Walrus haul out site in Svalbard. Credit: Morten Tange Olsen
After the Norse completed their perilous journeys, what might they have encountered? Importantly, these remote High Arctic hunting grounds were no empty polar wilderness; they would have been inhabited by the Thule Inuit and possibly other Indigenous Arctic peoples, who were also hunting walrus and other sea mammals.
The new research provides further independent evidence for the long-debated existence of very early encounters between the European Norse and North American Indigenous peoples, it also confirms that the North Water Polynya was an important arena for these inter-cultural meetings.
“This would have been the meeting of two entirely different cultural worlds. The Greenland Norse had European facial features, were probably bearded, dressed in woolen clothes, and were sailing in plank-built vessels; they harvested walrus at haul out sites with iron-tipped lances,” says Jordan.
Norse transported “packages” of ivory back to Europe (with tusks attached to skull) Package 1 (Natural History Museum Denmark). Credit: Mikkel Høegh-Post
The research team extracted ancient DNA from museum collections (Emily Ruiz sampling at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa). Credit: Emily Ruiz
Norse transported “packages” of ivory back to Europe (with tusks attached to skull) Package 2 (Natural History Museum Denmark). Credit: Mikkel Høegh-Post
In contrast, the Thule Inuit were Arctic-adapted specialists, and used sophisticated toggling harpoons that enabled them to hunt walrus in open waters. They would have been wearing warm and insulated fur clothing and would have had more Asian facial features; they paddled kayaks and used open umiak boats, all made from animal skins stretched over frames.
“Of course, we will never know precisely, but on a more human level these remarkable encounters, framed within the vast and intimidating landscapes of the High Arctic, would probably have involved a degree of curiosity, fascination and excitement, all encouraging social interaction, sharing and possibly exchange.
“We need to do much more work to properly understand these interactions and motivations, especially from an Indigenous as well as more ‘Eurocentric’ Norse perspective,” concludes Jordan.
More information:
Emily J. Ruiz-Puerta et al, Greenland Norse walrus exploitation deep into the Arctic, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adq4127
Provided by
Lund University
Citation:
Retracing walrus ivory trade of Viking Age reveals early interactions between Europeans and Indigenous North Americans (2024, September 30)
retrieved 30 September 2024
from https://phys.org/news/2024-09-retracing-walrus-ivory-viking-age.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66fade712a654458b848a648a8c14fcc&url=https%3A%2F%2Fphys.org%2Fnews%2F2024-09-retracing-walrus-ivory-viking-age.html&c=3824861554077103871&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-09-30 04:24:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
