Immigration and Mobility in Mediaeval and Post-Mediaeval Norway, 2016

The aim of this project was to, through a multidisciplinary approach, to try to develop a better understanding of the population in mediaeval and post-mediaeval Norway with regard to its composition and the influence of immigration. The research drew on information from archaeological, osteological, molecular and historical sources. The material on which this study was based was the human skeletal material from four different graveyards. Both oxygen isotope and DNA analyses was used to identify immigrants in the population and to try and determine the geographic and genetic origin of these individuals. The information from the molecular analyses was complimented by information from the anthropological examination of the human remains as well as historical sources to develop a detailed picture of the population. Questions that were investigated were: How was the composition of the population? How large part of the population were immigrants? Where did they come from? What was the nature of the immigration? Was the immigrant population biased towards one sex or a particular age group? Did children or the elderly migrate? How were immigrants treated and what place did they take in society?