The Introduction of Chickens Into Norway and Their Early Use: New Evidence From the Borgund Kaupang.

Abstract

Chickens reached areas of northern Europe by the 6th to 5th century bce, but their dispersal into Scandinavia appears delayed. Here we present a thorough assessment of chicken remains recovered from Borgund, a deserted late Viking Age–Medieval urban site located near Ålesund on the west coast of Norway. Direct and indirect dating of 20 chicken bones gives an age range from the Viking Age to the boundary between the High and Late Medieval. The Borgund chickens thus include some of the earliest evidence for chicken-keeping in Norway. The absence of juveniles indicates that chickens were kept for secondary products, such as eggs and feathers, and societal reasons rather than just meat. This is in line with data on chickens from Medieval Norway. The low percentage of chickens in comparison to other domestic species indicates chickens were not a vital part of the day-to-day diet of the people of Borgund. The chickens here represent the earliest unambiguous record for the west coast and second earliest for Norway, indicating a Viking Age introduction. The existence of Viking Age trading networks with northwestern Norway and Denmark suggests that chickens may have been introduced to Borgund through this route. Alternatively, chickens may have been first introduced in southern Norway via a separate Viking Age network and then spread from there. The route through which chickens came to Borgund remains unclear.