Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2010, Page 61

SMALL HOLDER FARMING IN EARLY MEDIEVAL ICELAND: SKUGGI IN HÖRGÁRDALUR
could be grouped to several time phases,
the total NISP could be further divided by
phase, as displayed in table 2. The 74
specimens analyzed from Phase II were
only utilized for a caprine tooth eruption
comparison (fig. 10) and are not suited
for inclusion in a phased NISP compari-
son. When possible, the archaeofaunal
results are presented by phase.
Table 2 presents the Skuggi archaeo-
fauna as a Total Count. NISP refers to all
fragments that could be identified to a
useful level. TNF is a count of all bone
fragments (identifíable or not), MTM is
“medium terrestrial mammal” (sheep-
dog-pig sized), LTM is “large terrestrial
mammal” (cattle-horse sized), MM is an
“unidentifiable marine mammal” (i.e.
whale, dolphin, walrus, seal), UNIM or
unidentifíed mammal are small frag-
ments that cannot be identified beyond
this broad category. UNI or unidentifi-
able bone fragments simply indicate the
existing degree of erosion (for detailed
information on laboratory methods
employed for this analysis, please consult
Harrison 2010, available on
nabohome.org).
Figure 5 summarizes the data present-
ed in table 2 and demonstrates very clear-
ly that there was a change in the site’s
subsistence strategy between the Later
Viking Age and the earlier medieval con-
texts: A predominantly domesticates-
based food supply is replaced with wild
resources, especially fish, birds, and
seals. Particularly the phase IV archaeo-
fauna comprises an increase in bird and
fish remains - maybe the farmers needed
to feed more people, or they were obliged
to utilize their domesticates for purposes
other than just subsistence?
MajorTaxa compared
Figure 5. Breakdown of the Major Taxa by phases.
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