Changes in Dietary Practices and Social Organization During the Pivotal Late Iron Age Period in Norway (AD 550–1030): Isotope Analyses of Merovingian and Viking Age Human Remains Elise Naumann, 1 T. Douglas Price, 2 and Michael P. Richards 3,4,5 * 1 Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo, Norway 2 Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 3 Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 4 Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada 5 Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, Durham, UK KEY WORDS stable isotope analyses; diet; Norway; Merovingian Age; Viking Age ABSTRACT Human remains representing 33 indi- viduals buried along the coast in northern Norway were analyzed for diet composition using collagen stable car- bon and nitrogen isotope analysis. Where possible, both teeth and bone were included to investigate whether there were dietary changes from childhood to adulthood. A general shift was documented from the Merovingian Age 550–800 AD to the Viking Age AD 800–1050 (VA), with a heavier reliance on marine diet in the VA. Die- tary life history data show that 15 individuals changed their diets through life with 11 of these having con- sumed more marine foods in the later years of life. In combination with 87 Sr/ 86 Sr data, it is argued that at least six individuals possibly originated from inland areas and then moved to the coastal region where they were eventually interred. The trend is considered in relation to the increasing expansion of the marine fish- ing industry at this time, and it is suggested that results from isotope analyses reflect the expanding production and export of stockfish in this region. Am J Phys Anthropol 155:322–331, 2014. V C 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Although on the geographical periphery of Europe, the northern parts of coastal Norway were well connected to the rest of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Continent, and the British Isles in the Late Iron Age (LIA; AD 550– 1050). Transportation and transfer by sea was consider- ably more effective than inland travel, and the sea con- nected the northerners with the rest of the Norse World and beyond. During this period, Scandinavian society went through significant changes in social structure and organization. The beginning of the period saw a pro- found recession caused by climate change during the years AD 536–537 that has been documented by scien- tific investigations, through the analyses of written sour- ces, and also in the archeological record (Gr€ aslund and Price, 2012). A marked decline in settlement, burials, and material culture characterizes this time compared to the preceding period. At the beginning of the Merovin- gian Age (MA), burials were generally less visible, less remarkable, and sparsely equipped. The recession might nonetheless have provided opportunities for some, and the elite may have profited by gaining power over avail- able land resources (Gr€ aslund and Price, 2012: p. 440). From the beginning of the 8th century, a considerable increase in production, agrarian activity, settlement structures, and more richly furnished burials marks the dawn of a new age, culminating in the Viking Age (VA) from the late 8th century (Sawyer, 1997). Large varia- tions in settlement structures and burial customs bear witness to a highly stratified society (Solberg, 1985). During this period, the society saw the rise of a powerful upper class with widespread connections, an increase and specialization in resource exploitation and organized production, and advanced networks of exchange and trade (Sawyer, 1997). In northern Norway, the MA recession seems to have had a smaller impact compared to southern and western Norway, though the number of burials certainly decreased by approximately 25% (Solberg, 2010: p. 197– 198). The population in the north drew upon a variety of resources, such as fishing and whaling, hunting of wild game and small game, collection of bird eggs, animal husbandry, and land cultivation in the scarce arable areas along the coast (Jïrgensen, 1984; Sïrheim, 1997; Perdikaris, 1999; Johansen, 2003). Settlements were located along the coastal trading route from north to south, along which valuable goods such as fur, skin, Paper emanated from: University of oslo, Norway, 0315 Oslo and Max Plack Insitute of Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany, 04103 Leipzig Grant sponsor: University of Oslo, Max Planck Society.. *Correspondence to: Michael P. Richards, The University of Brit- ish Columbia, Department of Anthropology, AnSo Building 2208. E-mail: richards@eva.mpg.de Received 22 October 2013; revised 22 May 2014; accepted 23 May 2014 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22551 Published online 4 June 2014 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). Ó 2014 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 155:322–331 (2014)