The Development of Fishing and Fishing Communities in the Northwest of Iceland: Labor, Nature and Social Change in a Medieval Society - Doctoral Improvement Grant

Cuny Hunter College, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

0322308 McGovern This is a Dissertation Proposal by Dr. Thomas McGovern for Ragnar Edvardsson, CUNY Hunter College, to do ethnohistoric and archaeological research on Northwestern Icelandic fishing sites from the Medieval period. The proposed research will shed light on a very important period in Icelandic history, the development of commercial fisheries. Utilizing data from the archaeological record the PI hypothesizes a more dynamic interaction between society and nature than previously described in Iceland from analyses of the historic record alone. This research potentially could provide deeper insight into 13th century societal influences on fish stocks that could have implications for contemporary fisheries management worldwide.