Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2010, Side 64

RAMONA HARRISON
the fmal occupation phase during the mid-
late 12th c at Skuggi. (This change towards
a higher proportion of caprines and likely
almost all sheep is discussed further in the
following paragraph).
Before this final occupation phase,
the midden data so far suggests that
Skuggi was not run as economic venture
based solely on sheep/goat products, but
instead as a household likely occupied by
a family and when necessary other indi-
viduals involved in farming and poten-
tially occasional iron smelting activities.
The possible crucible fragment made
from ceramics (finds number 18) from
context [018] might serve as a social
marker, but this fínd’s function is not
entirely clear and thus it cannot be used
for a discussion on change in site status
over time.
Change in the domesticate profile
Cattle proportions remain fairly constant
throughout the different occupational
phases and the goats only disappear
around AD 1150-1200. Although the
sheep and goat category always domi-
nates the domesticate assemblage, sheep
numbers never seem to rise high enough
to indicate an exploitable surplus of wool
production. Age at death profíles present-
ed below further negate the idea that the
Skuggi sheep were kept alive long
enough to produce a wool surplus.
Cattle
The Skuggi cattle bone assemblage is too
limited to allow for a long-bone fusion
analysis. There are however 15 cattle
mandibles from the total Skuggi archaeo-
fauna that can be used for an assessment
Cattle Neonatal Data Comparison
Figure 8. Skuggi cattle neonatal data compared to other Viking Age - Medieval sites from N
Iceland.
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