DOI: 10.33547/terra.fertilis02
Marginal Mountains – or a Generous Wilderness? Exploitation of the high mountains of Norway in the Iron Age and Middle Ages
by Asbjørn Engevik 
in Terra fertilis, terra deserta. Exploitation of marginal zones, edited by M. J. Przybyła, J. Rodzińska-Nowak and M. Wojenka, Neue Studien zur Sachsenforschung 15, Braunschweig – Kraków: Braunschweigische Landesmuseum, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Profil-Archeo, pp. 31-39.
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The main objective of this study is to demonstrate that ‘marginality’, in an archaeological perspective, is not something static that is given in every context. Instead, marginality should be seen as highly dynamic and ever changing – depending on the landscape ecology, its socio-environmental characteristics, and the resources available. Studies of the ‘marginal’ high mountain areas of Norway, shows that this landscape contained important resources which have been intensively exploited and crucial for surplus production, and served as an important area for communication and interaction during the Early Medieval Period (200-600 CE). Accordingly, marginality cannot be fully understood without considering the continuous interaction between landscape, the resources available and human influence.