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Iron Age Scots had Fur Farms Scotland

Submitted by coldrum on Wednesday, 06 December 2006  Page Views: 2582

Iron Age and Later Prehistory

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Country: Scotland Iron Age man reared foxes to make fur-trimmed clothes, archaeologists believe. Experts say the pelts were used to make sought-after fur-trimmed coats, loin cloths and blankets. Researchers at York University found that foxes flourished on Orkney (Scotland) during the late Iron Age. But there were none on the Outer Hebrides or Shetland, suggesting they were introduced to Orkney.

The study concluded that foxes were brought to the islands because their fur was valued more highly than that of indigenous species. However, the creatures disappeared soon after the Vikings invaded about 800 CE.

The discovery was made by studying animal bones at ancient settlement sites. Badgers are also believed to have been importedas "trophies" by the islanders. The authors say this could be evidence of the earliest example of fur farming in Scotland. Co-author Eva Fairnell said: "Humans must have been taking foxes to Orkney. "Fox fur had a high prestige - it may have been an accessory, some sort of fashionable trim."

More: Daily Record, and Eva Fairnell's page.
Contributor Bio for coldrum: Based in Milkyway, contributing since 2002. Favourite site: Avebury.

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"Iron Age Scots had Fur Farms" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Re: Iron Age Scots had Fur Farms by Andy B on Wednesday, 06 December 2006
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Other research going on at the Uni of York:

Rachel L. Parks: A sea for all seasons: a zooarchaeological approach to “sedentism” in the early prehistory of Scotland

The idea of sedentary or semi-sedentary hunter-gatherers in Mesolithic Scotland has as yet found little supportive evidence. Incomplete evidence from the shell middens on Oronsay does point towards the possibility of year-round occupation on this island, based on a predominantly marine diet. The fish bone that could contribute to this interpretation remains only partly analysed.

My proposed research has two parts: data collection and model testing. The first part will draw on the existing, but largely unpublished bank of fish bone data available for early prehistoric Scotland, including Skara Brae from the Neolithic (Jones 1993, unpublished) and Sand from the Mesolithic (Gamble forthcoming). In addition to this material, permission has been granted for analysis of excavated but unrecorded fish bone assemblages from Orkney and Oronsay.

With the increased dataset I intend to compare the Mesolithic and Neolithic archaeo-ichthyological records and make an assessment of “sedentism” based on the presence or absence of several key criteria, including: seasonal evidence for year-round resource procurement, evidence of storage (evident in skeletal element patterning) and familiarity with local resources. In this working model, assemblages from Neolithic sites, interpreted as sedentary on the basis of other archaeological evidence, act as a control.
http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/staff/Barrett.htm

R. Brian Rahn: Locational analysis(GIS) and the anthropology of Orcadian Iron Age society

My research aims to reconstruct Iron Age society in Orkney, as revealed through the development, elaboration and spread of monumental architecture. The Iron Age in northern Scotland is characterized by the construction of monumental dwellings of a defensive nature, known as brochs. Previous research suggests that brochs developed in an atmosphere of social competition, which saw monumental architecture used by incipient elites to solidify and assert their power. However, this research has generally not considered the setting of brochs within their wider landscape.

My project’s goal is to create a GIS model of Iron Age Orkney within which the landscape setting of brochs can be characterized with respect to a suite of environmental and social variables. Examination of these variables will permit a broader reconstruction of Iron Age society to take place, beyond the morphology of the broch and its immediate geographic position.

http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/pgstudents/Rahn.htm

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