The Tjarnargata 3c archaeofauna: The Fishing industry and the rise of urbanism in early modern Iceland

The Tjarnargata 3c archaeofauna: The Fishing industry and the rise of urbanism in early modern Iceland

Abstract. The Tjarnargata 3c collection is the largest collection of fish bones recovered and analyzed from an Icelandic excavation. It is also by far the largest and richest urban archaeofauna collected in Iceland. The faunal remains come from a mixed midden layer dated to the 17th to 19th century recovered in a rescue excavation. Around 95% of the bones recovered were from fish, with cod (Gadus morhua) the most numerous species. Element distribution clearly points to intensive dried fish production for the cod but the
haddock seems to have been locally consumed. By putting the Tjarnargata 3c archaeofauna in the larger historical context of export and trade new light is shed on the history of the Reykjavík fishing industry and its connections to the rise of urbanism.
Keywords. Fishing industry, cod, early modern, zooarchaeology, Iceland.

Albína Hulda Pálsdóttir

Albína Hulda Pálsdóttir

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes