A larger and more diverse sampling of walrus ivory artifacts will be needed to support that hypothesis, as well as further archaeological research in the high Arctic.
If true, this would be a crucial moment in the history of our species: the first circumnavigation of the planet – coming full circle from our origins out of Africa, into Asia, and across the Bering Strait.
“The extent of their ventures into the High Arctic suggests that the Norse were not just farmers and settlers but also strategic traders deeply involved in long-distance resource extraction,” molecular ecologist Emily Ruiz-Puerta from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark told ScienceAlert.
“Moreover, this activity may have brought them into contact with Arctic Indigenous cultures, such as the Thule people, potentially leading to exchanges that have never been considered before.”
There’s a chance the Thule Inuit or Tuniit may have even hunted the walruses to which these ivory artifacts once belonged.
Unlike Greenland Norse, who sailed in plank-built vessels, and who probably harvested walruses with iron-tipped lances once they’d hauled themselves out of the water, the Thule Inuit used sophisticated harpoons to expertly hunt swimming walruses from open boats, waterproofed with animal skins.
It is unlikely, the researchers say, that the Tuniit or Thule Inuit were harvesting ivory and then voyaging south to trade with the Norse. The Vikings didn’t have much of value to offer the Indigenous peoples of the north to warrant such a big trip.
The Norse, by contrast, had every reason to push northward. In medieval Europe, ivory was a prized possession for the creation of high-status objects, especially for religious reasons.
In Iceland, the disappearance of walruses coincided with Viking colonization, and there are hints of a similar decline occurring when the Norse made it to Greenland in 950 CE. Perhaps resource exploitation is why the Norse ultimately abandoned Greenland in the 1400s, but not before they’d also collected walruses from the very north of the island.
Chessmen from Medieval times made from walrus ivory and the teeth of whales. (Andrew Dunn/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0)
If a surging demand for ivory in Europe is what ultimately drove the Norse and the Thule Inuit into each other’s orbits, then researchers argue these are some of the earliest steps towards globalization of supply chains.
“It has echoes of global capitalism sucking up remote resources with devastating consequences,” the authors of the study explain.
But the Indigenous perspective should not be overlooked, they argue.
“Thus far, it is all a very ‘Eurocentric’ story about Norse expansion and colonization… ” explains Jarrett.
“The reality is more nuanced and interesting. It all needs a big rethink and a lot of new research.”
The study was published in Science Advances.
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Publish date : 2024-09-27 07:06:00
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