Historical Ecology: Time, Place, People, Change

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Tipping Points in History

• Well Adapted But Still ExtinctNorse Greenland
  in New Perspective
• Tom McGovern, Andy Dugmore, Christian Keller,
  Astrid Ogilvie, Konrad Smiarowski, Jette
  Arneborg, Andy Casely
• the rest of the NABO gang

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Historical Thresholds

• 18th century ends 1789
• 19th century ends 1914
• 20th century ends 1989

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Thresholds and Conjunctures

• Things Fall Apart and Come Together- Suddenly.
• Coupled Human and Natural Systems are affected by
  processes operating over different time scales
  which can combine in unexpected ways
  (Conjunctures).
• Rates of Change Vary Widely, but sudden social/
  environmental threshold crossings are at least as
  common as gradual shifts.
• Triggers for threshold crossings are sometimes
  natural, sometimes social, often both.

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Norse Greenland c. AD 985-1450

• Classic Northern Mystery Blondes Lost in the
  Mist.
• Speculation since 1725.
• Archaeology since 1927.
• Multiple theories.
• Inuit invasion, Basque pirates, killer
  caterpillars.
• Diamond Collapse
• Human Impact (Erosion)
• Maladaptation (no fish on Friday)
• Climate Change (it got cold.)
• Oppressive elites (and foreign too).

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Norse Settlements

• Two areas of permanent farms in the SW.
• Eastern Settlement has ca. 400 ruins.
• Western Settlement has ca. 80 ruins.
• The Norðursetur (Northern Hunting Grounds) were
  in the Disko Bay area, 800 km N of the
  settlements.

Norðursetur
Western Settlement
Eastern Settlement
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Walrus in Greenland
Norse Hunters transported the dense maxilla and
tusk ivory home for final tusk extraction. Most
farms in both settlements have produced some
fragments of walrus maxilla and a few chips of
ivory. Finished ivory is very rare in Greenland.
Walrus are found throughout Greenland, but
concentrate in the central W coast (Disko Bay).
The Norse traveled for weeks from the two
settlement areas to reach this Northern Hunting
Ground
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Inner Fjord Pastures

• Warmer summers of the continental inner fjords
  produce more degree days- and richer vegetation.
• In the two large environmental pockets of the
  Eastern and Western Settlement, Greenland is
  really green- comparable to good Icelandic
  pastures.

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The Icelandic Erosion StoryMissing
Sustainability by a Week?
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Relative stream bank stability
Limited fan development
Limited pond infilling
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Caribou Hunting

• Greenland Caribou
• Prone to local extinction- esp. in the SW (range
  icing).
• After introduction of guns ca 1800, caribou made
  extinct in the Eastern Settlement Area.
• However, Norse archaeofauna have many caribou
  bones in all phases, in both Eastern Western
  Settlements.
• Despite climate fluctuations, drive systems, big
  hunting dogs, competition w/sheep goatswhy
  didnt the Norse make the E Settlement Caribou
  extinct?
• Sustainable Management?

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Norse Sealing in Greenland Arctic species and
migratory riches

• New Species Encountered Migratory Harp and
  Hooded seals, non-migratory Ringed and Bearded
  Seal.
• Norse Greenlanders rapidly exploit seasonal Harp
  and Hooded seal migration (nets, clubs, boat
  drives coordinated labor).
• No harpoons in Norse sites.
• Non-migratory (breathing hole) seals are not much
  hunted.
• Missing technology missed opportunity???

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By the 14th c. small farms show the highest of
seal bones
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Inland Icelandic Pagan Burials
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The Price of a Polar Bear 1127

• Einar Sokkasons Story reports that in 1127
  Greenlandic chieftains decided to acquire a
  bishop of their own.
• The Greenlanders transport a live polar bear to
  the King of Norways court, and acquire Bishop
  Arnald in exchange.
• He is not happy to come.but adjusts by taking
  over the manor at Gardar in the E Settlement.

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Norse Greenland ca. 1300

• Small but well established communities based on
  inner fjord farms.
• Well integrated use of communal labor (seals,
  birds).
• Apparently successful caribou conservation.
• No significant soil erosion.
• Continued importance of Norðursetur hunt Walrus
  ivory.
• Substantial, well furnished stone churches
  (stained glass, church bells) built ca.
  1150-1300.
• Westernmost outpost of medieval Christendom-
  Bishop, Law codes, monasteries.social
  stratification.

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After 1300things fall apart?

• No more churches constructed after 1300
• Western Settlement abandoned ca. 1350.
• Last recorded contact 1408.
• Eastern Settlement probably extinct ca. 1450.

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Declining demand for ivory?
The impact of cultural change
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Fig. 1 Central Greenland derived
palaeotemperatures (GISP2 180 )
985 AD
12th Century AD
14th Century AD
F
E
E Departures from mean (right hand scale) F
Cumulative departures from mean (left hand scale)
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Whale Hunters and Warriors ?

• Warfare around the Pacific rim intensifies in the
  first millennium AD.
• Archaeological finds of slat armor and barbed
  arrows in the Bering sea area.
• Phases of intensive whaling correlate with
  intensified warfare social ranking.

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Thule-Norse culture contact moves into the Norse
Settlement areas.

• By 1300, Thule winter settlements appear in the
  outer fjord and fjord mouth zones of the Western
  Settlement.
• Thule migrants discover Norse farms in the inner
  fjords.
• If conflict occurs, the Thule are positioned to
  cut off Norse access to migratory seals.

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Well adapted but still dead..

• Norse resource use is sustainable (450 years!)
• No erosion disaster
• No caribou extinction
• Communal labor coordination for
• Sealing
• Sea Bird hunting
• Walrus hunt / Norðursetur
• Written laws for communal resource use (no
  tragedy of these commons)
• Both top down and bottom up regulation
  enforcement.
• Old colonists vs. tramps?
• K vs. r???

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Smarter than Vikings??????
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Resources
Enhanced by Fields Fertiliser Introductions Know
ledge Marine harvests
Resources
Population decline initially forces Contraction
of resource utilisation
Population
Subsequent resource shortage continues
population decline
I I I I I I I
Initial
Social collapse Failure of communal provisioning
I I I I I I I I
Time
Extinction
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Viking Age Settlement Circumpolar Geography