whale drives, particularly those concerning pilot whales, took place in the Hebrides,
the Orkneys and most frequently in the Faroes. Occasional drives also occurred in
the fjords of Norway, albeit on a much more opportunistic basis since the whales did
not occur regularly in mainland Norway. This means that pilot whale driving
techniques and technologies developed predominantly in the Faroe Islands during
the time of settlement in the tenth century. The North Atlantic pilot whale drive is
therefore a uniquely Faroese invention. Poor soil conditions that allow only for a
very limited reliance on agriculture meant harvesting marine resources was crucial
for the survival of the Faroese. Towards the end of the thirteenth century, Old Norse
legal codes applicable in Norway, the Faroes and Iceland had established property
regimes for whales. By then, whaling and whales had become an integral part of the
Faroese economy.
Apart from the local utilisation of seal and whale resources, these also served as
important trade goods for the trade with Europe, particularly England. Whale oil,
salted and dried meat were commodities that the Norse traded in order to provide
their settlements with other trade goods to diversify their diets and economies.
Moreover, marine mammal products were used as luxury trade goods, especially
walrus ivory. The supply of walrus ivory relied on two sources: one in the Barents
Sea of northernmost Europe and northwestern Russia, and one on the west coast of
Greenland. Walrus ivory which was recorded in important trading posts such as
Novgorod, points towards the importance of this commodity in medieval Europe and
Russia. The hunting grounds in the Barents Sea were first recorded during a visit of
Norwegian chieftain Ohthere (Ottar) to King Alfred of Wessex in the ninth century.
Between the 1120s and the early fifteenth century, most of the European ivory
originated in Greenland. In the times of significant economic growth in Europe
between the eleventh to thirteenth century, also the demand for ivory grew. Consequently, given the predominant abundance of Greenlandic ivory in Europe during
that time, it appears reasonable to assume that Greenlandic Norse settlements
economically relied on this trade. In fact, the decline in the ivory trade, either due
to overharvesting of walrus, climatic changes, outmigration, or declining demand in
Europe may have significantly contributed to the collapse of the Greenlandic Norse
settlements.
6
Further south, in the waters of the Baltic and North Seas, it was mostly seals that
were hunted. Even though seal hunts have been documented dating as far back as
43,000 years ago and as far south as Spain, it is along the Danish coast and into the
reaches of the Gulf of Bothnia and Gulf of Finland that seal hunts constituted an
integral part of the local and trade-based economy. During the time of the Holocene
Climatic Optimum, a warm period 9000—5000 years ago, along the coasts of the
Baltic Sea, settlements indicate that seals constituted a vital commodity for human
survival. It is not surprising that in contemporary Sweden and Finland a unique
terminology developed that related to the hunt for seals. Also in the Gulf of Finland,
in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, seals were hunted. Trade occurred mostly during
6 Star et al. (2018).
3.2 Marine Mammals and Human Societies
41
the Orkneys and most frequently in the Faroes. Occasional drives also occurred in
the fjords of Norway, albeit on a much more opportunistic basis since the whales did
not occur regularly in mainland Norway. This means that pilot whale driving
techniques and technologies developed predominantly in the Faroe Islands during
the time of settlement in the tenth century. The North Atlantic pilot whale drive is
therefore a uniquely Faroese invention. Poor soil conditions that allow only for a
very limited reliance on agriculture meant harvesting marine resources was crucial
for the survival of the Faroese. Towards the end of the thirteenth century, Old Norse
legal codes applicable in Norway, the Faroes and Iceland had established property
regimes for whales. By then, whaling and whales had become an integral part of the
Faroese economy.
Apart from the local utilisation of seal and whale resources, these also served as
important trade goods for the trade with Europe, particularly England. Whale oil,
salted and dried meat were commodities that the Norse traded in order to provide
their settlements with other trade goods to diversify their diets and economies.
Moreover, marine mammal products were used as luxury trade goods, especially
walrus ivory. The supply of walrus ivory relied on two sources: one in the Barents
Sea of northernmost Europe and northwestern Russia, and one on the west coast of
Greenland. Walrus ivory which was recorded in important trading posts such as
Novgorod, points towards the importance of this commodity in medieval Europe and
Russia. The hunting grounds in the Barents Sea were first recorded during a visit of
Norwegian chieftain Ohthere (Ottar) to King Alfred of Wessex in the ninth century.
Between the 1120s and the early fifteenth century, most of the European ivory
originated in Greenland. In the times of significant economic growth in Europe
between the eleventh to thirteenth century, also the demand for ivory grew. Consequently, given the predominant abundance of Greenlandic ivory in Europe during
that time, it appears reasonable to assume that Greenlandic Norse settlements
economically relied on this trade. In fact, the decline in the ivory trade, either due
to overharvesting of walrus, climatic changes, outmigration, or declining demand in
Europe may have significantly contributed to the collapse of the Greenlandic Norse
settlements.
6
Further south, in the waters of the Baltic and North Seas, it was mostly seals that
were hunted. Even though seal hunts have been documented dating as far back as
43,000 years ago and as far south as Spain, it is along the Danish coast and into the
reaches of the Gulf of Bothnia and Gulf of Finland that seal hunts constituted an
integral part of the local and trade-based economy. During the time of the Holocene
Climatic Optimum, a warm period 9000—5000 years ago, along the coasts of the
Baltic Sea, settlements indicate that seals constituted a vital commodity for human
survival. It is not surprising that in contemporary Sweden and Finland a unique
terminology developed that related to the hunt for seals. Also in the Gulf of Finland,
in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, seals were hunted. Trade occurred mostly during
6 Star et al. (2018).
3.2 Marine Mammals and Human Societies
41