Paleoenvironment and the archaeological record at the L'Anse Aux Meadows Site, Newfoundland

Abstract

Abstract Archaeological evidence from the marine terrace and fen at the site indicates brief episodic occupation for over 5000 years. Five cultural episodes have been identified, although the site is renowned for its Norse settlement. A fen on the site has provided both artifacts and fossil pollen. Although the pollen spectra are dominated by disturbance taxa, they indicate little or no human impact. Both the archaeological data and the pollen spectra are consistent with brief episodes of occupancy. Relationships between regional environmental changes and the human response are indistinct, although a cool interval after 2500 B.P. coincides with a 1000 year hiatus in occupation. For the Norse period, the pollen record is compatible with the view that L'Anse aux Meadows was a small, short‐lived way station.