Anthropogenic soils at two Norse farms in Greenland and Iceland

The Norse disappeared from Greenland around A.D. 1500. Many theories have been developed to explain this disappearance; including one in which poor soil management leads to the downfall of Norse agriculture. Infield pastures were integral components of Norse farms as they were used for growing fodder that sustained the livestock through winter. Therefore infield soil quality is important in sustaining Norse farms.; Infield soil was collected from two Norse sites (GUS in Greenland and Hals in Iceland) and was chemically analyzed. The purpose of the analysis was to determine whether the infield soil quality was enhanced, maintained, or depleted during the period of occupation.; Results from the samples collected from GUS indicate that infield soil quality increased during Norse Occupation. The stable isotope results indicate that soil quality was maintained primarily by animal manure that was unevenly distributed across the infield. Therefore soil exhaustion at GUS was not the reason for site abandonment.