Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HECoW (Household Ecology. Consumption and Wellbeing in Early Modern Iceland)

Teaser

Increased consumption of mass produced materials has been noted in various cultural context throughout the post medieval period. The current project\'s objectives were to date and qualify these changes in the Icelandic context but rather than forming a new interpretive model...

Summary

Increased consumption of mass produced materials has been noted in various cultural context throughout the post medieval period. The current project\'s objectives were to date and qualify these changes in the Icelandic context but rather than forming a new interpretive model for the causes of these cultural changes it proposed to explore what affects they had on people\'s, and in particular women’s, day to day lives. The societal importance of this work lies in its potential to illuminate the relationship between daily routines and the accumulation of material culture. By exploring how our daily tasks are entangled in a host of materials and how these materials themselves are interconnected, it may be possible to suggest ways forward to disentangle ourselves from certain things. By researching the historical roots of increased consumption of mass produced things and how they become a part of daily routines it is possible to pierce the notions of an axiomatic progress, which mass consumption is often portrayed as heralding.

Work performed

The first task undertaken was to complete a list of all the probate inventories from a single county, which are archived at the National Archives of Iceland. In total, 2283 individuals were listed, whose probate inventories are preserved from the county of Skagafjarðarsýsla, dating to the period 1760-1910. The second stage was to sort the list by decade of creation and by value and select one inventory from each wealth quarterly from the decades 1770s-1900s. These records were then photographed for further analysis at the University of Iceland. This included listing all the items probated by category and type (i.e. kitchen things, bedding, clothing, agricultural implements) and breaking down all further information given into different categories, such as raw materials (e.g. ceramic, metal, wool), colour, age/condition and value. A total of 14224 objects were listed from 56 inventories.
The second task was to analyse the ceramic content of archaeological assemblages from the period. A total of five sites, which had a relatively large ceramic assemblage and were dated to the 19th century, were chosen for analysis. A total of 11459 sherds were catalogued. A selection of sherds was photographed in publication quality to show the variety of decoration and ware types present. The photographs were published on the project´s website. (see FIG 1).

Final results

The project has progressed the knowledge of 19th-century material culture in Iceland in considerable ways. By cataloging and analyzing all the major archaeological ceramic assemblages dated to this period it has provided other researchers with valuable comparative materials as well as it has helped date the sites more narrowly, which will aid any further investigation and analysis into their histories. The deep analysis of the selected probate inventories has shown the great interpretive potential of this data for statistical analysis. The two databases combined have grounded and dated changes in material culture in Icelandic homes by showing the introduction of specific materials at definite points in time and how their inclusion in the household material culture can be correlated.

With respect to the overall objectives listed the main results are:
a) Quantify and qualify growth in consumption in the period 1750 - 1900 in Iceland
The archaeological assemblages strongly suggest a growth in consumption around the middle of the 19th century when the number of artefacts rises and ceramics, in particular, become increasingly abundant. Refined, mass produced tableware, represents over 76% of the ceramic assemblages from 1850-1900, up from 42% earlier in the century.
The rise in consumption is not as clear from the probate inventories which show a much more stable number of items probated throughout the century. It is clear, however, that a host of new things get introduced from the 1840s onward.

b) Analyse the effects of the increase of each item on the household ecology
That data collected showed that the addition of certain things, such as ceramic cups and saucers, is bundled together with the consumption of other things. Most notably coffee making utensils (such as grinders, kettles etc.) but it also shows a correlation with superficially unrelated things such as furniture and linen (FIG 2). It is clear that most items were not introduced to the household material culture in isolation but rather that the consumption of one item affected the consumption of a host of other things.

c) Investigate differences in consumption patterns across the social spectrum
It is clear that the professions of the individuals whose estates were probated influenced the type of things they owned. The consumption of new items was first introduced among the wealthiest parts of society. The value of all the inventories from the county of Skagafjörður showed in no uncertain terms that throughout the century the rich become richer while the worth of the poorer inventories does not change dramatically.

d) To evaluate the relationship between consumption and household wellbeing in early modern Iceland
The relationship between consumption and household wellbeing hinges in part on the physical health of its members and the time allocated to necessary, routine tasks. It is clear that both these factors change dramatically throughout the period under study. It is clear that an increase in objects related to hygiene had an effect on physical health, which demographic data confirms. However, there are indications that the addition of new material, such as tableware, required more labour from some household members.

These results, in particular as they relate to a)-c) have been written up for the Journal of Post Medieval Archaeology and a manuscript is currently under review. The publication on the results of the last objective is currently in preparation. In addition, two public lectures, two workshop presentations and one conference paper have been delivered. The project has also been an inspiration for undergraduate teaching throughout the period, in particular in artefact studies (lesson delivered in November 2017) and on the course The Archaeology of Us, taught in the fall semester of the academic year 2018-2019.

The researcher has cooperated with other researchers at the University. In particular, she has worked with the scientists who are wor

Website & more info

More info: https://earlymoderniceland.wordpress.com/.