Homework answers / question archive / Vikings, fire and ice: Environmental Archaeology of the North Atlantic Islands   Lecturer: Prof Mike Church   Summary outline:   This course examines the nature of human / environment interaction across a variety of island systems in the North Atlantic during the later prehistoric and Norse periods

Vikings, fire and ice: Environmental Archaeology of the North Atlantic Islands   Lecturer: Prof Mike Church   Summary outline:   This course examines the nature of human / environment interaction across a variety of island systems in the North Atlantic during the later prehistoric and Norse periods

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Vikings, fire and ice: Environmental Archaeology of the North Atlantic Islands

 

Lecturer: Prof Mike Church

 

Summary outline:

 

This course examines the nature of human / environment interaction across a variety of island systems in the North Atlantic during the later prehistoric and Norse periods. A number of recurring research themes will be addressed including issues of colonization and human impact on island environments, adaptation to marginal environments and economic continuity and change. Multi-disciplinary case studies will be used throughout the course, integrating a variety of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental techniques.

 

The reconstruction of the prehistoric and Norse environment and economy of three of the main island systems in the Atlantic seaboard of Scotland (Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland) provides the first area of investigation. The human / environment interaction during the Norse expansion across the wider North Atlantic is then examined for the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland.

 

Learning outcomes:

By the end of the module, students will be able to:

• demonstrate critical understanding of the main chronological tools applied to the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental record in the North Atlantic Islands
• understand the deployment and interpretation of various environmental applications used to reconstruct the environment and economies of the later prehistoric and Norse periods in the region.
• have a working knowledge of the range of environmental techniques that can be employed in modern archaeological excavations in the region.
• be competent in accessing and assimilating specialised research literature of an advanced nature in archaeological and environmental science in the region.

 

Method of assessment:

 

One summative assignment (Deadline = 26 May 2023). Choose from one of these questions:

 

Assess the contribution of zooarchaeology to the reconstruction of palaeoeconomies of the North Atlantic islands.

OR

Assess the contribution of palynology for reconstructing human impact on the environment during periods of colonization in the North Atlantic islands.

OR

A topic on north Atlantic archaeology as agreed with Prof Church.

 

Maximum words = 3000.

 

 

Teaching Delivery

 

The course will consist of 9 sessions and there will be 6 lectures and 3 workshops with compulsory set-reading.

 

Lectures and workshops:

 

Week 1: Lecture 1: Introduction. Fri 13^th Jan 11-1pm PCL050.

 

Week 2: Lecture 2: Chronology and settlement overview. Fri 20^th Jan 11-1pm PCL050.

 

Week 3: Workshop 1: Chronological complexity and archaeological theory in environmental archaeology: The ‘Dun Vulan’ controversy. Fri 27^th Jan 11-1pm PCL050.

 

Week 4: Lecture 3: Iron Age / Norse transition in Atlantic Scotland. Fri 3rd Feb 11-1pm PCL050.

 

Week 5: Workshop 2: Norse / native interaction in Atlantic Scotland. Fri 10^th Feb 11-1pm PCL050.

 

Week 6: Lecture 4: Norse landscapes of Faroes. Fri 17^th Feb 11-1pm PCL050.

 

Week 7: Workshop 3: Understanding landnám in the North Atlantic islands. Fri 24^th Feb 11-1pm PCL050.

 

Week 8: Lecture 5: Norse landscapes of Iceland. Fri 3rd March 11-1pm PCL050.

 

Week 9: Lecture 6: Norse landscapes of Greenland. Fri 10^th March 11-1pm PCL050.