Viking Settlement in Greenland
Viking Settlement in Greenland
- c. 980 AD to c. 1400s
- Vikings were Norse peoples
- Greenland is the second largest island in the world
- 75% covered by ice
- Greenland was sparsely inhabited by Inuit peoples << to confirm details
- First settled by Vikings c. 980s AD
- this was during the Medieval Warming period << to confirm details
- the warming created more optimal conditions for farming and grazing, as well as new tree growth, which allowed for the use of wood for construction, tools, and fire
- the warming created "verdant pockets along the south-western coast" (from [Age Greenland from Ancient History Encyclopedia])
- this was during the Medieval Warming period << to confirm details
- prior to Viking settlement Greenland would have been difficult to approach by large boats due to icebergs and frozen harbors
- prior to Medieval Warming period ice-free regions of Greenland would have been tundra
Viking Discovery of Greenland[edit | edit source]
Subsistence[edit | edit source]
- built stone structures
- brought livestock from Europe, including sheep, goats, and cattle
- brought dogs and cats
- hunted caribou and harp seals
Trade[edit | edit source]
- Vikings on Greenland paid taxes to Norway
- Valuable trade items included:
- walrus tusks (very high demand until European-African trade opened up access to African elephant tusks
- skins, hides, live polar bears
- furs from North American mainland
North America Mainland Expeditions & Settlements[edit | edit source]
- to obtain timber and fur
- hostile contact with native tribes
Inuit-Viking Interactions[edit | edit source]
- Vikings called the Inuit "Skræling"
Viking Age Decline[edit | edit source]
- Little Ice Age
- spread of Black Plague to Norway cut off trade with home country
- impact of absence of trade meant lack of new supplies, especially iron tools and wood
- archeological evidence shows in waning years of the settlement, iron tools and instruments were severely worn, which means they were not being replaced or fixed
- impact of absence of trade meant lack of new supplies, especially iron tools and wood
Sources:
>> Collapse of Civilizations podcast >> see Jared Diamond
See Also