Historical Ecology on Sandoy, Faroe Islands

Palaeoenvironmental and Archaeological Perspectives

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2056954
AutoresIan T Lawson (0000-0002-3547-2425, University of Leeds, autor de correspondencia), Mike J Church (0000-0001-7908-7812, Durham University), Tom Mcgovern (0000-0002-1214-527X, Hunter College), Tom H Mcgovern, Símun V Arge, James Woollet (Université Laval), Kevin J Edwards (0000-0002-7205-066X, University of Aberdeen), Freddy J Gathorne-Hardy, Freddy J Gathorne‐hardy (Bournemouth University), Andrew J Dugmore, Andrew Dugmore (0000-0001-6556-717X, University of Edinburgh), Gordon Cook (0000-0002-7206-6266, Scottish Enterprise), Kerry-Anne Mairs (University of Edinburgh), Amanda M Thomson (0000-0002-7306-4545, University of Stirling), Guðrún Sveinbjarnardótti (University College London)
Año2005
Volumen33
Número5
Páginas651-684
Fecha de publicación2005-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaHuman Ecology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0300-7839 • E-ISSN: 1572-9915
EditorialSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10745-005-7681-1
OpenAlexW2163558483
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas20
Referencias citadas51

We present palaeoenvironmental, geomorphological, archaeological, and place-name data which allow a holistic assessment of the history of landscape change on Sandoy, Faroe Islands, especially in terms of the changes that occurred in response to the colonization of the island by humans. In contrast to other situations in the North Atlantic region, there is considerable continuity in the patterns and processes of landscape evolution across the initial settlement horizon. Many of the characteristic features of postsettlement North Atlantic landscapes - absence of trees, widespread blanket mires, high rates of soil erosion - were already in place when the first people arrived. Although human impact on Sandoy appears to have been light, conversely, the unusual environment forced major alterations of the subsistence economy imported by the colonists. Settlement-era archaeological records suggest that, from the start, patterns of resource use differed substantially from the regional norm, and these differences became amplified over time as the Faroese economy created a locally sustainable cultural landscape

Agriculture · Archaeology · Biology · Environmental resource management · Geography · Historical ecology · Landscape archaeology · Landscape history · Settlement (finance · Subsistence agriculture · Subsistence economy · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geological formations and processes · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Ecology