Harp seals in the Icelandic archaeofauna; Sea ice and hard times?

IntroductionArchaeological excavation has demon-strated that the exploitation of seals and other wild resources was an important as-pect of the subsistence strategies adopted by settlers during the initial colonisation of Iceland from c. 871 (Amorosi 1990). Early inland and coastal sites with marine mammal, bird and fish bone assemblages

Scott Riddell

HARP SEALS IN THE ICELANDIC ARCHAEOFAUNA: SEA ICE AND HARD TIMES?

The presence of harp seal Pagophilus groenlandicus bone in Icelandic archaeofaunas has been interpreted as indicative of sea ice incidence and of “hard times” provisioning in Iceland’s past. However, recent surveys of harp seals have shown that they can occur in Icelandic coastal waters even though sea ice is absent while historical sources suggest that harp seal hunting was not passively dependent upon the occurrence of sea ice. Therefore, harp seal distribution requires consideration of other variables beyond that of sea ice incidence in order to explain the presence of harp seals in archaeological contexts e.g. population recruitment or prey items such as capelin. The early 14th century appears to witness a genuine alteration in harp seal distribution and/or migratory habits in Icelandic waters. This may either be linked to alterations in the distribution of capelin driven by the onset of the Little Ice Age or a more localised population increase linked to decadal fluctuations of the North Atlantic Oscillation.

Keywords: Harp seal, Pagophilus groenlandicus, Phoca groenlandica, sea ice, zooarchaeology, Iceland

Scott Riddell, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland. Email: [email protected]

also reveal that regional provisioning net-works existed between the coast and inte-rior (Vésteinsson et al. 2002; McGovern et al. 2006). Evidence that sealing remained important in Iceland following settlement is apparent from the wealth of documenta-ry evidence available from the 12th century onwards e.g. Diplomaticum islandicum and

Archaeologia Islandica 11 (2015) 57-72

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Jarðabók although there is variability in the degree of dependence from one region to the next (Guðmundsson 1944; Kristjánsson 1980, 312-18; Amorosi 1990). Later hunt-ing activity is also visible in the archaeolog-ical record as is the link between the coast and the interior (Ogilvie et al. 2009).

In 1992 zooarchaeologist Thomas Amorosi published the findings of an ar-chaeological excavation of a farm midden at Svalbarð in northeast Iceland (Amorosi 1992). The midden was found to contain a high percentage of seal bones; more than have been found at other archaeologi-cal sites in Iceland to date. This seal bone assemblage was primarily composed of material derived from the common seal Phoca vitulina and harp seal Pagophilus groenlandicus with the bones situated in a stratigraphy that spanned the period 1050-1800. The dating sequence was derived from tephra layers and the stylistic char-acteristics of specific artefacts e.g. bone combs. The sudden appearance of quanti-ties of harp seal bone in the 17th century in association with bone fragments of bearded seal Erignathus barbatus, walrus Odobenus rosmarus and polar bear Ursus maritimus, was attributed to the appearance of drift and pack ice in the vicinity of Svalbarð at this time. Drift ice is also cited as a possi-ble cause for an increase in lamb mortal-ity that coincided with the appearance of the Arctic mammals. These features of the archaeofauna were seen as a consequence

of climate cooling during the 17th and 18th centuries, the height of the Little Ice Age (LIA), with the exploitation of harp seals seen as an indicator of sea ice and hard times provisioning (Amorosi 1989, 1990, 1992 & 1996, 303). Amorosi (1990, 1992) has also suggested that the presence of harp seal bone in the assemblage is indicative of a dramatic alteration in the distribution of North Atlantic drift ice. In particular, the presence of neonate harp seal bone (less than 1 month old) presented the possibil-ity that there was a stable whelping area in close proximity to Iceland during the 17th and 18th centuries (Amorosi 1992 & 1996, 303).

Although a recent reassessment of the tephra sequences has called the Svalbarð chronology into question (Woollett 2008) the association of harp seal bone with sea ice near Iceland persists in the archaeologi-cal literature (Amorosi 1996; Amundsen et al. 2005; Pálsdóttir 2006; Harrison et al. 2008a & 2008b; Woollett 2008; Hicks & Harrison 2009; McGovern 2009; Ogilvie et al. 2009; Hamilton-Dyer 2010; McGovern et al. 2013, Harrison 2014). Moreover, the notion that the presence of harp seals in the archaeological record is a consequence of climate cooling and subsistence stress also endures (Byock 2001, 353; McGovern et al. 2001; Ogilvie et al. 2009; McGovern et al. 2013). However, should the interpre-tation of the Svalbarð assemblage apply to all instances of harp seal bone in the

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archaeological record? More specifically, can harp seal remains be confidently uti-lised as a proxy indicator of climate change, sea ice incidence and subsistence stress?

This paper seeks to establish that harp seal hunting need not be exclusively linked with sea ice incidence, that it was not nec-essarily driven by hard times and that in-deed, Icelanders anticipated and prepared annually for the arrival of harp seals in Ice-landic waters. Furthermore, while climate remains a significant factor with regard to harp seal distribution and breeding behav-iour (Johnston et al. 2012), other variables require consideration beyond that of sea ice incidence in order to explain the presence of harp seals in Icelandic waters. In order to effect such a consideration, what follows is an outline of the ecology of the harp seal in the Greenland Sea, a review of Icelandic archaeofaunal assemblages with harp seal bone, the Icelandic historical archive and recent bio-geographical studies pertaining to harp seals in Icelandic waters. The dating terminology follows that of the historical and archaeological source material in the use of Anno Domini (AD).

Current distribution and breeding behaviour of harp seals in the Greenland SeaOf the three populations of harp seal (Ice-landic: vöðuselur, lit: herd or pack seal) associated with the Arctic and North At-lantic, those found in Icelandic waters

are generally assumed to be derived from Greenland Sea stock (Hauksson 1986; Hauksson & Boga son 1997). Indeed, tag-ging studies have demonstrated that harp seals captured in the Denmark Strait were pupped on the Greenland Sea pack ice (Ka-pel 1996; Folkow et al. 2004). The Green-land Sea population of approximately 650,000 harp seals is migratory, utilising at various times of the year feeding grounds between Greenland (Denmark Strait) and Spitzbergen (Svalbard) (Kapel 1996; Sten-son et al. 2012). Studies show that they also travel farther afield into the Barents Sea (Folkow et al. 2004). From autumn, harp seals gather on the ice north/north-west of Jan Mayen. Here, dispersed groups of female harp seals give birth (February-March) before abandoning the pups after two to four weeks. As the Jan Mayen ice begins to drift southwards, the adults mate (March) and then move to ice north of Jan Mayen where they moult (April) after which they return to their feeding grounds in the Greenland Sea. The pups, after wean-ing, spend four to six weeks at the ice edge before following the adults on their north-ward migration (Ronald & Healey 1981). Historically, whelping areas were found upon the “West Ice” or “Odden”, a tongue of ice that extended from the East Green-land ice edge toward Jan Mayen. The exact location of the whelping areas varied ac-cording to sea ice condition and the drift of the West Ice from year to year. During

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the late 20th century, the extent of the West Ice became considerably reduced and harp seal whelping in the Greenland Sea region is now restricted to ice surrounding Jan Mayen (Wilkinson & Wadhams 2005).

Harp seals in the Icelandic archaeological record (1200-1900)There are approximately thirty two Icelandic archaeofaunas that contain seal bone. Elev-en of these assemblages include the bone of harp seals (approximately one third), seven of which are coastal and four are located in-land (Fig. 1). Between them the total Num-ber of Identified Specimens (NISP) of harp seal bone is 75 (Amorosi 1992; Amorosi 1996; Amundsen et al. 2005; Pálsdóttir, 2006; Harrison et al. 2008a; Harrison et al. 2008b; McGovern 2009; Hicks & Harrison 2009; Hamilton-Dyer 2010; McGovern et al. 2013; Harrison 2014). The material comes from a range of contexts, including erosional surfaces, test pits, full-scale exca-vations, middens, farm mounds and struc-tures. Chronologically the material derives from the period 1200-1900 (Fig. 2). Given the onset of the LIA in Iceland from c. 1275 (Miller et al. 2012) and its persistence un-til 1900 (Massé et al. 2008), the presence of harp seal bone in Icelandic archaeofau-nas has usually been linked by zooarchae-ologists to sea ice inundations; generally following Amorosi (1992). Only a single re-port from Eyri (Ísafjörður) explicitly states that the presence of harp seal bone in the

archaeofauna could simply be derived from a vagrant animal (Harrison et al. 2008b).

Neonatal harp seals were identified in the assemblages of Akurvík and Svalbarð, deemed to be less than a month old in the latter instance and prompting suggestions that there may have been harp seal whelp-ing areas in Icelandic waters in the past (Amorosi 1992 & 1996, 303). With regard to Akurvík, the manner in which the ma-terial is discussed suggests that there were at least two harp seal pups present within the assemblage (Fig. 2, NISP 2). Unfortu-nately, the bones were derived from a col-lapsed erosion face and could not be tied to a fixed stratigraphic point although they have been allocated to the Late Medieval period (Amorosi 1996, 303; Amundsen et al. 2005).

The assemblage of harp seal bone (NISP 33) from the Svalbarð midden was origi-nally attributed to the 17th century but a recent revision now places the collection somewhere within a 500 year span (1300-1800) (Woollett 2008). Unfortunately, the bone values for the two stratigraphic units at Svalbarð that represent this period have been collated into a single value which pre-cludes any attempt to discern whether or not they belong predominantly to the ear-lier or later unit (Amorosi 1992; Woollett 2008). A further surface collection of harp seal bone (NISP 12) was gathered from an eroded face of the midden at Svalbarð but it was unstratified due to fluvio-turbation

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(Armorosi 1996, 401-402). Ongoing ar-chaeological investigations at Svalbarð con-tinue to find harp seal bone, … including that of neonates (Konrad Smiarowski, pers. comm.).

The available data for Tjörnes is lim-ited but implies at least one harp seal (Fig. 2, NISP 1) and although there is no de-scription of the archaeological context or stratigraphic position, it is placed between the Medieval and Early Modern period (Amorosi 1996, 168). The harp seal ulnas from Fornusandar II (Fig. 2, NISP 3) have no stratigraphic context and are found in a region that lies beyond the usual range of

sea ice. An explanation of the latter point, and a date, is sought through the presence of a nearby commercial sealing enter-prise established during the 17th century (Amorosi 1996, 188). While harp seal bone data is available for 18th century Skútu staðir (Fig. 2), harp seal bone identified within deeper deposits has yet to be quantified and dated (Hicks & Harrison 2009).

Harp seal culls and hunting methods in Iceland (1600-1900)Harp seals are conventionally believed to arrive in Iceland during years of severe or extreme sea ice (Guðmundsson 1944;

Figure 1. Archaeofaunal assemblages with harp seal bone in Iceland: 1) Skriðu klaustur, 2) Svalbarð, 3) Tjörnes, 4) Gömlu Grímsstaðir, 5) Skútustaðir, 6) Hofstaðir, 7) Gásir, 8) Siglunes, 9) Akurvík, 10) Eyri (Ísafjörður), 11) Fornusandar. II. Other seal bone assemblages mentioned in the text: a) Skuggi and Oddstaðir (Hörgár dalur), b) Gjögur, c) Vatnsfjörður, d) Miðbær (Flatey), e) Innri Hvanney (Bjarneyjar).


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Ólafsson 1975 vol. I, 304; Kristjánsson 1980, 312-318; Amorosi 1996, 303). Sea ice does not form around Iceland’s coast; it is exported in the form of drift ice from the Arctic Ocean (Miller et al. 2012). When drift ice fills the fjords of northern Iceland it is defined as “severe” while “extreme” ice occurs when it is carried down the east coast (Eyþórsson & Sigtryggsson 1971). On rare occasions it can drift westwards along the south coast as far as Reykjanes as hap-pened, for example, in 1695 (Vilmundar-son 1969, 313-332). Observations of seals in association with sea ice extend as far back as the 13th century e.g. at the Flóa bardagi (Battle of the Bay) in 1244 (Sturlunga Saga II, 50), the Selvorið mikla (Great Seal

Spring) in 1564 (Kristjánsson 1980, 328) and from written descriptions of Iceland in 1595 (Benediktsson 1952; Einarsson 1971). Clubbing seals on ice (uppi dráp) is record-ed from 1565 until 1895 (Guðmunds son 1944; Kristjánsson 1980, 326-330).

Journeying in Iceland between 1752 and 1757, Eggert Ólafsson provides the first specific reference to harp seals being killed in great numbers on the ice with clubs in Skaga fjörður, Eyja fjörður and Þing eyjar-sýsla (Ólafsson 1975 vol. II, 49-50). How-ever, as a hunting method, it is not until the early 19th century that uppidráp be-comes most prominent, with large culls from Aðalvík (Hornstrandir, 1817/1818, “a high number”), Norður Múlasýsla (1819,

Figure 2. Harp seal bone in Icelandic archaeofauna’s minus Svalbarð due to its unrefined chronology (timeframe indicated). The dates for Fornusandar II, Akurvík and Tjörnes are speculative. The NISP at Akurvík and Tjörnes is unknown but they must have a minimum NISP of 2 and 1 respectively.

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2000+) and Skagafjörður (1830, 1000) (Guðmundsson 1944, 151-152; Kristjáns-son 1980, 329). Only three 19th century culls refer specifically to harp seal pups being clubbed (Vestfirðir 1817/1818, Horn strandir and Hrúta fjörður 1820 and Skaga fjörður 1830). Notably, the harp seal pup cull of 1820 does not make any refer-ence to drift ice (Guðmundsson 1944, 151-52; Kristjánsson 1980, 329).

Intriguingly, the earliest reference to harp seals in Iceland is not associated with uppidráp. It comes from 1605 with a legal judgement pertaining to the right to hunt harp seals with nets in Norður Þingeyjar-sýsla (Espólín 1821-1855, 92-93). Ólafur Olavius, travelling in northern Iceland from 1775 until 1777 also observed that farmers in Þingeyjarsýsla were using nets to capture harp seals, with further accounts suggesting that between 2160 to 2300 harp seals were captured in this region in this manner at that time (Kristjánsson 1980, 360-363). There were up to 50 nets laid in Þingeyjarsýsla overall and it seems that the region specialised in this hunting method (Kristjánsson 1980, 360-63); a method that persisted there into the early 20th century (Guðmundsson 1944, 164-67). There are a number of other features of this 350 year old tradition that are worthy of note. Dur-ing the 17th century, the six nets at Hraun-höfn (said to be the best place in the region to catch harp seals with nets) were auc-tioned every three years with the attached

rights exclusive to the highest bidder while in 1800 the priest at Húsavík leased his harp sealing rights (Kristjánsson 1980, 364). The economic rather than subsistence value of harp seal derivatives is perhaps emphasised by the fact that in 1750 an entire harp seal could be sold in Iceland for 2 ríkisdalir; by 1775 this price applied only to the skin (Kristjánsson 1980, 364).

Nets were used elsewhere in north-ern Iceland but not to the extent apparent in Þingeyjarsýsla. For example, in 1833, large catches of harp seals are accounted for in Flateyjardalur (1500), Siglunes and Siglufjörður (500) and Skagafjörður (300) (Guðmundsson 1944, 158). From 1840, nets were used in Steingrímsfjörður and Ísafjarðardjúp. Killer whales (Orcinus orca) were responsible for driving harp seals into these fjords; a habit that enterprising locals took advantage of by laying their nets in the path of the fleeing harp seals (Kristjánsson 1980, 362). Netting of harp seals began in Breiðafjörður in the winter of 1857 with the best results reported from Kerlingarfjörður, Skálmarfjörður and Kollafjörður. A further mid-19th century account states that a boat from Reykjanes laid nets in Kollafjörður and captured 212 harp seals over four win-ters (Kristjánsson 1980, 362-64).

According to 19th century accounts, harp seals appear to have frequented northern, eastern and western Icelandic waters predominantly between November and May (although there is some regional


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variation within this span) and some ani-mals appear to have occasionally lingered into the early summer months (Kristjáns-son 1980, 329-62). Of particular note is a 19th century account that describes packs of pregnant harp seals gathering in Eyja-fjörður prior to swimming for the whelp-ing ice; the “kæpahlaup” (lit. birth-run) (Kristjánsson 1980, 333). It is also worth noting that harp seals have been observed in the past occasionally frequenting the estuary of Kúðafljót and sandy beaches in southern Iceland (Fig. 3) (Kristjánsson 1980, 364; Hauksson & Bogason 1997).

Harp seal surveys in the Greenland & Iceland Seas (1980-2005)A survey conducted between 1981 and 1984 found 62 vagrant harp seals in Ice-landic waters, mainly in the north (Fig. 3) (Hauksson 1986). An annual increase in seal numbers was observed during the survey with 60% of animals less than a year old. No direct correlation was made be-tween harp seal and sea ice incidence for this period. However it was remarked that harp seal abundance was at its greatest dur-ing years of heavy pack ice in line with per-ceived historical patterns (Hauksson 1986). A further survey conducted between 1989 and 1994 found 183 vagrant harp seals in Icelandic waters of which 63% were found in the north (Fig. 3) (Hauksson & Bogason 1997). Ninety five were either pups or less than one year old with a further 52 less

than two years old (animals were aged ac-cording to cementum growth layers in the canine tooth). The number of harp seals registered for this period is almost three times that of the previous survey and this was seen as a reflection of an ongoing in-crease in harp seal numbers in Icelandic waters. Another key finding of the 1989-1994 survey was that the increase in harp seals could not be correlated with the sea ice record for the north coast of Iceland for the same period. Instead, the increase was linked to an increase in the harp seal population in the Greenland Sea (Hauks-son & Bogason 1997). Similar surges in the numbers of young harp seals observed in Norwegian waters occurred in the 1990s, linked to an increase in the harp seal popu-lation of the Barents Sea (Haug et al. 1996). Twentieth century variations in harp seal populations across their range in the North Atlantic have been correlated with decadal fluctuations in the air and water circulation system known as the North Atlantic Oscil-lation (NAO) and the consequential availa-bility of sea ice in whelping areas (Johnston et al. 2012).

While there is variation between the two Icelandic datasets with regard to spe-cific months, the general pattern suggests that harp seals are absent in Icelandic wa-ters in the autumn and reach their great-est numbers during the winter into spring/summer. This demographic is also apparent around Greenland’s eastern shores (Kapel

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1996). The timing of this influx coincides with the migration of spawning capelin Mallotus vallosus near Iceland from Feb-ruary until May (Hauksson 1986; Hauks-son & Boga son 1997). A further study of 16 tagged harp seals from Jan Mayen also found that their distribution and move-ments coincided with that of capelin in the Greenland and Iceland Seas. Several of these harp seals occupied the Denmark Strait throughout the year (except for May) and their numbers increased between No-vember and March (1999-2000). Some of these seals entered the waters off Ice-land’s Vestfirðir in January and February (Folkow et al. 2004). Researchers note the

considerable time that harp seals spend in open water; contrary to a general percep-tion that associates them with sea ice (Ka-pel 1996; Folkow et al. 2004).

Discussion: Harp seal biogeography, hunting and climateDespite the vagaries of its chronology, Sval-barð retains its significance with regard to seals (NISP 885, 1050-1800) and harp seals (NISP 33, 1300-1800) in particular. That there are no harp seals in the Svalbarð as-semblage prior to 1300 is notable. Similarly, while seal bone (NISP 12) is present at Hof-staðir from 940 it is not until 1300 that harp seal bones appear in its stratigraphy (Fig.

Figure 3. Number of seals from the 19811984 survey (Bold) (Hauksson 1986) and from 1989 1994 (standard font) (Hauksson & Bogason 1997). Archaeofaunal assemblages with harp seal bone are indicated with an asterisk (*). The estuary of Kúðafljót is on the south coast (x).


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2, NISP 21) (McGovern 2009). At Gásir, harp seals (Fig. 2, NISP 5) also arise after 1300 although there are no data available for earlier periods for this site by which to make a comparison (Harrison et al. 2008a). However, the seal assemblages dat-ed to 871-1200 from Skuggi (NISP 47) and Oddstaðir (NISP 10) in Hörgardalur (the Gásir hinterland, Fig. 1) do not contain any harp seal remains (Harrison 2010 & 2012). Proximity to the sea may be a factor but it has not precluded the presence of harp seal bone from other inland sites with post-1300 assemblages (Fig. 1) e.g. Hofstaðir, Skútustaðir and Skriðuklaustur (Hicks & Harrison 2008; McGovern 2009; Hamilton-Dyer 2010). Furthermore, harp seal bone is also absent from early, and relatively large, seal bone assemblages from coastal sites around Iceland (Fig. 1) e.g. Gjögur (1160-1400) NISP 72 (Krivogorskaya et al. 2005), Vatnsfjörður (900-1000) NISP 22 (Páls-dóttir et al. 2008) and Miðbær (1250-1400) NISP 43 (Amorosi, 1996, 982-988). To date, it is only at Siglunes in northern Ice-land where a single harp seal bone has been found that pre-dates 1300 (Harrison 2014). Otherwise, the 14th century appears to wit-ness a real change in harp seal distribution and/or migratory habits (Fig. 2). This could suggest either a population increase in the Greenland Sea or a change in the range or migratory patterns of capelin (Haug et al. 1996; Hauksson & Bogason 1997; Folkow et al. 2004). The former may simply be linked

to the NAO while the latter may be a genu-ine signal of climate change and the onset of the LIA (Rose 2005; Johnston et al. 2012; Miller et al. 2012). Capelin is known to re-spond rapidly to changes in sea tempera-ture in the North Atlantic and the greater the change in sea temperatures, the greater the population displacement. As such, it is considered an indicator of climate induced change to seasonal sea temperatures. As a “keystone” species within the North At-lantic marine ecosystem, its behaviour has a direct impact upon those animals which feed upon it i.e. marine mammals such as harp seals (Rose 2005).

According to the written sources, the presence of harp seals in Icelandic waters sustained a particular hunt in Norður Þing-eyjar sýsla, documented from 1605 into the 20th century (Guðmundsson 1944, 164-67; Kristjánsson 1980, 360-63). However, the key surmise that arises from the persis-tence of the cull and the regulatory frame-work surrounding the harp seal netting tradition in Norður Þingeyjarsýsla is that it depended upon a predictable, regular, movement of harp seals into Icelandic wa-ters irrespective of sea ice. An accumulated knowledge of harp seal movements and behaviour allowed sealers to place their nets with confidence of hunting success at known locations on an annual basis. Sea ice was known to impair the effectiveness of seal netting in the north but is otherwise never mentioned with regard to the capture

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of harp seals in nets (Kristjánsson 1980, 361-62). Hunting methods were therefore applied according to sea ice conditions i.e. uppidráp on ice when appropriate and nets when sea ice was limited or absent. This was not an activity restricted to hard times and nor was it opportunistic; as borne out by the legal allocation, auctioning and leas-ing of sealing rights and the apparent mar-ket in harp seal derivatives i.e. the price on derivatives implies a commodity.

Twentieth century surveys of harp seals in Icelandic waters (Hauksson 1986; Hauksson & Bogason 1997; Folkow et al. 2004) demonstrate that:

• Harp seals from Jan Mayen spend a great deal of time migrating through open water between the various quar-ters of the Greenland Sea and beyond; including Icelandic inshore waters.

• Harp seals are often found in Icelandic waters when sea ice is absent.

• Harp seals found in Icelandic waters are predominantly less than one year old.

• Harp seals are usually found in Icelandic waters during winter and spring.

• Harp seals enter into Icelandic waters in search of prey i.e. capelin.

The first two points challenge the assump-tion that harp seal bone found in the archaeological record was accumulated ex-clusively during periods of extreme or se-vere sea ice in Icelandic waters. Nor should

reference to harp seal pups in historical ac-counts or the presence of neonate harp seal bone in archaeofauna’s necessarily suggest that there were harp seal whelping areas (and therefore sea ice) near Iceland. While the interpretation of the Svalbarð neonatal assemblage remains viable, with neonate harp seals less than one month old, it is worth noting that young harp seals, once weaned, can potentially disperse into Ice-landic coastal waters once they abandon the sea ice in the whelping area (as early as 6 weeks old) (Ronald & Healey 1981; Amorosi 1992). This has some bearing on the interpretation of the Akurvík assem-blage and the assessment of new material from Svalbarð and other Icelandic archaeo-faunas (Amorosi 1996, 168).

The parity between the archaeological, historical and ecological data with regard to the distribution of harp seals in Iceland and its surrounding waters is striking and includes areas that are not commonly in-undated by sea ice (Vilmundarson 1969, 313-32), in particular Iceland’s south coast (Fig. 3). It is however important to ac-knowledge the absence of harp seal bone in seal bone assemblages from Breiðafjörður i.e. Miðbær (Flatey) and Innri Hvanney (Bjarn eyjar), despite the historical and modern evidence for their, albeit limited, presence there (Amorosi 1996, 982-88; Woollett 2007).

With regard to seasonality, there is a re-markable consistency in the timing of harp


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seal incidence in Icelandic waters between the modern surveys and historical records (Hauksson & Bogason 1997). Harp seals arrive in the winter months and remain until the spring coincident with the arrival of migratory capelin in Icelandic waters (Hauksson 1986; Hauksson & Bogason 1997; Folkow et al. 2004). The latter part of this period is also coincident with whelp-ing and mating on the sea ice around Jan Mayen (Ronald & Healey 1981; Hauksson & Bogason 1997). Therefore, based on the age range data from the modern surveys, it is possible that juvenile, non-breeding animals linger in Icelandic waters to feast and mature on a diet of capelin (Hauksson 1986; Hauksson & Bogason 1997) while adult harp seals abandon the area to give birth and mate on the sea ice in the Green-land Sea; as is possibly intimated by the 19th century account of the annual Eyjafjörður kæpahlaup (Kristjánsson 1980, 333).

That 20th century counts of harp seals are low and dispersed in comparison with the historical archive could be explained by the decimation of the harp seal popula-tion in the Greenland Sea by Scottish and Norwegian sealers during the 19th century (Wilkinson & Wadhams 2005). Further-more, the recent recovery of the Jan May-en stock is inhibited by current changes in climate that hinder the development of the specific sea ice required for whelp-ing (Johnston et al. 2012). There is also the simple fact that the harp seal hunt came to

an end in Iceland during the late 19th cen-tury and with it, any incentive to monitor harp seal numbers (culled or otherwise) combined with the fact that the areas where the harp seal fishery was most active have since become depopulated (Hauksson & Boga son 1997).

Conclusion: Climate, sea ice and hard times?That harp seals have occupied Icelandic waters in association with sea ice in the past is a fact. There may or may not be a di-rect correlation between the two variables but given that harp seals are also known to occupy Icelandic waters in the absence of sea ice, it is likely that they are not and that there is something more fundamental at play. It is proposed that, as modern harp seal migratory habits have been linked to the distribution of capelin in Icelandic wa-ters, this may be the basis for the presence of harp seals in the archaeological record and may also be responsible for the conti-nuity of a specific type of harp seal cull in the past, particularly in northeast Iceland (Guðmundsson 1944, 164-67; Kristjánsson 1980, 360-63; Hauksson 1986; Hauksson & Bogason 1997; Folkow et al. 2004). The persistence of this cull and the regulatory and economic framework that surrounded it suggests that this was not simply an op-portunistic, subsistence activity driven by hard times (Guðmundsson 1944, 164-67; Kristjánsson 1980, 360-63). The notable

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increase in the presence of harp seal bone in the archaeological record in the 14th cen-tury intimates a significant alteration to the bio-geography of the harp seal at this time. This may be linked either to a change in capelin migratory habits and a genuine shift in climate or, a population increase in the Greenland Sea, perhaps linked to the NAO (Haug et al. 1996; Hauksson & Bogason 1997; Folkow et al. 2004: Rose 2005; Johnston et al. 2012).

AcknowledgmentsI’d like to thank Sandra Granquist (Icelan-dic Seal Centre, Hvammstangi) and Erling-ur Hauksson (Marine Research Centre of Breiðafjörður, Ólafsvík) for helpful advice on the ecology and the distribution of harp seals in Iceland. Similarly, thanks to the par-ticipants of the Human Seal Interrelations Workshop, University of Stockholm, No-vember 2014, for further useful insights into seal and human relations across northern Europe; in particular Konrad Smiarowski (City University of New York) for the up-to-date information on the Svalbarð excava-tion. I’d also like to thank Glóey Finnsdóttir and Guðrún Þráins dóttir for help with the translation of Icelandic sources. Thanks also go to the anonymous reviewers and the editor for taking the time to provide both positive encouragement and constructive feedback on this paper. The responsibility for any erroneous interpretation of data or sources lies exclusively with me.

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Documents

Harp seals in the Icelandic archaeofauna; Sea ice and hard times?