Human and environmental change at North Atlantic coastal settlements, ca. AD 900-1700: a chronological perspective

Thesis

How environmental change affects human settlement is a research question that is becoming increasingly important to us in the twenty-first century. The North Atlantic, from ca. AD 900-1800, is currently one of the most well-studied regions and times for answering this research question. Norse exploration of the North Atlantic and subsequent colonisation and settlement – both short- and long-term – of the various islands there has been interpreted as a narrative of adaptation to new and changing environmental conditions. Although there is a relative wealth of archaeological and environmental data from the region, chronology remains an area needing further study. This thesis synthesises a wide range of scientific chronological data – constructing new chronologies for two small-scale landscapes in case studies from Iceland and Orkney, and then using Bayesian modelling to derive new analyses from published dating information throughout the region – in order to work towards a cohesive narrative of North Atlantic settlement and adaptation that includes scientific chronologies.

Authors: Anderson, J

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-kkyyyz6gy
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford