Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1991, Qupperneq 65

Pre-Landnam Plantago lanceolata
in North-West Iceland
J. D. Hansom og D. J. Briggs
Abstract
Recent finds of pre-Landnam Plantago lan-
ceolata in sediment cores from North-west
Iceland show that the plant was present well
before the arrival of early settlers. This ap-
pears to be a fairly common trend in the
western and northern islands of Europe
since pre-settlement P. lanceolata is also
known from Britain and Faroe as well as
elsewhere in Iceland. It follows that, without
substantial supporting evidence, great cau-
tion must be exercised in the use of this spe-
cies as an indicator of human settlement.
Introduction
Plantago lanceolata often carries the label of
being a so-called anthropogenic indicator
(Berglund, 1985; Vorren, 1986) and its ap-
pearance in pollen cores is frequently recog-
nised as heralding the arrival of humans. For
example, Iversen (1941) demonstrated the
significance of the pollen curve of this spe-
cies as an indicator of the progress of the
deforestation of Denmark by prehistoric
peoples. Godwin (1944, 1948) also showed
that the pollen curve of P. lanceolata ran
closely parallel to the pollen curves typical of
the creation of heathlands in East Anglia
and of the variation in cultivation intensity
from the Late Bronze Age to Late Roman
times in England. The indicator value of P.
lanceolata lies in its common association to-
day with pasture and cultivation, its relative
intolerance of competition from woody
plants and its prolific production of wind-
borne pollen (Godwin, 1975). More recently,
the appearance of P. lanceolata at 2300BC
and 390BC in the Faroe Islands has been
used as evidence of prehistoric settlement
(Johansen, 1989). This paper aims to call
into question the use of P. lanceolata on its
own, and in small quantities, as an indicator
species in Britain, Iceland and the Faroes
since it can be demonstrated to occur widely
in pre-settlement Britain, considerably earli-
er than Landnam in Iceland and probably
precedes humans in Faroe.
Pre-Landnam P. lanceolata
in North-West Iceland
Recent geomorphological investigations in
Vestfirdir, North-west Iceland (Fig. 1) have
revealed deposits of undisturbed marine silts
capped by freshwater peats which yield both
pollen and microplankton in abundance
(Hansom and Briggs, 1991). At Hvitahlid,
Fróðskaparrit 38.-39. bók (1989-90): 69-75