EAGER: Archaeological Investigation of Site Form and Function during the Settlement Period

冰岛是人类最后探索的陆地之一，于9世纪末首次定居。考古学家通常认为，早期的聚落是以大型集中式农场的形式出现的，然而，越来越多的小而短暂的遗址的发现挑战了这种模式。这个急切的项目通过取芯和考古挖掘，调查了冰岛北部最古老和最早的小遗址之一。目的是确定工地人类活动的性质，以及工地居民是否独立于富裕的农庄而生活，并寻求替代的生存战略。早期聚落时期小型永久居所的发现将改变对最初景观殖民过程的理解，迫使考古学家重新思考他们对陆地时期社会组织、生存和聚落模式的性质的假设。对这个早期聚落时期遗址的考古研究涉及到系统的取心，以确定文化沉积物的保存、范围和特征。露天挖掘之后进行测试挖沟，以暴露在初始测试中确定的建筑，并确定其形式、大小和年代。对文物、动植物遗骸和土壤样本的收集和综合分析补充了对结构的研究，并提供了对日常活动、生存和居住时间的洞察。这个项目将与当地一家博物馆合作进行，让社区成员回忆他们自己的过去。该项目还将为美国大学生提供国际实地考察经验，让他们熟悉测试和挖掘方法以及考古研究中使用的STEM领域。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Iceland, one of the last land masses explored by humans, was first settled in the late ninth century. Archaeologists have generally assumed that early settlement took the form of large, centralized farms, yet discovery of an increasing number of small, short-lived sites challenges this model. This EAGER project investigates one of the oldest and earliest small sites in North Iceland through coring and archaeological excavation. The objective is to determine the nature of human activity at the site and whether site inhabitants lived independent of wealthy farmsteads and pursued alternative subsistence strategies. The discovery of small, permanent habitations during the early settlement period would transform understanding of the process of initial landscape colonization, forcing archaeologists to rethink their assumptions about the nature of social organization, subsistence, and settlement patterns during landnám.Archaeological study of this early settlement-period site involves systematic coring to establish the preservation, extent and character of the cultural deposits. Open-air excavation follows with test trenching to expose the building identified during initial testing and to determine its form, size, and age. Collection and comprehensive analysis of artifacts, plant and animal remains, and soil samples complement study of the structure and provide insight into daily activities, subsistence, and length of habitation. This project will be conducted in association with a local museum, engaging community members in their own past. The project will also provide international fieldwork experience to U.S. university students and familiarize them with testing and excavation methods and with the STEM fields employed in archaeological research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.