Viking wildfowling: A practical and social zooarchaeological analysis of the Viking Age avifauna assemblage from the Northern Emporium excavation in Ribe, Denmark

This thesis concerns the taxonomic and taphonomic identification of bird species from a faunal assemblage found in the Northern Emporium project excavation of a workshop belonging to the Viking-Age marketplace site in the town of Ribe, Denmark. The assemblage consists of at least 27 bird species, 26 of which are wild species, belonging to 13 different bird families and 9 orders. The majority of the birds are from ducks and waders, and domestic fowl is also noted, but in very low numbers. The specific bird taxa at the site indicated the birds were caught from in the local regions; the Wadden Sea area. Ribe was a nodal point in a larger network of trade and exchange, an emporium, during the Viking Age (approximately 8th-10th centuries BC). The aim is to not only understand how the assemblage was accumulated, i.e. what activities can be inferred from it, but how it related to the diachronic trends in the Viking Age Scandinavian towns of trade with relation to the role of birds in terms...Show moreThis thesis concerns the taxonomic and taphonomic identification of bird species from a faunal assemblage found in the Northern Emporium project excavation of a workshop belonging to the Viking-Age marketplace site in the town of Ribe, Denmark. The assemblage consists of at least 27 bird species, 26 of which are wild species, belonging to 13 different bird families and 9 orders. The majority of the birds are from ducks and waders, and domestic fowl is also noted, but in very low numbers. The specific bird taxa at the site indicated the birds were caught from in the local regions; the Wadden Sea area. Ribe was a nodal point in a larger network of trade and exchange, an emporium, during the Viking Age (approximately 8th-10th centuries BC). The aim is to not only understand how the assemblage was accumulated, i.e. what activities can be inferred from it, but how it related to the diachronic trends in the Viking Age Scandinavian towns of trade with relation to the role of birds in terms of diet, economy, and socio-cultural terms. The identified species indicate a significant difference from other contemporaneous sites and other emporia. Ribe has the largest diversity in taxa. The primary skeletal elements found are wing bones, suggesting that the birds were captured for meat and possibly feather extraction. Birds are good environmental indicators and their presence are a testament to the changing seasons and certain environmental conditions. The avifauna informs that bird harvesting or hunting likely occurred all year-round, with possible increases during autumn and spring months where many of the migrating birds arrive to the coastal region. Evidently, the seasonality of bird procurement can also aid in the overall interpretation of the permanency of the settlement.Show less

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Viking wildfowling: A practical and social zooarchaeological analysis of the Viking Age avifauna assemblage from the Northern Emporium excavation in Ribe, Denmark