Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2015, Page 68

Scott Riddell
2, NISP 21) (McGovern 2009). At Gásir,
harp seals (Fig. 2, NISP 5) also arise after
1300 although there are no data available
for earlier periods for this site by which
to make a comparison (Harrison et al.
2008a). However, the seal assemblages dat-
ed to 871-1200 from Skuggi (NISP 47) and
Oddstaðir (NISP 10) in Hörgardalur (the
Gásir hinterland, Fig. 1) do not contain any
harp seal remains (Harrison 2010 & 2012).
Proximity to the sea may be a factor but
it has not precluded the presence of harp
seal bone from other inland sites with post-
1300 assemblages (Fig. 1) e.g. Hofstaðir,
Skútustaðir and Skriðuklaustur (Hicks &
Harrison 2008; McGovern 2009; Hamilton-
Dyer 2010). Furthermore, harp seal bone is
also absent from early, and relatively large,
seal bone assemblages from coastal sites
around Iceland (Fig. 1) e.g. Gjögur (1160-
1400) NISP 72 (Krivogorskaya et al. 2005),
Vatnsfjörður (900-1000) NISP 22 (Páls-
dóttir et al. 2008) and Miðbær (1250-1400)
NISP 43 (Amorosi, 1996, 982-988). To
date, it is only at Siglunes in northern Ice-
land where a single harp seal bone has been
found that pre-dates 1300 (Harrison 2014).
Otherwise, the 14th century appears to wit-
ness a real change in harp seal distribution
and/or migratory habits (Fig. 2). This could
suggest either a population increase in the
Greenland Sea or a change in the range or
migratory patterns of capelin (Haug et al.
1996; Hauksson & Bogason 1997; Folkow et
al. 2004). The former may simply be linked
to the NAO while the latter may be a genu-
ine signal of climate change and the onset
of the LIA (Rose 2005; Johnston et al. 2012;
Miller et al. 2012). Capelin is known to re-
spond rapidly to changes in sea tempera-
ture in the North Atlantic and the greater
the change in sea temperatures, the greater
the population displacement. As such, it is
considered an indicator of climate induced
change to seasonal sea temperatures. As a
“keystone” species within the North At-
lantic marine ecosystem, its behaviour has
a direct impact upon those animals which
feed upon it i.e. marine mammals such as
harp seals (Rose 2005).
According to the written sources, the
presence of harp seals in Icelandic waters
sustained a particular hunt in Norður Þing-
eyjarsýsla, documented from 1605 into the
20th century (Guðmundsson 1944, 164-67;
Kristjánsson 1980, 360-63). However, the
key surmise that arises from the persis-
tence of the cull and the regulatory frame-
work surrounding the harp seal netting
tradition in Norður Þingeyjarsýsla is that
it depended upon a predictable, regular,
movement of harp seals into Icelandic wa-
ters irrespective of sea ice. An accumulated
knowledge of harp seal movements and
behaviour allowed sealers to place their
nets with confidence of hunting success at
known locations on an annual basis. Sea
ice was known to impair the effectiveness
of seal netting in the north but is otherwise
never mentioned with regard to the capture
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