Phytoliths from a Norse Greenlandic Quern Stone: A Preliminary Investigation

Julie M. Ross

Environmental Archaeology, 2004, vol. 9, issue 1, 99-106

Abstract: The Norse inhabited Greenland between AD 1000 and AD 1500 and, toward the end of the occupation, according to archaeological evidence, they were predominately marine mammal hunters. Despite the fact that marine resources became important for subsistence, the Norse Greenlanders settled the area in oŕder to farm. This is indicated by site locations, faunal material, archaeobotanical, and palynological evidence.Phytolith analysis from a quern stone, likely made from stone of local origin, found at Gården Under Sandet, a Norse farmstead in Greenland, was examined to determine if there was any evidence indicating domestic cereal processing. The phytoliths found on the quern stone can be associated with grasses and sedges, but the absence of dendritic phytoliths likely indicates that the quern stone was not used to grind seed. This preliminary study demonstrates that information about Norse agriculture may be obtained by examining the phytolith remains from a quern stone.

Date: 2004
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DOI: 10.1179/env.2004.9.1.99

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