Late Holocene Environmental History and Norse Settlement in Outer Fjords from South Greenland: A Case Study at Lake Qallimiut

Abstract

To complement discussions about vegetation history and climate variations in south Greenland, especially during the Norse settlement, we developed a sedimentological multiproxy approach to study a 4300-year-old lacustrine core comprising pollen analysis, NPPs analysis, physical measurements (magnetic susceptibility, density, and grain size), and geochemical analyses (X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and elemental analyses). Sediment archives were retrieved from a river-fed lake, Lake Qallimiut, located in the outer fjords of the Vatnahverfi area. The pollen analysis indicated a transition from juniper and willow cover to a dwarf birch forest. Non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) suggested grazing pressure and the presence of wild herbivores between 2300 and 1800 cal. BC. From ca. 1000 cal. AD, the presence of Norse farmers was evidenced in this area by archaeological surveys, and pollen analyses confirm the presence of human activities from the 11th century to the end of the 13th century. However, human impact progressively vanished between the 12th and 13th centuries, much earlier than at the other Vatnahverfi sites.