Colonization and settlement abandonment Kolonisation ... - Bluerange
Colonization and settlement abandonment Kolonisation ... - Bluerange
Colonization and settlement abandonment Kolonisation ... - Bluerange
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<strong>Colonization</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>settlement</strong><br />
ab<strong>and</strong>onment<br />
<strong>Kolonisation</strong> och ödeläggelse
What is colonization?<br />
• Why does it occur?<br />
• Who colonizes?
Episodes of historic colonization: focus on<br />
Denmark <strong>and</strong> Sweden<br />
• Medieval colonization in Skåne: 11 th -12 th c<br />
• 17 th c colonization in northern <strong>and</strong> central Sweden:<br />
skogsfinnar<br />
• Colony of New Sweden 1638-1655
Medieval colonization (late 10 th c -12 th c)<br />
• Establishment of new<br />
regulated villages: common<br />
initiative of peasants,<br />
noblemen, king <strong>and</strong> church<br />
• Common features of<br />
villages: farms <strong>and</strong> tofts,<br />
village greens (bygatan)<br />
• L<strong>and</strong> division: solskifte<br />
(Sweden) bolskifte<br />
(Denmark)<br />
• Reorganization of work
A large farm<br />
<strong>and</strong> a few<br />
smaller<br />
farms<br />
Two large<br />
farms,<br />
which rent<br />
out their<br />
l<strong>and</strong> to<br />
peasants<br />
A few<br />
farms of<br />
similar size
Solskifte in the village of Älgesta, Närke (east to west; south to north)
Hypothetical<br />
reconstruction<br />
of daily paths<br />
<strong>and</strong> work<br />
tasks of a<br />
typical<br />
household in<br />
the Viking<br />
Age<br />
(From T.<br />
Thurston<br />
1999)
Hypothetical<br />
reconstruction of<br />
daily paths <strong>and</strong><br />
work tasks of a<br />
typical<br />
household after<br />
l<strong>and</strong>scape<br />
reorganization in<br />
the Middle Ages<br />
(From T.<br />
Thurston 1999)
Reorganization of work<br />
• New villages with larger fields next to the farms<br />
• On the plains switch from two-field rotation system to three-field<br />
rotation<br />
• Change in technology: from ard plow to moldboard plow
Kungalev <strong>and</strong> kungsgårdar<br />
• Listed in Kongelevslistan in Kong<br />
Valdemars Jordebok from 1230’s<br />
• Local centers with special rights,<br />
points of royal power in the<br />
l<strong>and</strong>scape<br />
• Greatest importance between<br />
1000-1150/1200, then loose their<br />
political importance
Forest Finns - skogfinnar<br />
• emigrated to Sweden <strong>and</strong> Norway<br />
from Savonia in Eastern Finl<strong>and</strong><br />
during the late 16th <strong>and</strong> early to<br />
mid 17th centuries. Traditionally<br />
pursued slash-<strong>and</strong>-burn<br />
agriculture (svedjebruk)<br />
• Why did the migrate to Sweden?<br />
Push factors: wars, high taxation,<br />
diminishing of l<strong>and</strong> suitable for<br />
slush <strong>and</strong> burn agriculture. Pull<br />
factors: economic benefits offered<br />
in Sweden
Grannäs, Alfta sn, Hälsingl<strong>and</strong><br />
A farm built in the early 1600’s<br />
by brothers Mats <strong>and</strong> Knut<br />
Peckainen<br />
Excavated remains of Knut’s<br />
rökstuga. Finds included 1610<br />
coin, pottery, tools, pipes,<br />
objects made of tree bark
Swedish <strong>and</strong><br />
Finnish<br />
<strong>settlement</strong> in<br />
America<br />
Colony of New<br />
Sweden: 1638-1655<br />
In 1690’s a community<br />
of at least 188 Swedish<br />
famillies or 942<br />
individuals
17 th c Swedish cabin, Drexel Hill, PA<br />
Granary built in 1650’s, Greenwich, NJ
Ab<strong>and</strong>onment<br />
» Why do people ab<strong>and</strong>on their <strong>settlement</strong>?<br />
Economy<br />
Demography<br />
Climate<br />
Catastophy<br />
Political pressure
Why was Greenl<strong>and</strong> ab<strong>and</strong>oned?<br />
Hvalsey church ruin (site of the<br />
last recorded Norse marriage in<br />
1408)<br />
Climate change <strong>and</strong> failure to<br />
adopt to the colder conditions<br />
Inuit <strong>settlement</strong> moves<br />
southwards: aggression <strong>and</strong><br />
competition<br />
Events in Europe (e.g. Black<br />
Death) limit trade contacts <strong>and</strong><br />
communication<br />
Farm under the s<strong>and</strong> (GUS), Western<br />
Settlement, ab<strong>and</strong>oned in the 14 th c
Cooling of the climate: ca 1300<br />
Great Famine in the early 14 th c<br />
Epidemics of Black Death: 1349 in Norway <strong>and</strong> Denmark,<br />
1350 in Sweden (returning in 1360’s, <strong>and</strong> throughout 1400’s)
How to trace colonization <strong>and</strong> <strong>settlement</strong><br />
ab<strong>and</strong>onment in historical archaeology<br />
• Written documents<br />
• Maps<br />
• Archaeological excavation<br />
• Pollen analysis
Etymology of place names (origins <strong>and</strong><br />
meaning)<br />
-stad = place Iron Age (e.g. Ystad)<br />
-löv (-lev) = inherited Iron Age (e.g. Odarslöv (Ottar’s<br />
inheritance)<br />
-by = hamlet/village Viking Age (e.g. Stångby)<br />
-torp, -arp, -röd = new <strong>settlement</strong>, clearing Middle Ages (e.g. Flackarp)<br />
-vall(a) = flat, grass-covered place Middle Ages (e.g. Kyrkvallen)<br />
-böle or bol = new <strong>settlement</strong> Middle Ages <strong>and</strong> later<br />
-sved = a farm cleared through slush <strong>and</strong> burn technique 1500-1600<br />
- oböle, utgods, ödesböle = deserted <strong>settlement</strong>
Archaeology<br />
Excavations of farms <strong>and</strong> fields<br />
Radiocarbon dating
Naturens<br />
historiska arkiv
kärrtistel<br />
havre<br />
sprängört<br />
maskros<br />
ljung<br />
al
Per Lagerlås study of northern Skåne
Östra Ringarp<br />
Jordbrukets historia<br />
Gård<br />
Tillfällig odling
Grisavad<br />
Jordbrukets historia<br />
Öde (igenplantering)<br />
Ljunghed<br />
Gård (torp)<br />
Öde (igenväxning)<br />
Gård<br />
Tillfällig odling
Värsjötorpet<br />
Jordbrukets historia<br />
Öde (igenplantering)<br />
Ljunghed<br />
Gård (torp)<br />
Öde (bete)<br />
Gård<br />
Tillfällig odling
Bjärabygget<br />
Värsjötorpet<br />
Grisavad<br />
Östra Ringarp<br />
Expansioner och ödeläggelser: norra Skåne<br />
summering av fyra pollendiagram<br />
År e.Kr.
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