The Journal of Anthropological Research, a UNM Publication, presented a seminar by its 2008 Distinguished Lecturer, Dr. E. Paul Durrenberger of Penn State University. His lecture, titled "Archaeology & Literature: the Political Ecology of Medieval Iceland during the Settlement Period, 870-1262," explained the progression in Iceland from a slave-based economy to a wage-worker based economy by looking at both archaeological evidence and evidence from Icelandic sagas. Dr. Durrenberger's fantastic PowerPoint slides illustrated the relationship between slave labor, acquisition of provisions, increased followers, and ultimate the need for wage labor. He then went to illustrate how this economic growth led to the need for more territory, and ultimate more bloodshed between Icelandic tribes.

Dr. Durrenberger also discussed the archaeological site in the Skagafjörður region of Iceland where the Icelandic home of Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir, the first woman of European decent to give birth in the Americas, was discovered.

This well attended seminar was a joy to students of archaeology, anthropology, and us medievalists, and we are grateful to Dr. Durrenberger's for his visit.