Population Pyramids: Then and Now
In 1950 the population of Iceland was projected to increase rather dramatically. There was a relatively high birthrate in this time period as well as a relatively high death rate. Now, in 2015, people are living to be much older and there aren't as many babies born, so the population isn't increasing as dramatically. Due to the shape of the 2015 pyramid, we can tell that the population will still increase for a bit, but eventually, Iceland's population will begin to decrease.
Research on the Settlement
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The earliest settlement of Iceland is believed to have taken place in the medieval time period around 871 AD. Landnámabók, or Book of Settlements—an Icelandic history book written in the 12th century—tells of the discovery of Iceland:
A Viking named Naddoddr boarded his ship in Norway. He sailed west, expecting to make landfall in the Faroe Islands. He didn’t arrive. Instead, his ship was blown off course, and he found himself at the coast of an unknown land. He and his crew came ashore and climbed a tall mountain, looking for smoke or other signs of life. They saw none and concluded the land was uninhabited. Naddoddr sailed back east, eventually arriving at the Faroes. He and his crew told the others of the land they had found. Thus began the Viking-age exploration and settlement of Iceland. Only seventy years later, the land was fully occupied, home to perhaps 40,000 people (Short, 2010, p. 1).
The volcanic nature of the island provides archeologists with a really cool way to date historical events. They use tephra, a volcanic ash layer that sits on top of sediment from volcanic eruptions, as a way to mark periods of time (Sveinbjarnardóttir, 2012). Although today the early history book is not considered reliable due to lack of archeological support, there is much evidence of the idea that the first settlers did indeed settle around 871 AD and were, in fact, Vikings from Scandinavian countries (Iceland History).
Because the land is so densely covered with snow and ice during the winters, Flóki Vilgerðarson, one of the first settlers, dubbed the land “Iceland”. Although he himself was not wild about this new island, his men told everyone back in Norway that that every blade of grass dripped with butter. At the time, butter was a rare commodity in Norway, and it was a sign of easy living and wealth. Oppression and hardship in Norway was a main reason that Vikings voyaged the seas to search for other places to settle (Hurstwic).
The early settlers of Iceland found a land that met virtually all their needs for settlement. Coastal regions and inland valleys were fertile and suitable for the kind of farming they would have been familiar with in their homelands. Extensive meadowlands provided fodder for livestock, and woodlands provide wood for buildings, fuel, and even for shipbuilding. Bogs provided turf for buildings and iron for smelting. Underground volcanic activity provided hot springs for washing and bathing. Birds, fish, and sea mammals provided food and raw materials. Since the only native land mammal was the arctic fox, there were few predators for livestock.
Jared Diamond’s theory of migration in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel was that people migrate along the same latitude because the climate is relatively similar. Thus, plants and animals are able to thrive in a climate they are used to. The Vikings—and their plants and animals—being from Scandinavia, were already somewhat used to the harsh and icy winters of Iceland. It is seen historically that people have most successfully migrated from east to west and vise versa.
A Viking named Naddoddr boarded his ship in Norway. He sailed west, expecting to make landfall in the Faroe Islands. He didn’t arrive. Instead, his ship was blown off course, and he found himself at the coast of an unknown land. He and his crew came ashore and climbed a tall mountain, looking for smoke or other signs of life. They saw none and concluded the land was uninhabited. Naddoddr sailed back east, eventually arriving at the Faroes. He and his crew told the others of the land they had found. Thus began the Viking-age exploration and settlement of Iceland. Only seventy years later, the land was fully occupied, home to perhaps 40,000 people (Short, 2010, p. 1).
The volcanic nature of the island provides archeologists with a really cool way to date historical events. They use tephra, a volcanic ash layer that sits on top of sediment from volcanic eruptions, as a way to mark periods of time (Sveinbjarnardóttir, 2012). Although today the early history book is not considered reliable due to lack of archeological support, there is much evidence of the idea that the first settlers did indeed settle around 871 AD and were, in fact, Vikings from Scandinavian countries (Iceland History).
Because the land is so densely covered with snow and ice during the winters, Flóki Vilgerðarson, one of the first settlers, dubbed the land “Iceland”. Although he himself was not wild about this new island, his men told everyone back in Norway that that every blade of grass dripped with butter. At the time, butter was a rare commodity in Norway, and it was a sign of easy living and wealth. Oppression and hardship in Norway was a main reason that Vikings voyaged the seas to search for other places to settle (Hurstwic).
The early settlers of Iceland found a land that met virtually all their needs for settlement. Coastal regions and inland valleys were fertile and suitable for the kind of farming they would have been familiar with in their homelands. Extensive meadowlands provided fodder for livestock, and woodlands provide wood for buildings, fuel, and even for shipbuilding. Bogs provided turf for buildings and iron for smelting. Underground volcanic activity provided hot springs for washing and bathing. Birds, fish, and sea mammals provided food and raw materials. Since the only native land mammal was the arctic fox, there were few predators for livestock.
Jared Diamond’s theory of migration in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel was that people migrate along the same latitude because the climate is relatively similar. Thus, plants and animals are able to thrive in a climate they are used to. The Vikings—and their plants and animals—being from Scandinavia, were already somewhat used to the harsh and icy winters of Iceland. It is seen historically that people have most successfully migrated from east to west and vise versa.
![Picture](/uploads/6/0/1/1/60110619/902164661.jpg?522)
Today, the population of Iceland is incredibly small compared to most nations around the world. In January of 2015, the total population of the island was just 329,100 (Statistics Iceland). Over two-thirds of the entire population of Iceland lives in or around the current capital, Reykjavíc. The official language of Iceland is Icelandic, a North Germanic language derived from Old Norse. It has changed relatively little throughout the centuries. English is widely spoken and understood.
Resources
Hurstwic: Settlement of Iceland. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2015
Iceland History. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2015, from http://www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/voyage/subset/iceland/history.html
Statistics Iceland. (n.d.). Retrieved September17, 2015 from http://www.statice.is/?PageID=1170&src=https://rannsokn.hagstofa.is/pxen/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=MAN00000%26ti=Population+-+key+figures+1703-2015+++++++++++++%26path=../Database/mannfjoldi/Yfirlit/%26lang=1%26units=Number
Sveinbjarnardóttir, G. (2012). The Earliest Settlement of Iceland. Norwegian Archaeological Review, 45(2), 225-227.
Resources
Hurstwic: Settlement of Iceland. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2015
Iceland History. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2015, from http://www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/voyage/subset/iceland/history.html
Statistics Iceland. (n.d.). Retrieved September17, 2015 from http://www.statice.is/?PageID=1170&src=https://rannsokn.hagstofa.is/pxen/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=MAN00000%26ti=Population+-+key+figures+1703-2015+++++++++++++%26path=../Database/mannfjoldi/Yfirlit/%26lang=1%26units=Number
Sveinbjarnardóttir, G. (2012). The Earliest Settlement of Iceland. Norwegian Archaeological Review, 45(2), 225-227.
Additional Resources
http://www.iceland.is/
This link provides a plethora of information regarding not only the history of the island but current information as well such as events, travel information, attractions, weather, and more. This website would be great for anyone planning to travel to Iceland or anyone who just want to learn a bit more about the nation!
http://www.yale.edu/ycei/arcticworkshop/background-reading/03-McGovern_027-051.pdf
This is a link to a scholarly article about Iceland and what impact the humans had on the land. It would be useful to anyone doing research about not only the history of the island, but to people researching the land itself. It contains a lot of information about how the human settlements affected the land itself.
http://www.iceland.is/
This link provides a plethora of information regarding not only the history of the island but current information as well such as events, travel information, attractions, weather, and more. This website would be great for anyone planning to travel to Iceland or anyone who just want to learn a bit more about the nation!
http://www.yale.edu/ycei/arcticworkshop/background-reading/03-McGovern_027-051.pdf
This is a link to a scholarly article about Iceland and what impact the humans had on the land. It would be useful to anyone doing research about not only the history of the island, but to people researching the land itself. It contains a lot of information about how the human settlements affected the land itself.