1. Sustainability and resilience in the Norse
North Atlantic
An example from the Faroe Islands
HERC Open Workshop 2012
The Graduate Center, New York
15 October 2012
Seth D. Brewington
___________________________________________________________________________________
HERC __________________________________________
Graduate School and University Center, CUNY, New
York

2. Source: http://mapsof.net/map/map-of-faroe-islands-in-europe

3. “Sheep Letter” (Seyðabrævið) (1298)
Source: Lund University Library; http://laurentius.ub.lu.se/volumes/Mh_15/14.html

4. Source: Ian Lawson
Source: http://www.maps-of-the-world.com/mappages/Faroe_Islands_map.htm

5. UJF excavation: 2003 – 2006 seasons
Photos: S Brewington

6. Undir Junkarinsfløtti (UJF) archaeofauna
UJF 0 UJF 1 UJF 2 UJF 3 Total
Domestic Mammals 20 144 362 761 1,287
Whales 5 6 89 14 114
Seals 0 1 13 9 23
Birds 194 3,192 7,600 14,497 25,483
Fish 492 6,473 1,190 2,718 10,873
Shellfish 678 1,212 7,864 12,151 21,905
NISP 1,389 11,028 17,118 30,150 59,685
Medium Terrestrial Mammal 60 280 914 2,207 3,461
Large Terrestrial Mammal 5 28 35 119 187
Unidentified Fragments 368 1,586 3,109 6,645 11,708
TNF 1,822 12,922 21,176 39,121 75,041

7. Total UJF Archaeofauna
100%
90%
Mollusk
80%
70%
Fish
60%
% NISP
50%
40%
30% Seabird
20%
10%
Domesticates
0%
UJF 0 UJF 1 UJF 2 UJF 3
Domestic Mammals Whales Seals Birds Fish Shellfish

8. Relative proportion of wild resources
Norway Iceland Iceland Greenland
Faroes Faroes Faroes
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
% NISP
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Domestic Mammals Cetacea Seals Birds Fish Mollusca Caribou Other Mammals

9. Total UJF Archaeofauna
100%
90%
Mollusk
80%
70%
Fish
60%
% NISP
50%
40%
30% Seabird
20%
10%
Domesticates
0%
UJF 0 UJF 1 UJF 2 UJF 3
Domestic Mammals Whales Seals Birds Fish Shellfish

10. Argisbrekka
Source: http://www.maps-of-the-world.com/mappages/Faroe_Islands_map.htm

16. Acknowledgements
Símun Arge (Føroya Fornminnissavn)
Dr Thomas McGovern (Hunter College, CUNY)
Dr Sophia Perdikaris (Brooklyn College, CUNY)
Dr Andrew Dugmore (University of Edinburgh)
Dr Mike Church (Durham University)
Dr Julie Bond (University of Bradford)
Stephen Dockrill (University of Bradford)
Helgi Michelsen (Føroya Fornminnissavn)
Dorete Bloch (Føroya Náttúrugripasavn)
Special thanks are also due the people of Sandur for their enthusiastic support of the
excavations at Undir Junkarinsfløtti
This research was made possible by the generous support of the National Science
Foundation’s “Arctic Social Sciences Program,” the Leverhulme Trust’s “Landscapes
Circum Landnám” project, the “Heart of the Atlantic” project, and the PSC-CUNY
grants program.