The economy of the Norse settlement of the North Atlantic Islands and its environmental impact : an archaeobotanical assessment.

The objective of the archaeobotanical research presented here is to assess the
introduction of Norse agricultural economies to Iceland and the-Faroe Islands
during the 9`h and 10`h centuries AD, and the impact of the settlers' behaviour
on plant communities until AD 1500. The major themes concern the presettlement
landscape and environmental conditions, the impact of human
activity on these landscapes, the non-native plant taxa introduced, the short and
long-term change in local environments, and the adaptation of the Norse
economic system and living conditions to the new environments. These themes
are approached through the comparison of two datasets, one based on material
from monoliths taken from peat sequences ('off-site' samples) and the other on
the analysis of samples of deposits from archaeological sites ('on-site' samples).
Pre-settlement conditions consisted of a mosaic of acidic, nutrient-poor wetland,
grassland or heath in the valley bottoms. Woodland cover was dominated by
Betula and Salix, which was denser in Iceland than in the Faroe Islands. PreNorse
changes in the Faroese landscape are evident, which relate to an
increasing body of material that has been interpreted as evidence for pre-Norse
settlement. At the time of landnäm, there is evidence for woodland clearance,
although this does not happen uniformly across the landscape. Clearance can be
interpreted as a change in the landscape due to the introduction of an economy
based on animal grazing, and the collection of wood and twigs for fuel and
fodder.
Crop and wild plant taxa were introduced, although the range of plants is not as
broad as in Scandinavia and the British Isles. Fuel collection and building
construction were determined by the lack of suitable wood sources in the newly
settled areas. In the longer term, there is evidence for soil enrichment in the
areas around settlements, continuing deforestation and erosion.