Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2009, Page 44

Richard E. Hughes and Gavin M. Lucas
Figure 1. Location of Hofstaðir and Other Archaeological Sites in Iceland Containing Obsidian
in Relation to Major Obsidian Sources (Chemical Types). Open circles position archaeological
sites,filled triangles are obsidian source (chemical type) locations.
Because of its superior strength and dura-
bility iron was the preferred artifact/tool
manufacturing material in Iceland, but
obsidian possesses a much sharper edge
and was used for cutting and incising
activities (Einarsson 1995: 96;
Vésteinsson 2000: 169). Obsidian recurs
in Icelandic folklore records (see below)
clearly indicating that early generations
were well aware of it and its uses. The
recovery of obsidian on Icelandic archae-
ological sites testifíes to this fact. A pre-
liminary survey of the archaeological lit-
erature and personal correspondence
reveals its presence on a substantial
number of sites (Table 1; Figure 1). The
data in Table 1 are however only prelimi-
nary, as in many cases, full finds lists
were either not accessible or detailed
enough in the extant literature - indeed,
much of the data come from personal
communications. Moreover, this list
excludes smaller investigations or stray
fínds. Nonetheless, if considered a fair
reflection of its general frequency, the
survey suggests that obsidian occurs on
nearly half of all settlement sites, albeit
in very low numbers. The distribution of
these sites is potentially interesting and
clearly offers the potential for the kind of
analysis presented in this paper on the
Hofstaðir pieces (see Figure 1). In this
context, it is also worth noting that the
analyst of the obsidian from Granastaðir
suggested that it may have been collected
from river beds (Thorsberg 1995: 172).
Because it is a super-cooled silica liq-
uid, obsidian (unless “contaminated” by
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