ABSTRACT

Although the excavation and curation of archaeological human remains in Iceland can be traced back to the latter part of the 19th century (Gestsdóttir 2004), the origins of physical anthropological research in Iceland are usually considered as starting with the work of Jón Steffensen in the cemetery excavation at Skeljastaðir in south-western Iceland in 1939, which was the first largescale systematic archaeological excavation of a Christian cemetery in Iceland (Steffensen 1943). Steffensen was a medical doctor and professor of anatomy and biophysics at the University of Iceland. All the analysis of archaeological skeletal remains recovered in Iceland between 1939 and Steffensen’s death in 1991 were carried out by him. Steffensen published widely during his career, not only anthropological material, but also in medicine and history (Magnússon 1992). Although not trained in the field, he also took part in several of the burial excavations carried out during that period, including the rescue excavation of the cemetery associated with the Bishopric of Skálholt in 1954-58. His report of the skeletons there focused heavily on the identification of individuals, based not only on coffin inscriptions, but also on comparisons of crania to portraits and location within the cemetery (Steffensen 1988). This reflects the focus within early archaeological excavations in Iceland, which were frequently on the identification of individuals and locations mentioned in documentary sources, in particular the Icelandic Sagas. Earlier publications prior to those written by Jón Steffensen on the analysis of archaeological

skeletal remains do exist. In addition to brief comments on isolated skeletal finds by medical doctors, for example that by Guðmundur Björnsson on the skeletal remains from two Viking Age burials (Bruun 1903), the earliest physical anthropological analysis is Hooton’s publication in the first issue of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology on the study of the mostly commingled human remains recovered by Vilhjálmur Stefánsson in 1905 at the early cemetery sites of Álftanes and Haffjarðarey in southern and western Iceland (Hooton 1918). However, Jón Steffensen’s involvement in the excavation at Skeljastaðir marked the start of systematic analysis of archaeological skeletal remains in Iceland. Iceland was first settled in the late ninth century AD, as supported by archaeological and

documentary evidence (cf. Karlsson, 2001; Roberts et al. 2003), which means that it is the youngest settlement in Europe. Burials in Iceland are usually divided into two probably oversimplified groups: pre-Christian Viking inhumations and Christian inhumations. The Viking

burials vary from single to multiple inhumations, dating from the latter part of the ninth century to the middle of the 11th century AD (Eldjárn 2000). The Christian cemeteries vary in size from small family or farm based plots to larger parish churches, and are frequently seen to be dated post AD 1000, which is the official date for the conversion of Icelanders to Christianity (Karlsson, 2001) – although recent excavations of earlier cemeteries indicate earlier dates for some of these Christian sites (Zoëga and Traustadóttir 2007).