The Viking World: A History in ObjectsMain MenuGallery viewA galleryTag Cloudtag cloud pageThemesA path of thematic categoriesAuthor IndexExplore the collection by authorWorks CitedReferencesAdam Bigelow3afa9c7ecebf516bba6609664b1b12f79c54bf77Caitlin Donahue61b7e986e7c71d400e5c803912ed83c0cf65252fCaroline Harvey1783f21a5882b5b4d3d0b6c174d058052a5ff7eaEdward Hershewee701ef220480b51ca728fc9c719bc094cf813655Martin Hoffmana1fd203afd9a84ee8db567e188cf6ed1d269386eTyler Hruby23493f763b312110686cfafc62578fd0ab5f3833Brittany N. Johnsonc1c1763339f8fa953e3c907c6bb8a3bad0c28b2cCarlos Lua Pineda0a28cc23b0aa00b4f24a9e205aeb57fbdb07ff01Moira McConnell710633400590ea38533ea3412c01fc5056288180Clara McCurdy9aec76477d0b55f9c685c47330d6786ec98182e1Elise McIlhaneyef48481634ff342c8b43c9d56f678b2d3562fb69Cameron Meikle669a5682bfbfd603130a26e25628f24eb07e6295Alexander Christopher Newkirk019c2f5b38c043507251d1789e2fdf47e61c3b7fBenja Reilly816c23aa0d444213fb2d1ef33555a15617e08228Oliver Statenc625ae8c3926f5e1a4268bc91d6a6f4cdb1e7fb6Liam Sullivanaa3a1dccb90c7fe4646b61c4af594abbb0c5574aRead Wilder31bf4715220144a665996f2e6cae80a1a8611eadAliza Yazdanicd49f227d88c72331226ddf574bf56c37308cd10Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707dea
Icelandic Iron Fishhook
12017-05-22T08:14:09-07:00Alexander Christopher Newkirk019c2f5b38c043507251d1789e2fdf47e61c3b7f164562Four centimeter long iron fishhook found in the north of Icelandplain2017-05-22T08:17:24-07:00Kendall, Aaron. Icelandic Iron Fishhook, 3–13, 2016. 402596. The Digital Archaeological Record.900-1100402596CC BY65.484,-17.223IronIceland Institute of ArcheologyAkureyri, IcelandViking AgeAlexander Christopher Newkirk019c2f5b38c043507251d1789e2fdf47e61c3b7f
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12017-05-24T10:09:20-07:00Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707deaMap ViewAustin Mason2An interactive map of all the objects in the collectiongoogle_maps2017-05-24T11:39:30-07:00Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707dea
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12017-05-22T08:45:58-07:00Iron Fishhook6object pageplain2017-09-21T23:04:23-07:00This is an Iron Fishhook, roughly 4 centimeters long, excavated in 2004. The artifact was found in northern Iceland, slightly southeast of Akureyri. The site is dated to between the 10th and 12th century. We see a straight piece of iron with a curl on the end, heavily distorted by corrosion and accreted material. This fishhook is a useful view into the lives of the Norse who lived in harsher climates. Fish was likely the most important component of diet in the any area of concentrated population, and was absolutely crucial as you ventured northward.[1] This hook shows the attempt to extract calories from any thawed body of water, as the site is significantly inland. Further, there will be significantly different cultural values in a gatherer culture vs a farming culture. Although farming is not fundamentally predictable, it is more consistent than fishing is. While you may have knowledge of optimal locations, management of harvest and planning is simply impractical. Thus, there is a greater emphasis on individual exploration and transportation than in cultures of more static food source. The Norse were not exclusive fisherman, in Iceland most people were farmers and raised livestock, but it was necessary to augment their diet with fish and game. The Norse were farmers, but not immobile ones, the relatively harsh environment necessitated gathering as well. The Norse stand in contrast to the Sami people described as described in The Voyage of Ohthere, who follow their reindeer in the winter and the fisheries in the summer.
A further consequence of fish as a staple is a core relationship between those peoples and seafaring. We have an expectation of universal seafaring competency and a cultural value on sailing then from Norse communities, especially those closer to the coast and further north. This is certainly consistent with our medieval texts, with the seafaring nature of the Norse being perhaps their most consistently reported feature. This fishhook represents the complexity of the Norse diet and how connected the Norse people were with the sea and its fisheries.
