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Functional interpretation of Iron Age longhouses at Gedved Vest, East Jutland, Denmark: multiproxy analysis of house functionality as a way of evaluating carbonised botanical assemblages
Umeå University, Faculty of Arts, Department of historical, philosophical and religious studies, Environmental Archaeology Lab.
Umeå University, Faculty of Arts, Department of historical, philosophical and religious studies, Environmental Archaeology Lab.
2014 (English)In: Archaeological and Anthropological Science, ISSN 1866-9565, Vol. 6, no 4, p. 329-343Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The aim of this article is to describe a methodology for defining functional spaces within south Scandinavian Iron Age longhouses using a multiproxy application of archaeobotanical (carbonised plant macrofossil), geochemical (phosphate, loss on ignition) and geophysical (magnetic susceptibility) analyses. The applicability of the methods is illustrated by two case studies from the site of Gedved Vest, eastern Jutland, Denmark. The approach is described and evaluated from an archaeobotanical perspective, discussing its possible implications for interpretation of carbonised plant assemblages from Iron Age settlement contexts. Possible implications to archaeology beyond the scope of archaeobotany are also discussed

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Berlin: Springer, 2014. Vol. 6, no 4, p. 329-343
Keywords [en]
Multiproxy analysis, Plant macrofossil analysis, Phosphate analysis, Magnetic susceptibility, Loss on ignition, Iron Age Denmark, Settlement archaeology
National Category
Archaeology
Research subject
Archaeology; environmental archaeology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-87835DOI: 10.1007/s12520-013-0161-4ISI: 000345074000002Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84911867446OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-87835DiVA, id: diva2:711967
Available from: 2014-04-11 Created: 2014-04-11 Last updated: 2023-03-24Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Cereal husbandry and settlement: Expanding archaeobotanical perspectives on the southern Scandinavian Iron Age
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Cereal husbandry and settlement: Expanding archaeobotanical perspectives on the southern Scandinavian Iron Age
2014 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The here presented PhD project explores the phenomenon of cereal cultivation during the Iron Age (c. 500 BC – AD 1100) in southern Scandinavia. The main body of the thesis consists of four articles. These were written with the aim to identify chronological, geographical, theoretical and methodological gaps in current research, to develop, apply and evaluate approaches to how new knowledge on Iron Age cereal cultivation can be attained, and to assess the interaction between archaeobotany and other specialisms currently used in settlement archaeology. The introduction section of the thesis also contains a historical overview of archaeobotanical research on cereal cultivation in southern Scandinavia.

The first article is a compilation and summary of all available previously performed  archaeobotanical investigations in southern Sweden. This data is compared and discussed in relation to similar publications in Denmark and smaller scale compilations previously published in Sweden. The main result of the study is an updated and enhanced understanding of the main developments in the investigation area and a deepened knowledge of local development chronologies and trajectories in different parts of southern Sweden.

The second article is a methodological presentation of a multiproxy analysis combining plant macrofossil analysis, phosphate analysis, magnetic susceptibility analysis and measurement of soil organic matter by loss on ignition. The applicability of the method for identification and delineation of space functions on southern Scandinavian Iron Age sites is discussed and illustrated by two case studies from the Danish site of Gedved Vest. Particular focus is placed on exploration of the use of the functional analysis for assessment of taphonomic and operational contexts of carbonised plant macrofossil assemblages.

The third article aims at presenting an Iron Age cereal cultivation history for east-central Jutland, an area identified at the outset of the project as under-represented in archaeobotanical studies. The article combines data from depth analyses of material from the sites of Gedved Vest and Kristinebjerg Øst (analysed with the methods and theory presented in the second article) with a compilation of previously performed archaeobotanical analyses from east-central Jutland. The main results of the study are that developments in the study area appear to follow a chronology similar to that previously observed on Funen rather than the rest of the peninsula. Rye cultivation is furthermore discussed as more dynamic and flexible than previously presented in Scandinavian archaeobotanical literature.

The fourth and final article leaves archaeobotany as the main topic. It focuses instead on evaluating, theorising and expanding the multiproxy method presented in the second article by a thorough comparison of the botanical, geochemical and geophysical methods to other techniques of functional analysis currently used in archaeology. These techniques include studies of artefact distributions, assessments of spatial relations between settlement features, and studies of the structural details of dwellings and other constructions. The main result is that there is a correspondence between the functional indications provided by botanical, geochemical and geophysical methods and techniques used in mainstream archaeology. The comparison furthermore shows that a combination of the two data sets allows for more highly resolved functional interpretations than if they are used separately.

The main conclusion of the PhD thesis, based on the discussions in all four articles, is that archaeobotanical questions commonly necessitate the assessment of non-botanical archaeological material. The comparison of archaeobotanical data to other segments of the archaeological record does, however, enable the use of the former as an archaeological resource for addressing non-botanical questions. The increased understanding of (mainly settlement) site dynamics resulting from this integration of methods allows archaeobotanists to address increasingly complex botanical questions. Increased and more structured integration between archaeobotany and other specialisms operating within the framework of settlement archaeology is therefore argued to be the preferred approach to performing both high quality archaeobotany and settlement archaeology.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Umeå: Umeå Universitet, 2014. p. 112
Series
Archaeology and environment, ISSN 0281-5877 ; 28
Keywords
cereal cultivation, iron age, southern Scandinavia, archaeobotany, settlement archaeology
National Category
Archaeology
Research subject
environmental archaeology; Archaeology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-87499 (URN)978-91-7601-011-2 (ISBN)
Public defence
2014-05-23, Beteendevetarhuset, Bt 102, Umeå universitet, Umeå, 10:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2014-04-30 Created: 2014-04-02 Last updated: 2018-06-08Bibliographically approved

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Grabowski, RadoslawLinderholm, Johan

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