Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2010, Page 85

RECONSTRUCTING ASPECTS OF THE DAILY LIFE IN LATE 19TH AND EARLY
20TH-CENTURY ICELAND: ARCHAEOENTOMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE
VATNSFÖRÐUR FARM, NW ICELAND
tre of the Westijords peninsula, on the
southem side of ísafjarðardjúp (Fig. 1).
The Westfjords area is characterized by
many fjords and bays and by relatively
poor arable land. The main settlements
were all established near the best grazing
land, indicating the importance of live-
stock in the local subsistence economy.
The seashore provided resources such as
marine fish and mammals, as well as
driftwood and seaweed. The numerous
waterways and terrestrial routes probably
facilitated communication between farms
and with the rest of Iceland (Tulinius
2005, 10).
Recent archaeological investigations
in the Westfjords suggest that marine
resources probably had a greater role in
the subsistence and economy of this
region relative to other parts of the coun-
try during the Viking Age and Medieval
Period (Edvardsson 2005). For about fíve
centuries (12^ - 16^ century), an aris-
tocracy and a rich literary culture flour-
ished in the area (Tulinius 2005, 13),
whose prosperity was probably guaran-
teed by a mixed economy making good
use of the range of resources available in
the environment (Edvardsson 2005, 65).
Edvardsson (2005) pointed out that it is
probably not a coincidence that impover-
ishment of the Westfjords began after
new legislation requiring all landless
Icelanders to work on farms was passed
in 1783 (Durrenberger & Pálsson 1989,
4; Vasey 1996, 155), as it reduced the
labour available for físheries. Likewise,
even though the area became poorer in
the 18*^ and 19^ centuries, its situation
improved quite quickly with the econom-
ic developments that began around 1850
(Tulinius 2005, 15), and this could be due
to its important role in the fish trade. The
few studies that have been done on early
modem sites from the Westfjords indi-
cate a mixed economy predominantly
centred on the exploitation of marine
resources instead of agropastoralism
(Edvardsson et al. 2004; Taylor 2004;
Taylor et al. 2005).
Past cultural and economic develop-
ments in the Westfjords region were the
result of dynamic interactions between
community members and their local
environment. Were the living standards
and daily practices of these people differ-
ent from other Icelanders because of easy
access to marine resources and trade cen-
tres? How did these practices and living
conditions vary between farms, villages,
towns and households in the Westfjords?
These are examples of questions which
can be addressed using the archaeologi-
cal record.
One of the rare published articles
which includes a detailed examination of
some 19^ and early 20^ century archae-
ological deposits is based on the results
of a small rescue excavation undertaken
on midden deposits from Kúvíkur, locat-
ed in the westem part of the peninsula
(Lárasdóttir et al. 2005). This site was an
important trading station specializing in
the production and trade of shark liver
oil. The study generated an interesting
artefact assemblage, including numerous
kerosene lamps, chimneys and some
porcelain from Japan. The authors linked
the presence of these artefacts to changes
in lighting technologies, as the use of oil-
fuelled lamps decreased as gas and elec-
tricity became widespread in the 20^
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