of origin, it is overwhelmingly likely
that these cattle or the breeding technolo-
gy that created them were an import from
continental Europe.
Early modern Icelandic culture
and elements of early modern continen-
tal European culture came together in
the Bishop’s residence. The cows indi-
cate that Skálholt was differentiated from
the rest of early modern Iceland by more
than just wealth. It was also culturally
differentiated through its intellectual con-
nections to early modern Europe. The
Figure 7. Artificially polled cranium from
Skálholt
writings of improving farming theorists
and the experience of practical farming
experiments associated with the early
Agricultural Revolution is one probable
inspiration for decisions that resulted in
the appearance of these cattle at Skálholt.
Most agricultural historians agree that
the essence of the Agricultural Revolu-
tion was the major increase in cultivated
land, and in new agrarian technologies,
crops, and commercial animal breeds
that appeared during the early modern
period in Europe, especially in the Neth-
erlands and in England. There is also a
consensus that these new technologies
and breeds led to increased agricultural
production (Overton, 1996, pp. 1-9).
Less agreed-upon is when this revolution
began though it is generally agreed that
it was in development throughout much
of north-western Europe by the 17th cen-
tury, and that it reached its height in the
second half of the 18th century. A recent
article on the zooarchaeology of animal
husbandry improvement in England, sug-
gests there was a gradual but consistent
increase in the size of domestic animals
starting in the mid-14th century (Thomas,
2005). Though the author does not claim
this as the beginning of the Agricultural
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