Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2010, Síða 87

RECONSTRUCTING ASPECTS OF THE DAILY LIFE IN LATE 19TH AND EARLY
20TH-CENTURY ICELAND: ARCHAEOENTOMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE
VATNSFÖRÐUR FARM, NW ICELAND
century. They suggested that this might
indicate that the merchants at Kúvíkur
found a new market for their liver oil after
it stopped being used for lighting in the
early 20^ century; the Japanese started
using it for the confection of cosmetic and
pharmaceuticals products (Lárúsdóttir et
al. 2005, 117-118). This provides an
example of how artefacts have the poten-
tial to provide not only information about
the daily practices of individuals who
lived in the recent past, but also about the
broader “world system“ in which they
were situated. Nevertheless, the fact that
scarcely any contemporary sites have been
studied in Iceland makes it difficult to gen-
erate detailed social interpretations
(Lárúsdóttir et al. 2005). Also, this exca-
vation, similar to most excavations of 19^
and early 20^ century sites, focussed on
midden deposits and did not include the
occupation deposits inside the inhabited
0
O A
0m
N
i
100m
A Viking age area
B Farm mound area
C Grave yard
D Church
E Modern residence
F Stream
Figure 2. Map of Vatnsfórður indicating the Viking Age and Farm Mound excavations.
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