DOI: 10.33547/terra.fertilis03
Outland exploitation and resource colonisation in early Medieval Scandinavia
by Andreas Hennius 
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. 41-45.
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The article “Outland exploitation and resource colonisation in early Medieval Scandinavia” examines the role of marginal zones (so-called utmark or outlands) in the economic and social development of early medieval Scandinavian societies.
Traditionally, the exploitation of outlands—particularly for resources such as iron and furs—has been viewed as a supplementary activity tied mainly to the Viking Age economy, supporting agricultural production and supplying emerging trading centres like Birka, Hedeby, Ribe, and Kaupang. However, recent archaeological research, supported by new analytical methods and expanded datasets, challenges this perspective.
The study demonstrates that resource extraction in marginal environments was more extensive, diversified, and chronologically earlier than previously assumed. Evidence suggests that activities in forests, wetlands, and mountainous regions were not merely adaptive responses to limited agricultural potential, but instead constituted a central and dynamic component of economic strategies. In particular, outland exploitation can be traced back to at least the 4th–7th centuries and may have played a key role in shaping settlement patterns, social organization, and long-distance exchange networks.
By situating Scandinavian developments within broader environmental and economic contexts, the article argues that marginal zones were not peripheral but integral to early medieval societies. Outland resource use is thus reinterpreted as a driving force behind economic intensification, regional interaction, and the emergence of complex socio-economic systems prior to and during the Viking Age.