Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1998, Side 147

Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1998, Side 147
MENNISKJALIGAR REAKTIÓNIR TIL UMHVØRVISBROYTINGAR í O Y GGJ AS AMFELØGUM í NORÐURATLANTSHAVI 153 was surely supported by the local social elite which had its cultural background in Christian Europe. Therefore, Norse Green- landers just could not response to the wors- ening of environmental and economic con- ditions by using the experience offered po- tentially by the Palaeo-Indians and Palaeo- Eskimo. Such an option was blocked ideo- logically. However, also some more practical as- pects should be considered. The Norse were farmers and agriculture has such a strong impact on human mentality that there are no(?) examples in history of farm- ers who voluntarily turn back to hunting- gathering while totally abandoning tillage and/or herding. It is not only a psychologi- cal problem but also a practical one. Agri- culture is an economy based on a delayed- return model. This means that large invest- ment of labour does not give immediate gains - crops must grow and ripe, and ani- mals must be fed and cared for before any food is obtained. There is no place for any free competition over access to agricultural resources for it must be regulated and the rules must be executed. For the Faroes we have the famous Seyðabrævið (Sheep let- ter) issued in 1298 (Norges gamle Love, IV, p. 353f). It gave royal sanction to local reg- ulations concerning agriculture. Farming involves settlement stability which implies building durable houses that need some infrastructure like paths, fences, water supplies, etc. It also needs numerous heavy tools that are often made of imported materials. All this caused that a farmer would not give up farming. There is always some margin of possible adjustments by specialisation and/or supporting activities like fishing, hunting and gathering but, generally, there is no question of abandon- ment of agricultural land if there is no oth- er similar locality available. My conclusion, then, is that the extinc- tion of the Norse Greenlanders was due to the Christian ideology of farmers who tried to continue with their cultural tradition against any odds. Their will to survive as civilised Europeans was stronger than their fear to disappear physically for, in return for following their religion they were promised a happier afterlife. Their leaders were vitally interested in keeping their peo- ple under ideological pressure. In such a situation even obvious environmental sig- nals would be ignored. References Bourdieu, P. 1990. The logic ofpractice. Cambridge. Ingimundarsson, I. H. 1995. Of sagas and sheep: to- wards a historical anthropology of social change and production for market subsistence and tribute in early Iceland (10th-13th centuries). PhD dissertation for the Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona. Urbanczyk, P. 1997. The meaning of Christianisation for medieval pagan societies. In: P. Urbanczyk (ed.). Early Christianity in Central and East Europe. Warsaw: 31-38. Urbanczyk, P. unpublished. Why did the Norse Green- landers not leam from the Thule Inuits?, Paper prepared for the congress in Reykjavik - 17-20 June 1998. Vesteinsson O. 1996. The Christianisation of lceland. Priests, power and social change 1000-1300. PhD thesis, London.
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