In the footsteps of Ohthere:biomolecular analysis of early Viking Age hair combs from Hedeby (Haithabu)

Abstract

Hedeby was the largest town in the Viking North. Investigations have identified imports at the site from central and northern Scandinavia revealing long-distance connections. The chronology of this trade, however, is unclear. Here, the authors use a typological-biomolecular approach to examine connections during the early Viking Age. The application of ZooMS to an assemblage of antler combs, stylistically dated to the ninth century AD, reveals nearly all were made of reindeer antler. As most craft production waste from Hedeby comprises red deer antler, it is argued that these combs were manufactured elsewhere, perhaps hundreds of kilometres further north. The results have implications for understanding of production and regional connectivity in early medieval Scandinavia.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Muñoz-Rodriguez, Mariana (mbmr500@york.ac.uk) Presslee, Samantha Mcgrath, Krista Hausmann, Niklas (nbmh501@york.ac.uk) Hilberg, Volker Kalmring, Sven Holmquist, Lena Hendy, Jessica https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3718-1058 Ashby, Steven Paul https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1420-2108
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union's EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 under Marie Curie Actions Grant Agreement No. 676154. Funding Information: We thank Stiftung Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesmuseen, Schloß Gottorf, for permission to sample the Hedeby combs, and the York Centre of Excellence in Mass Spectrometry at the University of York for the use of the Ultraflex III MALDI-ToF/ToF instrument. The centre was created thanks to a major capital investment through Science City York, supported by Yorkshire Forward with funds from the Northern Way Initiative, and subsequent support from EPSRC (EP/K039660/1; EP/M028127/1). We thank the anonymous reviewers for invaluable comments and feedback. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.
Keywords:	antler combs,connectivity,reindeer,Scandinavia,trade network,Viking Age,ZooMS
Dates:	Published (online): 22 August 2023 Accepted: 30 January 2023
Institution:	The University of York
Academic Units:	The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > Archaeology (York)
Funding Information:	Funder Grant number EUROPEAN COMMISSION 676154
Depositing User:	Pure (York)
Date Deposited:	19 Sep 2023 13:30
Last Modified:	05 Jan 2025 00:36
Published Version:	https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2023.118
Status:	Published online
Refereed:	Yes
Identification Number:	10.15184/aqy.2023.118
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:203535

Download

Published Version

Filename: in_the_footsteps_of_ohthere_biomolecular_analysis_of_early_viking_age_hair_combs_from_hedeby_haithabu.pdf

Description: in-the-footsteps-of-ohthere-biomolecular-analysis-of-early-viking-age-hair-combs-from-hedeby-haithabu

Licence: CC-BY 2.5

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

[thumbnail of in-the-footsteps-of-ohthere-biomolecular-analysis-of-early-viking-age-hair-combs-from-hedeby-haithabu]

CORE (COnnecting REpositories)

In the footsteps of Ohthere:biomolecular analysis of early Viking Age hair combs from Hedeby (Haithabu)

Abstract

Metadata

Download

Published Version

Export

Statistics