Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2010, Page 65

SMALL HOLDER FARMING IN EARLY MEDIEVAL ICELAND: SKUGGI IN HÖRGÁRDALUR
Skuggi Caprine Long Bone Fusion - L. VA vs. E. MA
LaterViking Age
HumerusDn= 9
Tibia D n = 14
Femur D n = 4
Radius Dn= 19
Tibia P n = 11
Earlv Middle Ages
HumerusDn = 6
Tibia D n = 8
Femur D n = 2
RadiusD n = 2
Tibia P n = 2
Humerus D Tibia D Femur D Tibia P Radius D
6m 2yr 3.5 yr 4.5 yr 5 yr
l LaterVikingAge □ Early MiddleAges
Figure 9. Caprine Long Bone Fusion Comparison
of age at death in cows.
The cattle tooth eruption analysis
presents data from phases II, III, and IV.
The latter phase contained only one cattle
tooth row which cannot contribute to a
discussion on Skuggi's cattle manage-
ment during the I lth - I2th c. The Phase II
(Later Viking Age) cattle tooth eruption
profile suggests that 55 % of calves did
not survive their first winter, and 33 %
were culled before their fírst summer
(assuming they were born in May) and
died as neonates. The remaining 45 % of
cattle from this period lived at least
through their second winter and beyond.
During Phase III, ca. mid 1 lth c., fewer
calves appear to have been culled imme-
diately or very shortly after birth, but a
total of 60 % still did not live through
their first winter. Another 20 % were
about 1 - 1 /2 years old at time of death,
and 20 % were older than 2 years. These
cattle age at death profiles strongly sug-
gest that the Skuggi cattle herd was man-
aged for dairying purposes and thus agree
with the cattle neonatal data from phases
II, IV, and V, presented below.
The graph in fígure 8 presents a rela-
tive percentage of neonatal (newborn)
calf bones in a range of Viking-medieval
sites from N Iceland (data courtesy of
McGovern, NABONE database). A
range of ca. 15-50 % neonates among the
total cattle bone count is generally inter-
preted as evidence of dairy herd manage-
ment, with most milk being reserved for
humans (Halstead 1998). Unlike the very
low percentage at Gásir confirming a spe-
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