Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2015, Page 67

Harp Seals in the Icelandic Archaeofauna: Sea Ice and Hard Times
Figure 3. Number ofsealsfrom the 1981-1984 survey (Bold) (Hauksson 1986) andfrom 1989-1994 (standard
font) (Hauksson & Bogason 1997). Archaeofaunal assemblages with harp seal bone are indicated with an asterisk
(*). The estuary of Kúðafljót is on the south coast (x).
1996). The timing of this influx coincides
with the migration of spawning capelin
Mallotus vallosus near Iceland from Feb-
ruary until May (Hauksson 1986; Hauks-
son & Bogason 1997). A further study of
16 tagged harp seals from Jan Mayen also
found that their distribution and move-
ments coincided with that of capelin in
the Greenland and Iceland Seas. Several
of these harp seals occupied the Denmark
Strait throughout the year (except for May)
and their numbers increased between No-
vember and March (1999-2000). Some
of these seals entered the waters off Ice-
land’s Vestfirðir in January and February
(Folkow et al. 2004). Researchers note the
considerable time that harp seals spend in
open water; contrary to a general percep-
tion that associates them with sea ice (Ka-
pel 1996; Folkow et al. 2004).
Discussion: Harp seal biogeography,
hunting and climate
Despite the vagaries of its chronology, Sval-
barð retains its significance with regard to
seals (NISP 885,1050-1800) andharp seals
(NISP 33, 1300-1800) in particular. That
there are no harp seals in the Svalbarð as-
semblage prior to 1300 is notable. Similarly,
while seal bone (NISP 12) is present at Hof-
staðir from 940 it is not until 1300 that harp
seal bones appear in its stratigraphy (Fig.
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