Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2011, Page 100

DOUGLAS J. BOLENDER, JOHN M. STEINBERG AND BRIAN N. DAMIATA
understanding the dynamics of Viking Age
settlement pattems, and may introduce
significant bias into the archaeological
record. Our small settlement pattem survey
can only hint at the importance of
relocation, and alert us to the possible bias
it introduces. While there may be no
universal explanation underlying
farmstead relocation there are dimensions
that can be examined - local
environmental change, changing religious
landscapes and the status and productive
practices of farms - and most importantly
there appears to be something(s) about the
Viking Age that is more amenable to
relocation than later periods. Addressing
these issues requires a regional perspective
in which farmsteads are evaluated in
comparison to their neighbors. At the same
time, an understanding of farmstead
relocation, and more subtle reorganizations
within the farmstead, will only come with
more excavation, including the Viking Age
phases of farm-mounds sites in the same
region as relocated farmsteads.
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the US National Science
Foundation (BCS # 9908836, 0107413, 0453892,
0731371, ARC # 0909393) and the Wenner-Gren
Fund for Anthropological Research. Any opinions,
findings, and conclusions or recommendations
expressed in this material are those of the authors and
do not necessarily reflect the views of the National
Science Foundation or supporting institutions or
individuals. This work was done in conjunction with
Guðný Zoéga and Sigríður Sigurðardóttir of
Byggðasafn Skagfirðinga Glaumbæ, Ragnheiður
Traustadóttir of the Hólar Research Project. The
SASS project operated under permits granted by
Þjóðminjasafn Islands & Fomleifavemd ríkisins.
Tephrachronology was conducted by Magnús A.
Sigurgeirsson. Guðmundur Ólafsson assisted with the
excavation at Lower Glaumbær. Landowner
permission was obtained with the assistance of Hjalti
Pálsson. We wish to thank Steinunn Fjóla Ólafsdóttir
and Guðmundur Þór Guðmundsson of Stóra Seyla
and Gísli Gunnarsson of Glaumbær and the
community in Skagafjörður for their continued
support of the project. Reports can be obtained from
http://www.fiskecenter.umb.edu/SASS.htm. We
would also like to thank Oscar Aldred, Guðný Zoéga,
and an anonymous reviewer who provided valuable
feedback on an earlier version of this paper.
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