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3. Butchery of cod family fish for the production of stockfish of råskjaer type. The number of caudal vertebrae left in the finished product varies (after Barrett et al. 1999, 618).
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... While zooarchaeological research has been able to demonstrate the presence of traded fish in archaeological materials (e.g., Barrett, 1997;Orton et al., 2014Orton et al., ,2016Barrett 2016b;Lõugas et al., 2019;Kivikero, 2019), biomolecular methods have been used to establish the catch region, and thereby also the trade routes of the fish. The use of stable isotopes is well-established for investigating the origin of archaeological fish remains (e.g., Barrett et al., 2008Barrett et al., ,2011Orton et al., 2011Orton et al., ,2014Hutchinson et al., 2015;Orton et al., 2019;Kyselý et al., 2022). ...
... There are some limitations to this technique, however. While cod from some waters have distinct isotopic signatures, others share similar values with adjacent basins (Barrett 2016b). ...
Preserved fish was one of the main traded commodities in medieval and early modern times, and herring and cod were the socioeconomically most important species. This paper brings together stable isotope ratio analysis of archaeological cod bones and documentary data from customs records originating from the early modern Swedish town of Nya Lödöse (1473-1624 CE), shedding new light on the import of stockfish (dried cod). The combined results show that the stockfish imported to Nya Lödöse was mainly produced in the Danish town of Skagen, and the importance of Bergenfish was negligible. The Skagen fisheries targeted large gadids, skates, and flatfish and have hitherto been bypassed in archaeological research on the medieval and early modern fish trade. The findings of this research highlight the intense connectivity between communities across the Skagerrak and give an example of the comprehensive regional fish trade that existed alongside the long-distance trade. Another important conclusion is that the isotopic values for cod caught in the Skagerrak must be used with caution since this sea basin is populated by several different cod stocks. The North Sea cod population inhabits a large part of the Skagerrak, and cod bones with isotopic values consistent with the North Sea might thus have been fished in the Skagerrak.
... Nevertheless, due to the general intensification of trade and contacts in Europe beginning at the onset of the Viking Age in the 9th century, Northern Fennoscandia saw an increase in activity at the same time, which is archaeologically visible in the increasing number of sites and finds originating from the West, South and East during the period (e.g., Kuusela 2013a: 76-88;. The interest in the North for Europe was due to the northern wildlife and its commercial value -fish increased in importance in Europe during the 9th century (e.g., Wallerström 1983: 33-44;1995: 129;Martin 1986;1995: 134-40;Makarov 1991: 73-8;Sawyer & Sawyer 1993: 158-9; Barrett et al. 2011;Star et al. 2017;Barrett 2018;) and furs were also valued. In addition, reindeer meat, pelts and antlers have been northern trade commodities (e.g., Pilø et al. 2018;Salmi & Heino 2019;Kuusela et al. 2020). ...
This paper presents an overview of known burials and burial practises in the region comprising of present-day Northern Finland, Sweden, the Murmansk oblast and the White Sea coast in Northwest Russia during the study period, the Late Iron Age and Middle Ages (ca. 800-1600 AD). Burial sites offer a unique perspective on examining social structures and social change, as they are focused on the present of the community while still being rooted in tradition. We discuss how these burials represent the multicultural environment and the fluidity of adaptation of cultural features in the north, as well as the distinct similarities between the communities. We will also examine how the decentralised network, that the northern Fennoscandian communities formed, caused and maintained this multicultural environment during the Late Iron Age and the Middle Ages.
... The consumption of aquatic, and especially marine, species has been the object of an abundance of studies in the past two decades. Aquatic food resources were part of the Viking Age diet and -at least in some regions -considered essential for the subsistence strategy (Kosiba et al. 2007;Naumann et al. 2014;Barrett 2016a;2016b). Comparative analyses between the Viking Age and earlier, as well as later periods, revealed that the presence of water alone was not enough to initiate its exploitation, for example as a food source (Barrett/ Richards 2004). ...
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Hedeby, Dorestad and Ribe were well-connected trading places and burial grounds, settlements and waypoints of long-distance travel during the Viking Age. These sites, which became leading centres in an expanding world, had one key element in common. They were located close to the coast, navigable rivers or lakes. This is not only true for
early and late Viking Age towns, like Hedeby or Sigtuna, but also for settlements in the centre of the Viking Age world, like Ribe, and remote places at the periphery of the known world back then, like L’Anse aux Meadows. Waters indeed were omnipresent, but does presence alone mean they also played a main role as a food resource? What were the key factors in uencing shing activities and how were they connected to the actors, granting supply, distribution and consume of water-based food re sources?
The following article summarises the recent research on aquatic food components in the Viking Age diet, focussing on the results of stable isotope analyses. Additionally, the contribution of the SFB 1070 RESOURCE CULTURES’ project B06 ‘Humans and Re sources in the Viking Age – Anthropological and Bioarchaeological Analyses of the Use of Food Re sources and the Detection of Migrations’ to the topic is studied before the backdrop of this survey of recent literature and aims to initiate future exchange and cooperation.
This definitive environmental history of medieval fish and fisheries provides a comprehensive examination of European engagement with aquatic systems between c. 500 and 1500 CE. Using textual, zooarchaeological, and natural records, Richard C. Hoffmann's unique study spans marine and freshwater fisheries across western Christendom, discusses effects of human-nature relations and presents a deeper understanding of evolving European aquatic ecosystems. Changing climates, landscapes, and fishing pressures affected local stocks enough to shift values of fish, fishing rights, and dietary expectations. Readers learn what the abbess Waldetrudis in seventh-century Hainault, King Ramiro II (d.1157) of Aragon, and thirteenth-century physician Aldebrandin of Siena shared with English antiquarian William Worcester (d. 1482), and the young Martin Luther growing up in Germany soon thereafter. Sturgeon and herring, carp, cod, and tuna played distinctive roles. Hoffmann highlights how encounters between medieval Europeans and fish had consequences for society and the environment - then and now.
Understanding the historical emergence and growth of long-range fisheries can provide fundamental insights into the timing of ecological impacts and the development of coastal communities during the last millennium. Whole-genome sequencing approaches can improve such understanding by determining the origin of archaeological fish specimens that may have been obtained from historic trade or distant water. Here, we used genome-wide data to individually infer the biological source of 37 ancient Atlantic cod specimens (ca 1050-1950 CE) from England and Spain. Our findings provide novel genetic evidence that eleventh- to twelfth-century specimens from London were predominantly obtained from nearby populations, while thirteenth- to fourteenth-century specimens were derived from distant sources. Our results further suggest that Icelandic cod was indeed exported to London earlier than previously reported. Our observations confirm the chronology and geography of the trans-Atlantic cod trade from Newfoundland to Spain starting by the early sixteenth century. Our findings demonstrate the utility of whole-genome sequencing and ancient DNA approaches to describe the globalization of marine fisheries and increase our understanding regarding the extent of the North Atlantic fish trade and long-range fisheries in medieval and early modern times.
Archaeoichthyological research is not well developed in Czech archaeology, partly because of the country’s landlocked position. Nonetheless, fishing, fish consumption, and the fish trade played important roles in the Czech lands in the Middle and Early Modern Ages. This paper presents, as a case study, detailed documentation and analysis of a few archaeological bone finds from Prague determined as imported marine fish, and introduces this specialised field of research more generally. Beyond the archaeological bone finds, we conduct an in-depth analysis of historical written records of the marine fish trade in the Czech lands. A basic review of current archaeozoological knowledge of marine fish finds, especially cod and herring, which played the most important role in the long-distance fish trade is also provided. An important contribution — the first of its kind in Czech archaeology — is the use of carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur stable isotope analysis to determine the provenance of cod found at Prague Castle.
This study utilises multi-isotope approaches to investigate early medieval diet and childhood origins of individuals interred in an unusual group burial from Lothian, Scotland. In 1976, the skeletal remains of nine adults and five infants were unearthed from the infill of a latrine of a bathhouse at the Roman fort at Cramond, Edinburgh. Originally thought to be later medieval (14th/15th century), but recently dated to the 6th century AD, these remains represent a rare opportunity to gain deeper insights into the dietary histories and lifetime mobility of the inhabitants of early medieval south-central Scotland. Bone and teeth from the adults (n=9) were sampled, along with local faunal bone from a range of species (n=12). Long-term dietary trends were explored using stable carbon (δ¹³C), nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and sulphur (δ³⁴S) isotope analyses of bone collagen, focusing on inter-individual variability and the potential inclusion of marine protein in the diet. Sulphur (δ³⁴S) was also utilised as a possible indicator of later-life mobility. Strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and oxygen (δ¹⁸OCARB) ratios of tooth enamel were employed to identify potential locals and non-locals, as well as possible locations of childhood origin. No intra-group dietary variability was detected, and the results are similar to other contemporary populations from southern Britain. The sulphur isotope data indicate that all of the individuals likely lived locally in their last few decades of life. However, based on isotopic data from tooth enamel, at least one or perhaps two of the individuals likely spent their childhoods in other locations.
This article explores the connection between identity and the consumption of fish in the 16th-century multi-ethnic town of Nya Lödöse, Sweden. Kitchen waste from five town plots was compared to establish what fish people ate, and to look for consumption that deviated from the norm. The main aim was to test whether it is possible to identify immigrant households via fish remains: Are there any cultural markers that are specific to some regional cuisines? Regional cuisines used and continue to use various preserved fish products as staples, and consumption of specific fish products may therefore be indicative of foreign inhabitants. It is possible to identify many of these fish products in archaeological assemblages. The results of this study suggest that preserved fish products may, in some cases, represent cultural markers.
From 1429 to 1857, Elsinore and Kronborg castle, situated by the narrowest part of the Sound, were the centre for the Sound Toll, controlled by the kings of Denmark. In 1574, when Frederik II initiated the large-scale renovations that transformed the Medieval fortress of Krogen into the Renaissance castle of Kronborg, many Dutch and German artisans arrived in the town, as did a large number of Danish and foreign merchants who were attracted by the trade opportunities. Many of the immigrants settled at the Sand between the town and Kronborg, and this rapidly developed into the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan part of town, housing a great many of its well-known immigrants. Large parts of the Sand were, however, damaged when Kronborg was besieged in 1658, during the Dano-Swedish Wars of that time. The coup-de-grace came in 1659, when the settlement at the Sand was demolished. Excavations at the Sand were carried out in 2009-2011. This chapter aims to bring this lost quarter back to life and to identify the people who lived there, including those who had their homes on the excavated town plots, and to study how this part of town developed, based on a range of historical maps and written sources.
